Category Archives: News

Brother’s sickness paved way for medical career

February 7, 2023News, Students, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Jethro Odoi Okoth at the UCU School of Medicine in Mengo

By Pauline Luba
A 2007 incident in the family of Jethro Odoi Okoth was the impetus for a medicine career choice for Odoi, now age 23 and a year away from becoming a doctor. Odoi, then a teenager, saw his younger brother suffer a fractured skull, necessitating surgery in a country where neurosurgeons are scarce.

Odoi, who hopes to specialize in neurosurgery, is pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Medicine in Mengo, Kampala.

By 2007, Uganda had only four neurosurgeons for a population of about 30 million people. By 2020, thanks to interventions through deliberate strategic partnerships, that number had more than tripled, to 13 until one neurosurgeon, John Baptist Mukasa, died of Covid in 2021. At that, the country’s population also increased to more than 40 million people, meaning each neurosurgeon was serving slightly over three million Ugandans. The World Health Organization recommends one neurosurgeon for every 100,000 people.

Odoi’s parents — the Rev. Denis Odoi and Mrs. Harriet Eve Odoi — finally obtained a neurosurgeon for the brother, but after a long struggle.

In 2007, when Odoi’s family made contact with the neurosurgeon who eventually performed a surgical procedure on the family member, they discovered that at the time they were looking for him, he was not even in town. However, when he learned of their need, he “came specifically to help my brother.” That gesture, Odoi says, left an indelible mark in his memory. When his brother got healed, Odoi made the decision that he would pursue a career in neurosurgery, to reduce the high specialist-patient ratio. At year four in medical school, he seems to have walked the longer part of the journey towards achieving his dream.

Odoi, who has always been a high performer in class, attended Victorious Primary School and the elite King’s College, Budo for both O’level and A’level Both schools are in central Uganda. Since joining university, Odoi says he has learned to be more outgoing, a virtue he will need in his profession. This has been helped by the fact that the “people in the university have a warm personality” and that the lecturers are down-to-earth and more engaging.

Had he not opted to study human medicine, Odoi says his love for reading would not have spared him from pursuing a course in literature. During his leisure time, if he is not reading a book, most probably one will find him writing an article or engaging in a brain game of chess or in the field playing hockey. It would not be surprising also to find Odoi participating in boat rides or doing nature walks.

Asked about whether he would consider working abroad, Odoi said: “Four years ago, if I had been asked that question, I would have said my goal is to study abroad, get a job and stay there.” However, his position has since changed.

“Witnessing my relatives, my friends and my brother struggle to get medical attention, I would prefer to stay in Uganda and help all those who would need my services.”

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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Medical course exposes Sharma to challenges of profession

February 3, 2023News, Students, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

As early as Senior Three, Sharma Yash Pareshkaumer had already made up his mind to pursue a career in medicine

By Pauline Luba
When Sharma Yash Pareshkumar was admitted to Uganda Christian University (UCU) to pursue a degree in human medicine, it brought him closer to realising his dream of wearing the white coat. However, events that unfolded soon after left him with more questions than answers if, indeed, he had made the right decision to pursue a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

As early as Senior Three, Sharma had made up his mind to pursue a career in medicine. He says his interest was supported by the fact that he was generally performing well in science subjects.

Sharma’s early years of study at UCU, however, exposed him to the real challenges met by many who are pursuing the course, as well as those already practising it. Some staff members lost the battle to Covid-19. He says the passing on of the staff made him fully understand the path that medical practitioners have to tread — even during a pandemic of a contagious disease like Covid, as others are retreating to safer environments, health workers have to take the frontline positions to save communities.

And that was not the only challenge. More recently, the outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease in Uganda also deepened his perspective on the duty of the medical personnel. When the Ugandan government announced the outbreak of Ebola on September 20, the 24-year-old was at Mulago Hospital during his class’s scheduled rotation of the ward rounds. He said like anyone else, it was a scary experience, since he was at the country’s main referral hospital. According to the World Health Organisation, 19 medical workers contracted the virus in Uganda, with seven of them losing the battle. Of the 142 confirmed cases, 55 died. However, on January 11, the country was declared Ebola-free.

As a first-year student in 2019, Sharma says studies took up almost his entire time. Matters were even made worse by the kind of grades he obtained, which he said did not reflect the amount of time he was devoting to the course. However, with time, faith, planning and more reading, Sharma says his grades progressively improved.

“I enjoy breaking down difficult things. In my time here, I have gained confidence, a better attitude and shifted from being impulsive to being calm,” says Sharma, a Ugandan of Indian descent and a son of Sharma Paresh, an engineer and Mrs Sharma Damayanti, an accountant.

He attended Buganda Road Primary School, Makerere College School for his O’level and Mengo Secondary School for his A’level. Sharma says he learned about UCU through a friend who was already studying at the institution. The year-four student, a Hindu by faith, said he was drawn to the university because of the similarities between its core values and his religious beliefs.

“I related the university’s core values to my faith. As much as you can find differences in religion, some values relate, like the belief and worship of God, humility and faith. I believed UCU would be the perfect environment for me to study in,” Sharma explained as he defended the choice of the university.

He says sometimes he attends fellowship at the university because, according to him, the teachings are universal.

Once he becomes doctor, Sharma hopes to be part of a campaign against anxiety because he believes the condition has hindered many people from achieving their full potential.

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He quit a well-paying job to study medicine at UCU

February 1, 2023News, Students, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Joel Semakula, fourth-year student at UCU School of Medicine

By Irene Best Nyapendi
At Mukwano Industries, Uganda, Joel Semakula was the employee of the year, earned a promotion, and had a salary boost on the way. But his true love was elsewhere.

After completing secondary school, he had his sights on medicine. However, he did not make it to the shortlist to study it at Makerere University. So, he thought of studying bio medical laboratory technology with a plan of upgrading to medicine later on, but this too was not possible. He settled for chemical engineering at Kyambogo University.

Once he graduated, he got a job with Mukwano, where he excelled and was recognized as employee of the year in 2018. At that and with his heart elsewhere, he turned down a promotion and resigned.

“I always saw myself practicing medicine, and I will even do it when I am past retirement age,” he says.

The busy work schedule at Mukwano was a roadblock to studying in the demanding field of medicine. He got his savings and requested his parents to support him further to pursue the course he loves.

Semakula (left) poses for a photo with his lecturer (center) and classmates after an oncology lecture.

“My mother believed in me and together with my family, they supported me,” he says.

He tried several times to get a vacancy at Makerere University with no success. This, however, did not break his resolve.

To Semakula, he loves the life-saving work doctors do because it is like working together with God to give people a second chance at life. God finally answered his prayers when he applied at Uganda Christian University (UCU).

“When I heard about UCU School of Medicine, I applied and was so happy when I passed the interviews,” he says. “My mouth was filled with laughter.”

Now in his fourth year, with one more year to go, Semakula says he finds fulfillment in his work.

“There’s satisfaction when you alleviate someone else’s suffering,” he says.

He recalls a time in year three, during junior clerkship when he answered a mother’s queries about her child’s health and the next day the woman returned asking for Semakula because she was so pleased with his services.

Semakula is determined to be an excellent surgeon. He is further encouraged by his lecturer, Dr. Mwanje Bright Anderson, who inspires him by the way he handles patients, relating to each.

One day during a bedside teaching session at Mulago Hospital, the instructing specialist defined a surgeon as the world’s best physician who sometimes operates.

“This stuck with me. I had simply wanted to become a surgeon, but it dawned on me that one ought to be an equally excellent physician to make a good surgeon,” he says.

Semakula joined UCU to study a course he loves, but has since fallen in love with its culture and values as well.

“At first, there was nothing particularly attractive about the school that drew me in, because I didn’t know much about it other than the widely known fact that UCU produced brilliant lawyers. But I was optimistic this would become the case with medicine,” Semakula says.

Joel Semakula’s certificate of recognition

He confesses that the study of medicine is as tough as he imagined, but he has accepted the task because as professional doctors, they need to get everything right. He emphasizes that the oath doctors take of doing no harm to lives requires them to get it right during training.

“I have to make it, there’s no other option. I push on mostly for me, then because there are people who believe in me and importantly for the people I will serve (my patients) eventually,” Semakula vows.

Semakula is passionate about humanity and care for others. He is concerned about doctors who tend to prioritize money-making at the expense of compassionate service. He has pledged to be a good doctor that puts medical care above financial rewards. He is hopeful that when he has made good money, he will channel some into financing affordable health care for all.

“I hope to stay true to my convictions and influence others to see the same,” he says, almost as a prayer.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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‘I will be an extension of God’s healing hand in this world’

January 30, 2023News, Students, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Celicia Rwankore, fourth-year student at UCU School of Medicine

By Irene Best Nyapendi
Syringe in one hand and Bible in the other. God is at the center as Celicia Rwankore studies medicine at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Rwankore, who is in her penultimate year (fourth year) as a student of a Bachelor of Medicine, says titles such as a doctor add weight to the gospel one preaches.

“When people see a doctor preaching, they are inspired and believe,” she says, adding that people then understand that the doctor’s achievements were made possible by his or her belief in God.

As a Christian, Rwankore is convinced every believer must preach the gospel in their respective professions. She cites Jesus’ great commission to the disciples in the gospel of Mark 16:15: ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…’

Rwankore regularly shares the teachings of the Bible with her colleagues in her free time after her lectures and practical classes in medicine.

She understands that Christianity, which asserts divine intervention, does not conflict with the science of healing, but rather works together.

She references the book of Ephesians 2:10 and explains that Christians have the mandate to extend God’s creative and restorative power on earth.

“As a Christian doctor, I believe that I will be an extension of God’s healing hand in this world,” she says.

According to Rwankore, being a doctor does not negate the fact that she can pray for her patients – something she says they are constantly reminded of at the UCU School of Medicine. The lecturers encourage them to ‘do their best to treat patients, but the healing comes from God.’

Spending late nights in hospital wards
The demands of the profession are relentless.

“We are basically expected to know enough material for our level (undergraduate) but that is a lot!,” she says. “This course is what I would describe as prestigious, but it comes with many high expectations from relatives and friends which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it causes stress from time to time.”

Rwankore enjoys her stay at UCU regardless of the tight schedule which includes sometimes having to spend long hours in the wards at Mengo Hospital which could go on until late in the night. Nevertheless, all that is part of the memorable moments regardless of how hectic it may seem because she loves what she does.

“We were usually tired, surviving on snacks, giving medication, waiting for mothers to deliver, following the doctors and nurses around, making write-ups, having the most random conversations and sleeping at desks at 3 a.m. yet we expected to be in lectures at 7 a.m.,” she says about the roller coaster schedule.

She loves medical camps because she interacts with many folks whose lives she impacts positively through teaching them how to keep healthy as she checks their vitals such as measuring blood pressure.

“I am so happy to take part in the medical camps because it is an opportunity for me to help my community even before I can become a fully-fledged doctor,” she says.

Rwankore never despairs amidst or after the daunting tasks. She believes challenges are everywhere and part of life.

“I am proud to say that I have always been determined to be a medical doctor regardless of the challenges that come my way. I find solutions and move on,” she said. “I think that’s because I really enjoy what I am doing.”

As part of staying on course, Rwankore seeks out experienced doctors who share with her their first-hand accounts of the job. Such moments revitalize her quest and offer the much-needed courage to soldier on.

Rwankore chose being a doctor to save lives. “You can understand the difference doctors make. Remember when you felt like death was calling you, but then you walked into a hospital only to leave feeling much better after what the doctor said or did,” she says.

The 23-year-old already has plans for studying a masters in Orthopedics. But for now, she looks forward to completing her senior clerkship (which is in their fifth and final year) and internship.

In the meantime, Rwankore is very busy with classes and assignments, and understandably hard to get because of her tight schedule. She is not complaining about anything because she is in the company of a close-knit UCU community, where people care about one another.

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‘I am grateful to UCU for its competent dental team’

January 27, 2023News, Students, UCU School of DentistryPatty Huston-Holm

Peter Kabuye removing carious tissue from a patient’s tooth at UCU dental clinic

By Irene Best Nyapendi
The career journey of Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Dentistry student Peter Kabuye started out with bumps. In 2018, Kabuye was staring at a bleak future after missing out on studying dentistry at Makerere University, which he thought was the only institution with the program.

“When I was informed by one colleague of mine about UCU’s plan to start a School of Dentistry, I was extremely positive and happy that I was finally going to pursue a Bachelor of Dental Surgery,” Kabuye says.

Peter Kabuye doing an oral surgery during one of the trainings at Mulago Hospital in Kampala

UCU started the course in August 2018 to fill the gap of dentists in Uganda. Uganda Dental Association estimates that the country has only about 320 dentists licensed to practice in a population of over 45 million – that is a ratio of one dental surgeon for 146,000 people. The recommended dentist-population ratio should be 1:7,500, according to the World Health Organisation.

Kabuye says he ventured into dentistry because he wants to be an agent of change and influence in the oral health care sector globally. He is passionate about promoting oral health and preventing oral diseases in his community.

“There is still much to do in regards to promoting oral health,” he says. “I feel I am destined for greatness and I am inspired by Dr. Martin Aliker, to start up my own dental clinic,”. Dr Aliker is distinguished among Uganda’s first dental surgeons and with the first black-owned private dental practice in East Africa.

UCU’s holistic education
Kabuye is full of praises for the teaching staff of professional doctors that strive to impart medical professionalism at the school. “Dentistry being one of the most expensive programs, I dearly appreciate UCU for providing the clinic, equipment and meeting all the requirements needed to enhance our learning,” Kabuye says.

Kabuye performs a scaling and polishing procedure at UCU dental clinic

Students have a fully-fledged dental clinic where they are able to practice under the supervision of a doctor. “I am so grateful to UCU for its competent and good dental team which gives us skills of the practice that any student would want,” he adds.

It is a blessing to study at UCU because it teaches a complete education that includes spirituality. The staff and students gather for special worship for an hour, twice every week. Kabuye acknowledges that such fellowships have improved his spiritual life as a Christian.

“Every community worship session is a platform for learning. There’s always something to learn – for instance, when they preached about addiction and sexuality, I had a lot to learn during the session,” he recalls.

He says he has learned to be patient and honest, traits that have enabled him to handle patients properly.

Kabuye believes that one needs God in order to be a good dental surgeon. He explains that as dentists, they not only talk to their patients about the physical wellbeing, but also about their spiritual life.

“Some things are beyond human understanding, and one just needs God,” he quips.

Kabuye (second from the left) poses for a photo with colleagues after a community outreach organized by Uganda Dental Association at Makerere Dental School in Kampala

Now, in his final semester of the five-year course, Kabuye is fully motivated to be a dental surgeon that goes beyond making money, to one who serves humanity. He has pledged to sensitize communities about oral health education, especially to the vulnerable through dental outreaches.

Kabuye is a man on a mission inspired by the vision to “see patients leave with a smile on their faces” after attending to them. He will graduate this July a proud first UCU alumnus of the school of dentistry, who saw it blossom from a department under the school of medicine on its inception to morphing into a school in 2021.

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UCU’s Ddungu narrates journey to School of Medicine

January 25, 2023News, Students, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Ddungu said his ultimate goal in life is to fulfill God’s purpose for him

By Pauline Luba
Tendo Jethro Ddungu long dreamed of being a doctor. However, it was not until he got to Senior Four that he shared his desires with his father, a specialist in public health. Upon receiving the news of his son’s career passion, Dr. Peter Ddungu did not think twice. He straightaway told his son to choose another career. Dr. Peter’s stand shocked his son, who had imagined his father, whom he looked up to, would be proud of him for choosing to follow in his footsteps.

But Peter had a reason for his stand. He knew medicine was not an easy course to study. Instead, he advised Ddungu to opt for a career in engineering, which the father sensed would be less demanding academically than medicine. However, Ddungu stuck to his guns.

“I understood the weight of the medicine course from an early age,” Ddungu said. “If I felt I was not up to the task, I would not have expressed interest.”

Upon seeing the determination of Ddungu, Dr. Peter eventually respected the wishes of his son. He thus supported him to achieve his dream. Ddungu is now in year four, pursuing the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Medicine in Mengo, Kampala. He hopes to become a cardiac surgeon — a specialist in surgeries on the heart, lungs and other chest organs, as well as one who diagnoses and treats the same organs.

So far, Ddungu says one of his highlights at the School of Medicine was watching a specialist perform a chest surgery in the theater last year.

“There is a saying that a surgeon needs to know when not to cut,” said Ddungu as he explained his experience in the theater watching firsthand the medical procedure. “The surgeon should also have the heart of a lion (calm, no matter the situation), the eyes of an eagle (alert and strong sight) and the hands of an angel (delicate).”

The 23-year-old says he was able to witness this mantra as he sat through the specialist medical procedure last year.

The ultimate goal in the life of Ddungu is to fulfill God’s purpose for him, whether in family, business or any other area. He believes UCU offers the best place for him to accomplish God’s desires for him. Part of accomplishing God’s call is taking part in leadership in the community, which Ddungu, the eldest of three children of Dr. Peter and Mrs. Elizabeth Ddungu, has participated in, unreservedly. At King’s College Budo, where he had his O’level education, Ddungu was the timekeeper.

From Budo, he headed to Turkish Light Academy, where he studied A’level. During his time at Turkish Light Academy, Ddungu was the head of fellowship, a role he described as “difficult leadership” because the school was predominantly Muslim.

At UCU, the university Ddungu says he joined because it is known for “producing good professionals,” he has been a representative at the Uganda Christian Medical Fellowship. He also plays the guitar during community worship at UCU.

When he is not at school or in church, most likely, you will find Ddungu swimming, reading or hanging out with friends. He believes in the notion that no one can be too busy to participate in the things they love, as long as they set priorities.

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Mwesigwa’s loyalty to Christianity led her to UCU SoM

January 23, 2023News, Students, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Mwesigwa Joy at the UCU SoM in Mengo, Kampala

By Kefa Senoga
Listening to Joy Mwesigwa’s path to pursuing a course in human medicine at Uganda Christian University (UCU), one cannot help but conclude that, indeed, this was a predetermined route for the 21-year-old.

Mwesigwa was mesmerized with the world of medicine as early as age 10 when her parents — Dr. Albert Siminyu and Mrs. Resty Nanziri Siminyu — would take her to a pediatrician. Mwesigwa names one particular pediatrician, Dr Jamil Mugalu, who she says conducted his work with so much ease and admiration that it played a role in motivating her to consider joining the profession. Mugalu is a senior pediatrician at Uganda’s national referral facility, Mulago Hospital.

“I admire doctors who can make a diagnosis with ease and offer treatment that actually works while still being compassionate, kind and are able to listen to the challenges of patients and their families,” says Mwesigwa, a second-year student of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at UCU’s School of Medicine.

Mwesigwa says her heart and mind resonated with a course in medicine and surgery because “it is in line with my passion to help people, regardless of the situation, learn more about the complexities of the human body and give back to society.”

Mwesigwa (standing, third-left) with student colleagues at the UCU SoM

Even at home, she says, her parents supported her choice of career by offering financial and emotional support. “My father sometimes makes medical research in line with the course units I am pursuing at university, in order to have medical conversations with me,” Mwesigwa said from her school campus in Mengo, Kampala, during an interview that was conducted online.

For the two years that Mwesigwa has sat in the classroom at the medical school, she has been able to discover that every patient is unique in their own way, which means that learning never ends.

Because of the complexity and the exciting nature of the human body, Mwesigwa says there are many concepts she has not yet understood, but that the answer lies in her conducting more research.

For the two years that she has been studying the course, Mwesigwa says she is already able to debunk some age-old myths that she learned in her community. One of them, for example, is that rain causes malaria. “I have learned that people in my community normally associate most fevers with malaria, which isn’t entirely true.”

And she is well prepared to debunk many more such myths because she believes that part of the social responsibilities of a doctor is to correct the misconceptions that society has about health, medicines and vaccines.

She believes that the spread of an epidemic like the HIV chronic immune system disease in Uganda is exacerbated by the myths and misconceptions that the society is fed on. She says young people protect themselves more from pregnancy than contracting HIV, which should not be the case since HIV has no cure.

Being a devout Christian, when Mwesigwa was making choices on where to pursue her degree course, it was obvious where her choice would be. “The fact that UCU is a university set up on Christian principles, I believed it would offer me the platform to learn to be a good doctor as I also practice my Christian values.”

In UCU, she says she has found a home with reliable friends that support her academically and spiritually. She points out key figures like the Rev. Onen Ocen Walter, the UCU SoM chaplain and lecturers like Dr. Lwanira Catherine and Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, who she says have often offered her advice.

Her choice of UCU is not surprising, given that for her secondary school, she attended Gayaza High School and Seeta High School — schools with a firm foundation on religious doctrine. At Seeta High School, she was the head-girl, president of the school’s Interact Club and the head of the ushers in the school chapel. At UCU, she is the secretary of the Writers’ Society of the university’s School of Medicine and a choir leader in the same school.

The virtues that Mwesigwa says she possesses — honesty, patience, kindness and being a collaborative team player — are vital for her career growth. In fact, she hopes to take advantage of them to see how far they can propel her into achieving a specialty in neurosurgery and a doctorate in medicine.

She also hopes to be able to set up a health facility and extend free medical camps to the underprivileged, with support from donors. And to be able to extend pro bono services to the community, Mwesigwa would desire practicing her profession in Uganda.

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UCU: How we kept Ebola virus at bay

January 13, 2023News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

A sample of one poster pinned on the university premises to create awareness about Ebola

By Kefa Senoga
Government authorities in Uganda could have declared the country Ebola-free on January 11, 2023, but the nearly four months of the virus in the country have seen 55 people lose lives — and many medical staff lose confidence in their abilities to comfortably work in the disease’s isolation units.

When the outbreak of the rare and deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was announced on September 20, 2022, many medical workers, including 10 doctors, offered to work in the isolation unit of the disease. However, there were reports that the number of medical personnel diminished as fears of catching the hemorrhagic fever increased.

And the fears were well-founded. According to the World Health Organisation figures, 19 medical workers contracted the virus, with seven of them losing the battle. A total of 142 cases were confirmed, and 55 of those died. Another 22 deaths were registered among suspected cases of people who died before samples were taken from them.

A letter from the student leadership informing the student community about the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease

Before the 2022 EVD outbreak, Uganda had other outbreaks in 2000, 2014, 2017 and 2018, with the one of 2000 registering the highest number of deaths — 224 — out of 425 cases.

One of the challenges brought about by health emergencies, such as the outbreak of Ebola, is the change of teaching methods in medical schools.

Namayanja Christabel, a medical student at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Medicine, said the outbreak of the virus in September meant that most students could not spend as much time in hospitals as they were accustomed to because it was putting them at risk of contracting the virus. Namayanja says medical student colleagues who had scheduled ward rounds at Uganda’s Mulago National Referral hospital abandoned the plans.

Mwesigwa Joy, another medical student at UCU, said they abandoned plans of working in the wards because of limited protection.

“The main reason is lack of enough protective equipment that can guarantee our safety,” Mwesigwa explained.

She, however, lauds her colleagues at the School of Medicine for promoting awareness about the disease when it broke out in September 2022.

“We had the Writer’s Society of the UCU School of Medicine write articles on Ebola and it raised a lot of awareness among the students,” Mwesigwa said.

She also noted that they always maintained the standard operating procedures, such as washing hands, keeping a social distance and wearing face masks.

Dr. Mulindwa Geoffrey, the Director of Medical Services at UCU, said the university undertook several measures to fight the spread of the disease.

“Sanitizers and hand-washing points were placed at all entry points of the university premises so that people could clean their hands as they are the main vehicle of disease transmission.”

Mulindwa says much of the awareness was passed through posters that they pinned in the different locations of the university.

On the measures that the university undertook to ensure no case of the Ebola virus was registered in the community, Jimmy Siyasa, the Acting Head of Communication and Public Relations at UCU, said: “As an institution of higher learning with over 11,000 enrolled students, we do not take disease outbreaks lightly.”

The successes registered by UCU in keeping the virus at bay are partly due to the national strategic direction that the country took upon the confirmation of the outbreak in September 2022. For instance, on October 15, 2022, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni imposed a three-week lockdown on movement of vehicles in the districts of Kassanda and Mubende — which were the epicenters of the virus. The lockdown also banned the movement of vehicles and motorcycles into and outside of the two districts located in central Uganda. The Uganda government extended the lockdown on two other occasions, eventually lifting it on December 17, 2022.

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Volunteering opens door for UCU alum after job loss

January 11, 2023News, Students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

Judith Nabwire is a field officer under the DREAMS project.

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
A Uganda-based thinktank, the Economic Policy Research Center, estimates that 41% of the jobs in the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises were lost in Uganda as a result of the Covid pandemic. The job of Judith Nabwire, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) alumna and a social worker, was part of that statistic.

Nabwire squeezed her way through education in Uganda with limited finances. She completed Mbarara Secondary School and, with a sponsored scholarship from a church in Pennsylvania, USA, got a diploma and degree in social work and social administration as well as a certificate in gender training from UCU. She completed an internship with a German-based Off-Tu-Mission nonprofit and breathed a sigh of relief when she got employed with a Christian Non-Governmental Organization, Children Alive Ministry, which works with Mukono-area children, their families, and the church to bring about transformation and holistic wellbeing.

Nabwire at her work station at Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital Community Organisation.

For three years, all was well with Nabwire’s job. However, due to health challenges, in 2020, she got an extended leave of absence. At nearly the same time, Covid and the Uganda government lockdown happened.

“Some people got laid off at Children Alive Ministry, and I was one of them,” Nabwire said. At 34, with a family to look after, losing her job was a hardship.

It was at this point that Nabwire looked back at some of the friendships and connections she had made. Among the people she reached out to was an Ohio USA resident, Patricia Huston-Holm, a friend for about 10 years and the UCU Partners Communications Director. She says Patricia advised her to take up a volunteer opportunity at any organization. She took that advice, and it made the difference.

“I searched around Mukono in central Uganda, until a friend who happened to know someone at Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital referred me there,” she said. “They have a Community Based Organization, with a program called DREAMS, where I worked as a volunteer for the first six months.”

With Dr. Nsingo Simon Peter and others observing Nabwire’s efforts with the DREAMS HIV/AIDS prevention program, she proved her value in half a year. Now, Nabwire, who is married to Kavuma Douglas and has a three-year-old daughter, is officially an employee with the organization as a field officer. She has been paid since November 1, 2022.

Nabwire is among leaders with the DREAMS (determined, resilient, empowered, AIDS-free, mentored, and safe) program, a community-based project with strategies to give age 9-24 girls skills to help them acquire employability and avoid pre-marital sex and HIV/AIDS. She works with girls considered vulnerable because of economic, education and/or early parenting challenges – out of school and at risk of having babies out of wedlock or already teen mothers.

Nabwire’s determination and work ethic are influenced by hard-working, Christian parents who reinforced these values for all five of their children. Her father, John Wabwire, is a pastor for a church in Mbarara. He struggled to pay school fees on his salary.

After completing high school, Nabwire had no hope of continuing her formal learning because she knew her family did not have the means to fund a university education. It was at a Mukono church called Mount Olives that she met visitors from Pennsylvania and Ohio, namely Shirleen Nixon Johnson and Patricia in 2009. After first hearing Judith’s solo voice in the choir and then meeting her, the two women saw value enough to help the young woman further her education and a career. When they couldn’t personally assist, they found others in the United States to provide support.

“I always put my faith in God,” Nabwire said. “I am grateful to so many people for how He put them in my path as I appreciate that God uses me to help others.”

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Karen Drake saves lives through teaching life savers

January 9, 2023Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Dr. Karen Drake, right, with her UCU friend and Tech Park housekeeper, Sylvia Uwera, in August 2022.

By Kefa Senoga
When two-year-old Karen relocated with her parents from the USA to Japan for missionary work, little did she know that that act was an initiation into her future life.

Over the years, she has taught nurses in the USA and Africa on how to save lives. Dr. Karen Drake, a lecturer in the nursing programs at Uganda Christian University (UCU) and Bethel University in Minnesota, USA, has taught in the two institutions for the last two decades.

She describes her experience at UCU, where she has been lecturing since 2005, as marvelous. “I find teaching very rewarding and very fulfilling,” she says, noting that she’s impressed with the progress of some of her former students of the nursing program at UCU.

Throughout Karen’s career as a lecturer, one of the key virtues people always mention is the special bond she has with her former Ugandan students.

In October 2022, when she visited Uganda, her pioneer class at UCU organized a meet-up with her. “I listened to each one of them as they shared how they have progressed,” Karen said, adding: “One of them has completed a PhD and another is working with the Ministry of Health…That was a good day for me to meet and hear them mention how far they have reached with their goals.”

Even though she is a foreigner teaching mostly Ugandan students at UCU, she manages to connect with them academically and culturally.

“I came to UCU with some African experience from Zimbabwe, where I spent 17 years teaching in similar settings like at UCU, so my experience there helped me understand how things are done in Uganda,” she said.

Karen believes that the nursing program at UCU provides a holistic and extensive education to the students, especially since the course is taught from a Christian perspective.

“This helps nurses that have passed through this program to develop a caring spirit for their patients,” she said. “When our students give care, they give care from a Christian perspective exemplified by the love of their patients.”

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Karen would come to Uganda to teach at UCU three times a year and would spend a couple of weeks on the campus each time. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 disrupted her schedule and everything was put online. Additionally, her caregiver role for an aging parent in Minnesota, USA, has cut visits to UCU shorter. She’s hoping to eventually resume her in-person schedule.

“Today, when I come to Mukono, I no longer spend so much time there because I am taking care of my father who is now 101 years old,” she said. “It is when my brother comes to take care of my father that I come to UCU. I came three times in 2022.”

Karen says she got acquainted with UCU through Bethel University, where she lectures. “I got introduced to UCU because Bethel had developed a strong partnership with them. I took Bethel students to UCU and other parts of Uganda, and some UCU nursing students also came and spent some time at the campus at Bethel.”

Karen says that the UCU community is welcoming. “When I stayed on campus at UCU, I had very good neighbors and friends, besides my nursing colleagues.”

Before coming to UCU, Karen says she stayed in Zimbabwe as a missionary. It is in Zimbabwe where she met her husband, who was also a missionary working as a doctor.

“We were married in Zimbabwe in 1975, and we have two grown children,” she said. “My husband also came to UCU many times before he passed on five years ago.”

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UCU student pushes the gospel of climate change

January 6, 2023News, Students, UCU School of BusinessPatty Huston-Holm

On September 3, Charles Lwanga Miti participated as a guest runner in an environment conservation marathon in western Uganda

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
August 20 is the birthday of Charles Lwanga Miti, a year-two student of the Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Miti chose an unconventional way to celebrate his birthday in 2022, by walking 50 miles from Kampala in central Uganda to Jinja in eastern Uganda.

Miti’s walk was in one way a celebration of the ideals that his name stands for in the Luganda dialect. In Luganda, a local language widely spoken in Uganda, Miti means trees. No doubt that Miti’s initiative was to create awareness about climate change. Titled “The Climate Walk,” Miti documented the initiative on his social media pages, with the hope that he would spread his initiative far and wide.

And, yes, he did.

Miti shared information about what CLAN does

Soon after the walk, Save Soil, a global movement, reached out to him to become their youth representative in Uganda. The goal of Save Soil is to show governments across the world that their citizens want policies that revitalize ecology and soil.

Miti at a tea plantation. He says farmers are increasingly finding it difficult to register bumper harvests because of longer dry spells.

Also, as a result of the awareness that Miti created, two weeks later, on September 3, he was invited to participate in a marathon in western Uganda as a guest runner.

But what could have sparked Miti’s interest in environmental conservation? “Through my experience as a farmer, I noticed that farming has been really difficult due to the longer dry spells,” he said.

Miti, who has been farming since 2015, explained that as a result of the recent longer dry spells, the harvests are not as high as previously was the case.

He started farming by growing tomatoes, but later diversified to green pepper, strawberries and watermelon. Later, he also started rearing goats and poultry.

However, because of the need to professionally run his business enterprise, as well as to increase its size and profitability, Miti enrolled for the accounting and finance course at UCU. Being in a community of youth, he started an initiative called the Climate Awareness Network (CLAN). He said he had discovered the need to sensitize the students more on the effects of climate change and what role the learners can play to mitigate them.

“It bothered me that many students believed combating climate change was not their role, but rather of policymakers,” he said.

“I knew that with the country’s largest population being youth, there wouldn’t be a better way to fight climate change without them being involved,” Miti added.

CLAN has partnered with student leaders of UCU to conduct outreaches, sensitizing people about the dangers of polluting the environment. For instance, it partnered with the student leaders to participate in cleaning Bugujju, a community that neighbors UCU.

Miti has learned to use resources at his disposal to amplify his message about the effects of climate change. Writing on the Standard e-platform, Miti makes a case for the need to understand what climate change is and what role one can play to mitigate it.

“Climate change affects us all, and so solving it is everybody’s responsibility, especially you, the youth,” he wrote.

Because Miti feels his is a noble cause, he is pitching to the Director of Student Affairs (DOSA) at UCU the idea of a like-minded club at the university, with the goal of championing environmental conservation and mitigating the effects of climate change.

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New education dean: ‘I see it as a calling from God’

January 4, 2023News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of EducationPatty Huston-Holm

Mary Kagoire (left), the newly appointed Dean of the School of Education at UCU, with Nassaka Olivia Banja, the predecessor of the former.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
When Mary Teophira Kagoire Ocheng applied to pursue a course at Makerere University in Uganda, her score in the national exams earned her the Bachelor of Education course toward a career that was not in her vision. Thus, she initially rejected the offer. However, her contemporaries prevailed upon her, and eventually convinced her to take up the course.

It is the fruits of that course that Kagoire has been benefiting from for more than 30 years. The latest in her line of achievements is the August 2022 appointment to the position of the Dean, School of Education, at Uganda Christian University (UCU).

“I’m excited to be the dean,” Kagoire said. “I see it as a calling from God to do His will.”

She considers her appointment as a great opportunity to contribute to the growth of the School of Education and she plans to do this by transforming the school into an icon of student recruitment, enhancing the quality of teachers being trained, and improving research among the faculty.

“As a school, our teaching focuses on the learner, and we follow it up with a lot of learner support in terms of using rich, student-centered approaches,” Kagoire explained.

Kagoire said she sees her new position of Dean as a calling from God.

She takes over office from the Rev. Canon. Assoc. Prof. Nassaka Olivia Bbanja who was recently appointed Vice Chancellor of Ndejje University, also founded by the Anglican Church in Uganda. Faith Musinguzi replaces Kagoire as UCU’s new Head of the Department of Education.

Before assuming the position of dean, Kagoire was the Head of Department in the School of Education and a coordinator of the PhD in Education Administration program. She also served as an academic mentor to PhD students. She praises UCU’s e-learning services, noting that she wants to see the university become an e-campus that is self-sufficient.

She holds the view that students learn on the job as they are sent out to practice what they are taught, noting that being a teacher enables one to gain confidence because of the constant interaction with the learners.

UCU is uniquely poised compared to other universities, Kagoire says. “The working environment at the institution is conducive, unlike the case in other universities, and the students are creative and empowered.”

During her free time, Kagoire plays golf. In fact, she served as lady captain at the Uganda Golf Club from 2016 to 2017.

The 61-year-old, who recently retired from Makerere University, after 27 years of service, joined UCU in 2018. She retired from Makerere University at the position of senior lecturer.

“As soon as I joined UCU, I was assigned to facilitate the curriculum review, and it gave me pride as a curriculum specialist to see all the faculties review their curriculum and have it accredited by the National Council for Higher Education within a short time,” said Kagoire, who earned her master’s in education, specializing in curriculum studies and PhD from Makerere University in 1991and 2003, respectively.

Kagoire’s replacement, Musinguzi, said she is pleased with the former’s style of leadership. “Dr. Kagoire is so approachable, kind and hardworking, and she doesn’t sleep over work; it has to be done immediately and she makes sure she doesn’t leave others behind.”

Jonathan Okello, a student leader in the School of Education, says Dr. Kagoire has already started meeting his expectations by helping students who are missing their marks. “I also hope she can at least help students who are unable to sit for exams because of tuition by sourcing scholarships,” he said.

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Partners board member Jack Klenk on his divine calling at UCU

January 2, 2023News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business, USPPatty Huston-Holm

Jack Klenk (second-left) during his visit to UCU in May 2022. Second-right is UCU Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi. At right is the Rev. Dr. Larry Adams. At left is Jack’s wife, Linda.

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
Healthy rather than destructive competition in business is what Jack Klenk, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) Partners board member, prescribes. In addition to the necessary knowledge and skills, one should follow the “ethics and values” of business to achieve success, he says.

“You do not succeed in business if you are only competing with other people; you have to work together and things come to you voluntarily, including customers,” Jack said recently, during an online interview from his home in the United States. The interview was based on his activities with UCU Partners and UCU.

Jack describes Uganda as a very friendly country

He noted that a good business system is competitive, but not in the sense of hurting other people in order to be successful. So, to do entrepreneurship, you need not only the practical skills, but also the ethics, and that’s where a coach or a mentor comes in handy, he counsels.

“The UCU incubation hub should be an avenue to cross-pollinate business acumen, which is abundant in Uganda, with Christian values, and then entrepreneurship will flourish,” Jack says, referring to the application model under UCU’s School of Business.

“I hope it (the incubation hub) will prepare people with the skills to do well in a competitive environment, and not with the purpose of hurting other people, but rather to do your very best in order to help other people and glorify God.”

Jack’s involvement with the Anglican Church in Uganda dates back to 1964, when he first came to Uganda after an opportunity opened up to study at Makerere University and to be a teacher.

Since then, Jack has visited Uganda countless times, with his latest trip being in October 2022, to be part of the activities to mark UCU’s 25 years of existence.

Growing up in a Christian family, Jack says the virtues he learned had a big influence on his decision to come to Uganda. Since his family was involved in missions, they would have missionaries frequently stay at their home and at their church.

“We would always be hearing about what God was doing in other countries; this was very formative for me growing up,” he said. “When I went to the university, I had other involvements that helped me to understand and appreciate cultures of other countries; I even had a roommate from Uganda.”

He says he knew full well that he was not just an American, but also a Christian who had to be involved with other Christians to serve the Lord, and, therefore, when it was time to visit Uganda, he did not find it difficult to make the decision.

Jack describes Uganda as a “very friendly country” and he says he was overjoyed to discover so many brothers and sisters in Christ in the country.

“When I first came to UCU before Prof. Stephen Noll became the Vice Chancellor, the situation was very different from what it is right now,” he said. “The university has since expanded in numbers, in facilities, and in its impact on the country, and all those things have been wonderful to see.”

Although growth is linked to challenges, Jack says the most important thing is that UCU is centered on God, as the Alpha and the Omega, something which sets the institution apart. He says the institution will remain a special university and continue to make an impact in the country and beyond if it retains that special identity.

Everything we do is a divine calling, and so does Jack consider his involvement with UCU. Although some people are called in a very particular way, for instance, the prophets, he said that he has been called to follow through with his role as a Christian and a servant of God.

Through the members of the UCU Partners board, and the organization’s Executive Director, Mark Bartels, Jack said they are much involved in several activities in the university, and now UCU Partners has even taken on the Uganda Studies Program, where Americans come and study at UCU.

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UCU Arua Campus wins regional quality award

December 30, 2022News#News, #students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

The award that was given to UCU Arua Campus

By Kefa Senoga
Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Arua Campus has won a prestigious regional award as the best higher institution of learning in West Nile for 2022. The West Nile Quality Brands Awards are given to entities that operate in the northwestern part of Uganda.

The criteria for selecting the awardees involved assessing their economic sustainability, operational effectiveness, level of technology adoption, progressive leadership and culture, as well as social and community contribution, commitment and perseverance.

While receiving the award at a hotel in the northwestern district of Arua on December 9, 2022, the UCU Arua Campus Director, the Rev. Julius Tabbi Izza, said it represents the voice of the community about what they know regarding UCU and that it tasks the administration of the university with continuing to offer quality services to the community.

“Four institutions were nominated alongside UCU and it was upon the public to vote, so this is a testimony regarding what the public knows about UCU and, it gives us confidence that the community loves what we do and that they trust us,” Tabbi said.

The nomination and voting processes constituted 70% of the brand score, while the results from the judging panel constituted 30%. The university campus garnered 63.32% out of 70% of the votes from the public.

The West Nile Quality Brands Awards was set up to recognize excellence among companies, businesses, start-ups and individuals who have made a positive contribution to the region. The awardees must demonstrate excellence in the service they offer, show evidence of innovation and customer service, as well as professionalism and inclusiveness in the work they engage in.

The awards organizers said the UCU Arua Campus was awarded for demonstrating its ability to equip students with quality, innovative skills, as well as providing hands-on skills courses that meet the market demands of professionals.

Taking advantage of its state-of-the-art online technology, the awards committee said UCU was the first university to embrace online learning for students prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that this helped many complete studies within the stipulated time. It added that all the achievements were possible because “UCU’s transformational leadership has enabled organizational learning.”

Albe Akasa, the president of the West Nile Quality Brands, said: “Winning portrays the trust that people have in UCU since these are largely people-centered competitions; it, therefore, shows that UCU is performing well, from the perspective of the people it serves.”

As part of the benefits that UCU is entitled to as a winner, the university’s profile and advertisement will be published in the awards Winners Directory Book. Also to be profiled will be a documentary showcasing UCU’s activities.

The UCU Arua Campus was established in August 2003. Formerly, it was St. Paul’s Regional Theological College, offering diploma and certificate courses in Theology, as well as training of Lay Readers.

The campus, which started with 80 students and 27 academic and non-academic staff now boasts a student enrolment of over 600 and about 100 staff.

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Banja narrates how UCU prepared her for greatness

December 26, 2022Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of EducationPatty Huston-Holm

The Rev. Canon Assoc. Prof. Olivia Nassaka Banja is the new Vice Chancellor of Ndejje University in Uganda.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
Hard work rarely goes unacknowledged. For the Rev. Can. Assoc. Prof. Olivia Nassaka Banja, the sweat that she has been breaking in the academic sphere has yielded results with her appointment to the apex management position of a university in Uganda.

Banja is the new Vice-Chancellor of Ndejje University. Her appointment makes her the third Vice Chancellor of Ndejje, and the first woman to hold that position in the university. Banja was the Dean of the School of Education at Uganda Christian University (UCU) for about a year prior to her new position.

“I’m grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to serve at UCU, where I have been groomed, shaped, mentored and equipped with skills that I am taking with me to serve and lead in another institution,” said Banja, who was head hunted for the position because of her stellar performance and tested legacy as an administrator at UCU.

Banja became the first female dean of UCU’s Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology in 2008 and served in the position till June 2014, when she became UCU’s Director for Teaching and Learning. It was from this position that she switched to head the UCU School of Education as its dean in September 2021.

Formerly Bishop Tucker Theological College, the school, which started in 1913, gave birth to UCU, in 1997. Looking at Banja’s academic journey before becoming the dean of the UCU’s Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, it was evident she was undergoing formative preparation for the big job. For instance, as early as 1993, she was the curate of St Andrew’s Cathedral Mityana Diocese and was made the acting vicar of the same cathedral the following year.

Banja was part of UCU’s inaugural staff members, serving as a lecturer and also the Female Students’ Warden. In 2004, she was promoted to the position of Senior Lecturer. She was part of the team that developed the first PhD program at UCU, the Doctor of Ministry.

The holder of a bachelor’s degree, three master’s and a PhD was ordained deacon in the Church of Uganda on December 19, 1993. She says that the day she committed her life to God was the day she “saw her path.”

Also in 1993, she was a recipient of a First Class in Bachelor of Divinity at the Bishop Tucker Theological College Mukono. In 1996, she earned a Master of Arts in Religious Studies of Makerere University and added another master’s degree, MA, Mission and Ministry of St John’s College, Nottingham University in the UK, the following year.

And Banja was not done yet, with her master’s degrees. In 2000, she earned her third, Master of Theology by Research of the University of Edinburgh. In the same year, she started her PhD course in the same university, graduating in 2004.

As she leaves UCU, Banja looks back with great pride at the first graduation ceremony of the university in 2000. She remembers typing and printing all of her exams before heading to the nearby Mukono town to photocopy because the university did not have such services at the time.

“After all we had done, seeing the university produce its first graduates was a great joy to me,” she said.

For all that the 55-year-old has achieved, she thanks her parents, James Lwanga and Daisy Ndagire. “My father didn’t have gender stereotypes, and he believed in me to be an achiever at a very young age.”

For her primary education, Banja attended Bat Valley Primary School and Nakasero Secondary School for both her O’level and A’level. Both Bat Valley and Nakasero are located in Kampala.

She married the Rev. Canon Venerable Moses Banja in April 2001. Banja says she spends her free time cooking and reading when not busy with academic or religious work.

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UCU main campus gets new Guild President

December 23, 2022Faculty of Engineering, Design & Technology, News, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

From left to right: New Guild President Ddumba Timothy, Mirembe Racheal Sserwadda (outgoing Guild President) and Edonu Jorem (guild aspirant).

By Kefa Senoga
To graduate at Uganda Christian University (UCU), it is not enough to pay full tuition and pass all the exams. A student has to show proof by clearing with the different departments at the university, before they join the graduation list. And this clearance requires the physical presence of students at the offices of the students guild, finance, hall of residence, UCU Alumni and library, among others. This is something that Ddumba Timothy, UCU’s new Guild President, wants to change.

“The process of clearing for graduation is quite lengthy, needing students to travel back to the university,” Ddumba said, promising the university’s students that he already has a solution.

“Where the finalists are, is where we should be,” he said during his campaigns, noting that they are in advanced stages of setting up a digital clearance platform, so that a final-year student can be able to clear virtually, and only turn up at the university for graduation. Should Ddumba see his proposal through, it will be a game changer for UCU’s final-year students.

Ddumba, a second-year student of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, won the November 18, 2022, elections for the position of UCU Guild President, defeating his rival, Jorem Edonu, by 190 votes. The winner polled 1,515 votes, against Edonu’s 1,325. Ddumba becomes UCU’s 25^th Guild President, in a year the institution is celebrating its silver jubilee. He takes over from Mirembe Racheal Sserwadda. When Ddumba was announced winner, Edonu, who was also in the room, congratulated him with a hug.

“What makes online voting user-friendly is that an international student can also participate; for instance, someone from Kenya who is not in school can also vote,” Sekiziyivu Daniel, one of the members of the university’s electoral commission, said.

Ddumba’s victory in the third virtual elections at UCU means that for the first time in four years, the university will have a guild president outside the School of Law. Due to the Covid pandemic, UCU started a virtual online voting process for its student leaders in 2020.

Ddumba, who received significant support for the campaigns from his family and friends, promised to be a guild president who stands for the interests of the students.

“During my reign, the students will feel the benefit of our government. We shall not stop encouraging them to approach us with the different ideas that they have in mind, to make UCU a better place,” Ddumba said, adding: “We shall open doors for students to know how their money is being spent and used by the guild government.”

The new Guild President called for unity among the students who contested and urged the winners to show magnanimity, stressing that “we are one family in the UCU community.”

Before UCU, Ddumba attended the elite King’s College, Budo, where he was the head prefect. He says Budo was the cradle of his leadership growth because, through his leadership at the school, he learned to communicate, and to manage people.

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UCU sports men and women shine at October graduation

December 19, 2022News, Sports, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

UCU sports women pause with their medals during their graduation. Left to right: Basketballers Rose Akon, Agatha Kamwada, Sera Precious Yaweh and Aziida Nabayunga.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
A large number of Uganda Christian University (UCU) sports personalities exchanged their football and basketball jerseys for caps and gowns at UCU’s 23^rd graduation ceremony – a reminder that education and athletics can go hand in hand.

Samuel Lukaire, the Sports Administrator at UCU, said the university develops talent by recruiting young players who have shown potential to grow in their sports discipline. Along with attending classes, the players are trained and exposed to competitive games as UCU also has hosted major national sports events, often selected as the venue because of the Mukono campus modern sports facilities. Among the competitions that have been hosted at the UCU main campus in Mukono are the Inter University Games Uganda in 2007 and 2013, the East African University Games in 2014, and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization in 2017.

UCU athletes share graduation thoughts

“The university engages in as many sports disciplines as are available in the university competitions,” Lukaire said, noting that they have teams for basketball, volleyball, rugby, football and netball. Other sports disciplines that UCU participates in are athletics, badminton, chess, wood ball, karate, taekwondo, handball, swimming and lawn tennis.

Some of the sports graduates at the October 28, 2022, ceremony, which also was an event marking 25 years of UCU’s existence, talked to our reporter.

**Rodgers Kukundakwe, Bachelor of Business Administration.**

“As players, we’ve been able to study, play, and eventually graduate.” Kukundakwe, a football center back, said, adding a reminder that for one to achieve success at university, they have to manage their time well. He thanks God for the successes registered as a player, including being on the team winning the University Football League in 2019 and the Association of Uganda University Sports games the same year. Kukundakwe is grateful to the university for meeting the costs of his tuition, meals, and accommodation throughout his stay at UCU.

**Francis Jurua, Bachelor of Business Administration.**

“At UCU, much as you are on a sports scholarship, education is given priority,” Jurua, a footballer, said. He adds that the university’s emphasis on education helped him balance both studies and games.

Sera Precious Yaweh, Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication
While studying at UCU, Yaweh played for A1 Challenge, a basketball team in Uganda. She attributes her victory of completing studies and graduation to God. She says that she had to go to school during the day and attend training twice a week in Kampala, about 15 miles away from school. And, as a student, she dedicated most of her weekends to playing basketball for her team. Some of the games would be played late in the night, and, as a member of the team, she had to be available for them. With such a schedule, Yaweh says she had to sacrifice several hours of sleep to read books at night and participate in group discussions with her colleagues.

**Muhammad Lubega, Diploma in Business Administration**

“It was not easy to balance books and football, but I pray we go out there and make history,” Lubega said. He also expressed gratitude to UCU and his family for all the assistance he got during his three years of study at the institution.

**Geoffrey Gaganga, Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics**

Gaganga was the captain of the UCU football team. Gaganga, who played in the midfield position, explains that it wasn’t hard for him to balance books and games because it’s something he has done since secondary school. He encourages fellow players to put as much effort in their academics as they do in sports because their profession will come to their rescue once they retire from professional sports.

**Rose Akon, Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance.**

Akon emerged as the best defensive player, rebounder, and most valuable player of the year, after her team won the 2022 National Basketball Association Women’s Championship. She attributes her achievement to being able to manage time well.

“While at university, I rarely got the time to relax and have fun,” said Akon, noting that her life rotated around the basketball court and class. Her greatest inspiration, she says, has been her family. During school, Akon says she discovered another side of her – laziness. However, she said the fact that she understood herself well enough gave her the opportunity to push herself beyond comfortable limits, in order to register success.

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UCU alumnus named World Vision best employee of year

December 16, 2022News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Derrick Kyatuka interviews a woman during his field activities. Courtesy Photos.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
Derrick Kyatuka’s work gives him the opportunity to listen firsthand to stories of people in rural Uganda. It is these stories, many about refugees, that he crafts in a way to trigger help from donors. While oftentimes the stories are painful to hear, recording and sharing them has brought about change in their lives.

Kyatuka was voted the best employer of the year by World Vision Uganda.

Kyatuka is a humanitarian communicator with the World Vision’s Uganda Refugee Response program, where he has worked for the past four years, shooting videos, writing stories and taking photos. And for the sweat that he broke in 2021, World Vision named him employee of the year.

To the 30-year-old who received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication from Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2016, the award is an opportunity for testimony.

“This award is a true testimony of how faithful God is and how he rewards his humble servants,” said Kyatuka, a son of Fred and Annet Kagyenzi of Rukungiri district in western Uganda.

But he is also aware that, many times, to earn recognition, in addition to hard work, luck must also be on one’s side. Kyatuka says that he does not see himself as the best humanitarian communicator that World Vision has ever had, but that he has been incredibly lucky and fortunate in the work that he has been able to produce.

And he has evidence for how luck has been on his side. In December 2021, one of his photos was chosen as the third-most powerful of the 47 favorite photos from around the world that were selected by World Vision.

“Such global moments of recognition have inspired me to work harder and devote more time to producing quality work,” he says, adding that when “good work is rewarded, it means more work.”

Kyatuka and some of the refugee children in the community he serves.

“As I go about my work, I keep reflecting on Colossians 3:23, which says ‘work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord, rather than for people’.”

His writings, photos, and videos have been used all over the world by World Vision Partnership, and they have helped World Vision Uganda get funding for some of their programmes. But he is quick to add that getting his works to a publishable level is no cup of tea. Kyatuka explains that for many of them, he has to burn the midnight oil to deliver quality work.

He has trained some communication champions in the areas where he works, to help him get timely content for the different projects he supports. “I believe everyone can become a great communicator if given the right mentorship and skills,” Kyatuka, who hopes to set up a mobile journalism training school one day, said.

He also has extended the training in mobile journalism to some of his fellow staff members to enhance their skills. He makes most of his videos using his smartphone, a growing trend that further reinforces the expansiveness of skills and knowledge that can be guided to create content.

“In this digital era, people should have communication skills to be able to produce compelling, rather than sensational content,” he said.

Kyatuka joined World Vision in 2017, as a temporary communication officer, and worked for seven months. He then joined New Vision as a freelance writer. However, not long after, there was an opening for a humanitarian communicator at World Vision, which he successfully applied for.

He is grateful to John Semakula and Stephen Ssenkaaba, who were his lecturers at undergraduate level. Both Ssenkaaba and Semakula encouraged him to join New Vision upon graduation.

“Ssenkaaba assigned me my first story in 2016, and Semakula introduced me to the weekend desk at New Vision,” he said.

Kyatuka, who is now pursuing a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication at UCU, studied at Mbarara High School in western Uganda for his O’level and St. Peter’s Secondary School, Nsambya, central Uganda, for his A’ level.

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UCU Partners donates electronics equipment to UCU

December 14, 2022Faculty of Engineering, Design & Technology, News, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Mark Bartels handing over the equipment to Justine Mukalere

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Department of Computing and Technology is the latest beneficiary of the generosity of the benefactors of the USA-based, UCU Partners nonprofit. In October 2022, the department received electronics equipment worth $6,304 (about sh23,570,000) from the Uganda Partners executive director, Mark Bartels.

The donation of a flash forge 3D printer, an advanced virtual reality headset, a smart robot vehicle kit, a computer kit, a digital oscilloscope with a four-channel standard decoder and a triple output power supply, among others, comes at a time when the department has just introduced courses in robotics, mechatronics, electronics engineering and data science. It is hoped that the items will further enhance the learning and teaching of the courses.

Members of the Department of Computing and Technology after receiving the donation

Justin Mukalere, a lecturer in the department, said the equipment will go a long way in seeing that their projects achieve the intended results.

Bartels said the donors expect the equipment to facilitate the expansion of the department, as well as improve its output.

“People who are interested in information technology and computer science in the USA have funded these goods in order to support and promote the expansion of the departments at UCU,” Bartels said during the handover ceremony at the UCU main campus in Mukono on October 31.

He noted that UCU Partners seeks to provide opportunities for the teaching staff and the leadership of the departments to go to the US, if only they can develop partnerships with universities there, to exchange experiences and ideas, as well as continue to grow and encourage one another.

Uganda Partners Executive Director Mark Bartels talks about donation for new IT equipment

Terhemba Michael-Ahile, the coordinator of the Bachelor of Data Science at UCU, said that the program had been embedded in other course units in the institution, but noted that soon, it will be a fully fledged course of its own among the bachelor’s and master’s students.

“From the onset of our program, we want the students to appreciate its application and that can only happen if they have the hands-on experience, so this equipment will enable us achieve that,” Terhemba said, noting that there is deliberate effort to make the programme as practical as possible.

Anei Agany, a year-three computer science student at UCU, expressed excitement about the additional equipment, saying they will provide him the much needed opportunity to get hands-on experience for the many robotics projects he has been working on.

The Department of Computing and Technology at UCU is quickly expanding and looking out for learning and training opportunities for its students. Among the partnerships that have been secured is with tech giant Google, from which students will acquire certification for their work.

The October donation of equipment is the latest among several that the university has received from UCU Partners. In November 2021, Partners donated $50,000 (about sh170million) to the university for upgrading its elearning platform following the increase in the need to beef up its virtual learning infrastructure. The emergence of the Covid pandemic made virtual learning one of the alternatives if learning was ever to continue, especially during the pandemic-induced lockdowns.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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‘I will succeed as a video producer’

December 12, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Andrew is fond of carrying tripods and cameras around campus

By Enock Wanderema
When Andrew Bugembe put up his hand in class, there were indications he could not process his lecturer’s statement that for one to be a successful media professional, one has to be a good writer.

“Yes, Andrew,” the lecturer beckoned, as he called him out to speak. The class was silent. Andrew rarely engages in arguments — especially before lecturers.

“Sir, what would you say about me, who is good at camera work, and editing videos? Writing is not my passion. I have tried to master it, but I have not been successful,” Andrew stated.

“Well, it would serve you better if you practiced writing as well; it can save you somehow,” the lecturer responded.

After class, Andrew told me: “You can’t be good at everything, I know my passion, and I will succeed as a video producer.”

Such a rebellious and decisive thought can only come from someone who is confident of their skills, someone who is a leader. As a new student at Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2019, Andrew contested for the position of class representative and won. In fact, the only vote his competitor got was his own.

“Can you imagine my dad wanted me to pursue a course in law?” Andrew asked rhetorically, as he recalled how he ended up pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication.

Asked why his dad wanted him to pursue a course in law, he said it was not really because he wanted his son to be a lawyer. Andrew said his dad assumed that the intense curriculum in a law school would distract his son from the passion he had for music. Andrew’s dad was concerned about future earnings with his belief that musicians are generally “not taken seriously” by society.

It is this passion that saw Andrew take up a leadership position, and also radiated his abilities to potential professional networks.

“I found Andrew to be a focused, determined, disciplined and no-nonsense student,” said Frank Obonyo, a lecturer in the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at UCU. Obonyo previously supervised Andrew at UCU’s Department of Communication and Public Relations, where Obonyo was the head. He is currently the Senior Public Relations Officer at the Law Development Centre in Uganda.

“We took him up as an intern in our office because he is a good listener, creative, and has an insatiable thirst for improvement, especially in video production.”

Whenever Andrew finds it challenging to creatively manipulate a video project, he always seeks help.

“He consults the Internet, people, and other online sources whenever he is stuck,” Obonyo observed. “This is a strong spirit that any supervisor would like to have around.”

Another attribute about Andrew is that he never says never. He is a “yes man,” a trait which sometimes has him biting off more than he can chew.

He adapts easily to situations and gets along with people effortlessly. Possibly, it is this attribute that has enabled him to take some videos for Uganda Partners, a non-profit charitable organisation based in the USA, that has rewarded him with a partial scholarship to cover a tuition balance during a financially difficult semester. One such video that Andrew produced was of Mwikoyo Rachael, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Nursing Science at UCU. Mwikoyo is one of the beneficiaries of the charity of the Uganda Partners NGO.

Additionally, Andrew was part of UCU’s inaugural podcast team where, at its inception, he was the producer, a role he was learning on the job.

Andrew, often seen carrying tripods and cameras around campus, is an example of finding strengths in a true passion outside of normal expectations.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.