This is a continuation of the birthday messages that came pouring in and we are committed to sharing all of them with you.

Once upon a time, in a land far off, a young woman groaned as her baby came.

Even with the groans, one thing was for sure – this baby understood that she needed to wait just a little while. It was important that her arrival wasn’t rushed. Once the mother got to the hospital, a dimpled baby was born. With the sweetest smile in the whole of Mbarara. For those privy to the details of the journey, you know why she waited.

That wait became a part of her life. With many decisions made, I have on many occasions told myself this is the time, and she has said, not yet. When the time is right we will know. Her meticulous relationship with timing and its power didn’t just come to be today. It was a work of art from many years ago.

This child came with detail. The dimple tells the story. The pictures  taken to date capture the effortlessness of the mark of beauty as a sparkle twins with the dimple. This is simply the beginning of the detail orientedness of that child who was born many years ago. Her clothes are organized in a manner that changes every after a few months but I would never know the difference until I moved something. Even the dirty laundry basket is organized. This child didn’t arrive as an ordinary one. Writing this reminds me of the story of the Princess and the Pea. Only a true princess felt the pea upon the many mattresses. With her, the pea shall be felt irrespective of the layers of disguise made.

Morning went and evening came…

The child grew in beauty, wisdom, and stature.

Many a time, beauty may turn into vanity, wisdom into pride, and stature into I am not sure. Not with this child. To date the beauty radiates more, wisdom abounds and stature more visible.

I am glad I met this child. I am blessed that I have basked in her beauty, wisdom, and stature. This child, still one in the eyes of many is a mother to an entire tribe, a sister to an entire generation, and yet in the midst of all of this, the little details with which God sent her to earth still abound.

The child is currently building an empire, teaching the nations to return to the act of selfless loving and giving, taking care of dogs, wiping tears from everyone whose tears need to be wiped, and holding the hands of many.

In birth, she cried to open her lungs and announce her arrival, In middle age, her lungs roar with a cry of justice for humanity. Today, her voice is heard over the hills and around the nations in a cry for dignity to be enjoyed by all.

Some know her as their baby who waited just a little while, others as the woman who held their hands and wiped their tears, others as a sister, and others as the giver who arrived just in time.

I know her as all this and more.

I celebrate the child who leads the pack of wolves

I celebrate this lioness of a woman.

The one who is my friend, sister, confidant, therapist, and disciplinarian.

Happy Birthday, Sanyu Penelope.

Akiteng Isabella