Ten writes 10 books: from Journalist to Author: Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten)

The Press

Uganda

1) Who inspired you to become a writer? – Chinua Achebe and William Shakespeare.

2) What prompted you to write a book on HIV in particular? – The ruthless illness of AIDS horribly struck my family in 1995 and claimed four members of my family! That experience – embedded in a poem entitled, Crumbled on page 24 – is what prompted me to write this book.

3) There are other books on HIV/AIDS. How is yours different from them; what makes your message unique? – My book is unique indeed. I have written it using another form of approach – poetry – in mesmerizing shapes that spice up the conveyed protective and life-saving messages. Why use poems? Poems make the reader visualise, feel, taste and hear what is being read.

4) What age-group does your book target? – Although the adult individuals, higher institutions, NGOs and government departments have all liked it, my book targets the youth – our next generation. Society is silent about sex and HIV. This creates a mystery to the young people – yet AIDS is not a mystery; it is real and deadly!

5) How will your book be of help to this country and the world at large? – The poems in Claws of Pain, written in simple English enriched with eye-enticing illustrations, will extinguish the flames of AIDS through sensitising the reader about comprehensive HIV prevention strategies, modes of transmission, positive living, loving and caring for the infected and affected, and eradication of stigma, discrimination and denial. The book instils a behavioural change among the people; builds capacity and skills to strengthen HIV-fighting programmes and policy frameworks for scaling up quality, treatment and support.

6) How long did it take you to write this book and whom do you dedicate it to? – This book has robbed me of five years. I dedicated it to poets.

7) What does it take to write a book? – It takes a lot. One must be armed with sufficient writing skills. One must read widely – and the Bible is the best book to begin with, for it is the source of wisdom. One must be patient, inquisitive and able to research on everything that sounds obscure. One must watch many movies; action, fiction, soap operas, adventures, documentaries, everything. Movies carry a lot of ideas and information. One needs to travel worldwide, for exposure is very necessary.

8) In which parts of the world have you been to? – I have been to Zambia in Southern Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Hong Kong in China, Holland in Netherlands, Bangkok in Thailand and Brazil in South America.

9) Who sponsored those your international trips; and for what purpose? – I have won fellowships from Panos (an international NGO) thus sponsoring my international trips – to attend environmental conventions and write features for them, which have been published on the Panos website, SciDev.Net, and reproduced in Daily Monitor and Orumuri local newspapers. You can visit the Panos website or my blog: http://www.tenbifubyeka.blogspot.com/ and read some of my environmental articles on the world-wide web.

10) How do you see yourself in the next five years? – In five years’ time, I expect to be earning well from the book industry. I will also be a celebrity in literature circles. Needless to say, I’m already a celebrity, for almost everyone – locally, nationally and internationally – recognises me as an environmentalist. The well-researched and analysed articles I have published in The New Vision and on my blog are utilised by researchers worldwide. Some researchers often send e-mails to me, appreciating my work. Besides, Some NGOs have invited me to deliver public talks on environment, including Rotary Club, which has awarded me a certificate of appreciation.

11) What is the public’s response or attitude towards your AIDS book? – Individuals and institutions are amazingly buying my book. Besides, people acclaim me for being a prolific and knowledgeable African writer. And this boosts my self-esteem.

12) Are you writing other books aside from Claws of Pain? – Yes. Claws of Pain is the first-born of 10 books I have written. I’m looking for funds to publish nine other books, that is; Uncle Ten’s tales: love-robbing lion, Sparks of Surprise, Dungeon of Penury, Weird World: secrets unearthed, Through the needle’s eye, Lovers-in-Crime Fall Apart, The writer’s brilliant tear, Third Chance and Cultural Imperialism.

13) When did you start writing your first book; and which of your ten books touches your life most? – I started writing Dungeon of Penury (as a short story of 2,000 words) in 2000. The writer’s brilliant tear touches me most. It showcases the woes/challenges of writing that I have experienced in nine years of active journalism.

14) Is writing a talent? – No. Many people say it is but I completely don’t concur with them. My endowed talents are fine art and singing. It is education and skill-acquisition that yielded me the ability to write such thrilling pieces of literature!

15) Where did you study from; and what did you study? – After being groomed by Mbarara Junior Primary School, Mbarara High School and Ntare School, I went to Makerere University and did a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication of Makerere University – specialising in Print (writing) and photojournalism. Besides being a journalist, I’m also a playwright, novelist, lyricist, poet, blogger and designer. I’m also good at dancing.

16) Do you have intentions of furthering your studies? – I’m planning to do a Masters degree in Creative Writing as soon as I raise enough money to do so.

17) Where and when are you launching Claws of Pain? – The launching ceremony will be held in Mbarara – on a date yet to be set. Preparations for that launch are in high gear; and I have already invited the First Lady, Janet Museveni to bless the ceremony. I’m waiting for her esteemed response.

18) ‘Behind every successful man, there is a woman,’ people say. So are you married? – I’m in the process of doing so.

19) Who is your favourite local musician and why? – Judith Babirye Niiwo is my favourite; she is highly skilled in singing and her songs carry rich gospel message.

20) Who is your favourite international musician and why? – Late Lucky Dube remains my first choice. His songs are educational, appealing and emotionally comforting. While listening to his recorded music, I sing along with him.

21) Who is your best movie star; your favourite movie or soap opera and why? – My best movie star is Jean Claunde Van Damme. My favourite soap opera is El Cuerpo Del Deseo (‘Body of Desire’ also known as Second Chance). This soap opera raises pertinent issues of life; love, betrayal, adultery, lust, witchcraft, scheming, property-grabbing, death, marriage, murder, vengeance, fate and reincarnation.

22) What are your hobbies? – Reading, watching all sorts of movies, soaps, listening to music, singing, exercising, cracking jokes and making friends.

23) Are you a sportsman? – I’m an athlete. In 1993, I won the first position in running 10,000 metres (25 laps), beating all the participants at Mbarara High School annual athletics competitions.

24) Are you born-again? – Yes, I am. And I give all the glory to God for that.

25) What is your religion? – I’m a Protestant – affiliated to Church of Uganda.

26) Where are you born; and who are the parents behind your brains? – I was born at Ruharo, Kamukuzi Division, Mbarara municipality, Western Uganda in East Africa. I’m the seventh born to Mr. and Mrs. Benon C. Bifubyeka. But my mum, Roy T. Bifubyeka departed 1995.

27) What is your favourite dish? – Sweet potatoes, beans, groundnuts and mandazzi.

28) What is your memorable moment and frightening moment? – My memorable moment is my first flight; and my frightening moment is when a thief pointed an AK-47 riffle at me in 1992. I panicked like a castrated hooligan!

29) Why do you call yourself, Ten? – Ten is an acronym for my name, ‘Tumwiine Ebenezer Natumanya.’ I add on ‘Bifubyeka,’ for it is our family name.

30) What is your message to the public? – I humbly call upon everyone to join me in combating human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Together, we can defeat this global challenge. And we can. But we can’t win this battle if we don’t read! The culture of reading is still limping in Uganda! I’m not urging you to read merely to sell my book. I’m only exposing a secret to success.

Ben Carson, an outstanding neurosurgeon who gives children a second chance to live, writes in Gifted Hands; “I emphasise that active learning from reading is better than passive learning such as listening to lectures or watching television. When you read, your mind must work by talking in letters and connecting them to form words.

‘Words make themselves into thoughts and concepts. Developing good reading habits is something like being a champion weightlifter. The champion didn’t go into the gym one day and start lifting 500 pounds. He toned his muscles, beginning with lighter weights, always building up, preparing for more. It’s the same thing with intellectual feats. We develop our minds by reading, by thinking, by figuring out things for ourselves.”

I also call upon the unemployed youth to be creative. The requirement of experience is becoming a barrier to the job market as I said in a poem called, Experience, page 61. Trust God; and create your own job. You may not be a writer; but you can be a musician, queen/king dancer. Had it not been creativity, this book wouldn’t be there.

End.

Word cout: 1544.