Source: The Monitor
Having grown up as an only child, Priscilla Namasaba, a nurse, vowed to have as many children as she could.

Now a widow at 46, Namasaba is happy with her family of seven children. "My first three children are girls. However, my husband's family was not happy with such a thing. They wanted their son to have a baby boy as the first born. My in-laws kept on "bad mouthing" me and I think somehow, they were able to get to my husband because he also changed his attitude towards the children."

Ms Namasaba explains that even when she gave birth to three boys and another girl, her husband was not impressed. Her first concern was how to raise a united family. Being a Christian, she resorted to the Bible for guidance. She says through prayer, and reading the Bible, she has been able to raise a united family of three boys and four girls aged between 29 and 12. Throughout their childhood, she taught them how to survive.

"We always had at least two maids in the house. But every Saturday and Sunday, my children would wash their clothes. I would also encourage them to cook with me."

She adds that in cases where her children would ask for something that wasn't a necessity, she would not give it to them immediately. "I would respond to their luxuries after a week or two. By doing this, I was teaching them that they cannot always have what they need whenever they need it."

Namasaba says that the fear of God she instilled in her children and the means of survival she has imparted in them has taught them to be patient, optimistic, treat family as a sacred part of their life and hard working. Right now, four of them have finished university and are working. The other three are still in school but she says every Thursday at 5pm, they all make sure that they are home because, "We hold Bible study sessions as a family every Thursday."

Namasaba says she has had some memorable moments. "I had always wanted to give my fourth born who was a boy a brother he could play with. So when I gave birth to my sixth born and the doctor said it was a boy, I cried tears of joy."

The other memorable moment was when her first born graduated. "During her senior four, my first born suffered from cerebral malaria and it damaged her brain badly. The doctor said that it would be hard for her to recall what she read. But she struggled and was able to get a second class upper degree at Kyambogo University in Medical laboratory."

Besides the good memories, she also has bad ones. Like when her son narrowly survived a fatal accident. She believes that its God's power that saved her son.

 

• Uganda