Page 45 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 17

Health & Healing

was amazed I wanted to learn the were locked up to October, so I did
English part of what the Ugandans a lot of work, I moved from the
are doing. She took me over; I did malls and I created this shop.
3 small courses, and since I had the Initially you didn’t have anything,
interest, I got a lot of knowledge. you didn’t have a place to stay, you
I attended seminars… because in didn’t have an outlet to use. How
Uganda, natural products are differ- did you get past that mentally and
ent from Kenya. I think it’s because emotionally to come to the place
of the way we were colonized, they where you have set up an entirely
were not colonized they have the new operation?
king, who still enriches their culture.
The king has the knowledge of the When I had outlets in the other
first people, so the mzungu did not places, I had an office where I would
come to colonize them and remove pack my products and that is where
what they knew, telling them herbs I went to hide this time of corona,
is witchcraft, he didn’t succeed because we were not allowed to live
because still we have the Kabaka with everybody. When I was there
(king), who upholds the natural because there were no hospitals,
values of the Baganda. people were fearing the infection,
they would sneak in my home and
I engraved myself to be a Muganda tell me Stella give me this. And there
to learn the culture and it’s amaz- is a doctor who actually came, who
ing, I got a lot of knowledge and I would come to get the natural prod-
vowed I will come back to Kenya ucts to give to his customers be-
and bring it back and here Spills of cause everybody needed help. And
Eden was born. he is the one who told me, “Stella,
get out of here, go out!” And that
You started by bringing some is when I got this place, God gave
products and selling them in me this place. The people who were
retail outlets that were not your coming to the house transferred
own. How was that going? here and our journey has been long.
I came and associated myself with People who came they’ve referred
Zucchini (a retail outlet) and I got us, we’ve gotten new customers
so many customers in Zucchini every day, we’ve gotten kids coming
and I would bring and display my here, we’ve gotten so many organi-
products. Incidentally there are zations and we are actually amazed.
did you start? some people who know about
When I was in Uganda, I saw they natural products, so I had a lot of That is so beautiful because for
had massive land and then I said, let clienteles. But now the Covid came. me it’s a story of overcoming, of
me buy land. What do I plant? Nat- I had attended a seminar at Subiaco, staring down the one thing that
ural products. But, how do I get the about natural products and it on would have been so destructive
knowledge about natural products? 30th March the world closed me in and making a beautiful thing out
I visited every elderly person, every Kenya and I got confused. But since of it. So, what kind of products
lady, every Jaja, we normally call the I am a prayerful person and I believe do you have available for people?
elderly Jaja. They gave me knowl- in God, I called myself Jonah, be- I have spices, spices are used in cu-
edge so I translated their vernacular cause I was vomited in Kenya to do linary, you cook with them, but they
herbal use to English. I took online this. I embraced God and told God are medicine. For example, there
classes, I went to Makerere and I thank you and thank you again for is cardamom, there is chili, there
studied the English version of their putting me in the fish, vomiting me is turmeric, there is ginger, there is
natural and vernacular words and I in Kenya. And I made up my mind clove, all this is medicine. So, when
met Mrs. Nambatia who heads the this is what God wants me to do, you go to buy spices, it’s not just
Natural Medicine department. She to give this knowledge I had gotten for aroma, it is medicine and that is
in (Uganda to Kenya). The borders why we concentrate on herbs. We

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