The Low Down - Parity Twinomujuni
This week we bring you another distinguished member of the Rotary Club of Kampala South. It is our turn to "audit" the charismatic & charming Parity Twinomujuni.
ED: WHO IS ROTARIAN PARITY?
PT: I joined Rotary in July 2002. In Rotary, I have served as a Treasurer, Vice President, President Elect and President, Director Vocational, of the Finance Committee, on Community Service etc. Beyond the Club I serve on the Rotary Cancer Project as a Treasurer. My Classification is Internal Auditing Services. I have been Internal Auditing for the last 20 years. I am currently the Chief Internal Auditor of NHCC. I was recently appointed to the University Council of UCU.
ED: OUTSIDE ROTARY?
PT: Outside Rotary I have many lives. I still have one wife and 4 children. I tend to have so many friends for different purposes. My friends are profiled and in all cases they must be value adding friends. I have friends that are relatives (and I have no option but to befriend them), rotary friends, professional friends, religious friends, business friends, Gymn friends, International friends, married friends, children etc and of recent friends on facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc. I have different approaches to each category of friends. When I hang out with any of these categories, I always evaluate what value I have added by hanging out with them. I tend to befriend positive thinking people and will usually avoid company with friends that tend to be negative.
Each of the categories of my friends must be having a way of describing me. Some of them describe me well and others tend not to understand me. My work as an Internal Auditor has shaped my behaviour and It is sometimes difficult to show people my emotions unless pushed against the wall. So I will always smile at everybody, try to understand their situations and whether I have a way I can help them out. I tend to suppress my inner self in order to create harmony and may be accommodative but up to a point when one crosses the line.
I have developed passion for promoting SACCOs and I belong to 4 of them and is on the Boards of 2. I am a Premarital Counsellor at my Church, I do development projects with the poor as a passion and it brings joy when you see some of these come up though sometimes I am burnt.
ED: FUN & GAMES
PT: I am not sure I have any serious hobbies. It is difficult for me to stick to one thing over a long time. But I can swim, I gym, I walk atleast 7 km each Saturday and Sunday with my children. What I like most is personal reflection. I do personal retreats for re-evaluation, critical thinking and stress management. In these retreats I am usually unaccompanied. Next time you find me in Mabira Forest alone or at a Beach alone, or in a night club without company etc know that I am doing something serious.
ED:DOWN TO BUSINESS
PT: I think my mother motivated me to be in Rotary. When we were growing up, she used to tell us to always love people who are underprivileged. She used to send us to take food to those who didn’t have, give bushera to whoever passed by our home and help out those who have lost relatives etc. That time everything in the village was enough. Even up today my mother still helps out those in need. It is not rare for her to tell you that a neighbour’s daughter has been chased out school for lack of fees and encourage you to pay it before you leave the village. She inculcated in us the spirit of giving as a source of blessings and I have found this to be true. Coming to Rotary was only formalising this spirit. My father too has community development spirit. When Land was being grabbed in Kabale in the 1970’s, he formed two cooperative societies that protected and owned the land in our area. My parents have always promoted community interest beyond selfish needs. This has always been inspiring.
ED: WHAT IS YOUR HIGHER CALLING?
PT: I always tell people that I have already achieved my dreams. My childhood dream was to be a truck driver (Rukuruurana). I used to admire how someone can steer two vehicles and at that time it reflected power. Little did I know that I was to steer and or influence the growth of the Internal Audit Profession in Uganda, Africa and the Globe. I was the first Certified Internal Auditor in Uganda, was the 2nd President of the Institute of Internal Auditors Uganda, is on the Governing Council of the African Federation of Institutes of Internal Auditors and a Member of Institute Relations Committee of the Global Institute of Internal Auditors. I have presented papers on Internal Auditing, Risk Management and Corporate Governance in about 1/3 of the countries in our continent. I believe that this is enough for Internal Auditing. I am shifting my energies to business and aforestation and this where I want to excel. I am looking at early retirement and this should be in the near future. I hope to concentrate also on building successful communities when I get out of employment. My dream is to build a critical mass of entrepreneurship that will develop this country outside politics.
ED: A WORD TO THE WISE
“Daily we must train our thoughts to see only what we wish to experience; and since we are growing into what we are mentally dwelling upon, we should put all small and insignificant thoughts and ideals out of our thinking and see things in a larger way.”
—Ernest Holmes
You can circle up, hug, hold hands, and sing Kum Ba Yah for the rest of your life but until you shake it off and get started on the process of creating a new life you are going to remain miserable..
-Larry Winget