Matembe called on the female legislators to work towards leaving behind a legacy in whatever position they hold.
“…one can leave behind either a beautiful honourable life or an ugly life, and the choice is on the individual. Be consistent with what legacy you want to leave every time you wake up from your bed…”
Matembe said that the leadership positions that the MPs are holding can only make meaning only when they use them to serve other people and not themselves.
“…To leave a beautiful legacy as a political leader, you need to ask yourself why you are in that position. What is your center of service? A leader should be motivated by a vision as opposed to an ambition since the vision is to achieve a broader goal whereas ambition sprints from a desire to be better than others…” said Matembe.
Matembe says the ladies should be very humble with everyone because the same people that they may humiliate will be the same people that embrace them when they drop from grace.
“…When I was dropped from political office after serving this country without any retirement benefits, the women movement welcomed me with open hands…”
Solome Nakaweesi the lead facilitator and developer of the maiden curriculum for female MPs indulged the leaders to embrace transformative feminist leadership which explored the concept of leadership and how women parliamentarians can work towards being transformative.
Judith Peace Acham the Woman MP for Nwoya district says the training has helped her on how to make personal strategic plans towards life out of politics by identifying her priorities as a leader, setting different leaderships goals and maintaining individual discipline.
Speaking at the same event, career coach and motivational speaker Ethan Mussolini reminded the female legislators to embrace writing of their stories because no one knows them better as they know themselves. Mussolini adds that the female legislators should be able to compile a complete brand of themselves.
Mussolini said “…brand yourselves by writing autobiographies. After writing these autobiographies, translate them into your local languages and then distribute them to your constituents. Each of you has a story to tell…”
Emboldening Mussolini’s statement, Matembe encouraged the leaders to embrace the spirit of writing, borrowing a leaf from other leaders like Rhoda Kalema, Mathew Rukikaire who have written books about their lives in politics.
Patricia Munabbi Babiha the executive director of FOWODE reechoed their support towards seeing female legislators as the shining stars in the parliament of Uganda.
“…we are glad that we have been able to develop the first training manual for female members of parliament that have attended this training. We are proud to have you as the champions of gender equality and women emancipation….” said Munabbi.