I accepted the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord in March 1978 when I was 14 years old. Even in the darkest moments of my life, I acknowledge the Lord Jesus as my Lord and friend and the Holy Spirit as my help and guide.
My husband is a born-again Christian, and we have been married for 34 years. We have three adult sons and a daughter. By God’s grace, our family is growing. Two of our sons are married so we now have two more beautiful daughters. This March 2022, we got our first grandchild.
I joined the New Vision Printing and Publishing Company in 1992 as a trainee sub-editor and rose through the ranks from Children’s Editor, Women Editor, Deputy Features Editor and then Features Editor, a position I held for ten years. In 2006, I was appointed deputy Editor-in-Chief, and in April 2010, I got a promotion to Editor-in-Chief, a role I have to date by God’s grace.
As Editor-in-chief, I oversee the content generation and distribution for the Vision group platforms; five newspapers, six radio stations, five TV stations, the online platforms and magazines.
My specialty is development journalism, and I have coached and groomed many journalists in Uganda towards this. Together with the team at Vision group, we have evolved a unique brand of journalism that has grown from simply telling stories to media products that foster development by offering role model practices in farming, education, health, entrepreneurship, environment etc.
I hold a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Media studies from Rhodes University, South Africa and a diploma in Practical Journalism from the Thompson Foundation in Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Before I became a journalist, I was a high school teacher. To this effect, I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education and a Master’s Degree in Education, both from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
In January 2019, I was appointed Board Member, LIFE Ministry Uganda, an affiliate of Campus Crusade for Christ.
I first encountered LIFE Ministry at Makerere University when I participated in the Great Kampala EXPLO 1985. I was then exposed to the Four Spiritual Laws booklet for the first time. My husband, Mr Patrick Kaija and I were at the university together. We were not engaged then, but we were friends. We both attended this EXPLO, and so did many other Christian students. Patrick took to the Four Spiritual Laws better and faster than I did. To date, he still uses the tool for evangelism.
In December 2018, I was invited to the LIFE Ministry Board by the National Team Leader then, Dr Dickson Onen Obwoya. The invitation came at a time when I was praying about serving God. I had a hunger to do more though I had no clear leading. I knew I needed to start, and in January 2019, I became a Board Member of LIFE Ministry Uganda. LIFE Ministry is managed under five arms: Student-Led Movements, Leader Strategies, Global Church Movements, Digital Strategies and the Jesus Film project.
After a few interactions and getting to know more about the programmes at LIFE Ministry, I was convinced that my call was to be more than a Board member. A few months later, Patrick and I were invited to the LIFE Ministry IGNITE Conference in Entebbe, Uganda. At the heart of it was a call to serve with my LIFE (Life, Influence, Finances and Expertise); I wanted deeper involvement. Patrick already had this call, and by the grace of God, he is more active in the body of Christ including the local churches in our home district.
At LIFE Ministry, I have engaged with the Digital Strategies and the Leader Strategies arms. Being a media person, Digital Strategies is my natural and most comfortable space. I believe that Digital media is in God's plan of redemption. The young generation may hide from the church, but they are all out there on social media streets. Digital strategies will help us fulfil the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations faster than any other method.
However, Digital Strategies is a tool, and for anybody to minister adequately, they need both the tool and the message. I was hungry to be equipped with the message when I received the invitation to the Leader Impact Ministries, and I am privileged to have been among the first cohort of the Leader Impact movement.
The preparations to start the Leader Impact Groups were quite an experience. Sweat ran down my spine when I was asked to lead a group. In my professional life, I oversee a large department with 270 staff and 400 freelancers; in the past, I have led Bible study groups, but I still felt very insufficient when I received the invitation. I was unsure if I could get 10 leaders into the group and keep them for 10 weeks. I also feared my unpredictable journalism schedule would not allow for consistency. However, NO, was not an option! The Holy Spirit kept reminding me that He had alerted me about this before the opportunity came, and He wanted me to trust Him for enablement. Everything was pointing to perfect timing!
Like the rest of the world, Uganda was undergoing the COVID-19 lockdown, which meant the Leaders we were targeting were working online, and it would be easier to engage them online. I reluctantly accepted to lead the group. It was clear I would not lead by my experience or expertise. I knew that I had to depend on the Holy Spirit for each step.
Once I jumped the initial inhibition, I was surprised. I hardly got any objection. People were willing to give it a try, though some dropped off along the way. In addition to praying for and with us, Dr. Peter Asiimwe and Eng. Elon Katweheyo continued training, coaching and encouraging us to form and lead the groups.
The Leader Impact groups were launched in July 2021, and six domains are currently operational: Management, Engineering/Science, Education, Medical, Law and Business/Finance. Each of these is led by a Domain Leader, and under each of these domains, different leaders lead impact groups of five to ten people each. One leader reaches ten, and the multiplication factor sets in. So far, we have had three cycles and the fourth cycle is beginning.
I lead the Management Domain and I also lead a group. These online discipleship sessions are exciting. The core leadership message is packaged in the Walking with Jesus videos we jointly watch as a group. These character-building series are engaging, relevant and gratifyingly African. As we go through the session, there is a lot to learn and the presence and conviction of the Holy Spirit is visible. The ensuing group discussions get us to reflect on our lives as leaders.
We celebrate the multiplication. So far, the Management Domain has seven impact Groups in session and tons of leaders have been reached so far. However, this type of discipleship ministry comes with challenges including online connectivity issues. The other big challenge is the leaders’ busy schedules. As I write, the Management Domain has just started the fourth cycle, and even then, the groups are at varying levels of completion. Along the way, some leaders drop off while others opt to do the sessions and not to lead a group. The group leader must persevere and be firm on follow up. The Holy Spirit is teaching us to be more patient. With better planning and flexibility, the Leader Impact Groups will grow into a movement that will cover the whole country and beyond.
The Leader Impact Group sessions are online but they are quite intimate. Drawing lessons from Walking with Jesus, leaders open up about their professional, family and personal lives. We pray with each other and encourage each other. By the time the eight weeks are done, we are rejuvenated. I have seen this repeat itself in the second and third cycles. We have now started the fourth cycle. I now understand the Four Spiritual Laws better but I should confess, I still find it hard to reach out to individuals. I pray the Holy Spirit helps me improve this area.
The Leader Impact Groups have reawakened my zeal to serve God with my whole LIFE. The Holy Spirit is ministering to me as we go through the sessions. Some of my co-workers, younger relatives and friends seek me out when the tides of life are high and the Leader Impact ministry is equipping me to be more deliberate in offering Christ as the ultimate solution. Often, I introduce to them Jesus using the concepts in the Four Spiritual Laws.
The third Cohort of leaders that I led were mostly from my workplace and this drew us even closer, positively impacting our relationships at work. During the third edition my workplace also had a big EXPO that drew 200 exhibitors and over 15,000 participants. This is a huge annual project which stretches all of us. The whole company from CEO to cleaner give it our best. Something stood out for me this time round, at the most crucial of times, I saw the leaders of Impact exhibit service with integrity, humility, tenacity and joy.
My husband and I are planning for retirement and we are at the nescient stages of setting up a farm in Bethlehem of Rwensororo, in Masindi District. In addition to farming, Patrick visits the local churches to preach and often his sermons are crowned with an altar call, based on the Four Spiritual Laws. He also uses the Four Spiritual Laws for one-to-one evangelism in the surrounding villages and to witness to the farm workers. Most of the workers are contracted for the farming season so we have new groups coming in twice a year. Patrick is deliberate about witnessing to them. More recently, he has started them on the New Life classes.
In Bethlehem, the highlight of our Christmas is the Jesus film. We have for the last two years invited the children in the neighboring villages to watch the film. We crown this with a hearty meal of rice, beef stew and soda and the children run around with joy. I believe that the seed of the Word which is planted in these young hearts will continue to grow. The Holy Spirit is ministering to His people. As the Lord provides the necessary equipment, we shall do more outreaches with the Jesus film.
I work for secular media, and over the years, I am awakening to the fact that my job is not just a profession but also a calling. The media platforms I oversee reach millions which is a powerful platform for evangelism. Apart from a few targeted programmes, it may not always be possible to preach directly, but we can infuse the fruit of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in the content. Through the Haggai Institute training in Maui in October 2008, I became more alert to the fact that I can actively disciple Christians in the media, so they too disciple others. This call is actualized in a more deliberate way with the LIFE Ministry, Leader Impact Groups.
At this point, I sense a leading towards new media for Jesus and LIFE Ministry with the many resources already acclimatized for use in Uganda and Africa, which offers a perfect platform. LIFE Ministry through the Leader Strategies ministry is exposing us to some of these good resources.
Uganda is one of the youngest countries globally; 78% of the 45 million population is under 30 years, and this generation literally lives on social media. The generation needs media that can inform, educate and entertain them while ministering to each aspect of their life. I feel the urgency to minister to this generation through wholesome media and disciple others to do the same.
I conclude with this call for involvement; we need strong selfless leaders at different strata of society to drive and support development and at the core of good leadership is the heart. Uganda is a blessed country, with fertile soils, minerals, and friendly resilient people but this has not transformed into development. We have many brilliant ideas as a country or even at the family or organizational level, but many of them remain undeveloped due to a lack of strong leaders.
Under the Leader Impact movement, we want to grow a strong army of Leaders of Impact, leaders who have Christ at heart and espouse the fruit of the Spirit. We invite you to be part of this movement to build strong leaders who can transform the church, our workplaces, our communities and our country.
Barbara Kaija, Editor-in-Chief, Vision Group
© 2024 LIFE Ministry Uganda. All Rights Reserved
