People in the community are helping me build this house

Patrick Kamara’s four-bedroom house is located on top of a hill in Kyenjonjo . He is building it in phases. Photo by Edison Amanyire

What you need to know:

Patrick Kamara has been a broadcast journalist for more than 15 years. He hosts The Hot Seat on KFM. Kamara also works with Wizarts Media in Ntinda, in Kampala. He is also a part-time employee at NTV Uganda, where he hosts On the Spot every Thursday. Kamara is also a minister in Tooro Kingdom. He spoke to Edgar R Batte about his house.

I have 25 acres of land which I inherited from my father, the late Atwooki Kamara. It is in Ngezi village, Fort Portal, on a hill top. So up there, you get the feeling you are at the centre of the world. My siblings used to call it the most beautiful place on earth.
Actually, the land is more in Kyenjojo than Fort-Portal and because Uganda has a plan of turning Fort-Portal into a tourism city, I thought I should position myself.
The house I am building is ultimately meant to make money targeting all kinds of tourists. I will reserve a small part of the self-contained guest wing as my home.
I will use the larger part to earn some money from travellers and tourists.

My plan for the project is to make it a residential bungalow with a raised part as the sitting room area.
I have set it up to be a four -bedroom house that includes a large sitting room, dining, kitchen and circulation area.
I chose this particular plan because I am in love with the site and location on the hill top, so I thought if I built a house with a larger porch it could give me a 90 degree view.
In fact, I am probably the only person who can view two town councils from the same spot at my veranda. I can clearly see Kyenjojo Town Council and Kayihura as well as the Rwenzori ranges.

When planning the house, I consulted a professional architect, Rashid Senyondo of Hands On Investments Ltd. My supervisor at Wizarts Media, Paul Kavuma, and my elder brother Sak Magezi helped me come up with a concrete plan.
So I galvanised all this wisdom into something beautiful that is taking shape. I like the way the house is turning out to look, even if it is still work in progress.

Building in phases
I am building in phases. I paid a friend of mine to make bricks and he delivered. Then I brought an architect on the ground to see the place before he could put my ideas into technical drawings.
And he had to drive again to the village to be there when they were digging the foundation so that everything is well understood.
I have always had an idea to build a house or guest house that can earn me some money since childhood but two years ago, I thought my village, Hamutoma, as we the Batooro call our ancestral homes, needed a better home.

That drove me to start on the plans to set up a house.
At the time, I had Shs5m. I went out to start looking for builders and I decided that I use both local builders and more experienced ones from Kampala. I wanted locals to also earn money because these are my people.
I planned the construction process in phases. I did the foundation of the house then I built until the ring beam.
The next phase was to build till the wall plate. I then roofed the house before working on the construction of the floor. I then built the ceiling and I am currently making the windows.

The expenses
There has been a lot of work taking place and I have not kept track of the money I have spent on the different phases but I suppose I have spent about Shs70m so far.
I must say that there are some people who have been helpful in the building process and in my work-related networks. I met a young engineer at the Authors Forum in Kampala. When I told him about what I was doing, he asked me if he could come with me to the site and he was godsend. Much of the technical advice and the glamour is attributed to this young man. He is called Joseph Byamukama.

Patrick Kamara has been a broadcast journalist for more than 15 years.


Well, I would never have been able to know in real terms how much I have spent on bricks, cement, sand, nails and all the other materials because the money for building is like the expense on food.

I cannot know how much I have eaten in the last two years, but things like roofing I know I used a total of about Shs24m. I spent about Shs12m on the echo tiles I used. On timber, I spent about Shs8m. labour cost me Shs5m.
I own trees so I got someone to cut timber when the house was still at a foundation level. I could cut timber and store, anticipating to sell it and use the money in the construction process. I had also opened an account at Roofings where I kept depositing money in instalments.

Lessons
While putting up the house, I have learnt that all one needs is to start building is determination. Along the way, you get the thrill and keep moving. Somehow, God will bring the money to keep you going and moving.
I know there is a lot of work ahead and a lot to accomplish but I am working knowing that I do not have a deadline. So I take my time knowing that I will finish the project one day, and stay in it.
In Tooro, we have something called omuganda. I have seen this Tooro goodwill do miracles. For example, when someone is going to marry or for a wedding, the Batooro contribute ekitwe (support).
When they are building a house, Batooro are given omuganda which could be material or financial support. Now I have seen the omuganda system move me forward.
I will forever be grateful for the omuganda that has come from many of my friends in Kampala and Tooro. There is an old lady in the village who gave me her tree and I got about 100 pieces of timber.
This gave me a lot of inspiration and motivation to go on. I go there every Friday evening and return Monday morning. I have not had a weekend in Kampala for a long time.
If anything, I love village life and by the way, we have the cleanest town in Uganda- Fort-Portal. I can spend some evenings there if I wish. It is so refreshing.
My plan is to start staying in my house in December 2016, God willing. My elder brother, Sak Magezi, has been so helpful.

He does not know this but I call him “Mr Fix it”, when things really get bad on my side, I run to him first, for advice. He is a genius. I tell him something problematic and he will cut through with cutting-edge ideas.
Sometimes he has had to also dig in his pocket to rescue me, so when I am not sure and things are cloudy and tough, I go there and turn to him.