Lisa Kusiima
Up close. Lisa Kusiima is an organisational effectiveness analyst at Aclaim Africa Limited. Kusiima is a content creator on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. She is a mother of two and an advocate for building stronger families, writes Phionah Nassanga.
First thing in the morning…
I wake up at 7.15 am and drink some water. I wake the children up to brush their teeth and we sing the song I am blessed.
Your first job…
I was an usher in my Senior Six vacation. I started an ushering company with a friend and our first gig paid me Shs10,000.
Quickly interjects…
My first formal job was right after university at Smart Consult Uganda where I worked as an intern consultant. If memory serves me right, I was paid Shs234, 000 per month.
Biggest accomplishments are…
So far, it has been punching fear in the face by starting my YouTube channel (Lisa Kusiima) which is creating an impact in the lives of many families with more than 37,000 views in a couple of months.
First book you read was…
Well, my journey to the “book nut train” started at my first job where reading was not an option and the first book I read was 40 strategies of Winning Business by Bud Hanely Jim.
Note that the idea of reading felt like an activity for the bored. I could not imagine the many pages, the absence of pictures and the concentration it required. Little did I know that there was beauty in the pages.
As a first-time mother…
Three words come to mind, overwhelm, confusion and joy. I had no sisters or close friends that had given birth before. My mother could only stay with me for one week because she still had a full-time job. I was winging it and had so much learning to do and God took me through.
Besides, the feeling of holding your little one in your arms is everything.
Who was your first crush?
King Oyo Nyimba of Tooro. I remember I had a picture of him that I had cut out from a newspaper and had glued it to the side of my bed.
Your first date was…
During my Senior Five school holidays with a friend who seemed interested in me. I was nervous because I had been in a single sex school without any experience of interacting with boys. And what made it worse was the fact that I had mouth retainers which I had to remove before eating and be kept in a small dish that I always carried with me. I feared the boy would not like me.
Your most outstanding childhood memory…
Growing up among boys, I was such a tomboy and always played football video games, engaged in fights, name it. I would even choose boy shoes for school so that I look like my brothers. Now, I am the “girly” woman.
First experience upon joining secondary school…
I had never been in boarding school and was excited to make new friends and live away from my parents, until stories about ghosts and bukalabandas took centre stage.
What was your first time like as a university student?
Adulthood yay! I studied at Uganda Christian University, Mukono, and after an all girls’ school life in my secondary school, seeing boys around class, dining hall was strange but exciting.
First foreign country you travelled to…
Singapore. My first time on a plane is a story for another day. However, I loved their infrastructure and they have a city for only fun named Santos.
Your first car was…
A silver Toyota Sienta, which cost about Shs18m in 2020.
