My Website is Here! Yay!

 It's here! My website!

I wanted to launch it at least two years before I turned 50.

It started with a few people telling me that as I grew my brand, I needed to set up a website. All I could think of was, Why would I do that when I can hardly keep it together with all the social media channels, children, my dreams and my writing?

And then I began waking up early, by 3am and 4am and the path of my inward journey began to reflect as an outward projection of fulfillment and extremely high vibration, with frequencies connecting with people who felt as desirous as I did, to live without limitations.

I still didn't know when this website would begin, if it ever did. It was not until Florence Katono MBA, CAP approached me last year and said, "Bev, it's time." Where are you going to put all the work, the accolades, the writing and the life-changing blog posts you've collected over the years?

I remember in 2015 when the New Vision named me as one of Uganda's Top 40 under 40 women, for my extensive work in promoting poetry in Uganda and beyond.

My husband too, who also designs websites, kept nudging me towards the need to put it together, since he had already designed work websites for me.

And then a stranger approached me by the name of Ms. Owora, a Ugandan living in the U.S who had seen my work over the years. She shared her services, professionally and not forcefully. We began talking and the discussions grew into the website. My website. Please follow the link and enjoy the journey like I did.

There are several poetry collections and anthologies. Remember 'Boda Boda Anthem: A Kampala Poetry Anthology?' You can purchase it and read at your leisure.

BODA BODA ANTHEM

Thanks to wonderful people who gave feedback on the website:
Emmanuel Nsengiyunva, Dr. Sara Kaweesa (PhD), Florence Katono, Christine Nalubowa Sempanyi, Eric Semwanje, Hatim Katamba, Omondi-Odero Daniel, Joe Tugume, Elizbeth Asiimwe and Loyce Adong.

Here's the link! Bless!

BEVERLEY NAMBOZO NSENGIYUNV

Using Poetry To Honour Iconic Ugandan Women and Girls

 The year has begun exceedingly well. 

I will be launching something personal that I have been working on for a while and also through the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation, we will be launching a poetry anthology that honours women and girls of Uganda.

There are those who have led illustrious careers in entertainment, health, philanthropy, human rights, media and so on. There are those who have left us and gone to be in glory whose works are still impactful.

There are those whose stories must be shared and we are doing so through poetry. Watch the segment below.

Video segment

When the anthology is out, you will be the first to know. There will be opportunities to purchase it both online and physically. It is going to be awesooooooome x 1,000!

Live your life like a a book that people will want to read.

 Live your life like a book that people will want to read.

A week before Christmas, I attended the book launch of 'Prof. William Senteza Kajubi: The Man and His Legacy,' authored by Dr. Jones Kyazze, a retired international civil servant and active rotarian.

In 2011, I remember holding several conversations with Prof. Kajubi where he shared about his journey to the University of Chicago in 1952, where he went to study as Africa's first Fulbright scholar.

He talked about the Jim Crow laws at the time and even though it was clearly difficult, most of the conversations were about the vast opportunities that the scholarship presented.

His reaction to any harsh situation would be, 'That is highly regrettable.' I don't remember any cuss word or profanity from Prof. at all.

Having served twice as Vice Chancellor of Makerere University and as Chair of the Uganda Symbols Committee that created the National Anthem and National Flag, he was also a father of 9, amongst them 3 sets of twins.

On top of his achievements, he was highly time conscientious, dignified and exemplified work ethics.

Let's live our lives like a book that deserves to be read.

Weddings in Kigali

 Weddings in Kigali

To experience the regal nature of weddings, you should attend an introduction and wedding ceremony in Kigali. I had that privilege when my husband was a best man in December last year, 2024. 

It was just a week before I dyed my hair purple-there was no need to accentuate my lavender coloured mushanana at the time.

Again, meticulous streets, an air of fastidious and intentional living and the breath of industrious individuals, churning a new country for themselves.

Heaven Gardens: The name enhanced the painstaking care of the ceremony venue. The capital city of Rwanda is truly the gift that keeps on giving. On that delight Thursday morning, we left our apartment as early as 6:30am, straight to the venue whose name reflected its stature. 

With lavish apartments beside it, the gardens, about nine in total, were truly a testimony of all things that are possible with flowers and plants. The beauty of those gardens would cause anyone’s heart to skip a beat or two. So well adorned with well-trimmed hedges, colourful array of large and small flowers and plenty of trees. Even the hilly terrain would not stop a few guests and I from taking strolls as we leaned in at every inch of the we-inspiring view. 

To imagine that such floral care is possible in almost every country in the world. We should be able to see more masterful care like this. 

The introduction ceremony began at about 11:00 am, with a well decorated hall. The decorators and caterers were extremely polite and had clearly invested so much time into their work. What’s a kuhingira without dancing! What makes the dancing more magnificent is that it looks easy until you try it. One of the dancers tried about fifteen times, showing me how to gracefully twist my arms like a disjointed graceful swan. It’s not for everyone.

With all formalities out of the way, there was even more dancing. And I noticed that the groomsmen looked particularly debonair, in their traditional clothes that took a detailed amount of time to put together.

I have been to a fair share of  introduction ceremonies but never one with such an elaborate feast. Times have changed! With all the stories that Rwandans do not eat at festivities. We ate to our hearts’ content.

Immediately after that, the bridal team changed and we moved to a smaller room for the wedding service. It was straight to the point, conducted by a Kenyan-based pastor, which then ushered us into photographs and the reception, another extraordinary affair.

Touring Kigali, which is what I have done several times, is far different from attending a wedding. I am glad I did.

Bless.

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva

The furthest corner of Uganda-Kidepo Valley National Park

 The furthest corner of Uganda-Kidepo Valley National Park

Our family trip to Kidepo Valley National Park, which took 14 hours by road, including all the stops for refreshments and stretching, is a story of the ages. All the built in anticipation reached so many climactic ends, that by the time of arrival, we were already filled.

    

View outside Mara Safari Lodge              Tour ride to the game park

   

Emmanuel Nsengiyunva and Sam Akera                        View outside Mara Safari Lodge

   

   

Beverley and Cavine Anek                                   Beautiful plant species

About 410 km from Kampala City the trip took us by a spectral storm. Thankfully, Karuma Dam was opened, we were able to view the gushing foamy waters, until we finally reached the farthest corner of Uganda, in the North east, Kaabong District. 

Mara Safari Lodge, even at night, is a sight to behold. Surrounded by endless acres of savannah grasslands and several species of acacia trees, it is like a picturesque canvas for anyone to dream their life upon. 

The story of Mara Lodge is just as enthralling. We met Samuel Akera and Cavine Anek, the directors and proprietors of Mara Lodge and with both of them sharing vast experiences in the development world, they developed a plan to support their early retirement. That is how Mara Safari Lodge was born. They had already invested in conservation by planting acres of trees in various parts of Uganda, tourism was an addition to their entrepreneurial spirit. Mara has multiple meanings, including, ‘How are you?’ a way of greeting, which explains the lodge’s name.

The view from the lodge is too much to take in at once, with the sunrise illuminating the mountains that border South Sudan and Kenya, illuminating the paw prints of the lions that walked at night and the ashes from the bonfire. With a welcoming staff and crisp freshness all around, Mara Lodge offers perfect accommodation, the rooms set as close to nature as possible, clean, well-organised and devoid of clutter.

Sunrise at Mara Safari Lodge                              Kidepo Valley National Park

The game drive. Being the third largest game park in Uganda, we drove just over three hours. There are two valleys in Kidepo. Narus is on the southern side and Kidepo is on the northern side, with more animals, because of the availability of water. We were on the southern side, Narus valley. 

Herd of buffalo                                                                          Herd of elephants

There are plenty of animals, each with a tale of its own. The water bucks are believed to have been the first animals to sit on the toilet, explaining their white buttocks.

Zebras are white and black to regulate temperature. The stripes are unique like fingerprints, giving each zebra its own identity.

The buffalo kept appearing and reappearing through the savannah, almost regal.

The elephants of course are so majestic and unmatched in their stateliness. With the matriarch taking care of the little ones, we waited for a bit, to allow them to cross the path which they had temporarily blocked.

Giraffes are always a beautiful sight, munching their food from the trees, with ease.

The warthogs, the ‘pumbas’, with their suspicious looking tails and frisky behaviour are so adorable. 

Kidepo Valley National Park is so inspiring. It is a perfect family holiday and an opportunity to see a part of Uganda that many people do not venture, because of the distance. It is worth it. It is close to paradise. 

Written by Beverley N Nsengiyunva

A Crown Placed On My Head to End the Year

See how I have been honoured, crowning the year with a global crown in the New Vision newspaper!

On seeking insight from women leaders on how to become exceptional, they sought me out. 

10 December 2024, please get your copy.

This summarises the premise of my year, 2024. I followed the Chinese philosophy, Wu Wei, which means go with the flow. Following the direction of my purpose without struggling, I received magnificent opportunities to travel, to perform poetry, to write people's biographies, and to receive funding for a huge Babishai poetry project.

Important networks and individual connections became part of my inner flow and the year strengthened me as I continued to learn, to grow in the space prepared for me to excel and I relished it.

I relished living in such high vibration and recognising those with the same. I revelled in new , insightful and genuine mentorship that sought to uplift me and not to drown me.

It has been an incredibly notable year for me as a poet and writer and in 2025 and beyond, it is going to be a non-stop celebration upon celebration of huge global success.

Bless!

Beverley N Nsengiyunva

Have a great season ahead and even better 2025 and beyond.

 

Beverley Nambozo Hungers For Poetry

Born in Kampala in 1976 to the Herbert Mugoya and Betty Nabayego Mugoya, Nambozo moved to England as the family following a father who was a diplomat. The school environment there, with its abundant books, nurtured her love for reading more.

Photo taken in 2021.

“Books were not a luxury as it is here; which helped me develop a strong reading culture,” 

says Nambozo.

When her parents had to travel, all she could ask for were books. She says, to her, England was structured to preserve the culture of history and art with wonderful art pieces. It was there that she also begun to love language and articulating words on paper creatively.  She was also fiercely competitive in sports like swimming.

When the family returned to Uganda eventually, the reading culture had been solidly instilled. She joined Kampala Parents School, and emerged a top performer, and was admitted to Gayaza High School where she won several dance competitions. Then her father passed on and her mother, who was just venturing into the landscaping and floriculture business, started to fend for them.

“I have never remembered us lacking although when my father passed on, the gap was evident as mum struggled to keep us in good schools; Gayaza for myself and Budo for my brothers,” says Nambozo.

For advanced level, Nambozo crossed to Makerere College School where traditional dance and singing was in the blood of the students and Nambozo joined in.

Her only dream was to pursue creative writing for undergraduate degree but it was not offered at Makerere University and a neighbour who was a dean of the Arts Faculty at the university advised her to study a B.A Education degree with a literature major as the closest option. She fell in love with the literature analysis in the third year of study. She did her second degree in creative writing at the University of Lancaster in UK and got a distinction in poetry.

After Makerere University, Nambozo had joined FEMRITE, a women writers’ organisation of people who were excited and crazy about words just like her.

“I got in touch with actual Ugandan authors who further encouraged me and this was more of home to me,” says Nambozo.

She worked at several NGO jobs, all in the line of writing, and also worked at Power FM a radio station for two years. It was while working as Audience Relations Manager that she met her husband Emmanuel Nsengiyunva.

“He said he saw me and wanted to marry a tough spirited woman,” she says. They married in 2007 and had their first born daughter a year after.

Nambozo chose to combine gender activism with poetry and started a poetry competition for Ugandan women in her name. The Beverley Nambozo Poetry Award is run under Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation.

The winners travel around Africa for festivals and learning with master poets. Nambozo says most of the winners advance to doing poetry on their own and the award now includes African writers beyond Uganda.  Babishai also runs a poetry exhibition and primary schools poetry competitions. This year, Nambozo plans to publish a children’s poetry anthology.

“Children are underrated yet they can be perfect performers,” she says.

She is set to publish her second poetry collection and targets writing 1,000 words per day even when she is expecting her third child.

She also founded Bukoto Toastmasters Club where she aims to improve public speaking and leadership skills of members.

..

This article was first published in The Indepenent Magazine, in 2017.

https://www.independent.co.ug/profile-beverly-nambozo-hungers-poetry/