✨🏡🌆 I was born in Mengo Hospital. My parents were teachers (and residents) at Mengo Primary School, and we attended Namirembe Cathedral. We lived within a 20-minute walk of everything we needed—school, market, hospital, movie library, salon, tailor, bank, and church. It was all there.

My parents lived in a close-knit community of teachers’ residences conveniently located on the edges of the school within the school fence. Our home was only two rooms strong, without a ceiling. What made that community a joy to grow up in was the shared spaces we enjoyed. There was a large playground used by students during school hours, but after they left, it was ours. A football and netball pitch, as well as a variety of buildings, became our hide-and-seek arenas. And the trees—so many trees to climb. 🌳🏀🏞️

Then there were the neighbors. My parents were gifted with a happy coincidence that is rare today—their colleagues were also their neighbors. This inevitably led to deep relationships and the cultivation of shared values. These shared values gave my parents peace of mind, allowing me to play freely with the kids next door. 👥🏡👯

When I was a teenager, my father left Mengo and started working for Aga Khan School, and we moved to the Aga Khan flats in Old Kampala. This was a bit of a small community with only 12 units in the flats. By then, I was attending boarding school, so my experience living there was not as memorable as the one in Mengo. However, my younger brother spent much of his childhood there, and he, too, testifies to the joys of living in a secure community with close-knit neighbors and many amenities within walking distance. 🛏️🛋️🏢

I did not realize it then, but I was very fortunate to grow up in such a community. This experience seeded my desire to live in more open, organized communities. 🌱🛠️🌆

I have enjoyed this sense of community through boarding school, university, and as an adult working in India, China, Germany, and the U.S. These communities tend to be more welcoming to newcomers, so I naturally sought them out when I moved to work in these countries. 📚🌍🌟

This experience is my primary motivation for starting Thriving Community Homes (TCH). I want to cultivate more neighborhoods like the ones I grew up in and have enjoyed throughout my life. 🏠🌆💪

If my story even remotely spark your curiosity about organized community living in Uganda, drop me a message on WhatsApp or email, I’d love to hear from you and share more about my work in this area. 📲😊💬