When six-year-old Bridget Mirembe clasped her little hands and prayed on camera for a better home, she could not have imagined that her earnest plea would travel far beyond her village, or that it would stir the heart of one of Uganda’s biggest music icons.
But it did.
On Tuesday, May 14, singer Moses Ssali—better known by his stage name, Bebe Cool—handed over a newly constructed house to Bridget’s family in Kyeguluuso village, Mubende Municipality.
It was the fulfilment of a public promise he made late last year after a video of the young TikToker praying for him went viral.
“When I saw Bridget’s video on TikTok, I was touched beyond words,” Bebe Cool said during the handover ceremony.
“A little girl with nothing, yet she prayed with such conviction. I knew I had to act.”
And he did. Through the Amber Heart Foundation, his philanthropic outfit, Bebe Cool launched a mission to build a house for Bridget’s family using proceeds from his annual Boxing Day concert, which he rebranded for the cause.
The event, traditionally known as 'Tondeka E Kiwatule, was renamed Tondeka E Kiwatule Tuzimbire Bridgette Enyumba'—a nod to the girl whose faith sparked an outpouring of generosity.
The result is a furnished three-bedroom house sitting on a 100-by-100 foot plot, with beds for eight children, a master bed, living room furniture, mattresses, solar power, and full bedding.
The Shs100 million project, which broke ground in early January, is not just a home but a symbol of renewed dignity for a family that had long lived in a semi-detached structure so rundown that Bridget had dubbed it “geyeena”—hell.
“For a long time, we had nothing,” said Bridget’s mother, Agaati Gowa.
“I used to wake up and wonder if we would ever sleep in a proper house. People doubted Bebe Cool. They said he was just talking. But look at what he’s done for us.”
The ripple effect of the gesture has extended beyond the family. At the ceremony, Pastor Everest Arinaitwe of Prayer Valley Ministry told the crowd that Bebe Cool’s act had revived hope in the village.
“He has given Bridgette shelter, but more than that, he has restored our faith in kindness. We feel seen,” he said.
Social media buzzed with reactions, some comparing Bebe Cool’s gesture to other headline-grabbing church or celebrity-led initiatives.
“This is what I call practical gospel,” one user wrote on X. “No reverse psychology. Just help where help is needed.”
The timing of the handover was also notable. Just a week earlier, Apostle Grace Lubega of Phaneroo Ministries had come under public scrutiny after announcing a plan to build a $55 million (Shs200 billion) cathedral in Kampala.
The project, which he said would be financed by faith and internal giving, ignited an intense online debate about priorities in a nation grappling with poverty and inadequate social services.
While Lubega’s defenders emphasised the symbolic power of building for God, critics questioned the wisdom of spending on bricks and mortar when so many Ugandans lack basic necessities.
The contrast between the two events has not been lost on the public. In Bridget’s case, the connection between prayer, action, and community upliftment was immediate and visible.
The child asked for a home, and within months, it stood complete—funded not by faith alone, but by concrete commitment, planning, and wide participation.
“I believe this family is the happiest today,” Bebe Cool said. “Now I’m working on another dream—to help Bridget meet President Museveni if he visits Mubende during the campaigns.”
For Bridget, who continues to use TikTok as a platform to spread joy and scripture, the house marks more than just the end of hardship.
It is the beginning of a new chapter, one where a child’s voice—small but sincere—can be heard loud enough to inspire a national star to build.
“Dear Lord,” Bridget prayed during the ceremony, “I thank you for Uncle Bebe Cool, and I thank you for everyone who came to Kitale to help. Thank you for this beautiful house.”
In a landscape where the lines between influence, intention, and impact are constantly shifting, Bebe Cool’s act may not answer Uganda’s larger questions of inequality or policy.
But for one family in Mubende, it answered the most urgent prayer: a safe place to sleep.