Fun, fundraising and dance at Bweranyangi reunion

It’s funny how the passage of time can erode memories, yet strengthen friendships.

For Bweranyangi Old Girls, the passage of time kindled fond memories of their life in school and an ageless friendship when they held a dinner and dance at Silver Springs Hotel Bugolobi, last weekend.
An air of excitement was the first thing that struck you when you stepped into Mbuya Hall, the place the dinner was held. The noise was something to reckon with. The tables were labelled with years, from the 1960s to 2017 in chronological order. Each table held a decade so the alumni from the same years sat together.

Everyone in the room was lost in conversation, like they were in school again; some stood in groups, others sat at their round tables with their voices competing to be heard. Every so often, one would recognise another’s face, and shout with joy, screaming their full names at the top of their lungs and warmly hug them. It was obvious that it had been long since they last met. Every now and again, an OG would pull a chair to a different table where the conversation was sweeter and faces more familiar. One particular corner towards the back of the hall would remind you of back benchers in school, totally oblivious of what else was going on in the room, but their conversation.

In the background, old African music was playing like it did in the 60s, with a few people swinging to it. Dr Miria Matembe (former ethics minister), was already in a dancing mood and as she made her way to the food point in the next room dancing to the music, when it was time to serve, the whole room cheered her on with an uproar.

Prominent faces present
After dinner, the room was called to order and it was then that you started recognising the prominent faces. The government Chief Whip, Hon Ruth Nankabirwa was the guest of honor in the big shoes of Minister of Education, Janet Museveni who is an old girl. Mary Karooro Okurut (Cabinet Minister in charge of General Duties in OPM) who was also installed as the Patron of the Old Girls Association, BWOGA graced the event. Mitooma Woman MP, Jova Kamateka; Director of the Directorate of Education Standards in the ministry of Education, Dr Kedress Turyagyenda; and the current Bweranyangi Girl’s head teacher Juliet Atuhairwe Muzoora were some of those among other dignitaries.

A walk down memory lane
The most hilarious part of the dinner that got the full house laughing away was then the old girls talked about their escapades when still in school. Amidst tales of how the girls used to raid each other’s gardens at night and almost got caught, Matembe shared how all the ladies she had gone to school in the same years with (1964-69) were naughty, “But among all of them, I was the naughtiest,” she confessed.

She recalled a time when she trespassed on the school compound because a school guard had refused them to go to the other side to check out old clothes that were being sold by a vendor. After pleading with the security person to no avail, she told him, “Let me step there and see what you will do to me. And I stepped there. The man went and reported me (to a teacher) who told me to apologise but I refused. He took me to the headmistress,” Matembe narrated.

She also knew that if she was taken to the headmistress, she would be dismissed from the school because she had a lot of naughty cases piled up.
“You see, we were all saved, singing in the chapel and dancing for the Lord, so when I went in, the head teacher said, ‘Koburunga, we gave you a last warning, this was your last chance. I told you I would take you back to your mother.’

“All of a sudden, I don’t know whether it was the Holy Spirit or what but a word that Paul says came to me that, ‘What I want to do, is not what I do and then I do what I don’t want to do and when I do it, it is not me, but the devil in me.’ And the headmistress, took it seriously and she said, ‘Oh dear!’ She prayed for me, beat the Satan out of me and let me go. But can you imagine, when I walked out, people were waiting for me around the corner to hear my predicament. I said she forgave me. So, we went and found that guard and said, ‘Shame on you…’ and when I think about that, I just say, God is good,” she said to the amusement and raucous laughter of her fellow OGs.

Ms Museveni in her message, noted that “I have no doubt that we all cherish the memories of the time we spent in the Bweranyangi chapel during the Scripture Union fellowships and the Sunday services. Some of the hymns that we sung with innocent passion have now become our source of encouragement during real life trials. I therefore support this venture and believe that together we can make this project a reality.”
The group had last got together formally, during preparation of the centenary celebrations, in 2012 which partly explains why this dinner was important. On top of catching up, a new patron of the association was installed, a strategic work plan of 2019-2022 launched, and a fundraiser for construction of a school chapel held.
Spearheading the fundraiser was Hon Nankabirwa who opened up by delivering the first family’s Shs50million contribution (Shs20million from the First Lady, and Shs30million from the President). There was also auctioning of two pictures of the proposed chapel. One was bought at Shs8million for the First Lady and the other at Shs10million for the President. The audience also took pledge cards.
The day was them crowned by a dance which opened with a Lingala song and it goes without saying that this made the crowd get out of control on the dance floor. In an instant, the hall had turned into a dance club.

When asked how the evening had gone, Dr Turyagyenda said, “It was wonderful! It is not every day when you get the whole horizon of Old Girls from the 60s to 2015; that is more than 50 years. I really had to strive and come.”
She said she was also proud of the core values that one picks just passing through Bweranyangi. “Hard work, integrity, the fear of God, committed to work, ability to produce results… and that is very exciting,” she proudly noted.

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