How do you balance being a mother, advocate, and professional?
“Motherhood is my anchor. It’s the reason I survived, and the reason I fight. Balancing everything— running CERESAV, working a full-time job, and parenting—it hasn’t been easy, but it is rewarding. There are nights I don’t sleep, days I cry, moments I doubt. But every time I see my daughters’ smiles, I remember why I’m doing this. I plan my life in seasons. When I was studying, I focused on learning how to build sustainable systems. Now, I’m applying those lessons in the real world. I’ve learned to delegate, to trust my team, and to take care of myself, too. Balance doesn’t mean doing it all —it means knowing what truly matters and giving it your whole heart.” Ugandan society often blames women for domestic violence. How do you confront cultural norms that stigmatize survivors? “I grew up in a society that believes silence is noble, that women should endure abuse to keep the family intact. Leaving an abusive marriage was seen as rebellion. And when I was attacked, some people said, ‘She must have done something to deserve it.’ That’s the poison we’re fighting—not just acid, but shame. Through CERESAV, we run school workshops, media campaigns, and radio and TV programs to educate people on gender-based violence and victim- blaming. We bring survivors into the spotlight—not as objects of pity, but as agents of change. We say: ‘This is what courage looks like.’ Every time a survivor tells her story publicly, another layer of cultural stigma is peeled away. And one day, I believe we’ll strip it bare.”
HELP CERESAV HELP OTHERS
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