Vento Okello

Mrs. Vento Okello is a 45 year old widow, mother of 4, and a primary school teacher during 1982-1998, who now operates a simsim paste making business and lives in Kisalosalo, Kampala. She is a hero because of her courage, faith, love, care, and hard working.

To me, she is a hero because she works really hard to provide for the family's needs, I realized how hard she works when recently she fell sick and I had to stand in for her but could not manage to make enough money to buy food for at least two days.

She started her business with 1500 Uganda shillings as capital and, like any other business, of course there are ups and downs, but she has persisted on with her business until now.

Having faith? She has faith, because I remember the time I was supposed to do my end of year exams senior six, and I had still not paid school fees, so I wasn't going to sit for my tests. All I could think was 'a whole year lost!', because there was no way I would do exams without paying fees, as that's what my mother had been told in the office.

Basing on faith, she told me, it was ok and that sometimes we need to go to God with a situation that seems to be big in our sights, because God is bigger than any situation. He will always want us to know that He is God, even in a time when it looks like we have no one to turn to for help.

She once took care of orphaned kids as a mother at an orphanage, from 1993 to 1995. She has been a daring person, courageous and full of faith, loving, caring, "It's Ok" is her key phrase, and that's why I crown her a hero.