Fort Portal City, Draws Out A Nostalgia For Tranquility

The People of Uganda are very hard working and that is an understatement. Well! A well worn cliche!

The cities in Uganda can have many descriptions depending on administrative intentions or which side one finds means to put food to table or for other reasons. 

The reason for this very short blog is to draw on the reader's artistic intelligence. As well, a moral for gratitude, self esteem and dignity affirmation. 

Nature respects humans and she provides us gifts generously. Imagine if men dropped their precarious masculinity hegemony tendencies and instead strove to ensure a tranquility for women and the children? There is a moral Fort Portal tries to convey to all of us. The moral is written in short chapters whose subheadings are: Child Protection, Culture, Dignity Affirmation, Female Power, Fort Portal, Male Involvement, Self-esteem, Social Empowerment and Social Support.

Cities are some of the fall back places as far as aesthetics and practicality go.

If one just let their eyes do the voluntary sneak peeks darting from one place to another, one would get the effect I get when I get to cities or towns.

The eyes are drawn by lines running from some place to another. This symmetry by itself is so galvanising.

The concentration of colours in one or another place is enough to make one gasp, ululate or quietly appreciate the meaning of beauty.

The spontaneity in cities and towns is amazing. At one time, the roads are so clear of any traffic and a sense of abandonment engulfs one. Within a blink, the formerly empty roads are hit by traffic and busy bodies.

At Situka Alliance Initiative-SAI, we have been privileged to work in Rural Uganda. Writing scripts about the rural side of Uganda is not an art that has been embraced by many in the media world.

Yet, rural Uganda is a depository of untold stories. Sometimes very hard stories to script. They may be hard, but not difficult to script.

There is an African saying: "Old stories remain old when the teller narrates them in a doleful manner."

In telling stories, we have to look for angles, twists, dazzles, wins, losses and lessons. These are what draw our souls which are forever restless, ever comparing, sorting through data and resorting still. That is what drives our human souls. Raw data or for those who are sensual, the stimuli. This is what feeds nostalgia. A sense of owning experiences, a sense of calling on milestones and achievements as the reason why we all exist. Mission accomplished, however small.

Fort Portal reminds us of that fact. And, one can write differently about Fort Portal and still get an effect of awe. See: The New Vision titled "A Peep Into Fort Portal."

But, what is that which makes Fort Portal the Master City of Nostalgia craft in Uganda? 

Surely, all the cities and towns in Uganda have some form of uniqueness that location endows them with.

Well, see the 10 points why Fort Portal is a Master! SAI gives credit to aasafaristours.com, monitor.co.ug, gorillas.com, watchdog Uganda and Timothy Kalyegira's Flickr account where these pictures were sourced. 

Fort Portal as a whole is the magnet for dignity and in Sempaya Hot Springs Fort Portal has given Uganda, the shrine for Women dignity. Indeed, there is a moral Fort Portal tries to convey to all of us. 

Grandeur is affordable anywhere in Uganda

Pristine nature is possible when built area is lying side by side with natural

Industriousness, agency, self worth, autonomy and sensibility are guaranteed anywhere in Uganda

To earn a living, to be able to pursue life, liberty and happiness are essentials

To be able to go to a city or town and enjoy the enviable amenities. These are the things that draw humans to venues.

Go anywhere and the people will share with you that a sense of heritage is so attractive. In Fort Portal, more than any cities, municipalities and towns of Uganda, is this made clearer. African Traditions can package themselves in such a way as to move with times. This is the new gold and oil.

Uganda is known also as a pearl. A variegated pearl. a composite of beauty that is equally appreciated in units or wholesomely. The leg cannot claim to be the more useful than the hands. Nor can the eyes, claim they are super important more than the ears. Every part of our body has a unique and rich story to share. We are composites of beauty. Fort Portal City says that out loud. These Sempaya Hot springs are said to be so hot that one can toss eggs in the water and have them boiled after 5 minutes! But, do you know that "Sempaya" is colloquial for "Sehemu Mbaya?"Swahili for the hard side? 

Galvanizing does not begin to tell it all. But, these "Ämabere Ga Nyina Mwiru" are a source of the narratives around which self determination, self worth, agency, autonomy and dignity of a woman revolves. A woman defied a man and chose to be authentic to her own goals in life. People make pilgrimages to Holy Places, right? Well, this is the shrine for women dignity and self worth!

Culture is that energy that continues to give direction to all of us. Fort Portal has been the messenger of that fact.

Pride of place, primacy, stature..you name it. Fort Portal invests in all of us whether men, women, boys, girls, Kings, Queens, Subjects, Priests, Priestesses, Deacons, Deaconesses or Subjects. We are all wonderfully made and our mission is to make good out of our lives and those of others. Thank you Fort Portal.