Joyce Ataro with some of her friends that turned up for the book launch. PHOTO/ STEPHEN OTAGE.
In African tradition, it is rare that people document how they managed a crisis for others to draw lessons. Most likely, victims pick the courage to speak out after a dose of alcohol or when seeking for help from a pastor.
Every day, people go through difficult situations which some prefer to keep as deep hidden secrets, rather than sharing with other people who may support them overcome the challenges. Situations like losing loved ones, loss of a job, and broken relationships, very often leave a sense of hopelessness which sometimes makes people contemplate committing suicide.
According to 41-year-old Joyce Ataro, the branch manager National Water and Sewerage Corporation Kanyanya Office, last year, after enrolling for a leadership course at the Harvest Institute Naalya, her Pastor Moses Mukisa told her cohort of students that every day, people experience many similar challenges but they do not know where to get help.
He advised that by sharing personal experiences, sometimes they inspire people in similar situations to overcome the challenges. That reminded her of how she managed to comfort people who lost their parents, jobs and children and motivated her to write down her experiences in a book titled, Hope Undeterred: How to stay hopeful in every circumstance.
In her book, she highlights the double grief of losing a daughter to glaucoma cancer and two months later, her own mother succumbing to cancer of the throat. The same year, her two children disappeared for 48 hours, surviving a ritual sacrifice because they were circumcised. The book explains how prayer bonded their family during these times.
She explains the power of maintaining happy relationships, positive mental attitude and the importance of hanging out with positive people. At the end, Joyce’s parting shots are;
“What enabled me become an author, is authoring the story of my life and not letting someone else do it,”
The book which was launched last Saturday at Payitah Bar and Restaurant in Kanyanya, attracted NWSC staff, former schoolmates, poets, playwrights, comedians and musicians
sotage@ug.nationmedia.com