My Valentine’s experience at Watoto Church Central
It was probably one of the best ways to spend Valentine’s Day at no cost, writes Rachel Kabejja.
Thank God this year’s Valentine’s fell on a Sunday; a weekend away from the hustle and bustle of work. What excuse would a partner give for not spending the day with a loved one unless it was an emergency or sickness? Even for issues related to money, there was an activity free of charge that had been announced way back- a movie night at Watoto Church.
Astutely, space had been created even outside the church but still it wasn’t enough - people sat on verandas while others opted to stand on the balcony throughout the five-hour movie.
It was a nice way to relax and have fun with people I didn’t know, all glued to the screen. This made me think about sayings like, “There is no life in being single”. There were a few couples in the audience but the singles seemed to be having a blast too. At the entrance, ladies were handed red roses by Power FM male staff. Clad in black and white suits; they set the standard for the day’s dress code for the greater part of the congregation. A few people took the stage to mime their favourite love songs and the MCs of the night - Nancy Kacungira and Enoch Ikiriza, kept the audience laughing. Probably, the funniest line was from Ben Mwine, Power Fm’s CEO: “If you take me in as your number one, you will be the only cockroach in my cupboard.”
Mwine took a moment to recognise what he called true love – inspired by a text message from a heartbroken lady called Esther from Mukono. After going through thick and thin with her fiancé, their marriage arrangements underway, he died in a car accident.
Esther’s shattered life led her to send a text on the GO, Programme asking to speak to someone. After her story, many, including listeners and pastors, chose to comfort her. She was in the audience and went upfront to be prayed for. When the audience was later invited to pick goodies from Novida, the number of people who volunteered was bigger than the packages available. The fun bit was choosing who got the packages. First, those outside the dress code were eliminated before the others were asked to sing the first lines of their favourite ballads; it was really fun. Suqa salon also offered goodies.
The movie Dreamer was the highlight of the night, though one would have thought they should have shown a romantic movie. Dreamer was more of an inspirational drama. But Mwine didn’t think so. “Valentine is a celebration of love and not just romance! Movie night was for people who had no people to celebrate Valentine’s with but who were ready to go out. It was also a culmination of the love week, which included a two day blood donation drive by Power FM,” he said.
The movie night was truly an innovative idea but I wonder if next time the space issue can be solved beforehand; maybe by hiring a bigger hall somewhere so that people don’t have to squeeze in like what happened; and my God, the heat!
