A Teacher at Heart: The Remarkable Journey of Gladys Bulyaba Nsibirwa Wambuzi

Gladys Bulyaba Nsibirwa Wambuzi was born on the 8th September 1932, at Namirembe Hospital, Mengo. She was named Bulyaba after her paternal grandmother. Her early years were spent in Mengo, at the Prime Minister’s residence. She attended nursery school and then primary one at Lubiri primary school. Then she went to King’s College Budo in 1939, where she stayed until she completed her secondary school education in 1950. She lived in Gaster house and then in Ssabaganzi. She was a member of the Budo Nightingales.

It was during one of the school choir competitions, that she was spotted by young Samuel Wako Wambuzi, then a student at Busoga College Mwiri. They met again when the Budo Nightingales went to Busoga College Mwiri for a trip. Their relationship really took off at Makerere when Gladys worked in the library after leaving Budo. They eventually got married on the 4th January 1956. They had four children: two boys and two girls.

Gladys, given a small choice of careers: teaching, nursing or secretarial work, opted to become a teacher. She did her teacher training at Buloba Teacher training college, which she completed in 1953. She then did teaching practice in several schools including Kings College Budo, Nyondo girls. She worked at Iganga girls in 1956, then Agaliwamu Junior secondary school in 1957. In 1958, she travelled to the UK to join her husband. While there she studied at Hull, continuing her teacher training.

On her return to Uganda, she taught at Matale and then Lubiri secondary school in 1961. She then joined Nkumba primary after another stint in the UK, when her husband was studying to become a draftsman. In 1966, she was appointed the Headmistress of Mengo girls, which later became Mengo primary. It was here that she would become well known as a teacher par excellence. She had a special knack of seeing the potential in students, irrespective of their background and helped them to achieve their potential. She believed in developing every aspect of a child, so there was a rich variety of co-curricular activities. She loved drama, in particular, and ensured that there were annual plays at the school. She would do the same wherever she went. In 1972, she took early retirement from public service.

She started a tutoring program fondly known as the ‘Garage School’ because it was held in the garage of their home in Nakasero. It was an after-school program where students would come to get assistance in areas they were struggling with, or just be gainfully occupied, get their homework done. There are many nieces, nephews, children of family friends and others who went through this ‘school’.

When her husband was appointed President of the East African Court of Appeal in 1975, the family relocated to Kenya. There, she joined Lavington Primary as a teacher in 1977, until they returned to Uganda at the end of 1979. She joined Mr. Kasole at Kampala Parents in 1980 and together with her sister Janet Mdoe who joined here there in 1982, are credited with the growth of that school until they left in 1993 to start their own school Greenhill Academy. She was the Headmistress of the primary school until her death in January, 2005

Gladys was known in the family as the education advisor. She took on the responsibility of placing children in schools, from nursery all the way to secondary schools. She was always consulted on how to deal with nieces and nephews who were having trouble in school. Though a doting grandmother, in many respects, even her grandchildren quickly learnt that studies came first.

Gladys and Samuel Wako Wambuzi had four children, 2 boys and 2 girls

1. Philip William Wako
2. Samson Enoka Wambuzi
3. Veronica Hansa Naigaga Wambuzi Anindo
4. Miriam Musekwa Sara Kawuma

Stephen's grandmother - the dude who built this website :)