"In Uganda, the culture that you’re born into is kind of what you follow throughout the rest of your life, but when I came here, it felt more like I had the option to be my own person and choose where I wanted my life to go."

"I want to experiment and push myself to see how far I can go. I’m down for anything that’s as far from me as possible. So whatever that means to you, to whoever’s reading this, I just want to do that. I want to do some crazy shit"

"Even though acting is a creative outlet, it’s not something that you can do by yourself unless you’re reading scripts or analyzing movies"

"I feel like when you’re putting too much pressure on something it tends to combust, so you have to find pockets of different creative release"

"In Uganda, I would never have thought of doing this job. Not because it doesn’t happen there but because it’s as if, in my mind and in my family’s mind, we already had a completely different path mapped out for our lives. Instead, Canada has opened up new opportunities for me that I could not have imagined"

"But I also am a firm believer that it’s about the people you have around you"

"When I moved to New York, it was the first time I felt that I could live for myself and try different things"

"That was my introduction to character study and acting as a means of understanding people and relationships"

"My family has always been quite theatrical just in our being"

"When we moved to Vancouver, my mother had to relearn a lot of things—the only things that she really got to bring with her were her religion and her culture"

"Growing up in Uganda, I saw a lot of white people, but I never felt like a minority—I thought this is what it’s like everywhere"

"I was very exposed to a different world of art and culture and different philosophies, and I feel grateful for that because it helped shape my idea of the world"

"I’ve never really had somewhere that feels like home."

"Another thing I got from living in Uganda is that there’s such a strong sense of community; everyone who lived in that village was considered my family."

"I thank Victoria University for introducing this wonderful Career Readiness & Employability Program. You don’t know tears outside there; tears of a first-class graduate hustling for a job but without skill, tears of a parent who used all she had to teach her child but after graduation has to cough money to start a business for that same child"

"Yes. Some people feel me and my mother are unhealthily close. I look like my father, but I am my mother; like, this is her character! She is my best friend. She is the best antidote. By the time I leave at 9:30, I feel like I’m Superwoman."

"Oh yes. It is almost like she needs therapy for that, but she is my number one fan. My mum says, ‘I don’t know how you do it, but my God, you’re doing alright!’ So, when you hear that most mornings, [especially] as a mother of three… [aged nine, five and three]."

"The radio started playing songs we sang for plays, and somehow people kept requesting them. When CBS started Enkuka, we were curated as performers; generally, one thing led to the other, and people started asking for more songs."

"At the time, theatre was very popular; the experience was always big at shows; theatre was a thing."

"I could say I accidentally became a recording artiste."

"There was a time I attended a Bakayimbira [show] and the auditorium was flat; since I was short, I couldn’t see anything. I had to stand on a bench."

"I think through the play, they managed to notice that they were being a burden. That’s how much theatre resonated with the people then,"

"We were doing things that were close to people’s hearts and things that they could relate to easily; we knew that theatre is about society and impacting on it to change, so we used to do issues about family so that people could feel like they were watching themselves and would change."

"“I have been rejected ever since I was young"

"I felt hurt; having no one besides me yet I had a family,"

"Even your parents will love you more when you have something to put on the table.”"

"We want change but I have learnt that change starts with us. I want to fight for ladies; you deserve to have the best quality of pads. I want us to practice good hygiene because great hygiene is essential to us women,’"

"If God decides that, I am gonna go for it. I’ll do it, I said no to marriage but not no to children. Me, there are things that are not for you and you just have to understand. Marriage is not for me, this arrangement is not for me."

"“I am an independent woman, who only needs a man when the need arises. I cannot fool myself that getting married will seal our relationship forever.”"

"“I have been rejected ever since I was young. But instead of bending me, rejection has made me work even harder.”"

"“They say I can’t sing, but I am unique, and that helps me stand out.”"

"“80% of my achievements in life have come from music, while the remaining 20% is also connected to my relationships within the industry.”"

"“I have someone in my life. I picked him from a line of men interested in me. He is very powerful, rich, and intelligent.”"

"“I only need a man when I want him and not that illusion of getting married and walking down the aisle.”"

"“It’s time for the Ugandan government to truly invest in the creative industry. Artists need real support systems.”"

"I knew right from the time I was about 6 years. I always stayed close to where music was and nothing else mattered in that moment. I wasn’t affected by other views as such, simply because my parents were the complete opposite. They were liberal and very supportive."

"You don’t heal from the loss of your child. It’s the most heartbreaking thing to go through for any parent. My world literally came crushing down. You only learn how to survive through each day by the grace of God. My experience has been a very painful and personal one. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Keron. I thank God for strengthening me."

"I never really think about it like that. Lol. I’m just a normal person like anybody else, who happens to have been raised by wonderful very humble parents."

"My dad Prince Gerald Manyindo . Him and I were the best of friends. I could literally tell him anything cause raising us, he’d taught us to respect him but not be afraid of him. My dad and I both loved music so much so we had a lot to talk about. I miss him everyday."

"Absolutely. It was very scary. I was young and didn’t have a clear musical direction. But we knew from the start that it wasn’t gonna be a long term thing cause at some point Iryn was going to move to France. So in a way I was mentally prepared."

"I’ve been so busy DYING. I’ve been dying to a version of myself that no longer served me or the purpose I was created for. It’s been one truly trying but rewarding journey"

"A journey that’s seen me through 3 surgeries, 3 cancer scares, depression, anxiety, a 20KG weight gain and a series of immeasurable losses of friends,family and loved ones."

"My faith was indeed built up, let me echo the many voices that have said it before, we serve a mighty God. Seek him, truly seek him with your broken and contrite heart. That’s his version of a true sacrifice."

"Please allow me to testify! God is simply amazing, because for every tear we cry he gives us double for our trouble and he does this more often than we may stop to acknowledge. Indeed “In the pain was a plan.”"

"I just thought it was time,I loved what it stood for (beauty with a purpose) and I do like a challenge. It was also a means for mw to break out of my shell a little more"

"I was disappointed but only for a minute,throughout my life,I’ve come to learn that if it’s meant to be yours,it will be.I lose gracefully,but I win even better"

"A career in entertainment.I just got into Television.I hope to break into acting and radio as well. But business will always be my number one passion"

"Everyone asks that question like there is a profound answer. An earth-shattering moment when I made the drastic decision to come home. Nothing happened for me. My career in Hollywood was steadily rising but, for me, it was time to come home"

"I am afraid not. Being in front of the camera is not something I relish anymore. I prefer being behind the lens and writing my own scripts and telling my own stories."