Thread by @wekesa_amos

Good morning UOT,
Hope y'all are ready for another long thread.

Being a Friday, Let's talk about MARRIAGE.

Last month, I wrote a piece on FB about kylan our son and his travels from Nairobi by public means and how my wife wasn't rightly amused for like 3 days. For 3 days, no peace at home until guy arrived Home.

A guy on my wall made an interesting comment, he said "Even you who has married an American still faces the same problems like me who married from deep in Kabale?" I realised I needed to write something about marriage.

When you get married, it's very rear at all that you look at your wife or husband in terms of his or her tribe, whether brown or black or blue, whether she is tall or short. Your challenges become purely human and culture differences and that's why it's not for boys but MEN.

But before I continue, I would love to advise every parent to make sure you give your children a chance of TRAVELING. Even if it means them leaving Kampala and going to Arua, or leaving Mbarara and heading to Mbale etc.

If you can afford make sure the kids travel to other continents and its something I have done and continue to do. If I send Kylan for example to Germany, its not only about motocross. Its exposing him to other cultures, they get to learn that people struggle everywhere.

When kids get exposed to the fact that people hustle in those countries, some work 3 jobs to basically survive, they tend to appreciate life differently.

Before I got married, I had been a guide in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda etc plus I had visited America. Going to America in 2002, reaffirmed my belief that I was meant for Uganda not any other place.

I realised that even if I went to America, I still needed to work hard, like I needed to do here.

The other things, I struggled with were weather and food in America. And if I wanted a family, it was easier to bring up a family in Uganda than the USA.

I clearly saw that if I worked hard here, with the knowledge of tourism I had, I would do better here and have a bigger impact than anywhere else.

Before our wedding September 2003, my wife knew I didn't have interest in living and working outside Uganda, not even the US could attract me. I had already started @SafarisUganda , I actually had over USD 50k in savings and I used USD 2k for our wedding plus some for honeymoon.

Just before our wedding, I moved from ushs 70k per month( that time I could comfortably afford ushs 500k, but I didnt) place, I was living just outside Nsambya estates to the estates where I was paying just over USD 100.

I used our small garage at home as an office but many people would come to idle around, I got a place on Susie house, 15 minutes walk from home. (That's the office you see in the picture). It was about USD 120 a month.

Yes I could afford a home of usd 500 per month but that could have affected the dream I was chasing, which dream is now coming together very well. My wife was okay with it. By the way, my wife reads these pieces as well.

And for a man, if you can provide for your family, you will have sorted out 50% of your marriage problems and that's why you need to lay a firm foundation before proposing or marrying anybody's daughter.

The remaining problems, you will deal with as they come. It's a bed of roses and they have thorns irrespective of tribe or colour.

On our wedding day which some people on here attended, I told my wife, I would never fail to provide for them as long as God gives me life. Yes, I had usd 50k in savings but that wasn't as important as the fact that I had started a company whose future was looking up.

I might continue with another piece but for now, Thread 1 is a photo of @SafarisUganda 4th office. The 1st office was in a briefcase, 2nd under staircases Rainbow arcade, 3rd in a garage and 4th was that small office on Susie house Nsambya and by the time we left 10 years ago

We left Susie for our own built offices on Mutungo Hill where we are now. The baby in the picture is Kylan Wekesa and Amy wife had brought him to see dad at office.

End of Thread. Thank you for reading.