Page 29 - Number 2 2021 Volume 74

Gertrude Rubadiri’s Story 17

it was critical. I arrive from Seattle in the U.S., and we make the journey. My
sisters stay with Dad and take care of things at home.
This time the conversations continue face-to-face and in the middle of
the night, we chat about all kinds of things. We talk about the miracles we see
happen on this visit. Her condition is diagnosed, treated and she lives to tell the
story. It was touch and go as we analyse the images that show the mass in her
stomach that was on the verge of causing a blockage into her intestines. Dr. Moses
was able to cut it away. He makes a statement at the end of that visit. Maybe the
reason that he met Andrew, in Makerere Medical School, was because of her.
Sometimes God brings people into our lives for someone else’s sake. We are often
led to a well of provision because our well is empty.
The last time I saw her in person was a coming together of family at
Christmas. I kept going back to hug her during our departure. I guess I always did
that. Not realizing that would be the last time, yet sensing each time that it was
possible, I kept that moment alive. It is still alive in my heart and soul.
Her life story is too long, too deep and wide to tell. These are a few
reflections on those mornings and moments with mum.
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Memories with Granny
th
It was April 20 , 2019. Granny was on a visit to Nairobi for a routine
medical check-up. It was the first time she was making this trip solo. Babu had
passed on eight months prior. We were always used to seeing him towering next
to her petite frame. Granny was all of five feet tall, but her aura made you feel like
you were in the presence of a giant. You felt you were witnessing living, breathing
history. She had a sharp mind that was a repository for incredible memories.
But back to that Saturday after breakfast. What was supposed to be a
casual chat with Granny was a front-row seat to her life. I was for the first time
seeing my grandmother in her entirety. I saw a woman who was the sum of her
vast and diverse experiences that spanned continents.
`Despite her travels and countless interactions with different people and
cultures, it was evident Granny was proud of who she was and where she came
from. She relished the fact that she hailed from a family of good stock. She was
well aware of her value as a woman at a time when women were considered
second class citizens. I think it had a lot to do with her father who wanted nothing
but the best for his children and in particular ensured the girls got an education to
make something of themselves.
“I was quite good at Algebra and Geography,” she bragged, “and it really
wasn’t until Marion Hill in South Africa that I made up my mind to be a teacher.”
Little did she know that commitment would take her to four African
countries as she built a teaching career that stretched over five decades. To this
day I have people who stop and ask, “Are you related to Gertrude Rubadiri? I