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Esther Nasikye with The AIDS Support Organsiation Founder and Patron, Noerine Kaleeba
ention Noerine Kaleeba’s name and the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind is HIV and AIDS. One Scottish University described her as the “angel of Africa.”
Noerine Kaleeba is globally recognized for her efforts in facilitating meaningful involvement of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, which is believed to be one of the key pillars of Uganda’s relative success in addressing the AIDS pandemic.
She is a pioneer of AIDS works who has made a significant difference in the lives of people with AIDS and their families in Uganda and also at political and strategic levels throughout the world. She is also the chairperson ActionAid International and founder and patron of The Aids Support Organization (TASO) in Uganda.
I was privileged to be a part of a group of 18 middle aged and young women who Noerine was addressing about leadership. She speaks and works with knowledge, wisdom and passion (read the latter in capital letters, bold and underlined)
In sharing her passion about leadership, she drew examples from her life and how these shaped her as a leader.
“Leadership starts very early in life,” she quipped.
“I was born in a large family. My father had four wives. I was puzzled how my father would share his love among four wives. It made me determined that I would never share a man. I made a voice saying I want a man for me and not for other people,” she explained on some of the experiences that shaped her life as a leader.
She quit school to get married at the age of 20 or so. Her husband who was a student in England at the time encouraged her to complete school. She went on to study physiotherapy at Mulago Nursing school.
She was trying to demystify the notion that only those who go through school, come out with good grades can actually make it in life. As fate was to have it, her husband was diagnosed with HIV AIDS while in the UK. It is believed that he contracted the disease through a blood transfusion from an infected brother. This was 1984 at a time when blood in Uganda was hardly screened for any infections. His brother died four years later of HIV.
Noerine talked about the support her husband received while in the UK and what difference there was with the treatment they got back home. They were isolated, sitgmatised and shunned. As opposed to the care and love they got while in the UK that she decided to start support for people Leaving with HIV and AIDS. In her husband’s hospital bed and together with three other frneds who were infected with HIV and AIDS, TASO was born.
“When we started the mission called TASO, we didn’t know it would go beyond 1000 workers, 10.000 community workers and community outreaches. We didn’t know it would be all over the country like it is today
“We knew that you cannot stop HIV until you talk about the people who have HIV and AIDS. Every message about HIV now has people either infected or affected.” She added.
On talking about the success of TASO Noerine talked about the Ps that every leader must have.
- PURPOSE – Which is the mission
- PRINCIPLES – Which are the values
- PRODUCT – which is about what you offer and must be of quality
- PARTNERSHIP – Chose who you are going to work with to achieve your mission eg government, NGOs, CSOs etc
- PROOF – This is accountability
- POSTERITY- which is sustainability which should be both financial and social
She talked about issues of fighting with Sugar daddies (read cross generational sex) peer pressure, being widowed at 32 with four children, name it. Noerine has seen it all. Good enugh she has put it all in her autobiography “We miss you all AIDS in the family”
Let me see if I can grab a copy here. Will share what I learn.
I asked Noerine to talk about her experience with Sugar Daddies and issues of cross generational sex which are rampart in Uganda. Will tell you in my next post.
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