Jesus keeps me going

Who is Nicole?

I am a Christian, lawyer, and founder of the Maisha Mawili youth initiative.

Briefly talk about your journey to the pro-life movement.

When I joined the university in 2016, I realised the people around me had interesting thoughts about life that I did not agree with. The university is a diverse place with ideologies and cultures; it was shocking to see people who were okay with abortion.

At the time, I did not have any strong pro-life views, but it did not sound right to me. I like researching, so I started doing research, and the topic intrigued me. I came across videos on social media from a pro-life organisation called Live Action. It was interesting to find out that in other parts of the world, abortion is the norm.

While interacting with my peers at the university, I realised that they had the same view that abortion should be accepted in the country. The more research I did, the more I learned abortion was more than removing a woman’s baby.

Finding a research topic in my final year was difficult, but God put it on my heart that my topic could be abortion. I started getting new information that radicalised me, and I started speaking boldly about it on social media. I had met people who were pro-abortion and were outspoken about it.

The more I talked about it on social media, the more I realised there were more people who had the same views as me. I realised it was not enough to talk about it because someone can still ignore what they have heard.

The organisation started as Youth for Life, but we changed the name to Maisha Mawili, which means two lives.
 
What inspired you to start the initiative?

I wanted to add to the pro-life presence in Uganda and disseminate the right information to the people. I noticed there was a big information gap among young people since they are more likely to believe whatever they read or watch. I learned there were too many pro-abortion views, especially among the youth.

I felt that as Ugandans, we were so reactionary, yet we needed to have good initiative. It was easy for us to wait for things to happen before advocating for something.

God put it on my heart to save the preborn babies. Killing babies is against the heart of God; everyone is made in his image.

Did you see yourself as a pro-life activist?

I did not see myself as an activist; as a teenager, I was very liberal, and I did not care about serious issues in life like abortion. I wanted to be a lawyer, so I had a niche for issues of justice.

I am quite shy, and being a pro-life activist means putting yourself out there for people to hear your views. It was bringing me out of my shell, so it was the last thing I planned to be.

What has kept you going?

I have felt like giving up many times, but Jesus keeps me going. During my time at LDC, I felt that Jesus was telling me to save his children. Every time I feel like giving up, I know these are Jesus Christ’s children, and I am not going to give up on them no matter what.

Lessons…

There are so many issues that make these abortions happen, so I have learned that as we fight for the right to life for unborn children, we need to fix the root issues of promiscuity, poverty, and defilement. I have learned to love people. People are seeking love. I have learned that with the pro-life activities that I have been involved with.

Challenges you have encountered?

There is a lot of wrong information on social media and the Internet, and young people are believing every piece of information they read.

Due to the wrong information on the Internet, people have a hardened conscience, so they do not want to believe that abortion is killing a child.

Any impact Maisha Mawili has had

We helped a lady who was being forced to have an abortion; we had a campaign where people sent support to her.

The best advice anyone has given you

Utilise my time to seek God and serve him.