My name is Winnie Atimango a student at Makerere University Business School in my third year and final year pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource management and a former student of Luigi Giussani High school. I joined Community school (companionship) in 2015 when I had just joined Luigi Giussani high school. I joined community school because my mom used to over push my brothers to go there since l did not want her to get mad at me I went to community school just to impress my mother.
I wanted to so much go there and find out what really takes place there in order to please my mom and also know why my brothers did not like to go there. I did not get the chance to meet anyone to really explain what it was so I went there just to adventure. But when I was there I never understood anything apart from seeing people sing and say experiences that did not make sense to me for almost four years but I kept on following and going back, because of the music, to meet up with my friends and to dodge evening preps though I understand nothing. One time we read a quote from one of the books of father Luigi that  struck me “IN FOLLOWING YOU NEVER MAKE A MISTAKE” and aunty rose always kept on reminding us every time we went for community school so I decided to follow, eventually I got to realize my value and WHO I WAS ?. Not like the first time someone will ask me WHO AM I? My immediate answer would be I am Winnie. But the discovery of who I was got me to a point of real preference in front of everything not only realizing that l am made for him and made of him which was something very beautiful that I did not want to lose and this was after a period of about four years when some of the senior six students were leaving and Matteo Severgnini (Seve) calls and asks, “now Winnie who is going to take lead of community school when those of Gladys leave” he immediately proposed me so I had no choice but to take lead and that is how I began my serious journey of community school I would say. During my journey in community school l had never said a word but one time I got a chance when Seve opened his office for people who wanted to ask questions and that very Tuesday I rushed to his office at 8:30am as l saw him arrive to school I remember I asked him over 10 questions and he was like no you need to ask this in front of the others on Monday saying they were beautiful questions which I thought that they did not make sense to me reading the book (WHY THE CHURCH) I remember asking him the value of community ,what it meant ,who introduced it to him hearing his experiences made me interested to always go back to community and the gaze that he gave me with aunty rose was very different every time he would come to class to say hello Winnie and this was  different for me how aunty rose would tell me I am loved and preferred was amazing so this made my classmates nickname me ( Seve and aunt’s daughter). Hearing this made me realize the value that all along they have been speaking about finally it stuck in my mind.
At some point l did not believe whether Christ existed I reached at some point after two years of following and asked myself if Christ was really there because of what I was going through. I remember asking this question in community school “Is Christ really there?” because at that point Christ seemed so far away not knowing he was even nearer than ever, even in the midst of my doubt he was more present through the faces of friends at the school of community who helped me rediscover that in each and every face of theirs was Christ reawakening Himself through their smiles. At that point I discovered how I was loved and preferred so much even with my problems he still loved me as his own and didn’t want to leave that experience, so I always wanted to stay and follow people who looked at me as Winnie with big smiles and hugs.
After two years of COVID I got excited that I was finally joining the university. When I reached the university I thought I had entered into freedom that I always desired since I wanted to have a taste of how being free felt. On reaching campus I knew no one there and had no clue where to find my classes so I decided to stay outside of the campus compound thinking maybe a lecturer would meet me and ask if I am lost but all that was in vain. No one seemed to be bothered about this little girl seated in the cod wrangles. When I got to class for lectures after a whole day of struggling to look for my class, people were so many that even the teacher did not care whether u have understood or not. Life went on at campus as I tried to stay in my freedom leaving a life of what I thought was really freedom not knowing that I was even suffocating the in that kind of life. Competition was the order of the day, things like: who has the best shoe, who has more money, the best dress or outfit in class. For almost one year I lost the meaning of who I really was whether I was defined by the clothes, bags and shoes, I didn’t even care about the person who was giving me all the staff but only cared about myself. I even forgot about the friends I had from the school of community. After sometime at campus I got a call from aunty Rose and Seve, asking me where I was and I remember lying to them that I was at school yet in most cases I was home sleeping not even going for lectures sometime because I saw no point of going to a school where no one cared and from that day I kept on asking myself who am I that people look for just to ask “Winnie, how are you?” at that moment l felt that I was really lacking something that had a big impact in my life. I will say I got so lucky that I am loved and preferred so much by Christ after rediscovering who I was again from my guardian angels (aunty Rose, Seve and all the friends of community school) and realizing I am not defined by my own freedom and the clothes and shoes because my desires will always be endless but by the one who is making me. I was not even considering how I looked like or even what I had but instead loving me even with nothing looking at me as Winnie and always continues making me feel precious in every instant. I got to discover that I love because he first loved me and he has really made my life and all things new and very happy, I wouldn’t want anyone to miss this happiness and so call us to always stay in this kind of friendship and happiness.
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Ciao
WINNIE ATIMANGO