Geotechnical Engineering in Uganda Series (006)_Facing Fear as My Turning Point 01

 

“When you look at the fear in the face, you gain strength, courage and confidence. You must do the thing you and critics think you cannot do.” Eng. Joel Aita

 

Primary Level

 

I attended a local primary school near our home, in Nateete, for ten years from Baby Class to Primary Seven. I was among the pioneers of the school. The school proprietor was a tall old man who had settled in Uganda after leaving Rwanda many years back. My father was very close to him since he could not afford school fees on time. This meant that I was never sent away as a school fees defaulter. Additionally, I was always among the best two pupils in my class.

 

Sometimes, being young, I joined other pupils set away for school fees just for fun. This always called for disciplinary action from the old man whenever I returned with my father to the school. I sat for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) with fees default of three years. But the old man gave me my PLE certificate without any hesitation. The school even gave me a gift having been among the best pupils in Rubaga Division. May the Soul of the old man Rest in Peace.

 

Ordinary Level

 

Because of that ‘humble’ background, I always had low self esteem. After primary, I joined Mengo Senior School. At that time, Mengo students used Luganda as the ‘official’ language. We always played all types of games during break times. By evening time, we would be very dirty. We would eat along the roads while going back home. Personally, I could not construct a full sentence in English. I was the best hunter for ‘buffaloes’.

 

Then we had our neighbors of Makerere College School. That time, Makerere College was the dream school. Their students were always the best in Kampala and Uganda at Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE). They were always smart in their uniforms and behaved well. They always had conversations in ‘nice’ English. I had great respect and admiration for them. I never thought I would ever be in the same category as them.

 

Advanced Level

 

After the ordinary level, I joined Makerere College School for the advanced level studies. The best student in Kampala at UCE in the previous year had come from Makerere College. He stayed in the same school for the advanced level studies. He was of Indian origin and everyone in the school respected him. No one would dare compete with him when it came to academics. Even the teachers admired his intellect.

 

When the results for the first term of Senior Five (S5) were released, we were very close. I had almost beaten him to the first position. The third student was far from us. Through out A’Level, we created our own league. The league included me and this bright student of Makerere College. No one would dare compete with us. I realized that actually I could be the best in the best school in Kampala. This gave me a huge milestone in terms of self esteem. Teachers started looking for this student who was competing with their best at UCE. They could not believe it. I realized that I could compete with anyone and be whatever I decided to be in life. This was one of my turning points in life.

 

Lesson to be Learnt

 

Your fear could be your turning point. Go for it with all the energy.

 

Geotechnical Engineering has been known to be hard and many engineers have shied away. But from my experience, it is not that hard. The same can be said of those I have mentored along the way. This is not to say that I have not had my fears along the way. Recently I was appointed to write a Geotechnical Interpretative Report for some of the structures under the on-going expansion of Entebbe International Airport. I accepted the appointment under a lot of fear. But when I finally submitted the report and it was accepted, I gained a lot of milestone in relation to courage and confidence. I realized I could be an international expert.

 

Go and Excel