The daughter of the late Reverend and Mrs. Kamujanduzi was widowed in her 20s and left with four children to look after,
Maria's part in life was cut out for her right from start. She had no choice but to survive and do well at it.
"Next month it will be 30 years since I was widowed," says Baryamujura whose husband, the late Amos Baryamujura was murdered during the Idi Amin regime.
Although it wasn't easy to balance being a breadwinner with raising children, Baryamujura went into business right after her husband's death.
"It was hard. These days, it's easier because there are examples, support groups. Then, people didn't know how to help us," she says.
Fortunately, she was not as clueless as other young women in her position at that time. "I thank God that young as I was, my husband had involved me in his business," she says.
Since then, Baryamujura, who holds a diploma in Environmental Science, numerous certificates in tourism, has been a farmer and a businesswoman, operating in various areas. She has done boutiques and hair salons but she has also done a bit of farming.
"I had a dairy farm with over 200 cows. I've always had an interest in tourism and travel. In the 80s, I trained in tour operations. I did rural tourism with a focus on poverty alleviation. Since 1997, I've been
promoting community tourism inclusive of people and their cultures," she says.
Baryamujura runs COBATI (Community Based Tourism Initiative). With COBATI, Maria and her team have developed a programme called Homestead Tourism.
"We're registered as an NGO. We've been working with communities around national parks for example a village called Buhoma near Bwindi Gorilla National Park is practising community tourism. We're promoting farming homesteads. We're also looking at this programme to empower people to keep clean homes," she adds.
Before she went into promoting community tourism, Baryamujura worked as the Country Representative for Royal Swazi Airlines between 1994 and 1996. In fact it was through her work and travel with the airline that she came up with the idea to promote community tourism. She had seen how the Swazi people used their culture to earn an income from tourism.
"During my journey of life, I've seen hardships experienced by rural people. I found the kind of tourism that takes in everybody. In rural areas, that's where attractions are found. I have an interest to make rural areas better. Once a month, I go on Radio West and tell people to use community tourism to improve their lives," she says.
According to Baryamujura, her work with the rural communities is not about personal profit. After over 20 years in tourism, she would like to make a difference in people's lives and do something for which she will be remembered.