WHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE?
This building was erected in 1927/28 by the 16th Chief of UKEREWE, Omukama Mwinamila GABRIEL RUHUMBIKA. He was a very wealthy chief not because his subjects brought virtually everything to him but because he had a business man's mind. He traded in cotton, sugarcane and sugar (he had a factory for sugar production close to this residence). His businesses grew beyond the shores of this island to Kagera and Uganda. It's in Uganda where he got an Italian architect who designed this building and all the materials for this building came from there! That's the late 1920s we're talking about. Man.!
He is the most revered chief of Ukerewe and this is mostly because HE LEFT THIS MARK. Neither his son and heir, chief Omukama Mwinamila MICHAEL LUKUMBUZYA (17th chief) who ruled after him and who was well educated and was later appointment as Tanzania's ambassador to Canada, nor his grandson the current chief VIANNE KASEZYA (18th chief) who resides in Austria are as revered as chief RUHUMBIKA because of the mark he left. My grandfather worked as his secretary and was rewarded a plot of land close to this place - our home place till today. So the chief had an impact even in my family and my life. He left a mark to our family too...
And so I thought of this thing called LEGACY. Leaving a MARK. This story may not concern you one bit as it does me but I believe you will agree that we all can learn something from it. We live in a world where people are increasingly encourage to love themselves more than loving anyone else where people are shown how to spend their money or time on and for themselves more than on or for anyone else. We forget that GREATNESS is the outcome of, even a reward for SERVICE TO OTHER PEOPLE. The legacy of the aforementioned chief may not be of importance to you but the nail I'm trying to hit into your wall here is: WHAT MARK ARE YOU LEAVING BEHIND? What will your family, street, community, country or the world at large remember you for? What will people show future generations that will demonstrate that YOUR LIFE WAS NOT IN VAIN...?
What will the universe look back at and hold in its incredible infinite hands and declare that there once lived a human being IN YOUR NAME?
If someone can erect a building that can stand the test of time you can do something too. You can build a school, plant a tree, clean a riverbank, feed the poor or cut their hair for free. You can compose or sing a song, write a book, protect elephants, build an incredible sports team, take man to the moon or Mars or develop a life-changing App.
There's more than enough room for all of us to build our legacy. There's no shortage of raw materials to build your legacy with.
There's no shortage of time for those who want to leave a mark.
Just find your WHY? Why you were created, why you're here. Why anyone needs to remember your name when you're long gone. Hold the pen and write your own history.
Leave a mark.
Semper Fi,
Andrea G Muhozya
Bukindo, Ukerewe, Mwanza, Tanzania.
East Africa.
www.andreamuhozya.blogspot.com
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni