I am proud and honored to be a Global Voices contributor.
When Ndesanjo Macha [1] the Sub-Saharan Editor contacted me and said that I had been selected as a contributor many months after I had applied, I was extremely excited but I was not sure whether I was confident enough to call myself a world class blogger. That week, my eyes were glued on social media for the news that was trending. My first post was about David Tinyefuza a Ugandan Army general [2] that had fallen out with the president and was now whistle blowing against the government. I wasn't sure I had followed the instructions very well but my amazing editor made it easy for me and that gave me the boldness to take on the challenge.
At that time when Global Voices door opened for me, I didn't have a job and all my friends were wondering why in the world I was taking on work and not expect any payment- I told them that I was going to do what I loved- It was not all about the money and that it was an opportunity to tell Uganda's stories.
More worries came from my father that had experienced the rough times of the Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin [3]‘s repressive regime (1971-1979) He said
“I hope what you are doing is not political. I do not want you landing in trouble. You know when a government wants to stay in power they become repressive, they are scared of their own shadows.”
I took his words to heart but I was not planning to retreat.