Wellness With Her Club

 

I grew up in a household where leadership was modeled through quiet resilience. As the eldest daughter, I often found myself playing the role of helper, fixer, and emotional anchor roles that shaped my view of strength but also taught me to hide my struggles.

 

When I entered the Ugandan public service space as a young woman, I carried this same blend of responsibility and silence. But as I rose in leadership, became a mentor, a chief of operations of the wellness movement, and stepped into the Miss Petite Global pageant, I began to question the kind of power I was taught to fear and started redefining it on my own terms.

 

Gloria Feldt’s message about transforming “power over” into “power to” deeply resonates with me. It aligns with what I now know: leadership is not about dominating, it’s about becoming. And I want every Ugandan woman to feel safe enough to become.

 

What’s the Problem We Are Trying to Solve?

In Uganda, women make up more than half of the population, yet we are vastly underrepresented in key administrative and decision-making roles. Even when women reach those spaces, we often face resistance when we lead boldly. Confidence is misread as arrogance. Assertiveness becomes a threat.

 

Culturally, many of us were raised to be “nice girls,” not leaders. We were told to keep our heads down, be polite, and let others often men take the front seat. This mind-set has seeped into our workplaces and our wellness.

 

The result? Brilliant women who are overqualified yet undervalued. Powerful women who are afraid to be seen as powerful. Leaders who are burning out in silence. I’ve lived this, and I see it in my mentees and peers every day.

 

What Are the Solutions?

My advocacy begins with redefining power and prioritizing wellness. I want to see Ugandan women in public service and leadership spaces equipped not just with titles, but with tools for resilience, self-awareness, and emotional strength.

 

Here’s how we can do this:

• Wellness as Leadership Fuel: Through Wellness with Her Club, I’ve witnessed how healing spaces for women allow them to lead with clarity and purpose. We need more programs that support mental health, emotional intelligence, and community healing especially for women in high-pressure roles.

 

• Mentorship and Visibility: As a mentor to young girls in Girls for Girls Uganda, I believe visibility matters. When girls see women like us in government, in tech, in wellness, and in pageants they believe they can lead too.

 

 

• Language Shift: Let’s normalize “power to” language in our culture. Power to speak. Power to rest. Power to lead with softness and strength. Feldt’s redefinition of power as expansive, creative, and inclusive is exactly the mindsetshift Uganda needs.

 

• Advocacy through Pageantry Platforms: I use my pageant platform to promote SDGs 3, 5, and 1; Good Health and Well-being, Gender Equality, and No Poverty. When we link leadership to human-centered goals, we lead from the heart, not just the head.

 

Why Are We the Ones to Do This?

Because I’ve lived it. I am the girl who always figured things out on her own. The woman who rarely heard “I’m proud of you” but kept showing up anyway. I know what it means to sit in silence, and I also know what it feels like to break through it.

 

I’ve worked in government, helped build safe spaces for women, mentored the next generation, and continue to challenge societal expectations all while learning to love and lead myself. My story isn’t perfect, but it’s proof that healing and power can exist side by side.

 

I speak to the Ugandan woman who has been taught to play small. I am her, and I am becoming more than what I was taught. That’s why this message matters.

 

What’s the Call to Action?

Ugandan women, especially in public service and administration it’s time to reclaim your “power to.” Power to lead differently. Power to heal out loud. Power to define success in ways that nurture your spirit, not just your CV.

 

Let’s build a culture of leadership rooted in wellness, community, and authenticity. Let’s teach our daughters that ambition isn’t arrogance, it’s alignment. Let’s remind each other that softness is not weakness it’s strategy.

 

You don’t need permission to be powerful. You just need to remember: the power has always been in you.