Lillian Awori has worked at Marco’s Gym since 2017. In the beginning she was in the lowliest of jobs, as a cleaner who was often the first to arrive and sometimes the last to leave. But she has risen up the ladder over the years, so that now she sits in the closed-off cubicle in which she and a colleague work as self described juice baristas. It’s a demanding job, and she makes plenty of juice and fruit platters a day, serving grateful customers who trickle out of the gym in Naalya, just outside Kampala.
There is in Awori a sombre presence, and her smile, when it comes, seems to arrive from an inner depth. She comes across as serious even when she’s unfailingly polite to her customers, a curiosity of personality that she could explain: She’s come from far away, so she means business.
Her personal suffering, she told TWR, has “taught me to remain loyal and calm to my clients and the people who are staying near me.” Everything she knows about customer service, she said, life has taught her. “I learnt customer service through the life I passed through when I was still young, because in the life I grew you have to be someone who is good so that you may stay with people, sometimes in good life and sometimes in tortured life,” she said recently.
Awori was born in 1991 in Tororo. She was only three months old when her mother died. She never knew her father, who is said to have died not long before the girl was born. Awori was raised by one aunt after another, years that she’s loath to recall. She dropped out of school in Senior Three, and ever since she has been trying to look after herself however she can. In 2008, after she arrived in Kampala with the help of a cousin, she started working as a house-girl. Later, in 2012, she was employed as a cleaner at a diary company, and when that contract was terminated in 2014 she became jobless for several months. Her job as a juice barista is proof of her unquenchable spirit. “I started life like that,” she said ruefully of her dropping out of school. “I was supposed to go somewhere far than I am now.”
One of her challenges is being able to consistently show up at work in time, for she lives several kilometres away in Kireka with her partner and their young child. Being late makes her nervous and exasperates her manager – because, of course, she wants to keep her job. “I love my job because it makes me earn something at the end of the month,” she said, speaking also of generous customers whose tips brighten up her working days.
This is Awori’s diary between May and August 2023. Barely edited, it’s been preserved in its raw form as a truly Ugandan voice, funny and tragic at once. Some things need to be explained, however: when Awori writes of an “event” at her workplace, she is referring to outdoor gym sessions they regularly put on, and “introduction” is the ceremony earlier this year during which her relatives met the father of her child. – TWR
May 1
Still am working with Marcos Gym & Spa again in the same department as a juice maker. But I have found difficult in working alone but thank God my bosses have decided to get for me a helper.
May 2
I and my co-worker started working together and this made me to make my [job] simple and this made to get to know that two heads are better than one.
May 3
The event day. This day was programmed a month before. All the employees were urged to put hands together to make this day colourful. And this day was made the way we expected it to be.
May 4
This was the following day after I received a lot of thanks from my managers and my clients for the juice I made. This made me to feel myself for the great work I did and in my heart I said thanks to God who made me to manage to do so.
May 5
It was a Saturday morning I went to my work place as usual. I found my employees talking something about the event I also joined them and we started arguing the way clients were spinning but the argument ended in the disciplinary committee.
May 6
I have fallen in love with one of the new clients whom I had not seen before because he came on the spinning day. We started communicating on phone without seeing each other. When it reaches to time of meeting each other I found out that am dating a man who is old and even married.
May 7
It was Sunday my opponent made juice to a client who came and complained that it was not nice and this came back to me. Am the one who tought her.
May 8
It was the following day the same client I had to apologise to her and to give her another glass of juice at a free cost and I became happy because I saw she also feeled happy too for what I did.
May 9
It was on Monday of when my workmate lost her mother, so by the time she tells the manager, the manager is not sure of what she said because it was at the beginning of the month so the manager accused her and slapped her because we always receive salary on 5th but it was still not the paying date.
May 10
It was on Monday when I got some misunderstanding between me and my managers after calling me and asking me why I was not making good sales but finally I cooled myself.
May 27
On this day it was my daughter’s birthday. She was making 3 years. I never expected my daughter’s birthday to be a nice one and a wonderful occasion. I had a lot of visitors who brought gifts to my daughter but in all I thank God for the wonderful day he gave us and my family.
June 1
On this day people are worming up for Namugongo, I saw many people from different corners of the world moving towards Namugongo. Many crowds were passing alongside the road near my working place.
June 3
Ha! Namugongo day (matryers day). This day we closed, we did not work because our place is being surrounded by many people and most roads closed i.e Naalya – Namugongo. This day I remained home and prepared food for my family and I did some domestic work.
June 4
It was on Sunday, Sunday is my off day, I woke up in the morning preparing for church were we went for it with all the family member including my friends. It was now 9am when they brought a mad man in church to be prayed for. He had demons which started speaking laugange which I did not understand.
June 16
On 16 June I was nearing to my introduction that’s why I had gone to the village to prepare for the visitors that were coming. I left the village to town because I had finished to organise everything I was supposed to do.
June 20
I travelled back to village because my introduction was the following day. I organised the place very well such that my visitors could find a nice looking place. I prepared seven hens and one peacock that was to be given to my husband. My grandmother was so happy for that because it was her first time to see my husband since we had spent for 4 yrs.
June 21
Unforgottable day in my life. I was so happy after seeing my husband and other visitors who had escorted him. It was a long journey from Kampala to Tororo deep in the village called Pasindi in Tororo district. My grandmother and other family members were so happy to see my family and other visitors.
June 22
I travelled back from village to town because the introduction was done. And the following day I was to supposed to report back to my job. I resumed my job has usual.
July 1
Today I visited my friend who is HIV positive in Bulenga one of the place in Kampala. She had refused to take her ARVs. I had to go and talk to her but it was not easy to me but thank God I managed the situation.
July 5
It was today morning where I nearly about to get an accident around Naalya-Kiliwajara roundabout as I was coming from work. The tax knocked the bodaboda man. But I was not harmed in the accident.
July 10
It was 10th July when a thief came into my house and lied to my maid that I had sent him something and ended up stealing my TV, radio and most of my things were taken by the thief.
July 12
Today I met my friend called Brenda who told me a story with her boyfriend who disappointed her. He called her yet he had called his X-girlfriend. This made her to cry and even stop eating. I had to come in and talk to my friend until she came back to her senses.
July 15
It was 15th July one of our beloved clients lost his mother. It was not good news on our side because we felt pity for him. Most clients went for burial and two of the employees.
July 18
I woke up at 5:00 o’clock because my neighbour woke up. Since she was pregnant she wanted me to escort her to the hospital. We reached safely, reaching at 3:00am she gave birth to two babies (twins) who were baby girl and baby boy and were all normal and ok. We came back safely from the hospital but all in all the honour and glory was given back to God who helped us in the situation management.
July 21
It was a terrible day because my husband was travelling with his brother on the motorbicycle heading to the village in Kayunga and got an accident. I rushed quickly to find him where he was but the condition was not terrible. We came back home in the evening whereby he was nursed at home.
July 24
Today I visited my village in Tororo district in Pasindi village where I met my OB who told me about PDM money. He asked me to make a deal and pass in window two because I wanted money in that period. But afterwards I got an OG who told me that it needs no single coin because it was Gov’t money then I got to know my OB wanted corruption. Yet corruption is not a good act to the country.
July 25
It was a meeting at work place. In this meeting I came late and I was asked by the manager why I was late and I told him that I was washing my clothes. He quarreled on me so much and ashamed me infront of my employees that I was nothing. The thing made me not to feel good and made me to shade tears.
July 30
It was today at night at 11:00pm when my fiancé came to my house. But in my heart I had checked him. He started pleading forgiveness for everything he had done to me. But my heart forgiving him was not easy. But I remember one day my friend told me that I should learn to forgive.
August 3
It was Thursday that we were all preparing for the 2nd outer door cycling. My fellow employees were busy moving up and down doing particular assigned duties because the event was to be held the following day.
August 4
It was a shinny day in the morning but later alone in the evening nearing to the starting of the event it rained cats and dogs. But it stopped raining and we had to organise the bicycles again for event to start. The event was a success to the company. We also made juice as usual and people enjoyed the juice yet other said they missed.
August 5
Day after the event. It was Saturday I had to go to church very early but my baby was so tired that even waking up gave me problem. But I had to go to church because in everything we do we should put God first.
August 9
It was around noon when we received good news that our manager has received a baby boy and we wished congurations to him all of us but on the sad note his wife was operated but thank God they are all alive after the operation.
August 12
It was on Monday when we had a staff meeting and our manager tought us about work culture. He pin pointed on one of our staff who didn’t want to comb his hair and told him that our culture here combing is a must do. The person told him that combing is not his culture. This tought me that in this world learning can never end.
August 17
Team building session with my fellow workmates. We had a trainer and again she was our client called Gloria a senior human resource manager who ranked different departments giving percentage. But I thank God my department scored 95% (Juice bar). But much emphasis was put on the gym instructing team because they had a lot of complaints received from clients. i.e they are ever moody, ever on their phones, not hospital to clients.