One Poem Took Me To The Queen

One Poem Took Me To The Queen

Sixty-five poems took us to the Queen: Feeling, The Poetry Anthology Celebrating Iconic Ugandan Women.

On 21 October, a mildly humid day with the occasional pleasant pedestrians and drivers, dressed in our gomesis and kanzus, we embarked on a historic journey to visit Mama Nnabegereka, Lady Sylvia Naginda Luswata.

Feeling, is a poetry anthology that celebrates iconic Ugandan women, published by the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation. Launched on 31 July, Pan-African Women's Day, a celebratory event, which Mama Nnabagereka was unable to attend, we requested a later visit. That visit arrived and it surpassed our civilian expectations.

The week should begin on Tuesdays because that day was as historic as they come. 

Visiting the Queen with Poetry

Photo credit: The Office of The Nnabagereka

Bulange Mengo in Uganda is vast, meticulous and serene. The staff at the reception are calm and well-mannered. I even left my phone on one of the benches at the entrance and they kept it aside for me. That rarely happens. I felt at home in this royal place.

On entering the office of the Nnabagereka, it was easy to tell that we were in higher places. The efficiency, professionalism and composed collectedness of the Queen's staff as we breathed deeply before entering the sacred office.

Mama Nnabagereka is highly dignified, resplendent and poised. We knelt to greet her and then after exchanging pleasantries, I read her the poem in her honour. It's on Page 72 in case you have already bought the book and haven't read the poem. Hehehehe

A day extremely well spent. I am grateful to every person who has supported Babishai over the years. I am highly appreciative of those who supported us when we were the Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award.

Each of us has a poem that will take us to the Queen. Find that poem. Each of us has a poetic gift that will bring us to serve before royalty. Find that poetic gift. Each of us has people destined to help us find our very best. Don't settle for the wrong people. 

Gratitude. Blessings. Thank you.

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva

The poem

Many people think that the crown is worn on the head

There are only a few who understand that it is worn on the heart

The gold and precious stones are not an ornament for the head

They are tailor-made and custom created

and fit to pulsate along a worthy conscience

........

The poem continues. 

To read the poem, buy a copy of the 'Feeling' poetry book, only at 50,000 UGX.

Contact Tina, +256 781 685596.

The Accidental Leader by Paul Mugarura-A Book Review

Paulo really knocked this one out of the park. If you are like myself and filled with mild agitation every time the term leadership seminar comes up, then this book is for you. 

If you have become increasingly aware that titles and formal education do not necessarily reflect contentment, mannerisms or integrity, then this book is for you.

If you were raised in a bible believing church, then you may add a Halllelujah to that as well. It is very easy to know about the bible and yet bear no outward or inward reflection of Christ, because knowing about Him is not the same as knowing Him.

Paulo Mugarura, author of 'The Accidental Leader,' published by Inaka Books, slices into the very core of the deception behind many leadership systems that are built like pyramid schemes. 

They emphasise activity over productivity and insist on churning out individuals like factory products, which should all be duplicates. It is no surprise therefore that when individualsof original thought, integrity and genuine desire to make impact interact with these systems, they feel demoralised and find they are unable to fit in.

Many of these systems abhor actual change and deep mindset shift. The status quo suits them and they thrive from blind obedience, because it fills them with artificial importance.

This book is a discussion on what has gone wrong. It is a conversation that calls out the deception and requests for real accountability. Almost every institution that yoiu have been a part of, if you seek far into your life, has been built to brainwash you and turn you into a puppet of sorts, with vague intellectual benefits and emotional reward. It is a cycle of mind poverty.

Great leadership is often silent and does not come with great applause. It is those who manage crises with dignity.

Paul mentions that most leadership does not always reward integrity or insight which can be disorienting for those who walk the path of truth. Instead, so many who lack courage and character are rewarded, only because they know how to bend the rules.

This is an insightful book. Actually, it is a deep conversation. Get your copy. 

Contact Paul at pmugarura@gmail.com for more on this vital book. 

Review by Beverley N Nsengiyunva

   

So much fun with public speaking

I have had so much fun these past few weeks of Sepember and October 2025, training public speaking virtual sessions. Tigether with Terry, who supports the branding, we are seeing lives changed.

Use your gift and make that difference.

It has always been my desire to be part of global change and Rich Diction has provided that opportunity. We are able to reach out to individuals from all over the world. And that is how it should be.

As a young child, I knew had a gift aand yet it took until my late 30s to professionally harness sit when I joined Toastmasters, a non-profit educational platform that trains in public speaking and leadership and from then on, it went uphill from there.

Rich Diction's group trainings also cater to younger groups like teenagers ir preteens and those are conducted physically. We use teambuilding, storytelling, role play, peer review and so much more, in order to get to the core of our communication ability.

Authenticity against Vulnerability.

For the adults, the are able to internalise the neglibible differences between authenticity and vulnderability and apply those in their speeches. It is also pertinent to realise that communication is more than public speaking and involves listening, body language, expressions, micro movements and adept responses.

Join us in November for our next cohort of public speaking.

See you then.

Email richdiction@gmail.com

Bless!

Bev

Restitution/Loaning/Donations This is something...what just happened?

 I dressed in orange on that chilly Friday evening of 3 October, because when I host outdoor events in the evenings, I should be able to show my presence with aplomb.

Introducing Aliddeki Brian, a multi-talented musician and lyricist at the welcoming gardens of Nommo Gallery, bordering the home of Uganda's head of state, was worth all the security checks and mild traffic jam.

And then Ebrahim Soul'O and Muwanguzi; the talent in our region just keeps growing and getting better.

Whenever I am in the throes of public speaking training, I receive invitations to host events. It gives me a chance to reveal the practicality of the sessions, under Rich Diction Enterprises Ltd.

Friday evening.

The launch of the Ethics of Loaning: Strengthening the Discourse on Restitution in Uganda. Venue-Nommo Gallery, Nakasero, Kampala.

There's a simple explanation. I'm also new to this term.

This is what I read and heard from the discussions on that historically symbolic evening.

In the 1900s, during the peak of colonialism, certain artifacts of immense value were donated to the University of Cambridge's museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. In the late 1950s, the Buganda Minister of Education, Abubaker Mayanja, while a student at the university, saw some of these items and wrote a letter to the university head(s) to request their return. Some of the items were returned, and were part of the Independence celebrations in 1962.

In June of 2024, according to the curators of the exhibition, 39 other items were returned on loan. The event on Friday at Nommo Gallery, was the introduction of a long discourse on loaning and restitution.

Do you still have questions?

If you're in Kampala, please visit the Nommo Gallery in Nakasero. There is a month long exhibition which ends on 24 October. The staff there will guide you through.

When the Uganda Museum re-opens in 2026, you will be able to view many of the returned artifacts and revisit a celebratory cultural time of the 1900s and before, of Uganda and the larger Great Lakes region.

hashtag#History hashtag#Uganda hashtag#Independence

It's spring and something new is blossoming

It's spring, and something new is blossoming. 

What a September to Remember. It was in 2020 when I kept refraining September to Remember, and the reason was because 2020 was a year of such reawakening like never before in my life. I remain grateful for the season of restoration.

It's 2025 and the season has re-emerged and this time in an even more profound way. Not only am I experiencing a spiritual revival but it is showing in every physical way. 

Bold steps. Bold rewards. We do not act in faith because we are sure of every step. We act in faith because we are uncertain of each step and yet certain of the one in whom we have faith.

The everlasting Jehovah restores our faith and hope beyond our imagination and we keep holding on to that truth.

That is what enables us to live incomparable to who wer were before. It enables us to live in ways that confound the bystander who looks at us in awe. It enables us to seek deeper and further, thus ignoring the distractions and demolishing the traps of the enemy.

We are too busy being replenished and replenishing others, to mind about mindlessness.

Becoming productive amngst the busy-bodies is how we stand out.

Remaining authentic and outliving the darkness on the outside.

I am here for all of it. The boldness. The faith. The rewards. The leadership to change the globe. I am here fo ti. I was born for this.

Bless!

Bev

This Leap of Faith Is Faithing

I am excellent. I should be the one chairung board meetings. I should be the one flying all over the world to address policies and negotiate international business decisions.

I have heard this so many times from different people. For some of them, they are acquaintances, most I have either worked with, studied with, or met within informal circles. From neighbours, to friends at church, to some extended family, I am told constantly that I should be leading from the top and not the bottom.

This is a fact. It has been ages since I felt I was in the right place in my career. My last two children took their toll, because I breastfed both at the same time, being one year apart, and I sold my car. Since then, while I may have worked, it has never been sufficient to achieve even a tenth of my goals or dreams, or to support the family.

The last decade has been a struggle that has taken various forms of anguish and at the same time gratitude that I am able to stay home and raise the children.

What does i tmean though, to raise children with no income? Is theer any hope in that?  The answer is a definite NO. It is a decption that women are led to believe, and I fell victim to it. Now that I am victorious, any woman that decides to stay home to be with the children, must have a source of income. This may come from a business, the father of the children, family investment or savings. Whatever it may be, multiply that source of income and live well.

There is a huge deception that when you stay at home to look after the children, the angels from heaven will become so pleased with your sacrifice and 'gender role,' that they will pour down wads of money neatly folded by your pillow.

I believed that lie. I suffered for it. Now that I'm victorious and the youngest two are in school and are 8 and 7 respectively, I decided to behave like the excellent person I know I am. I decided to behave like the indefatigable and brilliant person I have always been told that I am.

In September, after waiting in vain for payment for some work, and what meagre payment it was, I decided to take control. Instead of my finances to be dictated by others, I just started thinking.

Together with like-minded friends, I knew that it was high time for me to start group coaching in public speaking. While the one-on-one training was rewarding, often times, the participants would postpone and would spend weeks or months before they returned or even paid up.

This time, I sent out a call for a virtual group training. With only four days from the time of the call to the session, the class filled by the third day. 

When people value a service, they will pay for it readily. That is what happened. And it provided the international feel that I always desire. There are Ugandans from Havana, Dubai, Ottawa, Nairobi and Kampala.

They are not doing me a favour. I am an outstanding trainer. I am changing the world. I am training global leaders. The world needs me at my best.

Taking my seat and wearing my 'Become Unreasonable' hat, I sent out a call for another public speaking class. This filled as well. As I type this, there is now a call for the third cohort. I haven't enjoyed work like this in a long time. It is enabling me to focus my strength and intellect inward, instead of outward from people who do not care or love me as much as I love myself and care for mine and my family's needs.

Setting the terms to suit myself and not to suit an organisation that does not value my skill and is only bent on stealing my ideas and taking credit for them, is one of the greatest gifts to myself in 2025.

How about you? Take that leap of faith. Do not wait to become so vicimised by people and systems that destroy brilliant and creative people. Take charge.

Read Psalm 40 and Isaiah 60 for a refresher course on life.

Bless you.

Beverley N Nsengiyunva

Team Building Is Everything

The first time that Rich Diction conducted a Team Building exercise, we honestly had no idea what we were doing. That was in 2021.

It was a small group of seven IT professionals who needed to break away from their stress and refocus on the vision and mission of their organisation. The planning was intense and fun, with a lineup of mind-filling games, outdoor energisers and interactive discussions.

It went so well, that we received several other referrals. The biggest group to-date has been the DFCU Bank team. Outdoors at Nyange Resort on Entebbe Road, we choreographed dances, raced in sacks, played football and handball and had a raving time.

Since then, the requests have taken different shapes. Sometimes it's to organise a conflict resolution session, or to speak on digital security, leadership in crisis and so much more.

As a public speaking training company, facilitating various sessions is not that difficult if you make it as simple and palatable as possible, with plenty of interaction and fun. Through stories, dance and genuine connection, there is so much that can be achieved.

Diane Ackerman said that 'Play is our favourite way of learning.'

 

 

It may be easier for an extroverted and fun-loving person to conduct Team building and yet nothing could be further from the truth. Team building requires meticulous attention to details, reading the room, taking note of those who are not as outgoing and making sure they are engaged and switching the activities once fatigue sets in, or even allowing time to rest.

The planning requires a fastidious person. It does not matter whether you are a shy individual or outspoken one, once you are able to plan with a keen sense of awareness, then the activity has already landed itself guaranteed success.

   

The Kla Lit Writes Festival-second edition, 2025

 It was my distinct pleasure to host the opening reception of the second edition of the Kampala Writes Lit Fest. The evening reception was held at the British High Commissioner's residence, on 14 August.

This awesome evening was lit with curators, artists of such magnificent talent, arts managers, writers of unspeakably gifted creativity, publishers and our very own book sellers, Tubaze Books.

    

Curated by Goretti Kyomuhendo, and sponsored by African Writers Trust, British Council Uganda, German Cultural Center and Makerere University, this second edition is so lit.

    

       

You should have seen our BN Poetry Award winner Rashida Namulondo, with her spoken word mastery on the mic and MC female rapper, Tushi Nabakyala. What a night! Meeting Dr. Jennifer Makumbi again, and award-winning poets Nii- Parkes and Dr Nick Makoha.

This festival is free of charge. You want to be amongst those that say they attended.

       

Dash over to the Yusuf Lule Auditorium at Makerere University for a feast of the very best in literature. It ends on Sunday ,17 August.

I am satiated with literary bliss.

Photo credit: Jonathan Nasasira