Omia always brought life into family –relatives

The eulogies, filled with emotion-evoking adjectives from family members and friends of Grace Veronica Omia who died in London, UK last week, point to a person who brought joy and happiness.

On the international scene, Omia was a subject of one of the highly priced editorial pictures on Getty Images, taken in 2002.
The picture features Omia and an unidentified woman at the scene, in West Ham, East London, where five bodies believed to be those of an adult Black male and four Black children were found inside a burnt car.

The picture was being sold online at between $150 (about Shs540,000) and $499(Shs1.7m) per download.
Patrick Donald Oucha, one of her older brothers and a HIV/Aids activist in Uganda breaks down in tears as he reminisces about Omia as a very bright and empathetic woman even in primary school at Abok Primary School in Panyimur, present day Pakwach District, before she moved with her family to Kampala in 1982.
“She was an honest and focused woman from childhood. She always brought harmony and peace in the family,” he said.

Background
Omia was born in Mulago Hospital on July 19, 1969 to Patrick Donald Ngarombo a former police officer and Lucy Opira.
She went on to attend Kololo High School in Kampala. Omia was taken in by one of her uncles, Patrick A Okumu Ringa to pursue education abroad in 1987 where she graduated at St Godrics College in London.

After insurmountable family disagreements, family members say Omia left her uncle’s home and started fending for herself before she settled in London with the help of friends who say she was very generous.

Omia is survived by three children, a boy and two girls whom she had with her Congolese husband before they separated.

Omia’s passing
Omia died on November 21, 2019 at New Ham General Hospital in East London after she was hospitalised for over a week. According to family members, doctors say she succumbed to multiple organ disorder.

Her demise shocked many people in and outside Uganda who took to different social media platforms to show sympathy to the family and pay tribute to her for the kind of life she had lived.

Celebrated online
Little is known about the deceased’s health history but one of her friends, Kennedy Javuru took to his Facebook page and in long eulogy said that Omia had been sickly since they met in 1990. He added that she was the kind of person who never allowed pain to stop her from smiling and carrying on as normal.

“When I came to the UK in 1999, I found Grace’s house a beehive of activity. The house was often teeming with her children’s friends, neighbours’ pets, her numerous friends and sometimes total strangers. It dispelled the stereotype I had come with that in England, people were selfish and individualistic; that people didn’t know their neighbours. While this might be true, it was not the case with Grace. In her house, I have met and made friends who have become like family,” Mr Javuru wrote on his Facebook wall.

Omia was the third born in the family of four, two females and two males. Her father had about four other children from other relationships.
One of her cousins, Martha Okumu Ringa said her sister was one of the best people she had ever seen on earth and will be missed dearly.
“We as family were proud of Grace and we know that God will be with her wherever she is now. She used to talk to us all without discrimination and she was a comfort herself,” Ms Ringa said.

Cleopatra Mildred Niryozina also wrote on her Facebook wall, “She was a God-fearing person, a loving mum, a supportive sister, a friend with a generous smile whatever the weather, a hard working person and a supportive colleague to those she worked with. She was a fighter through her delicate health. And a lover of peace and calmness. I love you Grace. May the Good Lord and Angels watch over you as you watch over your loved ones? We miss you greatly. The hole you have left can never be filled.”

Arrangements to bring her body back to Uganda are underway, in fact, a Go Fund Me account is live to collect funds to bring her home but the family also still has a decision to make on where in Uganda she will be laid to rest.

About Omnia
Born in Mulago Hospital on July 19, 1969 to the Patrick Donald Ngarombo a former police officer and Lucy Opira.
She went on to attend Kololo High School in Kampala. Omia was taken on by one of her uncles, Patrick A Okumu Ringa to pursue education abroad in 1987 where she graduated at St. Godrics College in London.
Omia is survived by three children, a boy and two girls whom she had with her Congolese husband before they separated.