Category Archives: Students

UCU alum dances way to success with goal of helping vulnerable

August 31, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

Molly Nantongo and Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, former dean of UCU’s School of Social Sciences and now Director for Postgraduate Studies, in August 2022. “You were my dean, and read my name,” Nantongo recalled of her connection to Kukunda at the 2015 UCU graduation day on the Mukono campus.

By Patty Huston-Holm
When I think of Molly Nantongo, I think of dancing. The tiny gap in her front teeth is one way I pick her out from hundreds of Ugandans I’ve met. Both of those things – dance and space evident when Nantongo smiles – have played an important role in her still unfolding achievement.

On a Saturday morning in August 2022, from a couch in my Uganda Christian University (UCU) Tech Park apartment, Nantongo explained the role. A 2015 UCU alum with a Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration, she sandwiched in time to talk just five days before her flight to California, USA. Our conversation was punctuated with laughter, hope from despair and bites of chocolate brownies.

Laughter
I met Nantongo in 2016. In addition to the meager salary that she got from performances with a troupe at Uganda’s Ndere Cultural Arts Center, she got some shillings from me for private dance lessons between shrubs and hanging laundry in the side yard of where I lived at UCU. Her young 20-something moves were a sharp contrast to those of her much older but eager-to-learn counterpart.

We laughed then and with Dr. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, then dean of the UCU School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies, enroute home to Mukono after watching Nantongo dance with Ndere Troupe one Sunday night in Kampala.

Molly Nantongo giving private African dance lesson to Author Patty Huston-Holm

Nantongo was piecing together earnings from three jobs: a professional dancer, an occasional private dance teacher and teaching assistant and tutor for undergraduate students in the university’s foundation courses. At that time and still, she had visited more of USA’s 50 states than me.

“I’ve been in about 95% of the United States,” she said. She got there before age 15.

Hope
In 2002, Nantongo was one of four children living with a single mother, a former Hutu in Rwanda, in the Kampala slum suburb of Kirombe. Missing school and food on the table were an accepted way of life that the then 10-year-old filled with “cracking jokes” and dancing. One such day, she and a girlfriend jumped gleefully onto a political campaign truck filled with music blaring from loud speakers. They laughed and danced, oblivious to those seeing them, before jumping off to make the 35-minute walk from home.

“Mom was bitter,” Nantongo said. “She caned me.”

Nantongo ran away and slept the night on some steps where a sex worker scooped her up, made her tea with milk and, despite the child protests that her mom would “beat me to death,” took her home.

There, she learned that she had been noticed on the truck.

“They were looking for the dancing girl with the gap in her teeth,” she said.

That organization, now known as Undugu Society of Kenya, helped Nantongo finish primary school. Another organization, Empower African Children, got her to the United States as a member of the Spirit of Uganda Various Artists – Spirit of Uganda: 2008 Tour Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic “Because I could dance,” Nantongo explained, adding, “Plus, I had a story to tell.”

Her moves were natural until age 15, when there was formalized instruction to be ready for travel, do shows internationally and raise money for vulnerable children like her. The 2008 USA tour with 11 girls and 11 boys was six months in buses and planes.

“The organization called me ‘Maureen’ and taught me how to jump and move my hands in different tribal dances,” she said. Her favorite dances are from northeastern Uganda, namely the Karamoja region, with a particular affection for war dances without drums.

More Hope
As Nantongo told of her journey, she shared that her siblings weren’t totally left behind as Empower African Children assisted with education. And she never took her support for granted. Working hard as she did in the years after getting her bachelor’s degree was both rewarding and giving back. She helped students understand health and wellness and world views in the UCU undergraduate foundation courses.

Alas, like for many, Covid was a hardship. A degree meant little without a place to teach, and dancing meant little without an audience to dance for. Nantongo started a passion fruit business to support herself and her mom, age 52, who struggles still from a stroke in 2017.

A year into being a street seller, a friend suggested she apply for a scholarship opportunity through the American Embassy. Without much optimism as one of 60 candidates for one slot, she participated in the two-week orientation – raising her hand and smiling a lot. She was chosen for a two-year master’s program in social welfare at the University of California in Berkley.

Once there, she applied for a $10,000 “Davis Project for Peace” grant – one designed to help Ugandan youth (ages 14-20) who are victims of Covid shutdown impacts, including pregnant-out-of-wedlock girls. The 15-week project, entitled Ntongo Skills4Peace, took place through mid-August 2022 with assistance for several thousand youth.

Molly Nantongo, UCU alum studying at the University of California, Berkley, holds a replica of a character from the Flat Stanley children’s book in 2016. This rendition from a Dayton, Ohio, class taught by Huston-Holm’s niece is part of an educational project designed to expose schoolchildren to different people and cultures.

“If we don’t do something now, these girls will end up in prostitution,” Nantongo, turning age 30 in October, said. “I’ve been using the grant here to focus on vocation skills like catering and tailoring, hair dressing and welding for these vulnerable.”

As Nantongo is wrapping up her final year in California in 2023, she has her sights on working for USAID, UNICEF. United Nations or World Bank, with her forever passion to help the poverty vulnerable as she once was.

“I want to start mentoring sessions for children who have been born and raised in the slums to give them hope and connect them to different resources that can help them attain their goals,” she said, smiling to show that gap in her teeth that she doesn’t intend to plug.

More Laughter
As for dancing?
On this Saturday in August, Nantongo pulled up a video on her phone. It shows three students in Berkeley, California. In it, she is dancing with a young man from Kenya and a woman from China. And all three are laughing.

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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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Nantongo Molly can be reached at Instagram nantongo.maureen |(LinkedIn: NANTONGO MOLLY | ;Twitter: @NantongoMolly | FaceBook: Nantongo Maureen.

Prof. Wangusa hailed for contribution to literature in Uganda

August 26, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of EducationPatty Huston-Holm

Prof. Timothy Wangusa gives a speech during the celebration at Makerere University

By Kefa Senoga
A fountain of knowledge. A man gifted with words. A man who can weave words to create a magical appeal. These were some of the descriptions bestowed on Prof. Timothy Wangusa as the academia gathered on July 8, 2022, to celebrate a man who has contributed to Uganda through the spoken and written word.

The event, whose theme was Celebrating Wangusa@80, was convened by Uganda’s Makerere University as part of activities to celebrate 100 years of the university. It also coincided with a celebration of 80 years of the literary giant. Wangusa, a poet and novelist, was born on May 20, 1942.

UCU lecturer Timothy Wangusa has a birthday that coincides with Makerere University’s centenary. The university applauded his service for literature in the country and region during his 80th birthday celebration and the launch of his four books.

Wangusa also is a name known at Uganda Christian University (UCU), where he played a key role in establishing the department of languages and literature in the School of Education. A research fellow at UCU from 2003 to 2005, he was a research supervisor and was instrumental in developing UCU’s Master of Arts and PhD program in literature.

Prof. Timothy Wangusa receives gifts from Makerere University officials on July 8

At 27 years, Wangusa joined Makerere as an academic. Six years down the road, in 1975, he bagged a PhD in literature, becoming the first person to acquire the qualification at Makerere. Six years later, Wangusa became one of the few African professors at Makerere.

Wangusa jokingly refers to himself as the mean point between Makerere University with it’s 100 years of existence and Uganda with its 60 years of independence this year

“If you add 100 years of Makerere to 60 years of Uganda and divide by 2, you get me,” Wangusa explained to the July 8 audience.

Wangusa, who hails from Manafwa district in eastern Uganda, says throughout his teaching and writing career, he has emphasized the mutual importance of the spoken and the written word.

One of his inspirations for the “economy of words,” Wangusa narrates, is when, at the age of 10, he attended Sunday school in the eastern Uganda region of Bugisu, his native area. He says the preacher summed up his message in four words: “Always love one another.” To Wangusa, if anyone practiced the love for one another, they will have obeyed all the Ten Commandments.

As a teacher, he says he found it difficult to teach what he calls the most difficult doctrine to comprehend, the doctrine of the Trinity. He says, in his wisdom, he attempted to define God to his students, by coming up with the Trinity Tree, which he described in a 15-word poem:

The father in the root

The son in the shoot

The spirit in the fruit

Wangusa says that his discovery of the significance of the economy of words has informed his career and he testifies that he has been inspired by words which have guided his humanness of character and style of writing.

“My first novel – Upon This Mountain – could have been four times longer if I had been an expansionist, but I am a ‘compactionist’,” he said. The novel, which is 116 pages, is part of the literature syllabus for many secondary schools in Uganda.

The event at Makerere University also was used to launch Wangusa’s latest books – I Love You, You Beast, a book where he shares reflections on faith and literature from 1969 to 2009; Pathfinders’ Footprints in Modern African Poetry, a collection of poems; Lost in Wonder, his autobiography; and Niyanga Nilaliila, a translated autobiography in Lumasaaba, his native language.

Arthur Gakwandi, a novelist, short story writer, diplomat and Makerere lecturer, said Wangusa creates “cryptic communication, packed with meaning and difficult to comprehend.”

“He can find meaning in simple things,” Gakwandi said. “He can see the supernatural in ordinary things, a tree or object, which most people ignore. He then finds a word to communicate that momentary insight.”

Dr. Susan Kiguli, a poet and senior lecturer of literature at Makerere, said she always thought that great writers were only dead people. So, when she came across poems and novels by Wangusa in secondary school, she had no reason to believe that the professor was still alive.

“However, when I joined Makerere University, I was shocked to learn that Wangusa was one of our lecturers,” Kiguli said. “Being a man of small stature, he did not tower over us. But when he began to speak, he was larger than life. He is small, but carries a mountain of achievements.”

Peter Mugume, a lecturer at UCU, says he first met Wangusa as his undergraduate teacher at Makerere University. He says he later got the opportunity to work with Wangusa as a colleague lecturer in the department of literature at UCU.

Wangusa attended Nabumali High School from 1958 to 1961 for O’level, before joining King’s College, Budo for A’level from 1962 to 1963. From Budo, he joined Makerere University, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English course, and then to the UK’s University of Leeds for a master’s degree in literature.

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UCU revolutionizes accommodations after Covid lockdown

August 22, 2022COVID-19, News, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Students register online to access accommodations at UCU

By Israel Kisakye
The Covid-19 pandemic left much of the world on its knees. For others, it was an elevation opportunity. One such area related to the latter is the registration of resident students at Uganda Christian University (UCU). The university rolled out an online registration method to alleviate physical contact as the institution tried to keep up with the standard operating procedures against the spread of coronavirus.

“Students who have paid their full accommodation fees and 45% of the tuition fees are able to register online,” the Rev. Simon Peter Ddamba, the UCU warden for Nsibambi Hall, said. The development, according to Ddamba, has eased the registration process for both the students and the university.

However, some students who did not want their names to go on record do not agree. They say the online system sometimes locks them out, keeping them from completing the registration.

When Uganda Partners put this challenge to Bridget Mugume, the Director of Student Affairs at UCU, she said some of the students facing obstacles are those who have not met the requirements for online registration – paying full boarding fees and 45% of the accommodation fees. (At the time of writing this story, our writer attempted to register online, and he confirmed that the system was working well.)

Mugume noted that the new system has enabled the capture of students’ data from the time they report for studies.

“All the information is in the database, where it can be easily be tracked,” she said.

In a promotion video recorded in 2021, Ddamba said the halls of residence are equipped with computer laboratories and internet hotspots to enable students do research.

The university also has reduced the number of residents in a room from four, before Covid-19, to two.

Racheal Birungi, a student of Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance, who resides in Sabiti Hall, says they are having the best time of their lives in the halls due to a reduction in the number of occupants in a room.

“We no longer share wardrobes; this has created comfort and enough space in the rooms,” Birungi says.

UCU has two halls of residence – Sabiti for female students and Nsibambi for male students. The reduction in the number of occupants per room means less students will be accommodated than before. However, to cover some of the gap that has been created, the university in February 2022 acquired the Ankrah Foundation premises. UCU is currently using the facility for a resource centre, as well as accommodation for students, among others.

The interior view of a lounge at the Ankrah Foundation hostel

The Kodwo and Maxine hostel at Ankrah Foundation has 142 rooms, with each room accommodating two students. At least 116 students are currently residing at the hostel, with the number expected to increase. Innocent Owora, the Kodwo and Maxine hostel Residential Assistant, said with two students occupying each room, incidences of theft will be greatly reduced.

Ddamba said to augment the security, plans are underway to install security cameras at the students’ halls of residence.

There also are plans to establish single-rooms at the Kodwo and Maxine hostel. Mugume said there are 100 single-rooms that are being renovated into accommodation facilities at the Ankrah Foundation.

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UCU holds first total in-person graduation in more than two years

August 20, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of BusinessPatty Huston-Holm

Some graduates pose after the UCU ceremony on July 29

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
On January 7, 2020, Uganda Christian University (UCU) awarded semester scholarships to 10 students in appreciation of their outstanding academic performance. While handing out the Vice Chancellor’s Awards to the students, former Vice Chancellor John Senyonyi said the gesture was a motivation for excellence at the university.

Overall Best Student Mugagga Leslie Lubowa receives his award from UCU Bishop Alfred Olwa at the ceremony on July 29. Centre is Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi.

True to the intention of the award, two students did not take their feet off the pedal. Mugagga Leslie Lubowa and Hajara Nanziri – who were among the recipients of the scholarships in 2020 – on July 29, 2022, emerged top at UCU’s first part of the 23rd graduation.

Lubowa, a graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics with a First Class, walked home with three accolades. His Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.91 out of 5 earned him the accolade of Best Male Student, Best Science Student and Overall Best Student.

Another recipient of the 2020 award, Hajara Nanziri, emerged the Best Arts Student at the July graduation. Nanziri, who attained a First Class with a CGPA of 4.72, graduated with a Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

The top university administrators and chief guest during the graduation

The best overall female student at the graduation, Cynthia Birungi Muhumuza, a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics, garnered a CGPA of 4.76. Birungi’s life has been a true defiance of the phrase “a jack of all trades and a master of none.” While at UCU, she did not just belong to the elite class of the Honors College. She was a leader at the college, as its Prime Minister. Before joining UCU, Birungi was the head girl at Seroma Christian School, where she attended secondary education. She was also the school’s basketball team captain.

Mugagga, Nanziri and Birungi were among the 55 students who attained academic excellence at the July graduation, garnering First Class and, thus, walked home with plaques.

Boreen Natamba, who got a First Class in Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance, was full of praises to her parents and lecturers. “Without them, I wouldn’t have graduated today,” Natamba said at the event, where 2106 students graduated. Of these, 55% were female.

“The endless discussions have finally paid off,” Natamba said. “I’m optimistic that with the skills and values we’ve acquired, the future is bright,”

The graduation ceremony, in a year when UCU marks 25 years of existence, was the institution’s first total in-person ceremony since the outbreak of Covid-19 more than two years ago. The previous two graduation ceremonies — on December 18, 2020, and October 22, 2021 — were virtual, in line with the Uganda Government’s policy of observing the Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures.

The graduating students were also coming from some of UCU’s constituent colleges – Bishop Barham and Mbale University College; and the Arua Campus.

Unpacking the sendoff package of nuggets of wisdom for the graduates, chief guest Bishop Dr. Sheldon Mwesigwa emphasized the virtues of truthfulness, trustworthiness and timeliness as some of what will determine how much the graduates achieve in the field of work.

He said deception has become the modern way of life in a world where the dividing line between the truth and lies gets blurred each passing day. Mwesigwa, a former Chairperson of the UCU Council, therefore, urged the graduates to be “ambassadors of truth, and not messengers of lies and deception.”

The Chancellor of UCU, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, hinged his message to the graduates on integrity.

“You have a duty to uphold the flag of UCU, while remaining men and women of integrity, guided by humility and discipline, because it is through these attributes that you will remain useful to your families and community,” Kaziimba, who is the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Uganda, said.

He reminded the graduates that the virtues of diligence, servanthood and stewardship should be their guiding compass in life.

Students and guests who attended the graduation ceremony walked home with printed souvenir copies of Ebenezer, a graduation publication produced in collaboration with Uganda Partners, UCU Department of Communications and Public Relations and the Standard under the School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC).

The graduation ceremony was preceded by two events – a public lecture held on July 27 and the commissioning ceremony of the graduands. Doug Fountain, a former UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and External Relations, now living in Maryland, USA, gave the public lecture on the topic, “The Strongest Asset for Building Resilient Local Health Systems.”

At the commissioning service held in Nkoyoyo Hall on July 28, the guest preacher, Canon Edward Gaamuwa, urged the students to always wait on God because “He has the right timing for every person.”

“God has a definite plan and purpose for your life. He will go with you and be with you in every step of your life,” Gaamuwa said.

At the graduation, two students – Owen Alleluya of Bachelor of Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship and Alex Khauka, of Diploma in Information Technology – received their awards posthumously. Alleluya died after his final exams while Khauka and his father, Siraj Gidudu, died in a motor accident on their way to the graduation.

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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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UCU reboots to boost freshmen class in post-pandemic era

August 17, 2022Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, News, Students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

Jonathan Ahurira Kivuna, UCU Guild Vice President, interacts with learners at Kisowera Secondary School.

By Israel Kisakye
Uganda Christian University (UCU) is the best postsecondary choice in East Africa for its emphasis on character, academics, real-world relevancy and more.

Under the leadership of UCU Church Relations, that’s the message being delivered to Ugandan secondary schools with an outreach goal to touch roughly 2,000 of the 3,000 sites with an emphasis on those with Anglican Church connections. In the aftermath of Uganda’s Covid-related, education shutdown, it is hoped that visits to church-founded/church-sponsored secondary schools will sway students into applying for courses that the university offers when they complete Senior Six. Because of very few Senior Six graduates due to the shutdown, Ugandan university first-year classes in September 2022 are sparse.

One recent visit in the UCU post-pandemic reboot was to Kisowera Secondary School in Mukono district. The Rev. Richard Mulindwa, manager, UCU Church Relations, led the team to the school.

Dinah Grace Nakabuye (left), headmistress of Kisowera Secondary School, during the career guidance sessions at the school.

“One of our main objectives is to popularize UCU to schools under the Church,” the Church Relations manager said. Mulindwa, a former student of Kisowera Secondary School, where he studied A’level from 2007-2008, used the visit to encourage students to work hard if they want to succeed in their professional life. He added, “With education, you can be everything you want in life.”

During the interaction, a couple university students shared career nuggets of wisdom with the secondary school students.

Ecora Faith Akile, a student of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship, shared information on how agricultural production can be improved through innovations, especially to benefit commercial farmers.

“The days of using a hoe to dig have long ended,” she said. “Today, there are new innovations in farming that must be used to speed up production.”

The students and teachers of Kisowera told the UCU team that they were honored to have hosted the UCU team.

The Rev. Richard Mulindwa, manager, UCU Church Relations, discusses the value of UCU

Deborah Nantume, the school’s head girl, said the interaction inspired her to work hard so she can meet the academic requirements to pursue her desired course at UCU.

Dinah Grace Nakabuye, the school’s head teacher, explained that the visit had paved the way for them to know that they are much valued by UCU and also establish a relationship between the two institutions.

Mulindwa said that UCU will engage other secondary schools in a move to inspire more students to join them.

“We have been to other different church-founded schools, including Makerere College and Mengo Senior School in Kampala; many others will be reached,” Mulindwa said. The Church Relations Office is mandated to link the Province of the Church of Uganda to the university.

The move to drive sensitisation activities in secondary schools comes ahead of the annual UCU Sunday, where each and every congregation in the province receives a representative of UCU who is given time to speak about the university. Congregations are given time and opportunity for prayer and financial support to the university.

On the UCU Sunday, every Anglican church is expected to make financial collections to help in the running of the Church-founded institution. This year’s UCU Sunday will be celebrated on September 25.

Some of the collections that were made at last year’s UCU Sunday went towards the funding of the construction of an apartment section for the ordinands and the clergy who will be resident students at the university. UCU Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi said last year that sh400m (about $113,000) had already been secured for the project that is estimated to cost sh1.5b (about $424,000).

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Media experts urge UCU students to uphold journalism ethics

August 15, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Some UCU students who attended the dinner.

By Kefa Senoga
To earn respect, journalists should be able to produce believable, accurate and impactful stories. It is such stories, veteran journalist John Kakande explained, that will influence policy and bring the desired positive change in society.

“If you go to cover an event and, at the end of the day, you ask the spokesperson of the organisation to give you transport facilitation, they will not respect you again,” Kakande, a former editor of Uganda’s New Vision newspaper, told students of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Journalism, Media and Communication. He said journalists who ask for facilitation from events organizers will be taken as “mercenaries for hire.”

Kakande, who retired in 2021 from 27 years with New Vision, made the remarks as chief guest at an annual media dinner organized by the students at a hotel in Kampala. Held under the theme “Media Ethics under Attack,” the dinner hosted students, UCU alumni, and media and public relations practitioners.

Tabu Butagira, the Managing Editor of Daily Monitor, a newspaper in Uganda, urged the students to look at ethics as their “personal value system.” He described the UCU students who have had their internship at the Daily Monitor as hardworking.

Kakande said a majority of those who had their internship at New Vision were retained as staff because “we found them well disciplined and respectful.”

John Kakande a veteran journalist who worked with New Vision and chief guest at UCU media dinner, speaks at event in Kampala.

Citing an example of emphasis on ethics and team work, the Dean of the School of JMC, Prof. Monica Chibita, referred to a video production of a news bulletin by the students that was shown at the dinner.

Veteran Ugandan journalist John Kakande speaks at dinner.

Chibita said the production was a result of team work between the students and the staff. She lauded John Semakula, who is the head of the undergraduate studies in the UCU School of JMC, for showing an “incredible commitment in leading the team of students that was able to exhibit their TV production.”

Chibita said UCU has been deliberate in focusing on hands-on training to enable their graduates be able to compete favorably in the job market.

“Unlike the previous years, we now even have first-year students actually reading bulletins; that means we are getting better in terms of practical training,” Chibita said at the dinner that was held after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The head of communications at power distributor Umeme, Peter Kaujju, encouraged students to be truthful because the profession they are pursuing comes with the responsibility of being the eyes of the public. He also encouraged students to be resilient and determined if they are to pursue good stories. He said his organisation, Umeme, is ready to offer internship placements for the students, as well as giving career guidance tips.

Hellen Mukiibi, an editor at New Vision, lauded the journalism students for the practical work they exhibited. The production was made under the auspices of the UCU Media Link Association. Mukiibi encouraged the students to develop skills in print, broadcast and online, noting that they are the new demands in a current newsroom.

“You also need to be ready, strong and tough. Prepare for everything, as a journalist. You should be knowledgeable about the subject you’re covering, which means you will need to do a lot of research,” Mukiibi urged the students.

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Professors from Netherlands equip UCU with student-centered learning skills

August 10, 2022News, Students, UCU School of BusinessPatty Huston-Holm

Johan Henjik and Jaap Mannes make a presentation to the UCU School of Business.

By Israel Kisakye
Professors from Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, the Netherlands, have shared teaching and learning skills with their counterparts and students of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Business.

Johan Henjik and Jaap Mannes from the School of Business, Marketing and Finance at Hanze recently introduced the strategy of student-centered learning, which aims at developing the learners’ autonomy and independence. The student-centered learning approach offers students the chance to choose what they learn and how they learn it, thereby becoming decision-makers in the learning process.

“That approach can have prolific impact on the students’ knowledge and experience,” Jaap said. “There’s a big difference between theory and practice, so there is need to close the gap.”

Hanze University professors talk about student skill building

Jaap, who is Hanze University’s Director of Internationalization Committee at the School of Business Marketing and Finance, added that under the approach, companies and organisations learn from the students just as the students learn from them.

The Hanze representatives also emphasized the importance of students applying their classroom-acquired knowledge to create projects for themselves.

Vincent Kisenyi, Dean of the School of Business, gives remarks.

Johan said that he was interested in Hanze University students interacting with those of UCU. One benefit is cultural since many of the Netherlands students “don’t know much about Africa.”

The duos late June 2022 visit to UCU was courtesy of a partnership that the two universities signed in 2021 to support one another in research, teaching and learning. The agreement reinforces the value of both academic and cultural infusion into university teaching and learning. In mid-April 2022, UCU Vice Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi visited Hanze University, where he interacted with some UCU students who early this year traveled to the Dutch institution for a six-month exchange program related to the Diploma in International Marketing Management.

Both UCU staff and students were impressed by the approach of student-centered learning and believe it will help the students connect directly with the industry.

The Dean of the UCU Business School, Vincent Kisenyi, noted that the approach was more appropriate in the fight against unemployment among university graduates.

“I can’t wait for us to implement it and test its efficiency,” Kisenyi said.

Elsie Nsiyona, the Assoc. Dean of the School of Business, said she was excited about the new approach and could not wait to see the results.

Jonathan Kivuna, a year-three student pursuing Bachelor of Business Administration, said he was already excited about the student-centered approach.

“There is a lot of practice involved; I think it’s going to benefit students’ business projects,” Kivuna said.

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Equipment informs future doctors about evidence-based patient care

August 1, 2022COVID-19, News, Students, UCU School of Dentistry, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

UCU School of Medicine students Alituha Constance, Melodie Munyakai, and Kasule Steven engage in microscopic learning. — UCU School of Medicine students Alituha Constance, Melodie Munyakazi, and Kasule Steven engage in microscopic learning.

Story By Patty Huston-Holm with Photos and Podcast by Vanessa Kyalimpa
Within five minutes of the first time that Vanessa Kyalimpa and I met Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, he was casually lifting and touching cleaned bones extracted from donated cadavers. Vanessa, a student in the Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Journalism, Media and Communication, captured photographs while I took notes.

I wondered why this rubber-gloved dean for the UCU School of Medicine (SoM) was so attentive to the skeletal part of the human body.

SoM Dean, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, uses human body parts, including this brain, as part of his teaching

Later, I got my answer. I discovered Dr. Tumusiime’s two bone-related pieces of research – both within the last year and concentrated on femur (thigh) bones of East African men. In brief and not doing justice to the studies by the esteemed doctor, senior lecturer and dean, I summarized his research on the 333 African men were about:

External opening of femur bones to make a correlation between whether the opening that enables blood flow necessary for healing after surgery is inherited or acquired (International Journal of Anatomy and Research, India); and
Size and shape of femur bones as this relates to assessing fracture risk and stability of hip joints and design of implants for hip replacement (Austin, Texas, Journal of Anatomy).

Whether serving in his role as researcher, teacher or practicing doctor, Dr. Tumusiime epitomizes excellence in the field of medicine. His passion for lifelong learning and elevating UCU SoM student knowledge and skill were clear on April 5, 2022, as he showed us around with a focus on how equipment informs evidence-based patient care. Much of what we saw in three different buildings, including where the UCU School of Dentistry (SoD) is housed, was donated a year ago by MedShare and Midmark through the non-profit Uganda Partners organization.

dical training, including the value of Christian faith integration.

Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, Dean, UCU School of Medicine, gives a historical, current and future perspective of medical training, including the value of Christian faith integration.

“Biomedical equipment promotes holistic and evidence-based patient care,” Dr. Tumusiime said. “While we teach that patient history and physical exams contribute over 80% to an accurate diagnostic, the equipment donated through the United States in 2021 is extremely valuable in shaping our future doctors into evidence-based, health care practitioners.”

Year two SoM student, Nalujja Chloe Immuaculate, engages in studies in the Gross Anatomy lab

The donated equipment and consumables contributed to the accreditation and licensure of UCU’s SoM and SoD by the Ugandan regulators, as well as the continuity of teaching and learning during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The equipment boosted the schools’ ability to be accredited by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education. Such tools supplement learning in the UCU biomedical laboratories in gross anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, histology and microbiology and immunology.

The UCU equipment for the SoM, mostly donated in the past two years, and brief descriptions include:

Microscopes (providing the “Gold standard” for tissue diagnosis) – Magnify what the human eye can’t see, such as cells indicating diseases, such as sickle cell
Centrifuge – Separate, purify and isolate cells, proteins and viruses for further observation
Vortex mixer – Combine vials of liquid to study enzymes and DNA
Incubator – Maintain temperature, humidity and gas content to grow or maintain cells
Bunsen burner – Used for heating samples and sterilization
Safety cabinets – Protect researchers and others from potentially infectious materials
Medical waste bins – Add safety from biomedical waste and sharp instruments
Medical refrigerator and freezer – Protect and extend shelf life of bio-specimens, reagents, drugs and vaccines
Protective gear (aprons, face masks, face shields, goggles, gloves) – Support safety in teaching and learning, research and patient care
Assorted clinical diagnostic equipment – Promote the quality of patient diagnosis and research

The SoM Dean expressed appreciation for the donations that, despite a year of Covid-related distance learning, have boosted the holistic, evidence-based capabilities of UCU’s 230 students in the SoM and SoD as each completes a five-year program.

“There are many examples of how technology equips us to improve Uganda’s health care,” Dr. Tumusiime said. “For instance, in dealing with malnutrition among children, we are able to help by analyzing blood samples to guide nutritional interventions and monitor progress. In all age groups, we screen and diagnose non-communicable diseases like sickle cell anaemia, cardiovascular diseases, cancers and metabolic disorders that are currently on the rise in Africa.”

Dr. Tumusiime said that the need for more laboratory tools is ongoing, and singled out the equipment that is urgently needed to enhance teaching and learning, research and community service. In 2022, these necessities and their roles are:

Biological teaching microscope – Enables the instructor to demonstrate to the learners in real time
Hematology analyzers – Allow study of blood disorders and expanded understanding of human immune response
Chemistry analyzers – Enable testing of 100 different components, including urine for detection of various infections, kidney disease and diabetes
Blood gas/electrolyte analyzer – Measure blood sample parameters, such as oxygen concentration

“I appreciate that in a resource-limited setting, some of these equipment may not be readily available,” he said. “But it’s critical to the profession that they know they exist and know how to use them.”

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UCU student champions fight against HIV

July 21, 2022COVID-19, News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Brendan Katushabe and musician Joanita Kawalya (right) at the launch of activities of Own Your Future (OYF) in January 2022 at UCU’s Nkoyoyo Hall.

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
At last year’s World AIDS Day on December 1, UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed optimism that it is still possible to end the epidemic by 2030. However, Guterres emphasized that for that to happen there would be a need for “stepped up action and greater solidarity.”

UCU Law student Brendan Katushabe says many university students in Uganda are ignorant about sexual and reproductive health

In a direct response to Guterres call for “stepped up action,” Brendan Katushabe, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) student, has taken matters into her own hands, to champion advocacy about the danger that still exists with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

She says there is usually more hype about the epidemic during the commemoration of the World AIDS Day and noticeable silence for the rest of the year. The year-four student of Bachelor of Laws says she is aiming towards change by taking action to better empower communities with information on sexual and reproductive health – namely HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Her vehicle is an advocacy initiative called Own Your Future (OYF), which she founded in early 2022.

Katushabe says many university students in Uganda are ignorant about sexual and reproductive health, which makes them prone to contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). Through the OYF initiative, she holds sensitisation campaigns in a more structured manner. One such activity was in January 2022 at UCU’s Nkoyoyo Hall.

Under the theme, “Combat STDs once and for all, advocating for a free, healthy Uganda,” the event attracted information seekers as well as other promoters of sexual and reproductive health.

At the January campaign, Joanita Kawalya, a vocalist with Uganda’s Afrigo Band and activist on health and reproductive health, thanked Katushabe for organizing such a platform and encouraged students to take advantage of initiatives like those to inform themselves.

The activity, which included a free medical camp, was attended by students from UCU, Makerere University, Kyambogo University, Nkumba University and Kampala International University.

After testing the waters with her initiative, Katushabe was back again at UCU in March 2022, this time to launch her program. At the launch, Katushabe had the backing of Reproductive Health Uganda, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), and Uganda’s Ministry of Health.

“We need to put emphasis on the health of the young people for the next 10 years,” Dr. Richard Mugahi, the assistant commissioner in charge of reproductive and infant health at Ministry of Health, said at the launch of OYF in March. He added: “We have the capacity to do all it takes if all partners harmonize their approaches and strategies.”

A screenshot of a OYF Twitter Space event held in May 2022

The president of the UCU Debate Club, Suzan Owomugisha, said that many young people had forgotten about the importance of paying attention to their sexual health.

“Ever since the start of Covid-19, people have been minding more about the pandemic than any other disease,” Owomugisha said, noting that the information that was shared during the OYF activities will help reduce the prevalence of teenage pregnancies and HIV among young people.

Edbert (full name concealed), who is living with HIV, urges the community to restore hope among people living with HIV, instead of stigmatizing against them.

“Stigma is one of the biggest challenges affecting most people living with HIV,” Edbert said, emphasizing that with concerted efforts from the community, negative perceptions and shame can be eradicated.

HIV stigma was among the topics of discussion in a May 2022 OYF-hosted Twitter Spaces event, where the chief panelist was Emily Katarikawe, the Uganda Country Director of jhpiego, an NGO that advocates saving lives and improving health. Katushabe says more such engagements have been lined up to promote health advocacy.

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Archbishop Kaziimba visits elderly at UCU

July 14, 2022Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, News, Students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

Archbishop Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Magula with the Rev. Canon Lusania Kasamba during the prelate’s visit to his former teacher in Mukono.

By Israel Kisakye
A few meters from the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main gate is a house with a lush green compound. The greenery in the home is a testament to the love for nature by the occupants. The sofa in the house’s sitting room and the art pieces dotting the walls convey owner ‘s appreciation for fine things.

In this Mukono residence lives a Church of Uganda icon, the Rev. Canon Lusania Kasamba, who has spent a better part of his life teaching the gospel. On June 13, 2022, this home hosted the Church of Uganda Archbishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu.

In a tweet, Kaziimba summed up the purpose of his visit to Kasamba’s home: “This afternoon, I paid a courtesy visit to our mentor, Rev. Canon Lusania Kasamba, in his home in Mukono, to pray with him and appreciate God for his contribution to ministry.”

Kaziimba arriving at the home of Kasamba (second-left) in Mukono. Second right is Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Assoc. Prof. John Mulindwa Kitayimbwa and right is UCU Chaplain, the Rev Canon Eng. Paul Wasswa Ssembiro

Kasamba and Kaziimba met at Bishop Tucker College, where the former was a lecturer of Church history in the college, and the latter, a student at the institution. In 1997, Bishop Tucker College evolved into UCU.

Among those who accompanied the archbishop to the home of his former teacher, now age 82, were Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Assoc. Prof. John Mulindwa Kitayimbwa, UCU Chaplain the Rev. Canon Eng. Paul Wasswa Ssembiro and the University’s church relations coordinator, the Rev. Richard Mulindwa.

“The Rev. Kasamba is a great resource to many people, especially as he taught Church history,” Kaziimba said during the visit, adding that Kasamba “had and still has a sense of humor…My visit is to pray with him and appreciate his contribution to God’s ministry.”

In addition to teaching at UCU, Kasamba was a chaplain at Uganda’s oldest higher institution of learning, Makerere University, from 1978 to 1987.

As a lecturer in Theology, Kasamba acted as UCU chaplain, before the institution found a full-time job holder. Kasamaba eventually handed over the position of chaplain to the Rev. Dr. John Senyonyi, upon the latter’s appointment in 2001.

Referencing John 16:33, the Chancellor, Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kazimba Mugalu thanks UCU management, staff and students for their contributions toward the university’s progress.

Kaziimba’s visit to Kasamba was part of the activities the archbishop performed during his second official pastoral visit to UCU, where he is the Chancellor. In March 2022, Kaziimba performed another of his pastoral visits to the university, noting that he was excited to be “back home,” when the institution is marking 25 years of existence and the university’s iconic structure, the Bishop Tucker Building, marking 100 years.

During the March visit, Kaziimba launched the magnificent Ankrah Foundation Hall of Residence. Prof. Eleanor Maxine leased an estate that belongs to her and her late husband, Canon Kodwo Ankrah, to UCU for setting up a resource centre, accommodation space for students, as well as office space. The hostel that Kaziimba launched is part of the estate that was leased to UCU.

Archbishop Kaziimba at the home of Prof. Eleanor Maxine Ankrah (left).

In the June pastoral visit, Kaziimba’s intention was to visit the elderly living around UCU. From Kasamba’s home, the archbishop headed to the home of Prof. Eleanor Maxine Ankrah outside the university. Kaziimba said he was pleased with the partnership that the university has with the Ankrah Foundation.

“I’m looking forward to seeing stronger and faithful partnerships, many people will be blessed from the collaborations,” the archbishop said.

From Maxine’s home, Kaziimba then returned to the university, where he met the Dean and staff of Bishop Tucker School of Theology, as well as the students. He urged the staff to offer selfless service to students undergoing ministerial training and formation.

The Rev. Canon Christopher Byaruhanga, the Dean of the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, told the archbishop that the discipline of the ordinands was commendable. Dr. Nimron Sekanabo, a student pursuing a master’s in divinity, commended Kaziimba for the visit and asked for more of such, saying they are inspirational.

Vice Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi later hosted Kaziimba together with his team and some members of staff to a dinner at his home. Mushengyezi and his wife, Patience, expressed delight in hosting the archbishop. Mushengyezi noted that the university was ready to work with the Church of Uganda to contribute to ministry work.

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Cookies support South Sudanese student

July 1, 2022COVID-19, Students, UCU School of BusinessPatty Huston-Holm

Askada Julian (front, in black top) with her friends after class at Uganda Christian University (Courtesy Photo)

By Eriah Lule
All had been well for the family of Uganda Christian University (UCU) student Askada Julian Julius until political unrest broke out in South Sudan in 2013.

Julian’s father, Sebiti Mamuru, a successful businessman, was accused of providing financial assistance to the rebels who were causing violence in South Sudan. Mamuru was forced to leave his country with 17 children, including Julian, and take refuge in Uganda.

When the family arrived in Uganda, they settled in Arua, a city in the northwestern part of Uganda. Julian, the fourth born and eldest daughter, had to quickly find ways of supporting herself and the family members. She found an answer in cookies that she baked and sold to supermarkets and shops. She baked them in flavors of vanilla, coconut and ginger, among others.

In 2020, when Julian’s aunt heard of her cookie success, she convinced her niece to expand to making other food that she would deliver to people in offices. Julian took advantage of the Covid-induced lockdown in 2020, when many people were afraid of moving around, for fear of catching the virus. She, thus, started supplying cooked food to essential workers who made it office during the lockdown. Bank staff were part of her first clients.

Some of the packed food that Julian sells. (Courtesy Photo)

Now a year-two student of UCU’s Bachelor of Governance and International Relations program, she sells in many places with the help of two employees. When she is studying, her mother, Dudu Clara, is in charge of the business.

“The cookie clients introduced us to the food clients,” Julian said. She sells each plate of food at sh5,000 (about $1.3) and earns up to sh60,000 ($16.3) per day in net profit.

Since Julian is usually a reserved person, not many know of her catering service business. Instead, she is known more, for another type of on-line business. She deals in second-hand clothes and bags, which she sells primarily to university students and on the internet.

“One will never understand Julian, unless you are close to her,” said Nalubega Nicole, Julian’s course-mate at UCU. For the time Nalubega has been close to Julian, she says she has learned that in order to earn a living, one needs to cultivate the skill of being creative and innovative.

Seeing her level of entrepreneurial skill, one would wonder why Julian did not pursue a course in business. However, she says she felt a course in governance and international relations was a better fit for someone like her who is considering working as a diplomat for her country one day.

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Practice of music blends with business studies

June 29, 2022News, Students, UCU School of BusinessPatty Huston-Holm

Brian Muwanguzi with his favorite music instrument, the adungu (Courtesy Photo)

By Ivan Tsebeni
“I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” This is a quote attributed in 1929 to German-born physicist Albert Einstein. Had he not been a scientist, he said he would have chosen a career in music.

In 2022, Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Business student Brian Muwanguzi’s life epitomizes the statements. While he pursues a Bachelors of Tourism and Hospitality Management, he has a passion for music.

By the time he was age eight, Muwanguzi was already demonstrating musical talent. While a pupil at Ekubo Christian Primary School in Luweero, central Uganda, Muwanguzi exhibited exceptional skills in the school choir, and eventually won a scholarship for the rest of his primary education.

From Ekubo, Muwanguzi joined Kololo Secondary School in Kampala for O’level, and Bishop Secondary School in Mukono, for A’level. Both schools are in central Uganda.

The first born of five children said he chose to make a mark on the music scene by building his capacity to play a harp-like musical instrument locally called adungu. The arched, nylon-stringed instrument is wooden, with a sound hole provision and normally with a leather covering of animal skin.

Brian Muwanguzi performs on stage. (Courtesy Photo)

When he discovered his love for the adungu, Muwanguzi started spending more time learning how to play the instrument. He had one challenge, though. He did not own one to practice and perform with. However, a few years down the road, Muwanguzi acquired his own adungu.

“It took me two years to learn how to play the music instrument,” says 24-year-old Muwanguzi. “When I was borrowing the instrument from friends, I would not have enough time with it. It was not until I got mine that I came to fully learn how to play it.”

Muwanguzi’s is a common face at UCU’s Nkoyoyo Hall, mostly during creative arts exhibitions. His music has slowly gained acceptance by the students, and he largely attributes this to the songs having “therapeutic potential.”

Having gone through more than two years of restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, he feels he has a community duty to provide therapeutic melodies, to help people recover from the post-Covid trauma, among other mental health issues, which will eventually inspire psychosocial transformation. He has so far recorded five songs in the studio, and looks forward to releasing an album “soon.”

What others say:

Martin Kajubi – lecturer
Muwanguzi is a talented and focused student. His outgoing personality has earned him many friends. I’m sure his music will contribute to this community’s transformation. In times such as this, people need something that will help heal their souls of the wounds caused by the destruction of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Esther Asiimwe – classmate
When in the company of Muwanguzi, no one gets bored. His music is highly inspirational and full of hope.

Mark Walusimbi – student
Music heals! His skill of playing the adungu instrument excites many of us. It is educational and yet kills stress. Whereas some youths find happiness in other avenues, Muwanguzi believes that the best joy is hidden in counseling and serving fellow learners through music.

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Masembe unpacks leadership agenda as Kampala campus Guild President

June 27, 2022News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Supporters of Owen Michael Masembe with his posters during campaign

By Michael Kisekka
It took two elections for the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Kampala Campus to choose Owen Michael Masembe as its Guild President.

He wasn’t the top choice in an election on November 26, 2021. That “victory” of Stecia Kasemiire was contested and overturned by the university’s appeals tribunal. The university’s electoral commission second election in February 2022 had Masembe victorious with 356 votes against Kasemiire’s 230 and Lisa Jjemba Najjemba’s 12 votes.

“I can’t wait to serve the students,” he said, upon being declared the winner in the polls. “I am looking forward to working hand-in-hand with the university administration and the students to the best of my ability.”

Masembe, a year-three student of Bachelor of Laws, replaces Phoebe Namujehe, also a student of Bachelor of Laws. Masembe planned to put emphasis on finding scholarship opportunities and revamping sports facilities at the UCU Kampala campus.

In his year of leadership, Masembe said he hopes to help lift the student financial burden of meeting the university requirements. He says he got the inspiration to vie for the office because he thought the structural arrangement of the sports facilities at Kampala Campus needed to be improved by a leader with an interest in sports.

Masembe believes the experience he has garnered working in three guild governments will be instrumental in guiding him as the Guild President. From year one, he has been part of every guild government in power.

Masembe is fully aware of the stress that being in leadership positions sometimes brings, especially as a student leader, where he has to balance the interest of those he represents with the university. On such occasions, he believes his favorite pastime activities – listening to music and playing rugby – will help to soothe his mind.

Mark Magoola, the outgoing Guild Attorney General, believes Masembe will be able to achieve most of the things on his to-do list because the Guild President is “an objective person who sets goals and always strives to achieve them.”

Charles Muleeyi, the deputy Prime Minister in Masembe’s government, said the Guild President is an exemplary person who loves serving people. ‘‘He is a competent and honest leader and I admire him for that,” Muleeyi said.

Unlike other leaders who are inspired by their role models to venture into politics, Masembe says he has no role model. “I just want to be the best version of myself as a political leader, by God’s grace.”

Masembe is the last born in a family of six children of Paul Nkata and Rose Nakayiza, the latter of whom died in 2021.

The 22-year-old attended City Parents Primary School and Seeta High School (Mbalala Campus) for his O’level and Mengo Senior School for A’level, before joining UCU.

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Azania molds UCU students in poetry, performing arts

June 24, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Edwin Masingano, president of Azania (foreground), with other members of Azania after a poetry event in Kampala

By Agatha N. Biira
When there is a burning desire for wordsmiths to breathe life into the spoken word, they rarely fail to find a platform to express their craft. If such a platform doesn’t exist, they create their own.

A group of Uganda Christian University (UCU) students, passionate about poetry, did just that in 2008. The poetry group named Azania at UCU was born.

For 14 years, the faction has given students a place to express their talents. Once every year, there is a meeting of like minds for the group’s annual ritual, the Grand Azania – a concert of poetry, music, dance and drama – at UCU’s iconic Nkoyoyo Hall.

Mark Mulwanyi, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, performs as part of Azania.

Whenever people gather in Nkoyoyo Hall for the annual event, ears stand still so they do not miss the craft from the presenters of poetry and music.

Since its formation, the group has been evolving, incorporating performing arts, such as music, dance and drama. Azania’s current president, Edwin Masingano, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, says poetry could have stood on its own, but that they thought the group could get better when accompanied by other creative productions.

“When we incorporated music and art into Azania, we pulled another crowd which would not have known about poetry if it was all we did,” Masingano said.

He says he joined the group in 2018 when he came to the university. According to Masingano, the group not only gave students a platform to express talent, but also helped them transition with it into the real world.

He adds: “Students can get opportunities of performing elsewhere through the group because they get the platform to showcase their talents.”

Azania group members, such as James Tukupee, participate in weekly meetings, where they perform before other group members, for purposes of training and mentoring new students.

“If you are performing four times a week, within six months, you will be better than you were at your first performance,” Masingano says.

Azania also has a WhatsApp group, where members post their work for critiquing. It is through such engagements that students get opportunity to polish their craft. The group also conducts trainings before shows, so as to produce good quality work. Azania has taken part in several events, such as participating in guild and university activities through reciting their poems. It has also taken part in many inter-university poetry shows.

Gavin Mugisha, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, who is the group’s vice president, said the platform allows members to have conversations about life as they grow their talents.

“I have been part of Azania for four years and it has helped me improve my talent as a singer. I now have a band that I manage, all because of Azania,” Mugisha says.

WATCH: Gavin Mugisha performing Heaven by Mark Mulwanyi at the weekly Azania meeting.

For Mark Mulwanyi, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, Azania has helped him work through his stage fright.

“I’m now more confident performing before a crowd; and it’s taught me how to engage with the crowd while performing,” he said.

Philip Bravo, one of the students who usually attends the weekly Azania meetings, says the group’s performances are great and inspirational.

“The fact that they encourage one to freely express one’s feelings through music, poetry and conversations that are opinionated makes one relate easily,” Bravo said. “I think more students should engage with Azania.”

Brian Kabogozza, a student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication and a member of Azania, says the group has “interesting, motivating and life-changing stories that build confidence and solidarity among the students.”

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UCU nursing student braids student hair for a living

June 22, 2022Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Chat Leah Abasiya wearing one of her crotchet products

By Nicole Nankya
Chat Leah Abasiya is not a full-time hair stylist. In fact, she has not even attended formal training in hairstyling. But her skills would make anyone doubt these facts.

For people who know Abasiya’s history, the exceptional crocheting and hair styling skills are not by accident. They are skills she has mastered after more than 10 years of experience. Abasiya, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) student from Nigeria, took advantage of the fact that her country allows girls to keep long hair throughout primary and secondary school to start learning hair styling skills since she was sure she had the market.

The UCU student of Bachelor of Nursing says her mother encouraged her and her three female siblings learned hair styling so that they would practice on each other’s hair.

She further mastered the skill and earned money from it since she came to Uganda in 2017. When she arrived at UCU, she started by styling hair of only Nigerian students, many of whom were not comfortable with the way Ugandans braided their hair.

Then, one Ugandan came, followed by six. And that opened Abasiya’s door to braiding hair for Ugandan students.

“I believe that students don’t have much money to spend on their hair,” she said. “So, I charge a modest fee of sh15,000 to sh30,000 (about $4.10 to $8.20) per head.”

Gloria Okeke, a year-four UCU student pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, says Abasiya has been her hairstylist for the time they have known each other at the university.

“She is a good listener who puts in her best to ensure customer satisfaction,” Okeke says. Abasiya usually plaits students’ hair from her hostel room or, where need be, she travels to where the client is. For the latter option, she charges slightly higher, to cater for the costs of the travel.

Abasiya ended up pursuing university education in Uganda miraculously. First, she says she did not know any university in Uganda. Kenya was originally her first choice for a country in East Africa, but she later settled for Uganda because of relative peace in the country. The 2015 attack by Al Shabaab on Kenya’s Garissa University made Abasiya and her family change their mind to studying in Uganda, after she did not get admission into universities in Nigeria for her preferred course of nursing.

She also runs a YouTube channel, where she often posts information about what she does and her life in a Ugandan university. With all the demands of the nursing course, one wonders how Abasiya is able juggle the course and update her YouTube channel. Planning is the answer, she says. On days when she is free without lectures, she uses them for recording, editing and posting videos. Being on the media team in her church back in Nigeria gave her opportunity to learn how to edit videos.

“This semester, I am free on Tuesdays, so I record from 5 to 6 p.m., edit the videos at night and then upload them on Thursday mornings,” she said. Sundays are usually reserved for crocheting.

For students who wish to do business while still at school, Abasiya has this counsel: “Have a passion in something and take action. Whatever you are passionate about, just go ahead and do it.”

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US departments recognize UCU’s research ethics committee

June 20, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

Osborne Ahimbisibwe, secretary of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Research Ethics Committee, notes that the committee is registered as the UCU Institutional Review Board on the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP) website.

By Kefa Senoga
The Uganda Christian University-Research Ethics Committee (UCU-REC) has been accredited by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Osborne Ahimbisibwe, the secretary of the UCU-REC, said the accreditation is as a result of UCU-REC’s success in fulfilling its professional duties that include looking out for privacy and protection of persons in studies. He said the ethics committee is listed on the HHS and OHRP website as the UCU Institutional Review Board (IRB), Number IRB00013492.

Ahimbisibwe explained that funding agencies use the HHS and OHRP website to verify that an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee (REC) has an active registration. The OHRP provides leadership in the protection of the rights and well-being of human subjects involved in research conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services while FDA protects public health by ensuring safety of human drugs.

“The accreditation means that if someone is coming from the U.S to conduct research in Uganda and they get approval from UCU-REC, the findings of their study will be recognized back in the United States,” Ahimbisibwe explained.

There are a number of Research Ethics Committees in Uganda that include the Uganda Virus Research Institute Research Ethics Committee (UVRI-REC), Mbarara University of Science and Technology Research Ethics Committee (MUST – REC), Nkumba University Research Ethics Committee (NU-REC), and the School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, among others.

Ahimbisibwe explains that the UCU-REC on average does 200 protocol reviews annually and it’s mandatory for postgraduate students and other researchers outside academia for example clinical trials. He adds that membership of the committee is comprised of scientific and non-scientific members who are made up of UCU community representatives and non-UCU-affiliated members.

Commenting on the development, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Rev. Prof. John Kitayimbwa, said that the accreditation is an important development for UCU, which intends to drive the agenda of research.

A post-graduate student works in the UCU library, which is working to drive the agenda of quality research to increase global visibility and maximize impact of these studies.

“We are transforming the university from one that’s been majorly teaching to a research-led one,” he said. “However, in order to do research, especially where you have human subjects, you have got to do that work ethically.”

Kitayimbwa noted that UCU’s REC ensures that the standards, which have been set in terms of the ethical considerations worldwide, are followed when dealing with human subjects in a research activity.

Dr. Angela Napakol, a REC member and senior lecturer at the School of Journalism, Media and Communication, said the accreditation was not only vital in science-related research, but also in other fields, such as social sciences and humanities.

Napakol noted one example of a researcher who is going to the field to discuss mental health and could bring up sensitive topics that may trigger trauma because of a past experience. If information is not acquired properly, including with sensitivity and respect, the questions can trigger a breakdown. Thus, it is important to ensure that ethic practices are followed.

“So, as REC, we want to make sure that the discussions between the researcher and the participants don’t trigger episodes of mental breakdown,” she said. “That is why we put emphasis on ethical standards.”

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UCU student named best African Orator in continental moot court competitions

June 17, 2022News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Evelyn Mugisha, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws.

By Agatha N. Biirra
Evelyn Mugisha had her first public speaking experience in Primary One at Kabatereine Memorial Primary School, Mbarara, in Western Uganda, where she contested for the position of head girl and won. From then on, she was a confident speaker.

Now a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws at Uganda Christian University (UCU), Mugisha has found it even easier to take part in intellectual discussions. In the recently completed online John H. Jackson World Trade Organization (WTO) African moot court competitions on March 27, Evelyn Mugisha was named the best African orator.

Evelyn Mugisha and the team after the WTO moot court competition.

Mugisha, alongside her team mates, Tracy Nagasha and Hannah Stacey Baluka, all fourth-year law students at UCU, represented the university and were among the best four teams in Africa that qualified for the global competition that will take place in Geneva in June 2022.

She says this is a great achievement for her that will open up many career opportunities. “Having that on a CV especially in the legal career is a big bonus point,” says Mugisha.

Having joined the competition in November 2021, Mugisha attributes the latest achievement to months of hard work as a team and her involvement in various platforms, especially debates. With guidance and an extra push from their trainers, it all paid off. Among the trainers are Samson Wanambuko, a lecturer of law at UCU; Isaac Mpirwe, a tutor of law at UCU; and Peter Ahabwe, a UCU alumnus. Mpirwe who is also their lead coach, says it was a team of seven with some dropping off until the last three.

“These three are very hardworking, brilliant and resilient ladies,” says Mpirwe.

This was not the first time Mugisha was representing UCU. She represented the university at the All Africa Moot Competition in her second year in 2020. The event that was supposed to happen in Senegal was conducted online due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. In 2021, she represented UCU in Gulu at the annual Inter-university Human Rights Competition where she emerged the winner.

Mugisha’s passion for public speaking and interest in diplomacy have pushed her to keep taking part in programs and competitions that help her grow. And just like every other thing, there is always a downside. Mugisha says her biggest challenge has been time.

“For this particular competition, it really steals time that I would have put into my academics,” says Mugisha. “It is very demanding and yet you have to be a good student. So, I have to balance with my academics which is not really easy.”

But Mugisha says the environment at UCU is ideal for self-growth and development.

“Generally, people are very receptive and responsive,” she said. “The general set up is not chaotic and so for me, I have been able to make wonderful friends among students and staff.”

Coming from a family where four out of six children are public speakers, Mugisha has been naturally drawn and molded to take part. She has full support of her parents, Alex Paul Mugisha and Annette Tumwikirize of Kamwengye district in Western Uganda.

She also was molded by the schools she has attended such as Kabatereine Memorial School, Ibanda Town School and Maryhill High School, all in Western Uganda. Mugisha says she has taken advantage of the already existing programs such as the weekly debates and various school competitions. In her senior six, she represented her school in the National Schools Championship organized by Stanbic Bank in 2017 where she emerged the national champion.

While at Maryhill High School, Mugisha was a deputy speaker for the School Council in O’level and Speaker in A’level.

“Public speaking is a big part of who I am and what I do,” she said. “It made my leadership very easy and I found it really easy to fit into these positions.”

Mugisha looks up to her parents for they inspire her to go after what she wants, persevere and be consistent. “My parents have set a standard for me, so it’s really where I begin,” she said.

She also looks up to Martin Muhwezi, the team leader at Investors Club Uganda, a partner of Stanbic Bank and Barbara Kasekende, a former CSI manager at Stanbic Bank. Mugisha hopes to be a diplomat for Uganda someday.

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UCU alum elected Guild President of Law Development Center western campus

June 15, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Ouma John Baptist, Guild President of LDC Mbarara campus

By Ian Asabo
An alumnus of Uganda Christian University (UCU) has been elected the third Guild President of the Law Development Center (LDC), Mbarara campus.

John Baptist Ouma was only a student for a few days at the campus located in western Uganda when he heard of the process of nominating candidates for the post. He did not think twice before throwing his hat in the ring against three other contestants. He beat them all.

Ouma joins another UCU alumnus on the pedestal of guild leadership. Boss John Bruce became the Guild President of the main campus of LDC in Kampala on November 8, 2021.

Ouma (third-left) with some former UCU student leaders. Courtesy photos

LDC offers a postgraduate bar course, the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, a mandatory course for all lawyers intending to practice law in Uganda. LDC is the only institution that offers such a course in Uganda. It has campuses in Kampala, Mbarara and Lira in northern Uganda.

Ouma’s former student colleagues at UCU have in the recent past achieved victory in elections.

Ezra Ambasiize, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws at UCU, was voted the Speaker of the fourth National Youth Parliament of Uganda.
Former UCU Guild President Agaba Kenneth Amponda was elected the Speaker of the Uganda National Students Association, an umbrella body of student leaders in the country.

Ouma is fully aware of the challenges of being the Guild President. He acknowledges that it will be a daunting task for him to juggle the tight student schedule with leadership responsibilities and “making some tough decisions” as a leader. However, he is quick to add that he is mentally prepared for the challenges.

During his campaigns, he promised to be the medium through which students can pass to reach the administration to present their concerns as he tries to bridge the gap between the two parties.

As he takes up the mantle, Ouma is aware that his leadership position can be used to launch himself into national politics after school. In fact, it is one of the reasons that propelled him to pursue the Bachelor of Laws course – he believed the course offers the best platform for “one to get the necessary knowledge before venturing into representation of people.”

While a student at UCU, Ouma served in the position of Prime Minister in the 2019 UCU guild government.

Ouma says he did not have the money to finance his campaigns at the LDC Mbarara campus, but because he focused more on what he wanted to achieve, he easily raised funds from friends, especially the UCU alumni in the legal fraternity.

When Ouma joined UCU in 2017, he was appointed Class Representative for his Bachelor of Laws class. As a Class Representative, among many other duties, he was the link between students and the lecturers. He was later voted a student leader representing non-resident students at the university.

Ouma has relished leadership since his formative years of education. He contested unsuccessfully as a leader in Primary Five at York Primary School in Bugiri district in eastern Uganda. While he didn’t succeed, Ouma says he picked up lessons from what did not go right in the contest. When he enrolled at Kiira College Butiki where he attended secondary school in eastern Uganda, he was elected a student leader.

“The biggest failure is failing to appreciate that failure exists,” said the 24-year-old who hails from Namayingo district in eastern Uganda. “If you can’t take in failure, then success will never come your way because it is these hardships that we go through that make us better people.”

He says no amount of obstacle should block someone from a dream, adding, “Let no excuse ever be too big an obstacle to stop you from pursuing …because you don’t want to have regrets down the road.”

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Red Cross donates humanitarian books to UCU School of Law

June 13, 2022News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

(Left to right) Miriam Aceng, Assoc. Dean of the School of Law; David Bukenya, the acting University Librarian; and Jane Patricia Bako, the Communications and Prevention Manager at ICRC, at the handover of the books.

By Derrick Muduku
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has received a donation of books on International Humanitarian Law from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Jane Patricia Bako, the Communications and Prevention Manager at ICRC, handed over the assortment of books to Miriam Aceng, the Associate Dean at the UCU School of Law, in late March 2022.

“The donation comes to enrich the school’s International Humanitarian Law literature stock and to further enhance the knowledge base of students who undertake the course unit,” Aceng said. “This is a great gesture. Our students are offered International Humanitarian Law as an elective in their fourth year of study.”

According to Aceng, students writing their dissertations in line with humanitarian law and those who participate in international law moots and essay competitions will benefit from the donation. Some of the copies of the books will be at the School of Law for students to easily access, while the rest will be kept at the university’s main library.

The UCU School of Law is among the best in Uganda. The School’s students recently emerged the best in the country in a moot competition.

The School of Law received 200 copies of publications under the topic of the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949; 100 copies in the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12 1949; one copy of a publication on how the law protects in war; and 50 copies on the subject of integrating the humanitarian law.

The school also received 10 copies under the Commentaries of the Geneva Conventions, 50 copies in Direct Participation in Hostilities and five copies of the Handbook of the Law of Armed Conflict.

Bako commended UCU’s focus on international humanitarian law as a course unit, adding that her organization was ready to boost its effort in equipping students with knowledge within that field.

Joel Okello Oyet, the President of the UCU Law Society, said the donation comes as relief to the law students.

“We have been facing challenges in acquiring books,” Oyet said. “Certain books are not enough for us. We are many students pursuing a course in law and towards exams, you find that only a reserve copy is left in the library.”

Agnes Kabatooro, a law student who witnessed the handover ceremony, said she was looking forward to benefiting from the publications so that she can achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer who can impact society.

The donation is part of the ICRC’s effort to equip universities offering International Humanitarian Law with literature that would facilitate student learning. The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. Among its mandates is facilitating the incorporation of international law in the curriculum of education institutions.

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UCU law students urged to exercise freedom of expression with restraint

June 10, 2022News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Panelists (from left) Syndia Chemutai, Ben Mwine, Dr. Livingstone Ssewanyana and Dr. Peter Mutesasira during the public lecture.

By Israel Kisakye
Syndia Chemutai is an amiable person. Her demeanor has always won her friends, and the case was not any different when she became a Faculty of Law student at Uganda Christian University (UCU). It is through her disposition that the lecturers at the Faculty of Law quickly learned of Chemutai’s love for the protection of free speech.

Her gift of hospitality and openness about free speech importance contributed to her selection in April as the student to sit on a panel of discussants about the state of press freedom in Uganda. The talk, held under the theme The right to freedom of expression and assembly: Are we moving forward or backwards? was organized by not-for profit organization, African Institute of Investigative Journalism (AIIJ).

Students and other visitors attending the public lecture in Nkoyoyo Hall

To set the stage for Chemutai and her co-panelists to dissect issues of freedom of expression and assembly, the attendees were first shown Targeted, an AIIJ documentary detailing stories of journalists who were targeted by Ugandan security as they covered the presidential campaigns ahead of the January 2021 Ugana general election. The screening of Targeted and the panel discussion took place at UCU’s Nkoyoyo Hall.

To calm her nerves of sitting on a panel for the first time, Chemutai came armed with as much research as possible. Chemutai found several examples of incidents where rights to freedom of expression and assembly have been curtailed in Uganda. During her presentation, she urged authorities to exercise more restraint as they seek to respect the rights to freedom of expression and assembly as enshrined in Uganda’s laws, as well as international statutes.

Others on the panel were Dean at the Faculty of Law, Dr. Peter Mutesasira; human rights scholar and lawyer, Dr. Livingstone Sewanyana; and media personality, Ben Mwine. The panel was moderated by investigative journalist and AIIJ executive director Solomon Serwanja.

This is one of the many debates that AIIJ plans to have at UCU. On March 7, their maiden debate was on women and investigative journalism, where an all-female panel of journalists and media scholars discussed press issues under the theme Women and Investigative Journalism: An Untapped Opportunity. The discussion was held ahead of the World Press Freedom Day held every May 3.

Dr. Mutesasira urged students to always take a step in expressing themselves in a respectful way.

“If you cannot move, you cannot express yourself and if you cannot express yourself, you have no freedom of expression,” he explained, before emphasizing the need for students to speak up and defend others in a respectful manner, while aware that freedom of expression is not absolute.

Ssewanyana, who is the executive director of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, a non-profit organisation, called upon the students to learn how to balance between freedom of expression and malicious statements.

He noted that Uganda is facing a democratic backlash towards freedom of expression. “There has been an erosion of the freedom of expression in the last five years,” Ssewanyana noted.

In 2019, the European Union Delegation in Uganda and the US embassy in Uganda issued a statement on restrictions to freedom of expression and assembly in the country. The statement indicated a series of incidents restricting the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Uganda.

Panelist Ben Mwine urged the audience comprised mainly of law students, to widen their scope of thinking by reading more, in order to succeed in the world of work.

Juliet Nyakato, a third-year law student, said the lecture “widened her scope of seeing things.” “I have always known about freedom of expression, but I didn’t know that we must demand and express them. This has been an opportunity for me to learn this and other issues.”

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