When a Journey to Busana Becomes a Journey Within

Exploring identity, heritage, mental wellbeing and the powerful relationship between our past, present and future

By Kobusinge Jackline

Artist | Community Psychologist | Mental Health Advocate

Sometimes, wellness begins with remembering

Sometimes, we need to leave the familiar to understand ourselves better.

Not necessarily because something is wrong, but because our minds sometimes need a different environment, a different story, and a different perspective. We live in a world that constantly pushes us toward the future.

What is next? What should I achieve? What should I buy? Where should I work? How much should I earn? What should I become?

But in our constant pursuit of the future, we can forget something equally important:

Where did we come from?

Because perhaps we cannot fully understand where we are going until we understand where we have been.

This is one of the reasons I became interested in the Busana Heritage, Innovation & Learning Centre in Busana Village, Kamuli District.

For me, Busana is more than a place to see old objects.

It presents an opportunity to think about identity. About memory. About belonging. About the people and experiences that shaped us. About who we are today. And about what kind of future we want to create.

Identity: Who are we when we know where we come from?

Identity is something we often talk about as though it is fixed.

This is who I am.

But identity is much more complex.

It is shaped by our families, communities, culture, language, experiences, relationships, beliefs, creativity and the stories we inherit.

Some of these stories are told directly to us.

Others are passed down through songs, food, ceremonies, objects, places, names and traditions.

Some are preserved in books.

Others live only in people's memories.

And some stories disappear completely when nobody takes the time to listen.

This is why preserving heritage matters.

It is not simply about preserving old things.

It is about preserving pieces of who we are.

When we lose our stories, we can lose parts of our collective identity.

And when we reconnect with those stories, we may begin to understand ourselves differently.

The Past: Where we come from

The past is not simply something that happened and ended.

It continues to influence the present.

Our families have histories.

Our communities have histories.

Our nations have histories.

Even our personal lives have chapters that continue to shape how we see ourselves.

At Busana, encountering objects from earlier generations can create an opportunity to ask:

How did people live before us?

What did they value?

How did they solve problems?

How did they raise families?

How did they build communities?

What did they create with the resources available to them?

What can we learn from them?

An old farming tool, household object, or traditional item may appear ordinary at first.

But behind that object is a human story. Someone made it. Someone used it. Someone depended on it. Someone taught another person how to use it.

And eventually, it became part of a history that reached us.

That is the power of heritage.

It gives the past a voice.

But the past is not a prison

Remembering the past does not mean romanticising everything about it.

There are things from our past that we should preserve. There are things we should question. There are things we should celebrate. There are things we should leave behind. This distinction is important. Heritage should not mean blindly repeating everything previous generations did.

Instead, it can allow us to ask:

What should we carry forward?

What should we transform?

What should we let go of?

And perhaps most importantly:

What should we create differently?

That is where the past begins to speak to the present.

The Present: Who are we becoming?

We are living between two realities.

Behind us is everything that shaped us.

Ahead of us is everything we have not yet created.

And in between is the present.

This moment.

The present is where identity becomes active.

It is where we make choices about what we inherit.

It is where we decide what matters.

It is where we reinterpret our history.

It is where we create new stories for the people who will come after us.

For young people especially, understanding the past can create a stronger sense of grounding.

When you know where you come from, you can begin to ask more confidently:

Who am I now?

What do I believe?

What values do I want to live by?

What kind of community do I want to contribute to?

What kind of person am I becoming?

These are not merely philosophical questions.

They are questions connected to meaning, belonging and wellbeing.

The Future: What are we leaving behind?

Perhaps the most important question heritage can ask us is not:

“What happened before?”

but:

“What happens next?”

Every generation becomes a bridge.

We inherit something from those who came before us.

And eventually, we hand something to those who come after us.

The question is:

What will we hand over?

Will we hand over only physical objects?

Or will we also pass on wisdom?

Stories?

Values?

Creativity?

Courage?

Community?

Compassion?

Knowledge?

And what new things will we create that future generations will one day call heritage?

This is where I see the connection between heritage and innovation.

The future does not have to reject the past.

It can learn from it.

It can build on it.

It can improve it.

It can transform it.

From Heritage to Innovation

The name Busana Heritage, Innovation & Learning Centre is therefore particularly meaningful to me.

Heritage looks backward.

Learning helps us understand the present.

Innovation asks us to imagine what comes next.

Together, they create a powerful journey:

Remember → Reflect → Learn → Imagine → Create

This is much bigger than visiting a museum.

It is a process.

You encounter something from the past.

You begin to ask questions.

Those questions lead to conversation.

The conversation creates reflection.

Reflection can lead to an idea.

And an idea can become something new.

That is how the past can become a resource for the future.

The Stories of Elders Are Part of Our Heritage

One of the most powerful forms of heritage is not an object.

It is a person.

An elder sitting in a compound in Kamuli may carry decades of experiences that cannot be found in a textbook.

They may remember how the community looked before certain roads existed.

They may know traditional practices.

They may remember songs.

They may understand relationships between families.

They may carry stories about hardship, resilience, celebration and change.

When a young person sits down and listens to such a person, something profound happens.

It is not simply an exchange of information.

It is an exchange between generations.

The past meets the present.

And the present begins to imagine the future.

That is intergenerational connection.

And I believe we need much more of it.

The Healing Power of Being Seen and Heard

As a community psychologist and mental health advocate, I am especially interested in what happens when people feel that their stories matter.

Being heard can be deeply meaningful.

Being remembered can be meaningful.

Belonging to something larger than yourself can be meaningful.

For many older people, there can be a painful sense that the world is moving forward without needing what they know.

For young people, there can be an equally painful feeling of not knowing where they belong.

Creating spaces where these generations can meet can help bridge that gap.

An elder shares.

A young person asks.

The elder remembers.

The young person imagines.

And somewhere between the two, knowledge continues.

Creativity Needs Memory

As an artist, I also see heritage as creative material.

Every object has a shape.

Every story has a rhythm.

Every tradition has meaning.

Every community has sounds.

Every generation has something to say.

An artist visiting Busana might encounter an object and see a sculpture.

A musician might hear a song.

A filmmaker might see a story.

A writer might discover a character.

A designer might discover a pattern.

A young entrepreneur might see an opportunity.

A researcher might find a question worth exploring.

This is why I believe creativity and heritage belong in the same conversation.

We cannot create meaningful futures if we never take time to understand the stories that shaped us.

Sometimes We Need to Slow Down to Move Forward

There is another reason I find spaces like Busana valuable.

We are living in an extremely fast world.

Our attention is constantly being pulled in different directions.

Phones.

Notifications.

Deadlines.

Traffic.

Work.

Social media.

Pressure.

Comparison.

Achievement.

Sometimes we become so focused on moving forward that we never stop to ask whether we are moving in the right direction.

A different environment can interrupt that pattern.

You walk.

You observe.

You listen.

You meet people.

You encounter something unfamiliar.

You begin to think.

And perhaps, in that quiet space, you hear questions that were difficult to hear in the noise of everyday life.

A Journey Through Three Times

Perhaps the best way I can describe what Busana represents is through three words:

Past. Present. Future.

The Past asks:

Where did we come from?

The Present asks:

Who are we now?

The Future asks:

Who are we becoming?

And identity sits at the centre of all three.

We are shaped by where we come from.

We define ourselves through the choices we make today.

And we contribute to the world that future generations will inherit.

That means our lives are not isolated stories.

We are part of a much longer story.

I Encourage You to Experience Busana

I would therefore encourage individuals, families, artists, students, educators, entrepreneurs, organisations and anyone interested in culture, community, creativity and wellbeing to consider making the journey to Busana, Kamuli.

But don't go only as a tourist.

Go as a listener.

Go as a learner.

Go as someone curious about your roots.

Go with your family.

Go with your friends.

Go with your team.

Go with a notebook.

Go with questions.

And most importantly, go with an open mind.

You may arrive expecting to learn about history.

You may leave thinking about your own.

We Need to Know Our Story

In a world that is constantly changing, identity can sometimes feel uncertain.

Technology is changing how we communicate.

Globalisation is changing cultures.

Urbanisation is changing communities.

Young people are navigating realities that previous generations could never have imagined.

And yet, one thing remains important:

the need to know who we are.

Heritage can help us answer that question.

Not by telling us exactly who we must become, but by giving us enough grounding to decide for ourselves.

We need roots.

But roots are not meant to prevent growth.

They give us the foundation from which we grow.

Perhaps That Is the Real Journey

I began by saying that sometimes wellness begins with leaving.

But perhaps the deeper truth is this:

Sometimes we leave a familiar place so that we can return to ourselves differently.

We go somewhere to see history, and end up thinking about our identity.

We go to meet other people, and end up understanding ourselves.

We go looking for inspiration, and discover questions.

We go to learn about the past, and begin thinking seriously about the future.

And maybe that is what makes Busana worth experiencing.

Not simply because it preserves what was.

But because it creates an opportunity to ask what is and what could be.

The past gives us roots.

The present gives us responsibility.

The future gives us possibility.

And identity is the thread connecting them all.

So perhaps, sometimes, a journey into a village can become a journey within yourself.

Come for the heritage.

Stay for the stories.

Listen to the people.

Reflect on where you come from.

Look honestly at where you are.

And imagine where you want to go.

Because the future is not only something we enter.

It is something we are creating.

And one day, someone will look back at what we created and call it history.

Busana Heritage, Innovation & Learning Centre

Where heritage becomes an experience, learning becomes a conversation, identity finds its roots, and the past inspires the future.