Don't Babysit Your Ideas

Sarah Kitakule. When she's spoken at Aspire events, she holds court. She definitely holds court. And you can see her with a sort of group of women who are just listening to her, eyes wide, notebooks out, writing madly, all the things that she's saying. Because If Sarah can do it, we can all do it. And I think this is really important. We can look at role models, we can look at women in the public eye and say, oh my God, I'm so impressed by them, but they're not me.
And there's all sorts of reasons why I couldn't do that, blah, blah, blah. But when we look at Sarah and we hear her very pragmatic journey to doing the things that she's doing and the massive obstacles and challenges that she overcomes on a daily basis and how she's dealing right now with being in the midst of COVID, It makes me feel inspired. It makes me feel excited. It makes me have a perspective that there are many great things happening around the world and we hear so many, there's so much bad stuff out there right now and there's so many terrible things to turn on the news it's totally and utterly depressing.
Yet, there are great things happening and there are great people. who are absolutely determined to still do good things in the midst of COVID, in the midst of this awful time for many, many, many of us, if not all of us. And so, sit back, relax, get your dose, your Kitakule dose because, and put your seatbelt on, get ready, because she's somebody that after listening to Sarah, you will have no excuses left.

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What is it that you would never tell anybody but you're gonna tell me? I mean right now it is terrible that you know, we are confined to you know, staying at home. There's no really social interaction. You can go meet a friend for a cup of tea but there are times when you feel like the amount of money that is being poured into research on impact of COVID, if they just gave me that money I can go to my village and make a difference and just transform people's lives and I mean the village is small it doesn't take a lot to transform people's lives but the money sometimes not being used in the right place and it's it can be annoying and depressing sometimes when you see the kind of money that and where the money is being put you take Uganda for example they said they're going to give everybody all citizens above six years old a mask so you can imagine the amount of money that government is supposed to spend on masks.
But not everybody has been able to access these masks, but yet a lot of money has been spent on saying we are going to give everybody a mask. So you wonder, you say people are suffering, schools are not you know, some students have dilapidated buildings, we have poor infrastructure. Where should our money be going? Because even when they were collecting money for COVID, when you look at where are the priorities, you know, talking about buying vehicles.
So I say, but that money can go into improving the clinics, making sure clinics have beds, making sure the doctors have the necessary equipment that they need. I mean, it would make such a difference because the private, the public was, you know, giving a lot of money and, you know, but where are we putting this money? Are we really using it? It can be annoying sometimes. So it's, it is, it's, and we are going through a time of elections are near, I think in the, in the States, the same thing.
Uganda elections are in February. So you listen to all these, some of these people, what they're saying. People are poor, so people are selling their votes, pretending to support this person and the other person, because parliament has now become a source of livelihood for many. So I don't think we are getting the good quality legislators that we want to see, because the good legislators or potential legislators cannot manage the political environment in terms, they don't have the resources to dish out.
Like I would have loved very much to represent my district to go to parliament, but I don't have that kind of money to dish out, pay 5,000 here, 10,000 here so somebody can line up behind me so I can get a party ticket. I don't have that kind of money. So in the end, the kind of people that are going to go to parliament may not. be the kind of people that are going to bring a difference.
So it's not good. It's annoying. But we have to wake up on the positive side and say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm still alive. And I don't have COVID. So that makes everything else OK? Yeah. No, it's like these days, I mean.

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There are certain things I decide not to worry about because when I was younger, there are certain things that used to stress me, which no longer stress me. Two weeks ago, I lost my phone. I was moving and somebody snatched it and it had my bank cards, it had my driving permits. I mean, if I was the Sarah of years ago, I would be, oh God, now what am I going to do?
Look, this is an expensive phone and go on and on. But then I just said, well, what can I do? What's the solution? And how do I move on? And my sister was telling, you have really developed your faith muscle. Because if it was the Sarah of so many years ago, maybe you would be. crying because this phone is gone but you know I even my daughter was surprised she called me she would say mom I'm so sorry and she said but you are so calm I mean that is that is what you gain with age um now I'm able to think of importance and still remain calm and choose not to get myself stressed so even with this politics I've decided i've selectively watched the news if somebody's speaking nonsense i switch off i go to another channel i don't have to listen to them i have decided i've blocked some people on my facebook page so they don't have to bother me with their political position so i have ways to survive this whole thing you're being very selective i think this is so smart i'm honored that you're speaking with me you didn't block me But there are people, some people are, you know, of course you know them, but like they are campaigning on behalf of others.
They are posting political stuff on your page. Some of the people that they are posting, you don't think they have the capacity. So those people, I don't want them to bother me. So instead of saying something rude, I have unfollowed them and I have, you know, put them aside until this whole thing has ended.

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We should give you all the money. So if you had all the money, you said you would go to your village and do amazing things, what would you do? Oh my goodness. First of all, I would first of all make sure people understand that their destiny is in their hands and it is up to them to do something about their lives. They don't have to depend on the government, they don't have to depend on politicians, they have to do something.
And there's a lot of information that I would give them to enable them to choose something, a livelihood. And then of course, I would support them to start something either individually or collectively. And then of course, this is the dream that I'm dreaming about. I'm saying, you know, lots of those village kids now have no access to education because they are not connected to the internet. They don't have smart TVs. They don't have TVs.
All the teaching that is going on now is going on online or on TV or via radio. There are government programs that are doing that. But these kids don't have TVs. They don't have the internet. So I was just thinking if I had the money, I would start a digital school. I would start a school where anybody can teach these kids from anywhere. So I, you know, all I have to do is provide the infrastructure and I can get teachers from anywhere.
I can get an interesting math teacher from somewhere. I can get an English teacher from London. I can get my kids speaking the Queen's English. That is what I would do. And you know, I would kind of, so that even if they're in that village, they would be able to access the best education that they raise because the best education can be accessed via the internet. and then of course the community center to make and then pilot you know small scale industries or you know incubators incubation centers where people can come and learn how to make this make soap make baked bread and so on and they can share the facility and then go out and market together i mean wow and then of course i'll replant the trees trees in my village, you know, things that used to grow when we were younger, they no longer grow.
They've cut trees, so I need to educate them on the connection between the environment and what they're doing. And then maybe we can transform this little village into something really nice. Yeah. You're very clear on this. I have this dream. And I keep praying, I say, God, I need, you need to keep me strong. You need to keep me strong even during my, because I still have a lot to do. I still have a lot of things to do.
So definitely, yeah, definitely. But, you know, a good school right from kindergarten through to high school, vocational institution attached to this secondary school where even people that have not gone to school can actually come and learn a skill. You don't have to go to school to learn how to tile a house or to paint one or to build one. You don't have to have gone to formal school. But they don't have these opportunities because in Uganda once you drop out of the formal system, sometimes this becomes very difficult way to get to become somebody and this is something that has happened.

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are around my village. There are lots of girls that dropped out of school for some reason. I mean statistics are showing that so many girls have gotten pregnant during this pandemic. What is going to happen to those girls? Because their parents might say that is the end of it. I've always told my friends whose kids have become pregnant it's not the end of it. Take them back to school and many of them have ended up graduating.
So it doesn't mean that if you're pregnant, that's the end of you. But many of the kids in the villages are even forced to marry these young boys. But I should be able to go there and become a preacher and say, okay, you have this child, but you can do something with your life. Come, come and learn how to drive, come and learn how to tile. Come and learn something. And of course, I would like to see more girls go into areas where people think this is only for boys, men.
I want to see girls driving tractors. I want to see girls driving trucks. You know, those things that when we're growing up, people thought they are only meant for boys. I want to be able to prove people wrong, that girls can do very well as truck drivers. Why not? Why not indeed? Yeah.

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And you've already done the library. Yeah, the library is done, I'm telling you. The only thing now is beautification, but the rest of it is done. I was able to bid for some shelving panels that I'm going to use to increase the shelving space so that I can put up more books because I have lots of books that are still in boxes. But now I have the shelving, so I'm going to have the shelves put up so I can put up all the books.
I want to do some desks so I can put up some of the laptops that I've received as donations. And then really today I went to the shops and I saw this 75 inch television. And I said, wow, if I had money, that's what I need to put in the library. If I put this 75 inch. I mean, I can zoom, I can, you know, with all the kids seated properly, they can watch a good movie, they, you know, they can watch anything via the internet, you know, the community can come there.
So I had this dream and I know one day it will come to pass, definitely. And I love the story of the library. Yeah. Tell me again. Yeah. Yeah and you know the library because now of course the upper floor is done which we want to use mainly as a training center and the dream is after this I want to be able to get a mobile library so that the kids who are deep down there in the rural areas who can't walk to this library, who can travel to this library, can also have access to reading materials because we can take the bus.
I've seen good examples online where people have turned buses into mobile libraries and they have put laptops in there and they travel to places. I think I should be able to achieve that. And my brother made a suggestion that where we actually buried our father, that we could put there something small. So that there is a gas next to his grave somewhere. There's a small library there because again, in that place, a lot of kids do not have access to books.
So I thought, wow, that is good. So we shall be taking there some surveyors because we have some land there which we are not really utilizing. So next week, I hope to go take some surveyors there and then we can see how to plan for that land. But one of the things that my brother wants us to put is a smaller library there. So hopefully that will also materialize. But the main library now, I'm quite happy with the way it's functioning.
And of course, because during the school time, the kids mainly use it over on Saturdays, we have now started using it We had started, pre-COVID, we had started using it for evening study. So kids who are in hostels in high school and stay around would come and use it until about 9pm and then would close it. They can come in from 6 after school if they have homework, they want to sit somewhere safe and access books.
So we had started that for the high school children who all live in hostels. So I think that was working quite well. So during the week we are now thinking how do we utilize that space better? That is why one of the the library assistants is training to be a nursery teacher so possibly she can use her skills to teach some of the kids who are not yet of grade one age and they can come and utilize the library because we have the space anyway.
And then we want to do some landscaping. I really want it to be beautiful. so that, you know, the kids can see something that they can aspire to. I don't want it to be in a typical third world building where they say, oh yeah, that is the way it should look. No, no, no. I want it to really be nice. Yeah. Maybe the birds will come too. You know, one of the things I

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I appreciate about you is whenever I ask you a question about the past you never answer me you always focus on now in the future and I think this is such a phenomenal skill of yours it's like that was then and this is now and I'm focusing on now in the future but I want to say so you're not saying it's all set for you you created this library yourself you did this from scratch you sold your flat your apartment in London in order to do it and you built this thing from the ground up.
This is you. You did it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I did whatever. And so, um, what if you, and there are many women out there who aspire to create something, whether it be a library or their own destiny, their own business, their own thing. What did you learn? What do you want to share? What would be helpful for others who are interested in creating something from the ground up like you did, Sarah?
What I would say to them is that you have to be passionate enough to make the sacrifice in order for you to fulfill your vision. If you are not passionate enough, it's going to be very difficult for you to part with things. It's going to be very difficult for you to sacrifice anything. But when you are really passionate enough, you are able to say, I don't really care if I end up wearing one pair of shoes for the next five years, I don't really give a damn.
At the end of the day, I'll be looking at something that I'm quite happy about. So you have to be willing, love something enough for you to say, yes, I'm willing to sell whatever I have, pack my things, put them in a suitcase. and travel the world because that's what I want to do. I'm willing to you know to go online or you know to to talk to every friend I have and ask them to you know to support me in this venture that I want to do or I'm willing to make sure that I live a basic life in order for me to fulfill what I want to be.
I'm telling you, Sam we have become so selfish as a society. We have become so materialistic. There's so many things we have, which we don't need, including myself. I mean, how many pairs of shoes do you have? How many can you wear? I have lots of shoes. Every day I'm picking one pair of shoes. There's this black shoe, which has a small black flower. Every time I'm going out, I'm picking that pair of shoes.
I'm comfortable in it. So I tend to pick that one. And it's very possible that we have lots of things. We have clothes. You find you have clothes that you have never, you know, for the last two years, you haven't even, but we are constantly shopping. We are constantly going up. You know, you have to be able to say, should I be buying this dress or should I instead buy a laptop and take it to the library?
You should be able to get to that level and you should be able to say, um, to wear that this weather, what or what I have to achieve this. And these are my steps. I'm going to take these steps and I'm going to give myself this time.

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And within that time, I must have fulfilled and completed my vision. And I must build my vision. And I was telling a group of women and I'm saying, don't babysit your ideas. Don't babysit them. They have to grow. And you know, you have to start when a baby is growing up, they have to feed them. and then they have to continue to feed them, and then they have to change the type of food that they feed them, then they have to, you know, to do certain things in order for them to grow.
The same thing applies to our ideas. Don't babysit your ideas. Move them to different levels. And when you are moving them, it's going to involve sweat and tears sometimes. It's going to involve depression sometimes, you know, covering yourself in the sheet and saying, oh my God. We like this. Is this a possible thing? Is this something that I should have started? It will involve crying tears. It will involve people mocking you.
It will involve people laughing at you. It will involve humility. It will involve shame because sometimes you ask people, can you please help me? I remember a certain time I wanted to ship books from the UK.

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and I had a bill of 3,000 pounds with the books that had been donated to us. We needed 3,000 pounds to bring the books. I sent out a request to my Facebook friends, who I know are doing well. These are professionals, they are doctors, they're engineers, they're lawyers in the US, in the UK, everywhere. I said, you know, I'm trying to raise 3,000 pounds to ship these books. Sam, you cannot believe.
I did not get a single answer back. Nobody even acknowledged the fact that I had sent them, I had inboxed them specifically. They didn't acknowledge. They never said anything. It's as if I had, I didn't exist. How hurtful is that Sam? These are people that you know that they have money. I mean, 10 pounds, five pounds. That's something that you cannot really sacrifice to support. sending books, it's not that I'm asking you to support me to send a fridge or a car for personal use, but you know the situation that some of these kids have, that they're not as privileged as you are.
But I didn't get back a single response. That can really discourage you. So you have to make sure that you build the muscle, that even when that happens, it doesn't stop you. And it didn't because at the end, of course, as a family, people put together the 3,000 pounds and were able to bring the books. And eventually after that, that same group actually which gave us the books had shipped a container of books to Uganda, which was lying somewhere.
And they called us and said, you want these books? So then we got an additional container of books from them. So, you know, there was always a silver lining. That is something that you should know. There is always a silver lining. So even after that depression of saying, my goodness, not even a single friend of mine can support me to ship books to my village. There are people who are willing to help.
So you have to pick yourself up and make sure that you persevere, persevere, persevere, and never, never give up. Never give up, never give up. Whatever it is, whether you are the only person standing, once you are convinced of something.

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Because I know I am convinced that education can change somebody. That education has changed somebody. Because I am education change personified. Because if it had not been for education, I would be some village woman somewhere, digging somewhere. Maybe with the 10 kids or something. I could have married off at 13 or 14, 15. So I know that education can change your life. It can expose you. If I had not been educated, Sam, I would never have met you.
How would I have met you? You would never have known me. So the networks that I have, it's because of education, because it gave me that exposure, it gives me opportunity. So be a strong believer in what you're doing and have a vision beyond self. Have a vision beyond self. When you have a vision beyond self, you will be willing to make sacrifices, to support others, and you'll be less selfish. And I can assure you, when you become less selfish, you even find more joy, better joy, because there's fulfillment in helping others.
There's fulfillment in helping others. At the end of the day, all of us are going to die. What is your legacy? What are you going to do to leave behind? When you die, what do they say? What are they going to say? Oh, she owned the Lamborghini and she owned the, you know, two Benzes over there. And she lived by the sea, you know. there's this programme that I'm watching this pandemic, fantasy homes by the sea and you know people live in all sorts of fantasy homes and you see them and you say oh wow and they have spent millions of dollars and you know that's that's not I want to live well I want to live well don't get me wrong I don't want to live in a hut or something I want you Sam to come to my house and and really look at it and say whoa Sarah you're living well.
But I want to go beyond living well for myself and being able to support others. As ever. You're completely inspiring. I love it. You've got to share the grandmother quote. Oh, the grandmother quote. Yeah, I think this is connected again to the education that I've told you. When you're educated, you get exposure. It's the same thing that my grandmother, as she always said, that if you don't know how how your neighbor or somebody next to you, how they cook, you would think that your mom is the best cook until you actually visit the neighbor and find out that, wow, that is really, we have been eating crap at home.
It's the same thing. These kids, I want them to be able to get exposed and be able to watch some on the TV and be able to say, wow, that's New York. Look at how New York looks. I want to be able to aspire to do that. Because if they don't have that information, they will think that village is the best thing that has happened to them. But when they see how other people are living, then they will say, wow, I need to study hard so that I can also be able to visit New York.
I can also ever visit the London. I can visit Kampala. I can visit Nairobi. And how are they going to do it when nobody's telling them to do that?

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Do you think there is a huge potential, an untapped potential of people, of women in Uganda? Yeah, definitely, definitely there's a huge, huge potential untapped because, you know, first of all, women in most countries, you know, they are the majority anyway. So we are more than 50% of the population, but Yet we are at the bottom as far as when we are the poorest, we are the least educated, we are the illiterate ones, we are the ones who are, what do I say, we are the ones who live in poor condition, we are the single parents, we are the ones who are struggling.
Why? We should be able to, there has to be an end to that kind of struggle. where you have no food to eat, where you don't know where your next meal is going to come from, where you don't know what your children are going to eat. I think we should be able to lift everybody from that kind of poverty. We get to a certain point where you say, that woman's life has been transformed.
I mean, I have been a single parent. I know what it means to be able to single-handedly look after children. and make sure that they are okay, they have an education, not only just an education, but a good education, without having anybody to go to and say, oh, because when you have a spouse, you can sit down and plan and you have joint income. But for me, it was a single income.
You have to sit down and plan for your single income. And so I have that feeling that I need to help so many of these women transform themselves because I know that when a woman is economically empowered, she's able to determine her future. She's able to determine the future of her children. She's able to feed her children better. She's able to look after her children better. She's able to walk out of an abusive relationship.
But there are many, many women whose lives have ended simply because they knew if I walk out of this relationship, I'm going to be homeless. I'm going to my children are going to starve because you know there's a lot of mental torture from the men say if you leave this this is what is going to happen if you leave this is this is going to happen to you so I should be able to encourage I should be a good role model to say it is good and it is nice that you should not be alone that you should be married but at the same time if marriage has failed can you stand on your own can you be able to look after yourself I mean, my dad told me this, and sometimes the people say, did he foresee what is going to happen to you that actually you may end up unmarried?
Because she says, well, I'm giving you an education, the best that I can afford today. Take it seriously. In the event that you never get married, at least you should be able to look after yourself. I want as many women either individually or collectively to be able to create wealth for themselves so that they can live a better life. they can educate their children because it is one thing to admire and to love your child to go to education, to go to school, but it's another thing for you not to be able to afford for your child to go to school because you could sit around and say there are so many kids who get even good grades but their parents are unable to take them to school because they can't afford it.
If I can make a contribution and be able to change, even if I change the life of one girl, at least I would have made a difference.

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What is your vision for what would happen if thousands, hundreds of thousands or even billions of women became economically empowered? I mean, the planet will change, Sam. Won't the planet change? If all the women who are currently, you know, unable to make a contribution to economic development are able to do that, this planet, this whole planet will change. Our environment will change. The lifespan will change. The quality of life of children will change.
I mean, people, it's just unbelievable what will happen if the 50%, which is now left behind in many instances, was brought to par with the other 50 or 40%, which is doing all right. I think it will just change. the way life is. I mean, if all those women are able to make a contribution, if the women are able to engage in leadership positions, I mean, you look at it. If 60% of the leaders in this world were women, how many wars do you think would be going on?
Because our leadership styles are completely different. We are more accommodative. We want to be able to listen. We are good listeners. We want people to sit around the table. want people to bring ideas on the table. I mean, even just that, if we're able to achieve 50% in leadership, then it will impact all the policies that are going down. Education, health, environment, you know, nutrition, agriculture, simply by getting 50% around the table leadership, whether it's politics or within, you know, companies, corporate companies, I think that will make a major, major difference.
I mean, I don't have the statistics, but I can assure you that most of the corruption is perpetuated by men, you know? And they do it with impunity, you know? Somebody takes all the money that is supposed to build a school and takes 70% of it and leaves the school dilapidated. I don't think a woman can do that. I don't think a woman can do that. When she looks in the eyes of those kids, looks at them. sees their desire to learn.
She cannot take money which is otherwise supposed to be at the school, or money that is otherwise supposed to feed those children. And yet men are able to do that. Sounds like you want to start a revolution. Some description. I mean, I'm with you. Yes, I love, I want us to all be, you know, it is very sad. Sometimes you think about it and say, oh my goodness, how? How can somebody do that?
I mean, the kind of corruption stories you hear about some, I mean, they are so depressing. And you say, how can somebody do that? That is supposed to be a road. And somebody has decided that they'd rather have the money go into their personal pocket. I mean, how many beds can you sleep in? I mean, how many beds? Even if you want to have apartments, you know, stocks on the eggs, at the end of the day. each of us needs basic things and it is even worse now because it's if you it's not that you because you have money you go and buy this buy that and eat it buy that and eat it back no people it's it's no longer even good to eat those things so what are people i keep asking myself i said what do people who who who steal with impunity uh public resources

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what the hell are they going to use all these resources for there's a limit there's a limit it is so annoying isn't it and the potential is so huge do you think there are so many women and i'm gonna say we're gonna talk about Uganda for a moment but there are so many women that think that that this is it you know when you said when you have a baby it's not it's not the end But I think there are so many women that don't even think the way that you're thinking.
It wouldn't even be part of the dialogue, the mental dialogue. For some, for many it is. But do you feel like there's so many women that feel so trapped? Yeah, there's so many women. But I would say to those women who feel trapped, it's only you who is actually going to remove yourself from that trap. It is you who has to pick yourself up. Nobody's going to pick you up. Because I'm telling you, the world is so cruel.
If you feel yourself trapped and you hide yourself away, the world will forget you. So when you're feeling yourself trapped, you have to mentally psych yourself up to get up. You have to mentally psych yourself up. I have had periods in my life where when I felt so low. where I felt so betrayed, where I felt so discouraged, where I felt my life is not going as it's supposed to be, but I had to pick myself up.
I'm not saying that those moments will not be there, those moments will not come, but when they come, don't entertain them. Don't entertain them. Give them, you know, tell them, you know, I hear you. I know I hear you. but I'm getting out of this bed and I'm going to take a shower and I'm going to go and shape my hair and I'm going to dress up and I'm going to walk with my shoulders high.
And if you think that you cannot find a support structure, I mean, we always have a friend somewhere. I have friends where I went and tears rolled down my eyes and whenever I left I felt better and encouraged myself. So you have to pick yourself up. These days, especially in developed countries, you know that even if you want to seek counseling or talk to somebody, but you have to take that decision to get up because not even your mother can get you up. if you don't want to.
So you have to get yourself up. There's a limit beyond which people can actually get you out of your trap. You have to take that decision and say enough is enough. I'm gonna move on. I'm gonna leave this job and try and find another one. Or I'm gonna leave this job and start something on my own. Or I'm gonna leave this marriage and move on and be on my own. It's going to be tough.
It's not going to be easy. And I'm going to be on my own and see what happens. Because at the end of the day, it is you. It starts with you. It doesn't start with anybody around you. The world is very, very cruel, Sam. They'll laugh either way. They'll laugh at you either way. They'll say, oh, she's stuck in there. She's suffering. And even when you leave, some will say, ah, she failed.
So she's left. So at the end of the day, what pleases you as long as you walk out with a shoulder high and you don't have to explain to anybody. You don't have to explain to anybody. It is your personal decision because nobody knows exactly how you feel about that job except you. You are the only person who knows it. So it doesn't matter whether people say, oh, can you imagine she has left that job?
Can you imagine? What does she think? How is she going to survive? You know what it is. what how it has impacted your life how it has impacted your happiness your joy so it is only you you don't have to explain to anybody the same thing is with relationships the same thing with the where we live it could be moving country it could be moving town it's only you and you alone forget about caring about what will they say because people will say anything anyway either way they are going to say something

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So you must make sure that what is pleasing me as Sarah, what is making me happy, and then do that. And it doesn't matter whether you are alone. My new thing, whenever I'm feeling a bit down, I'm going to say to myself is, what would Sarah Kitakule do? And you'd say, Sarah Kitakule will kick you out of bed and roll you over and take you and kick you out of the door.
Get up, do your hair, walk with your shoulders high. I love that. I do, I do. There is something though about how you say it that is so powerful. I've always said this to you, how you say things and how you communicate your stories and your advice is Phenomenal it really is and I'm excited to get you out into the world more and for more people to hear you Because it really truly is something it's Yeah, and you know some some of these things and some of the way I express myself comes from the fact that I'm also speaking from experience Because you know, I have gone through some of these things.
I've had my ups and downs So when I speak, I speak from experience. I mean, you ask me anything, I've gone through it. Okay, Sarah, have you ever been dumped? Yes, I have. Have you lost a brother? Yes, I have. Have you been born with somebody with disability? Yes, I have. Have you lost a job? Yes, I have. Have you lost property? Yes, I have.

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have you lost your business yes i have so measure it tell me what is it that you are going through that i haven't gone through you tell me then i'll say i will say i've gone through child birth what you're talking about though is true liberation when we say what is empowerment what is liberation what is women's liberation what you're talking about is liberation from inside that there is in everything that's going on right now and all of the different things that you have described, being in the middle of COVID, trying to do our best, what you're talking about here is true liberation.
And I think there is a epidemic of feeling trapped and isolated within our physical world. But what you're talking about is liberation of the heart, liberation of the soul, liberation of the body, liberation of the mind. And whatever is happening, to you or me or anybody else nothing nobody can stop us getting up and getting out of bed and walking down the stairs or the street or the garden or whatever we want to do with our head up high and it's so different it's completely a different way of of thinking about the world and that's That's what leads us to great places.
That's what leads you to building your library and your vision for your village and the things that you're going to. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will do and we will be talking in a few months or years time and you will say yeah I liberated my village completely. We've all, everybody's now doing skills training and they're doing education and you'll be like very dismissive like you are now of the of the library.
Yeah yeah it's all done done done done and then there'll be something else that you'll be doing. But you know where other people are like, oh my god, it's amazing. She built a library it is and You're now on to the next thing that you're doing because you're following your dreams you're following your aspirations and you're not letting All of that other stuff get in in the way you look at it and you say okay.
Hello Hello obstacle big obstacle and you still

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you still keep going. And I just, I love that about you. I do. I really do. Well, you just have to keep going. And then again, you get energized. I mean, like if I have, I finished speaking at an Aspire event and then, you know, people send me messages, people want to connect, people want to speak individually, people want to be encouraged, people, you know, it energizes me even more to know that I'm able to contribute in a small way for someone to feel empowered and to get some confidence, to either move on to do something or to make a difference in their own lives or in somebody's life.
Yeah, definitely. When you're going through developing something, it's like going through childbirth. When you're going through that pain, you wonder whether that child is going to come out of that. belly. But after the child comes out of the belly, you completely forget that pain. I mean, how many women sit there and say, oh, that was really painful. How many years do we go on talking about the childbirth pain? You know, immediately it happens.
It's the same thing even when you have a vision and you see it materialized and you look at, you know, you see the change in somebody's life. or if now you see now that little girl that you adopted you know look at her i mean you just by looking at her is enough for you to say wow what a difference i've made in this and it is even going to be better in future when you see what she's going to become and and you just see that you know you came in and you've made a difference in this girl's life and then she'll go on also to change other people's life so it becomes like a multiplier effect You know, you could be thinking you're helping one person when you're actually helping a nation.
You could be birthing a president, the next president of Congo. Well, that's my plan. My secret plan. No, I'm just kidding. But I definitely think that she has the capability and the potential to do anything that she wants to do. So Sarah, as ever,

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You are truly inspiring and uh, do you still want me to come to your funeral? I mean that's going to be a long long long time away though, right? I am very much still around sam because you know I have lots to do and I always tell god in the morning I say god you need to keep my limbs strong You need to keep me strong because I do have lots to do.
There are so many people who need my help Okay, well you need to you need to go for at least another hundred years me too. Yeah, and then we'll just go at the same time, right? All right, my darling. Well, this is an absolute pleasure speaking with you and you're so inspiring and thank you for changing my life, the life of so many women in Uganda and the women that you impact through speaking at our events and I can't wait to come to your house in Uganda one day.
You will be very much welcome. We'll have so much fun, Sam. We will have so much fun. I'll bring all the kids with me. What life is like. Yes. Yeah, yeah, we'll just leave them. We'll put them in the library and they can do some studying. Yeah. And we'll drink some wine. All right, my darling. Thank you so much. Bye, Sarah. All right. OK, bye-bye. After listening to Sarah, you will have no excuses left.
You will have to take some action on something. And if you don't, you're going to need to listen to Sarah again because that's the kind of impact that this woman has had on me.

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