Nairobi – A Filipina registered nurse working in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) based in Entebbe was the first Filipino to cast their vote in the 2019 mid-term elections field voting mission on 28 April 2019 conducted by the Embassy of the Philippines in Nairobi.
Ms. Gemma R. Urbano has been working as Head Nurse in the Entebbe-based MONUSCO for the past six years. When asked why she chose to work in Uganda, Ms. Urbano shared that she was initially slated for Kinshasa in the DRC, but grabbed the chance when a head nurse position opened in Entebbe, Uganda. She is committed to help the needy and will serve in the UN as long as she is needed.
“Vote righteously,” was Ms. Urbano’s message to her fellow voters.
A Filipino community leader in Uganda, Mr. Danilo S. Gumasing, travelled 6 hours by road from upland Uganda or 290 km from the Hoima District to reach the capital, Kampala. A veteran of the oil industry in Uganda for 32 years, Mr. Gumasing began his life as an Overseas Filipino Worker in Saudi Arabia and was later recruited by an Uganda-based employer who insisted on hiring Filipinos due to their admirable work ethic.
Another Filipino with a firm belief in exercising his constitutional right to vote is Mr. Royce Sinoy from Rwanda. Mr. Sinoy braved 12 hours by bus covering 517 km from Kigali, Rwanda to Kampala, Uganda to vote during the Embassy’s field voting mission at the Philippine Honorary Consulate General Office in Kampala.
The Cebu native has been working in a hotel since 2013 and explained his enthusiasm to vote “to improve the system and for a better future.”
The Filipino community in Uganda hopes that the COMELEC would continue allow field voting for the 2022 Presidential elections as they believe that their votes would also make a difference.
MONUSCO Head Nurse Gemma R. Urbano poses before dropping the first ballot in the Uganda ballot box
Mr. Royce Sinoy from Rwanda journeyed 12 hours by bus covering 517 km from Kigali, Rwanda to Kampala, Uganda
