Meet Hilda Bahati, the life coach

Together with each client, she works to identify the source of stress, anxiety or depression and believes that maybe, more than any other factor in psychotherapy, it is the relationship built between a client/patient and therapist that fosters change.

Hilda Bahati is a relationship coach, counselor, happiness expert, public speaker and an interactive and experienced psychologist.

She holds school and university outreaches, corporate trainings and motivational workshops, bridal showers, group counseling, church engagements and one-on-one sessions, without discriminating between gender and religious affiliation. She is also the founder of the Life Fix counseling and coaching firm that is situated at Centenary House, next to Namirembe cathedral.

“I realized at an early age that education was vital to my future success in life. I did not start out to be a counselor. I originally did Information Technology at Makerere University,” says Bahati. 

After university, she went into business, selling electrical appliances, phones and accessories in Kayunga, where she did a lot of self-discovery about what her next step in life should be.

“I had a passion for counseling; so, I enrolled at Kyambogo University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Guidance, Counseling and Human Psychology, majoring in human relationships,” she says.

“My treatment approach is providing support and practical feedback to help clients address life’s challenges and long-standing conflicts. With compassion and understanding gained from over years of experience, I help individuals discover new paths to resolving a wide range of challenges and psychological issues,” she adds.

Bahati aims at getting to the core of the problem and says she doesn’t favour quick-fix promises that lead to ineffective outcomes. She offers a personalized approach tailored for each of her client’s individual needs to help them attain the personal growth they are seeking.

She says people should realise that having a problem is normal and is part and parcel of life. Others come with huge problems and are contemplating on taking their own lives. But after one session, according to her, they change their minds, because in life coaching, “Winning isn’t everything; it is the only thing.”

She says in sports, a team is bound to lose a game and win another, and that is okay as long as it played to win. But in life, relationships, marriage and family, the goal is to have only winners because she doesn’t believe anybody really wants to lose when it comes to those areas.

It is the willingness that drives her clients that help her search for solutions and options to make their lives better.

She conducts live counseling sessions on NTV, every Thursday, 9am to 10am, on Spirit FM on Tuesdays, 9pm to 10pm, and Bob FM on Sundays, 9pm to 10pm. 

“Bahati is intelligent, always willing to learn something new and never settles for less. She endeavours to excel in whatever she does and always goes the extra mile,” says Timothy Sabiti, her manager and mentor.

Thirty-two-year-old Bahati is the first-born of the six children of Patrick Dzombo, an artist/printer, and Christine Kaligirwa, a pastor and businesswoman. 

She was born in Uganda, and then shortly moved to Kenya with her parents. She did her kindergarten and part of her primary education there before coming back to Uganda where she completed her primary school at Bweyogerere Christian Academy. She then went to Bishop’s Secondary School Mukono where she completed her O and A-level education.

“Since my childhood, I enjoyed reading business magazines such as Forbes that depicted strong, intelligent and successful people. I admired those personalities and worked hard to emulate them,” she says.

She loves reading and talking to people from all walks of life, even when she is naturally an introvert.

“Teaching a wife to submit to an unloving husband is like teaching a child to swim in a pool without water,” she says about marriage. “Trust, loyalty and honesty, I believe, are the qualities of a good husband.” 

She is irritated by partners, who are not good listeners, lack understanding and are quarrelsome. Bahati also writes articles for different dailies.

“Bahati has a very amazing story of her own and the biggest thing I adore much about her is her attitude. She never gets mad about any advice offered to her, whether she thinks it is positive or negative. I have known her since she was a teenager,” says Keita Anguzu, her work colleague.

“My dream is to build a fully-fledged rehabilitation centre with all services and trained human resource, covering a wide range of departments, where people with different issues can be helped,” says Bahati.

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