Prime
Jessica Kayanja: Advocating for ‘girl power’
Mrs Jessica Kayanja.
What you need to know:
She has gone beyond her marital role as a pastor’s wife to support and encourage women empowerment through her annual Girl Power conferences themed to encourage women to apply Christian principles in bettering their lives, among among other projects, writes Brian Magoba.
If people could be judged by the covers of the books they wrote, the one on Jessica Kayanja’s To Live or Not to Leave would be a very telling one. Looking triumphantly into the lens, the stylish authoress (dressed in the Indian-style theme of the Girl Power Conference 2011), sits below a title modelled after the infamous dilemma of the protagonist in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
In 2009, her personal dilemma turned into a national controversy when city pastors Solomon Male, Martin Ssempa, Robert Kayiira and Michael Kyazze sponsored a charge of homosexual practices against her husband, Pastor Robert Kayanja .
In standing steadfast when other women have divorced for lesser reasons, she deserves admiration for practising the ideals of tolerance and devotion that she espouses as a Christian. Thanking her during the launch of her book Through It All, Kayanja called her the best friend who had held a grenade for him. Her annual Girl Power Conferences have also become must-attend events on Uganda’s social calendar. Usually, they coincide with the release of a book she writes to reinforce the theme of the conferences, which encourage women to apply Christian principles in bettering their lives.
They also come with a Girl Power Award, given to people with life-changing testimonies. In 2005, Augustine Aisu Opolot, became the first male winner of the $1,000 award, given for devotedly caring for his wife before she succumbed to a liver condition. From the inaugural Magnetic Woman Prayer Breakfast in 2005, the Girl Power ministry has grown into an international ministry also found in Rwanda, South Africa the UK and the US.
The ministry sponsors the education of disadvantaged girls, and its housing assistance programme provides temporary reprieve to under-priviledged women as it supports them to self-sufficiency.
In balancing support for her husband’s ministry while maintaining and executing her personal vision for the lives of Ugandan women, she is a shining example employing one’s blessings to improve the lives of others.
Factfile:
- Attended Kampala Parents School, and Gayaza High School. Graduated from Makerere Univesity with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree.
- Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from the United Graduate College and Seminary, Jonesborough, Tennessee, USA (2010).
- Founded Girl Power Ministries in 2005.
- Married to Pastor Robert Kayanja. Co-Pastor at Miracle Centre Cathedral.
- Authored Girl Power(2004), Power of Love (2005) , Heritage (2008), Through it All (2010) and To Live or Not to Leave (2012).
