Charlotte Mbabazi attends to a customer in her shop on Wandegeya-Bugujju Road.
Story and Photos by Michael Kisekka Fiercely independent, Charlotte Mbabazi disliked depending on her parents. For that not to happen, she started saving part of the pocket money that her parents gave her while a student at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Those savings became a pillar for her livelihood after school.
At the time Mbabazi graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Education degree in 2020, just like everyone else, she had not anticipated a lockdown due to the devastating effects of Covid-19. The lockdown meant she could not get a school to teach since schools had been shut in Uganda.
The 25-year-old, however, had a fall back plan. It was the sh5m (about $1,300) that she had saved while at UCU. She had the money, but no idea where to invest it. After some thinking, she started a retail shop. Everything was on standstill at the time, but people still needed groceries. So, she thought the answer would be a grocery shop. The location was on the Wandegeya-Bugujju road, adjacent to UCU. She used the sh5m to pay rent, renovate the shop and purchase the groceries to sell.
At the time, businesses were folding because of the impact of the lockdown in Uganda. She did not tell her parents as she set up the business for two reasons: 1) She hadn’t shared that she was saving their money; and 2) selling groceries was considered something for the lowly educated. In fact, Mbabazi’s peers often mocked her about her choice of business.
“People will always talk, regardless of what you do,” Mbabazi said. “But you have to remain focused and aim at achieving your goal.”
Mary, Charlotte’s sister, in the shop
When she eventually broke the news to her parents, she said they were more than delighted. In fact, they even supported her with more capital to increase her stock in the shop.
As with all businesses, Mbabazi’s, too, was not short of challenges. She said she faced competition in the business, especially given the fact that she was just a beginner. Eventually when she opened the shop, Mbabazi worked on all days of the week, exposing her to burnout. However, her never-give-up attitude kept her afloat. She soon found ways to work around the obstacles.
“I had to find out how people who owned retail shops around me operated their businesses and how they sold their commodities,” she said. “I also found time to interact with customers, which gave me opportunity to get direct feedback and improve on how to handle the customers.”
When everyone at her home became aware of her new business, Mbabazi enlisted the services of her younger sister, Mary, with whom they would keep the shop in turns, so she gets some rest days. In effect, she feels the training she is giving her sister will be helpful if her sibling chooses to take that path one day.
Mbabazi says she has been able to manage her own finances, which has enabled the grocery shop to celebrate its first birthday. With the business, she has also been able to manage her own finances, thus reducing the financial burden on her parents. Being self-employed is something she always dreamt about; she is glad that her business is growing slowly and steadily.
In fact, Mbabazi has applied to pursue the Master of Human Resource Management at UCU and she hopes to meet the tuition requirements from the proceeds from the business.
While an undergraduate student at UCU, Mbabazi contested for the position of the Guild President, but lost. Even with the loss, she believes she learned invaluable lessons in the campaigns, which she hopes to put into practice in the near future as she seeks an elective office in the country.
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The Archbishop, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu (left), receives donation from UCU student leaders, led by Guild President Kenneth Amponda (right). Behind them is Vice-Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi.
By Yasiri J Kasango A recent act by Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a reminder that when people are protecting something dear to them, they will defend it in spite of adversity. While digging into pockets was ever harder during the most-recent Uganda Covid lockdown, dig is what UCU did – for the church.
Church of Uganda Archbishop Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu was recently at the UCU main campus during a visit as part of his duties as the chancellor of the university. That is when he was welcomed with a donation of about sh111m (about $31,000) towards the Church House project.
The donation, which was from the institution, its staff and student leaders, went towards clearing the sh60b (about $17m) debt that the Church incurred while constructing the commercial complex located in the heart of Kampala in Uganda.
Of the money that was handed to the archbishop, sh100m (about $28,380) was a donation from the university while the rest was collected from members of the University Council, the staff members as well as student leaders.
The university’s staff members used their social groupings – Christ centeredness, diligence, stewardship, integrity and servanthood – to collect the money. The social groupings are built on the institution’s core values of “a complete education for a complete person.”
The University Council members contributed sh2m (about $580) which they cut from their sitting allowance. The student leaders, under the Guild Government, donated sh1m (about $280).
Kaziimba thanked the university and its staff for the generosity, imploring other Christians to own the project by contributing towards clearing of the debt.
Kaziimba said the building is not fully occupied, with 13 floors lacking tenants. He said the church would advertise calling for tenants for the remaining space, to attract tenants.
In 2010, the Anglican Church, through its business arm, the Church Commissioners Holding Company Limited, secured a sh41b (about $15m) loan from Equity Bank to fund the construction of the commercial complex, the Church House. However, the Church faced challenges in repaying the loan, attributing it partly to the Covid-19 lockdowns.
On June 3, during the Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations, Archbishop Kaziimba launched “Yes, We Can! Yes, we can raise sh60b (about $17m) from one million people.” During the event, he asked individuals and institutions to contribute to the cause.
The idea of constructing the Church House was conceived by Janani Luwum, who was the archbishop from 1974 to 1977. Luwum was in February 1977 arrested and later died in what many believed was murder by the Ugandan regime at the time.
Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo later reignited the idea of the Church House project as a real estate when he was the archbishop from 1995 to 2004. Over sh720m (about $204,500) was collected, but it was not enough to start the project.
In 2010, the Church secured a loan from Equity Bank and the following year, the project started under the reign of Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi. Six years later, a sprawling 16-story building was commissioned by then Archbishop Stanley Ntagali.
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Nabayego walking down the aisle with her husband on their wedding day at Namirembe Cathedral, Kampala (Courtesy photo)
By Enock Wanderema and Jimmy Siyasa It’s never too late to pursue what you want.
That’s the message from Sylvia Nabayego, a married mother of two and the oldest in her undergraduate class pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at Uganda Christian University (UCU). It’s a career path she wanted more than a decade ago, but one that did not have the quality reputation it holds at UCU today.
Nabayego studying online
Sixteen years ago, she studied human resource management at UCU. She got her degree in that field in 2008 and shortly thereafter married Peter Kauma.
In 2019 and with her uncle, Dr. John Senyonyi, serving as Vice Chancellor, she returned to what was still her passion – journalism and communications. She surprised herself and those around her with a first semester Grade Point Average of 4.7 of 5.0.
“Being out of school after all these years, then I get back and I’m able to get the grades I did, especially in semester one!” said Nabayego who juggled her studies with being a wife, a mother to children, ages 10 and 7, and an off-campus student living 15 miles away.
“I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. every day, bathe the children, make them breakfast and then get them ready for school,” she said. “Their dad would drop them at school on his way to work. After that, I would then prepare to leave for school.”
Nabayego has many lessons to impart, including that mothers and fathers can and should return to school.
“I never start what I can’t complete,” she said, grinning widely. “Besides, what have I to lose? It is only a three-year course…when you’re intentional, you find a way to make it work.”
Her lean physique and amicable personality bely her seniority in class. Her experience in many aspects of life over many of her classmates gives her the courage to joke that she is old enough to be a mother of some of her classmates.
“Be confident about your decision,” Nabayego continues. “If you have decided to go for it, then carry on. If you have a support system, lean on it. Get all the help you can from your lecturers and classmates.”
Coming to UCU with a perception that the institution is too restrictive on students, especially on their dress code, Nabayego reminds us that the core values and policies set up are to guide a student into being a better citizen. Attired in formal pants and blazer, she shares her enthusiasm for sports, music and movies, admitting these topics might have helped her better blend into the circles of many of her classmates, many of who speak highly of her.
“She is kind and generous,” says Dalton Mujuni, a student of journalism and a friend of Nabayego. “In fact, she helped pay tuition balance for a colleague, in order to be able to write exams.”
Nabayego while still in the UK
For Nabayego, the most difficult part of her student role is being away from her children after being a stay-at-home mom for 10 years.
“The hardest bit was not being present in their lives as much I used to be and having to worry about how the children would adjust,” she said in a quasi-British accent. Nabayego once lived with her mother in the UK.
Unlike younger and single students, the onset of the Covid-19 was, for Nabayego, a blessing as the virtual learning allowed her more time with her family. The children, too, were home during two lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus.
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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Kamanzi performing at a music festival in Kampala. Courtesy photo
By Jimmy Siyasa Crossing through the United State’s Porter Square in Cambridge, to Harvard University, then Central Square on Massachusetts Avenue, to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then to the Berklee College of Music was fun for Ruth Rwego Kamanzi.
These are names of places she had only read about. Here she was, not just in those places, but also meeting world-renowned musicians, such as five-time Grammy winner and bassist Victor Wooten.
The year was 2018. Kamanzi had travelled over 6,900 miles from Uganda to Massachusetts, to attend a five-week study program in voice and guitar. That is what her $10,000 scholarship could afford her at Berklee.
While a student at the Word of Life International School, in Entebbe, central Uganda, Kamanzi presented a song to visiting students from the Berklee College of Music. Her performance wowed the students, who encouraged her teachers to support her to apply for a scholarship for a course at Berklee. Everything went according to plan and she found herself admitted to the U.S. school.
Kamanzi had the option of living within Berklee, but she opted to commute from a home of her Ugandan relative who lives in Boston. Commuting to college was the only way she would adventure, she reasoned.
Not even an attempted abduction on one of the days she headed to college could dampen her spirits. Kamanzi nearly got kidnapped by an American man on her way to Berklee. She said she was rescued by the Police.
Her earlier desire was to undertake a bachelor’s degree in song-writing, production and film scoring. Such a course had a price tag of $210,000, which neither her family nor the scholarship could meet.
Upon her return in 2019, she enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication at the Uganda Christian University UCU.
“UCU offers a beautiful space for you to get to know God better,” she said. “It also offers an opportunity to discover yourself more and appreciate life and what you have more.”
At UCU, she actively participates in her faculty fellowship’s music activities and has performed a couple of times with her red and silver Resonator Bluegrass guitar. Such performances have, over time, won her some fans at the university.
The professionally trained violinist hopes to be a career musician and to inspire young girls to be what they want to be.
Kamanzi is renowned among Ugandan urban youth for skillfully playing the guitar and singing, usually alongside her sisters – Nduhukire and Royal Kaitesi. The trio has a band called Firm Foundation. Kamanzi and Nduhukire are currently acting in separate local television series; Prestige and Sanyu, respectively. The latter also features a UCU alumna – Tracy Kababiito.
“She loves music and expresses her vocal agility each time she is singing,” says Rachael Nduhukire, of her elder sister.
Kamanzi’s YouTube channel, which started in 2018, as a prerequisite for her application to Berklee College of Music, now boasts nearly 1,000 subscribers.
A family picture of the Rwegos. Kamanzi, at left, is with her parents and two sisters
“That girl is incredibly talented,” says Frank Ogwang, a UCU Law School alumnus and former Guild Vice President. “I love her music and, especially, her guitar skills.”
Kamanzi, a daughter of Leonard and Ida Rwego, attended Word of Life International School from pre-school through grade 12. At the school, she was a lead vocalist and guitarist for a band. She is currently a contributing writer to two contemporary Christian music albums for Watoto, a Pentecostal church in Uganda.
During the lockdown that was instituted in Uganda in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kamanzi posted a short video clip, where she was performing a song dedicated to all people who had lost loved ones to the virus. That post attracted more than 16,000 views.
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By Fiona Nabugwere and Joseph Lagen Lucky Reuben Ereu had a long-time dream to work at a media house. This dream led Ereu, then a first-year student of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication, to 106.1FM Next Radio, to pitch a proposal for a radio programme.
The year was 2018. Ereu had high hopes in his proposal becauseNext Radiohad just been launched, so he knew there were slots in the radio’s programming.
Ereu, age 23,did not just impress at the proposal pitching. He also was asked to present for a radio show called CrazyTown. The show is a fun, weekly show that features young inspirational personalities to show youths ways of creating sources of income while still in school. It airs every Sunday, at midday. He also is one of the content creators at the radio station.
“My confidence levels have improved because of my work at the radio station and the presentations we always have in class,” he said.
Courtesy photo of The Crazy Town presenters (left-right) Mark Munanura, Simran Merali and Lucky Reuben Ereu
Ereu is excited about the practical projects they undertake at school because they offer him opportunities to improve what he is already practicing at Next Radio.
“The UCU focus project that we did last semester opened my eyes about how news is produced, especially using mobile phones,” he said. “Before, I thought producing a news bulletin was so complex, but now I know that I can do it.”
Because of such projects, Ereu’s performance at Next Radioimproved tremendously to the point that he and his teammates were rewarded with performance bonuses at the end of 2020.
“I use my monthly allowances for upkeep at the university and the performance bonus we received at the end of last year was what I used to pay my hostel fees,” said Ereu, whose first appearance on air was as a presenter on a TV teens show for NTV Uganda, said. His stint at NTV Uganda, which was in 2018, lasted three months.
He said former students of UCU, who are employees of Next Media Services, are always willing to guide and mentor him.
One of the projects that Ereu is proud of having participated in is the77 Percentcampaign, a DW magazine for Africa’s youth. DW is a German public state-owned international broadcaster. The 77 Percentmagazine focuses on reports, personal stories and debates on big issues that matter most to the African youth.
Ereu, now a final-year student at UCU, says the three years he has spent at Next Radio have enabled him gain skills in operating radio and television equipment. Additionally, he says the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication has all the necessary equipment to enable students to practice what they learn in class. The skills Ereu has acquired, he says, have enabled him to get assignments for projects at the university. He says he videographed the university graduation in 2018 and that he currently does photography work for the E-learning team of UCU.
Passion for videos, photographs Ereu shot his first film in 2012, while in Senior Two, using a friend’s mobile phone. He continued to shoot videos and take photographs using borrowed phones until he acquired his own smartphone a year later. Having noticed the passion he had for shooting videos and taking photographs, Ereu’s grandfather gifted him his first camera in 2017. That was the same year he began shooting videos for commercial purposes, during his Senior Six holidays.
Ereu charges between sh200,000 (about $57) and sh400,000 (about $114) for birthdays and personal photoshoots. He also creates social media video clips for clients at sh80,000 (about $22). He usually posts some of his works on his social media pages: @simplyluckie on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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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Story and Photos by Eriah Lule Sometimes, ideas that end up transforming communities are borne out of ordinary incidents. Take the example of Maria Aloyo. Who would have thought a burning candle during a Catholic Mass would send business ideas into anyone’s mind? It did to Aloyo, in 2019.
She was at Mass. She sat on the pew near the altar. When she smelled the scent from one of the burning candles at the altar, she thought of an opportunity – making candles.
One of Maria Aloyo’s customers poses with her purchase.
Two years down the road, the 23-year-old has not just created a job for herself, but also for Martin Asiimwe, a motorcycle rider, who distributes Aloyo’s products to her customers. Having hired a distributor gives Aloyo the opportunity to concentrate on making candles and attending to class work. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication course in her third year at Uganda Christian University (UCU).
Aloyo makes scented, artistically decorated candles that, she says, leave her customers no choice but to dip their hands into their pockets. In addition to candles, she makes car fragrances, reed diffusers, mosquito repellents, oil perfumes, heat diffusers and several others.
She said she started making candles during the 2020 lockdown that was instituted in Uganda to reduce the rate of the spread of the coronavirus. During the lockdown, schools were closed for more than seven months. The initial opening, in October 2020, was only for the benefit of final-year learners. Since then, many more classes have been allowed to resume school, with the opening done in a staggered manner.
Born to Annet and Akwello Muto of Entebbe in Wakiso district, central Uganda, Aloyo worked at her mother’s store during school vacations. It is from there that she raised her first capital of about sh1million (about $277).
“I used my savings to stock what I needed to start the business,” she said.
When one of her aunts, Lydia Aluka, was travelling abroad, Aloyo gave her the money to buy for her what she needed for making the scented candles.
Enrolling for an undergraduate degree at UCU has been a blessing for Aloyo, whose web of clients and support base is largely people from the university. However, over time she says she has made inroads in other communities outside the university.
“I hope to give back to UCU by teaching other students what I do, so they are able to earn a living,” she says.
Making candles is not the first business enterprise that Aloyo has engaged in.
In 2017, as a 19-year-old, Aloyo saved sh500,000 (about $138) and used it as capital to stock belts, wallets, jewelry and African print cloth, which she would sell. However, she says the business was not fulfilling for her, since she was trading in finished products. She yearned to make signature items, which she hoped people would know her for.
Aloyo is organizing an event, Magic fingers – Color Series, intended to provide a platform for creative youth to not only showcase their works of art, but also to network once the second covid-related lockdown ends. She hopes to hold the event in August 2021.
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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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Joshua Rukundo (wearing glasses) with the children benefiting from their charity. Photo by Michael Kisekka
By Michael Kisekka and Jimmy Siyasa Compassion, generosity and humanity are among the many words defining philanthropy. Innocent Kanobana, who has a particular passion for helping the less privileged, embodies such a definition. In 2015, he formed an underprivileged child charity organization, the Rukicare Foundation.
Two years down the road, when Kanobana wanted someone to run the charity as its chief executive officer, Kanobana did not look further than his teenage grandchild, Joshua Rukundo, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) student. Rukundo was 18 years.
Joshua Rukundo (left) with a colleague (white shirt) and some of the children benefiting from their charity.
Fast forward to 2021. Twenty-three-year-old Rukundo is a UCU final-year student of the Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. It is not only Rukundo who has changed, but his organization, too, has since grown. Rukicare Foundation that started with a handful of boys and girls now caters to over 50 children. Rukundo says the bedrock of the foundation has been his family’s deep-rooted culture of giving to those less fortunate.
Noah’s Ark had earlier sent a call to the public to donate scholastic materials to their child-beneficiaries, who had to return to school. The children had been out of school since the Covid-19-related nationwide lockdown on education institutions in March 2020. A year later, schools were allowed to reopen but then closed again with a 42-day lockdown starting June 7.
Rukicare Foundation donated not only scholastic materials such books, pencils and pens that they had asked for, but also offered food, clothes and packs of medicines.
“Since the government has opened schools, we decided to come in and provide the children with the necessary scholastic materials, to enable them to continue with their studies unhindered,” Rukundo explained before the second lockdown.
While most charities focus directly on the beneficiaries in their custody, the mandate of Rukicare Foundation is a little different. Where possible, they also take care of the needs of the beneficiaries under the care of other organizations.
“Sometimes, these children become too heavy a responsibility for their own parents, who end up dumping them, because they are unable to provide even the most basic of needs,” Rukundo, who believes abject poverty and negligence by many parents in Uganda is one of the reasons behind children ending up under the care of such organizations, said.
Among the charities Rukundo’s organization supports are Kitgum Home of Children in northern Uganda, Mercy Hands Uganda in Mpigi district, central Uganda and Kireka home for people with a hearing impairment, located in Kireka, near Kampala.
John Safari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Noah’s Ark Special Needs Children Facility, was delighted with the support received from Rukundo’s foundation. Hoping for more such donations, Safari said they intend to establish a medical center for the facility.
“We are in the last stages of acquiring land to build a hospital for the special needs children,” Safari said.
Despite being able to look out for other charities, it does not mean Rukicare Foundation is insulated from obstacles. Rukundo said even with being registered, and having a valid operation permit and a requisite certificate of incorporation from the Uganda National Board of NGOs, the NGO pays tax on humanitarian imports, such as medicines, which he says should not be the case for a registered company like theirs.
“In January 2021, we imported humanitarian medicines from India, but we feel we were unfairly taxed,” Rukundo said.
Such challenges can intimidate an organization without a major funder, but mainly dependent on 20% of the salaries of each of the members of the Rukundo family. And because of financial challenges, Rukundo has occasionally reached out to fellow students at UCU and other universities, to mobilize resources so that his organization is able to realize the philanthropy dream of the Rukundo family.
As he looks to his UCU graduation this year, Rukundo is grateful for his university education.
“UCU enabled me get more connections to people that are already running charity organizations. Then, it also deepened our connections to certain partners,” said Rukundo about his UCU experience. “My Bachelor’s has bettered my communication to potential partners and sponsors. It has also equipped me with skills to start and run the organization’s social media pages.”
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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Honors College Student Chemutai Syndia with some of the pupils of Bishop West Primary School where she conducted her project
By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa Christian mentorship. Leadership. Academic research. These are the three core goals that define Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Honors College. The 19-year-old college, whose concept is borrowed from the Dutch and American universities, admits only the institution’s crème de la crème students from the different faculties.
Applicants must have at least a 4.0 Cumulative Grade-Point Average (CGPA) out of 5.0 to be enrolled to the college that offers talented students the opportunity to tap on their mettle through an extra certificate-program, alongside the regular bachelor’s degree course.
The college, which is the brainchild of Prof. Stephen Noll, UCU’s first Vice-Chancellor, offers a multidisciplinary approach to scientific and social issues, which helps to enrich students’ projects and research.
Pamela Tumwebaze, newly appointed head of Honors College
Pamela Tumwebaze, the new head of the college, has hit the ground running, by grouping
students based on their interests, using invited guest lecturers and mentors to speak to the students and holding weekly workshops. Before her promotion to head the Honors College, Tumwebaze was the Executive Secretary of the UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics.
“I want to utilize the full potential of our students, by encouraging them to create solutions for the social problems that people face, through research,” she said, noting that it is such initiatives that will “lift the college to greater heights.”
Juan Emmanuella Zamba, a student of Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention, has designed a project called Trash into Cash, which she hopes will be able to solve the challenge of high youth unemployment. Zamba collects inorganic waste, such as plastic and paper, which she uses to make jewelry and wall hangings.
“Honors College has enabled me to explore my potential and capabilities, through mentorship provided by the guest lecturers and our college staff,’’ Zamba said, adding: “I am now thinking of making my project a real business, so that I create employment to the youth, as well as skilling them.”
Thanks to the Honors College, Chemutai Syndia, a 21-year-old fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, is currently working to combat sexual violence against children through advocacy. At Bishop West Primary School, located near UCU, Chemutai counsels children and also sensitizes them on the avenues through which they can report child-rights offenders. She also takes advantage of the opportunity to sensitise the teachers about the benefits of creating a favourable environment for their pupils, to share their challenges.
Members of a group project called Share a Skill, spearheaded by Miriam Obetia, a second-year student of Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention, went to West Nile early this year, where they engaged children, especially who had dropped out of school during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, in entrepreneurial skills.
Tumwebaze believes her tenure of service is a God-given opportunity to boost UCU’s undergraduate research and she has already started on this by making calls for proposals for projects from students. She believes her ultimate reward will be when students succeed by making a career out of the projects they will have championed.
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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By Yasiri J. Kasango Acting, health care and writing are Stella Mirembe’s passions. However, among the three, Mirembe would prefer she is not asked where her love is. She does not know.
During her secondary school, Mirembe spent time fine-tuning her acting skills. After the six years of acting in secondary school, it was writing that earned Mirembe her first ever payment in life. Writing also brought her international recognition.
While in Senior Six long holidays, Mirembe was writing articles for Upwork, a web-based platform that was linking her to people who wanted writers.
However, when university studies came calling, she put writing on hold. She hopes to resurrect her writing passion later. In 2018, Mirembe joined Uganda Christian University to study towards a Bachelor of Public Health. She says her course in public health will help her engage different communities on good health practices as well as help her write better health-related articles.
It was Mirembe’s late father who first saw her potential in acting. While in Senior Two, Elias Kyewalabye encouraged his daughter to act a play off the famous book, Betrayal in the City, by Kenyan playwright Francis Imbuga. He was impressed by Mirembe’s performance and encouraged her not to drop her passion. Kyewalabye has since passed on, and Mirembe is working hard to achieve the dreams of her father.
Stella Mirembe
She currently graces the TV screens as an actress in a Ugandan series, Prestige, which airs on DStv’s Pearl Magic Prime. The channel is dedicated to Ugandan local content.
As a child, Miremebe used to act in Sunday school plays. She attended Uganda’s Gayaza High School and, later, Makerere College School for her A’level. Even while in secondary school, acting was part of Mirembe’s life.
“In Gayaza High School, I acted in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” she says.
Internationally, Mirembe is a great admirer of Jennifer Aniston, an American actress, producer and businesswoman.
The outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent closure of schools forced Mirembe to go back into acting. In August 2020, she exploited the chance of carrying on her dream. Her mother, Dr. Elizabeth Kyewalabye, encouraged her to audition for the Prestige series when calls were put out. And she was successful. She says acting helped to relieve her of some of the stress occasioned by the lockdown in 2020.
When the government announced the reopening of schools, Mirembe was excited to return for face-to-face classes so she fulfils her dream of becoming a health worker, so she is able to help communities around her to exercise better health practices.
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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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Story and Photos By Eriah Lule Allan Kampame had just completed A’level and was facing a “long vacation” before starting his university education. What could he do to be productive with nine months? Kampame found the answer at Dembe Trading Company, a goods delivery firm that was operating in the Kampala business hub of Kikuubo.
The year was 2015. Dembe employed Kampame as a delivery man in the business hub.
“Moving in trucks day and night gave me the exposure I yearned for,” recounted Kampame, now a 26-year-old, final-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Public Administration and Management at Uganda Christian University (UCU). “I loved my work because there was a lot I was learning.”
Dembe means freedom in Luganda, one of the dialects in Uganda. Kampame, however, says while he initially enjoyed working at Dembe Trading Company, he was far from being free. He worked like a horse for his bosses, yet he felt the returns were never commensurate to the energy he put in.
Allan Kampame ready to start supplying products
“Our employers promoted many new people and I was skipped because of my low qualification of high school, even when I had more experience in the field than my colleagues did,” he said.
Kampame, however, was not the kind to mourn. He turned the lemons life gave him into lemonade.
The best he got out of his experience at Dembe was exposure to the various manufacturers and other business owners whom he met as a sweaty errand boy while on delivery duty. From that toil, he learned the fundamentals of business, which he later applied in birthing his own.
For close to a year, he saved money and created networks to launch his own business before throwing in the towel of working for somebody else. Crown Supplies, a delivery company, was the baby that Dembe gave birth to.
Crown Supplies now has a store in Mukono town and hires a delivery truck at about sh600,000 (about $168), per week, to transport customers’ orders to shops and stores elsewhere. Kampame has not only created a job for himself, but also for five others he employs.
Part of the proceeds he gets from the business is what Kampame uses to pay his tuition at UCU. And he is meeting his university’s financial needs not because his parents are unable to but because he can financially support his education on his own.
Abel Muhangi and Ruth Kirungi of Mbarara, a district in western Uganda, are Kampame’s parents. The Muhangis are prominent farmers in the district.
Three years ago, Kampame’s aspiration to champion the fight against environmental pollution led him to a new entrepreneurial path – producing paper bags.
“I realized it was possible to control polythene disposal in the environment while earning something from the venture,” he says.
Kampame recently teamed up with his sister, Peruth Nankunda, and the two started a graphics design and branding business in Kampala.
“I can’t believe how ambitious my sibling is,” Nankunda said. “I first declined his proposal of teaming up to start a joint venture because I thought we were not in position to pull it off. But, later, I accepted because his passion for innovation made all things look possible.”
With challenges of a tight academic schedule and what he calls the high taxes levied by the government on businesses, one would think Kampame would lose morale. Not at all. “Challenges are part of business and so, somehow, you have to find a way to continue in spite of them,” he says.
After graduation, Kampame intends to fulfill his childhood dream of having a qualification in health sciences. He intends to pursue a master’s degree in epidemiology and biostatistics.
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David Mugawe, UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (in a blue shirt), leads NBS staff on a guided tour around the Mukono campus on May 20. Photo by Ivor Sempa
By Michael Kisekka and Yasiri J. Kasango Next Media Services and Uganda Christian University (UCU) are mooting a formal partnership where the two parties will support each other in developing journalism and communications in the country. Skilling students, conducting joint research on communication-related issues and content development are some of the areas where the media house and the university will channel their energies.
As part of the activities towards the formalisation of the partnership, the Next Media Services team, led by their Chief Executive Officer, Kin Kariisa, visited the UCU main campus on May 20 and held a formal engagement with Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi and other top university officials. Next Media Services is the parent company of NBS TV, Next Radio, the Nile Post news website, Sanyuka TV and Salam TV.
The May 20 meeting follows an earlier one in March, where Mushengyezi and his team visited the Next Media Services offices in Kampala. In the March meeting, Next Media Services committed to opening its doors to some UCU students to conduct internships at the media house.
John Semakula, a journalism lecturer at UCU and coordinator of the UCU Partners e-lab, and Mildred Tuhaise, a journalist at NBS, chat during the May 2021 visit.
Frank Obonyo, the UCU Communication and Marketing Manager and one of the March attendees, explained that the potential partnership included student training as well as assistance with “publicising UCU programs and success stories, plus offering staff of Next Media Services the opportunity of guest lecturing.”
During the May visit, the Next Media services team engaged in activities such as meeting student leaders, attending the university’s bi-weekly community worship and giving inspirational talks to students. Both Kariisa and Mushengyezi addressed the UCU community during community worship at Nkoyoyo Hall. The two parties later engaged in a soccer game, which ended 3-0 in favour of UCU.
“We are looking forward to having some of our staff and students coming to Next Media Services to have hands-on training; we are certain this will benefit them a lot,” Mushengyezi said.
Kariisa noted that the partnership “we are putting together is exciting, bringing practicality to theories while exposing Next Media Services to great potential in talent.” Kariisa also talked about the depth in quality of the UCU journalism graduates on the market, noting that Next Media Services has found it worth employing them. The media house employs more than 40 alumni of UCU, according to Kariisa.
“Many times, we employ young people, but after giving them jobs, they get bored; they don’t even last three months,” Kariisa said. “They complain, they don’t have interest and are not groomed to work in those solid organizations. We need to work together to turn this around.”
The UCU Alumni Association chairperson, Emmanuel Wabwire, is optimistic the partnership between UCU and Next Media Services will “help us establish the association’s relevance, presence and vibrancy among the UCU fraternity as well as outside the university.”
Obonyo said the next step to move the partnership forward is a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). He said the signatures on the MOU should be in place by August.
“We already have a draft copy, which we shall send Next Media Services soon,” Obonyo said, adding that this collaborative further enables UCU to offer its students a holistic and productive education.
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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Mark Bartels and Ashton Davey of UCU Partners pose with E-lab writers at the University in Mukono, Uganda, on May 18. Photo by Ivor Sempa
By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa Donning a baby blue shirt, khaki pants and quasi-safari shoes, Mark Bartels arrived at TheStandard community newspaper office just in time for the 10 a.m. visit. Not even a downpour would stand in the way of the May 18 meeting. Bartels, the executive director of Uganda Christian University (UCU) Partners, was scheduled to meet UCU students engaged in the Partners e-lab program that was launched on the UCU Mukono campus in January.
John Semakula, the Partners e-lab communications coordinator, who had arrived with Bartels, ushered him to a round table in the middle of TheStandard newsroom. At the table, Semakula and Bartels joined Constantine Odongo, editor of the Partners e-lab pilot and also with New Vision, and Ashton Davey, a Partners fundraising coordinator.
The meeting, which was part of Bartel’s activities during his one-week visit to Uganda in May, started with some of the students sharing their experiences working for the e-lab program.
Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, in Standard newsroom in May 2021.
“I have learned to tell success stories while observing journalistic integrity and ethics,” Jimmy Siyasa, one of the students, said. “While I was taught to do this in my undergraduate studies, I did not practice as much as I’m doing now, ever since I started contributing content for the UCU Partners e-lab blog.” Siyasa has completed his bachelor’s program with the graduation twice canceled due to covid lockdowns.
Grace Bisoke, an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, thanked the UCU Partners for being inclusive in its mentorship program.
“I am grateful for the opportunity that you have afforded us, as students, and more so, someone from another country,” she said. “Being part of this mentorship program has enabled me to have the nose for news and also be able to write a story.”
Ivor Sempa asked for logistical support, especially 300mm camera lenses, so that the team is able to produce high quality photos, which will enrich the content on the blog.
Semakula observed that the students on the programme have benefited in terms of skills acquisition and financially.
“Thank you very much for the stipend,” he said. “They afford us our daily bread and enable the students to meet some basic needs, so as to continue working for UCU Partners,” he said. He referred to the stipend that Partners pays to students for their contributions in terms of articles published on the Partners blog and for Internet.
Semakula beseeched Bartels to engage the university top management in order to facilitate the speedy revival of The Standard newspaper. Operations of the university newspaper were halted in March 2020, when the Ugandan government closed education institutions to reduce the rate of the spread of the coronavirus. The institutions were allowed to resume physical classes in March this year, only to be shut again on June 7, 2021 as Uganda imposed new restrictions following a second wave of Covid-19. Recently, the newspaper launched a digital platform. However, the print platform is still in limbo.
“We’ve learnt that you’ve been meeting the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor,” Semakula said. “Please highlight our plight as a newsroom. We need funding so that we can begin to fully operate.”
Bartels commended the team for performing beyond the organization’s expectations. “You have proved our experiment right. I am grateful for your services,” he said.
“The quality of work coming from the e-lab and the podcast team is really good and I appreciate the thoughtfulness, time and resources that the students are investing,” Bartels continued, reminding the students that telling a story is just as important as the story itself.
Bartels said his meeting with UCU Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, was to get to know him (Vice-Chancellor) and understand his priorities. He also later met with Prof. Monica Chibita, the Dean of the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, among other top university officials.
He later visited the UCU School of Medicine in Mengo, Kampala, where he interacted with the Dean of the School, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime.
“Currently, we are working on equipping the School of Medicine to match the standard requirements, in order for it to produce quality graduates,” Bartels said.
Partners also has over time given scholarships and tuition top-ups to UCU students.
“We are now planning to support faculties to do community outreaches so as to impact the society,” Bartels added.
Uganda Partners, a nonprofit, based in Pennsylvania USA and in existence for more than two decades, started the e-lab this year to give a resume-building platform to UCU’s journalism and communication students through hands-on experience to supplement their in-class learning. The products benefit Partners by providing information to current and potential contributors to the NGO.
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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Gilbert Nyaika in complete attire of the Uganda Police Force
By Ivor Sempa and Jimmy Siyasa Adults, take note. Children are watching. Often, they dream of being like you. For Gilbert Nyaika, he looked up to three uncles who served in Uganda’s army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces. He loved the way they conducted themselves and the respect they earned in society.
Someday, the young Nyaika told himself, he would be like them.
When he graduated with a Uganda Christian University (UCU) Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance in 2008, Nyaika got employed in a telecommunications company. But his heart was restless. That is not where he thought he belonged.
Seven years later, in 2015, when an advert calling for people to join the Police force was published in the Uganda Gazette, Nyaika saw it as his chance to join the armed forces. He applied and got the job. Nyaika was a regular Police officer at the Hoima Police Station. According to the Police Act, the Police is supposed to protect people’s lives and property, as well as their rights, maintain security within Uganda, enforce the laws of Uganda, ensure public order and safety, detect and prevent crime in society, and perform the services of a military force.
In 2020, Nyaika was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Police – the officer in charge of Police stations in Bunyangabu district in western Uganda. He reports directly to the Regional Police Commander.
One would think that holding such a demanding office of overseeing Police posts in the whole district would keep Nyaika away from the everyday law enforcement impact. Far from it. In fact, he says part of the reason for his promotion last year was because of how he was positively impacting communities, and those appointing him don’t want that work to cease.
UCU Alum Gilbert Nyaika
Nyaika has contributed to the infrastructural development of up to 13 schools in Bunyangabu district. Through his resource mobilization skills, in 2020, Nyaika mobilized up to $40,000 (about sh145m) from donors. This money was used to build classrooms, and purchase furniture and scholastic materials for learners. Some of the beneficiary schools were Bunyangagu Progressive School, Hoima Advent Primary School and Hoima Modern Primary School.
Among the many who applaud Nyaika’s efforts are a former teacher at UCU. Vincent Kisenyi, the former dean at the UCU School of Business, said: “I am proud to see him prosper and that he learnt a lot of values from the university. Nyaika thrives to see change in the community, which makes me feel very happy as his former teacher and mentor.”
So, what did he learn while pursuing studies at UCU?
“My experience at UCU taught me to serve,” Nyaika said. “I was inspired to serve my community using my skills; UCU inculcated in us a sense of social responsibility.”
He is a recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s award by Professor Stephen Noll, who was the UCU Vice Chancellor at the time. Nyaika was awarded after spearheading a cleaning campaign in one of the suburbs of UCU. He served in the UCU guild government of 2006-2007 as a Member of Parliament of the business faculty. The following year, he was appointed the minister for agriculture. His achievements also were mirrored academically as he bagged a second-class upper degree.
Nyaika attended Buhinga Primary School, before joining St. Leo’s Kyegobe Senior Secondary School, for O’level. For his A’level education, Nyaika studied at Mandela Secondary School.
Nyaika’s well-rounded interests include sports. He sits on various sports committees in Uganda, including on the board for the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA) and the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA). On the FUFA board, he sits on the ethics and investigations committee. Nyaika also founded a team, Kitara Soccer Club, which plays in the second division in Uganda.
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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Mubezi sorts files on his computer at Kingdom Comix. Photos by Enock Wanderema
By Enock Wanderema and Jimmy Siyasa When Isaac Mubezi qualified to join Uganda Christian University (UCU), his mother thought it imperative that he get accommodations in one of the University’s halls of residence. She gave him the money to meet the hostel fees.
However, Mubezi had other plans. He felt that by renting an affordable room outside the university, it would provide him an opportunity to start an independent life and better learn to deal with challenges life threw at him.
He knew fully well that with his mother’s monthly salary of slightly above sh500,000 (about $150), he would not be able to have as much disposable income as he wished. It is from that salary that his mother, a resident of Iganga, a district in eastern Uganda, paid his tuition fees, as well as for his other three brothers. His father is something he doesn’t discuss.
Indeed, as Mubezi left UCU, after three years of studying a bachelor’s in business administration course, he had decided that he would be an employee for just five years, as he learned the skills of running his own business.
The 30-year-old now has a video library in Mukono.
“All I know is I have always had passion for service,” is his response when asked about what drives him.
Mubezi attends to a gentleman who is inquiring about a movie.
Before setting up the video library, Mubezi got a job with Stanbic Bank as a teller in 2014, the year he graduated. He felt that one year was enough for him to learn money matters in the bank. The following year, he got a job to manage a new café shop in Mbale, a district in eastern Uganda. Again, he did not spend more than a year at this job. Next, he sought a job which could enable him get the experience to manage people. Picfare Industries, which deals in stationery, employed him as an assistant human resources manager. Here, he spent three years.
Upon clocking his five years as an employee, Mubezi quit in January 2020.
By this time, Mubezi had saved sh4m (about $1,090), which he used as capital to set up his small business of a video library. Mubezi’s choice of business was an irony. As a child, he would escape to go and watch films in video hall shacks in their locality. For that, Mubezi earned a fair share of beating from his mother.
He says the video library that he set up was to offer an alternative for students who could be tempted to relieve stress by sneaking out of hostels to go to night clubs. Despite many businesses closing during the Covid-19 lockdown in Uganda from March to June 2020, Mubezi’s continued operating. He says during that time, he would get up to 35 clients in a day.
Kingdom Comix, the name of Mubezi’s video library, is situated about 100metres (328 feet) from the UCU “small gate.” He has never regretted his choice of business. The proceeds from it enable him to pay his own bills, such as rent, meals and other expenses. He also is now also in position to pay some of his mother’s bills. With a monthly saving of sh800,000 (about $220) from Kingdom Comix, Mubezi believes he made the right choice.
At the counter of the video library are packets of sweets. These, Mubezi always offers as tokens of appreciation to his clients. Sometimes, he adds a message. One common one is: “when one does not work hard, even God will have nothing to bless.”
By Simon Omit and Dalton Mujuni When Uganda Christian University (UCU) convened on December 18, 2020, for a virtual graduation ceremony, not many graduands knew what was next in their lives in a world that had taken a beating from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The uncertainty did not reside within Reagan Moses Muyinda. The 26-year-old graduate, who had always dreamed of joining politics and now had a Bachelor of Public Administration and Governance Degree, was ready to sell ice cream.
And this was not by accident. As soon as Muyinda joined UCU in 2017, he started saving part of his pocket money for capital for some sort of business. To supplement his savings, Muyinda also operated an online furniture shop.
Reagan Moses Muyinda, graduation gown, treats himself at his ice cream stall on the day he graduated on December 18, 2020.
As the graduate walked out of the gates of UCU on December 18 last year, he had savings worth sh4m (about $1,090) in his purse. To purchase an ice cream-making machine, Muyinda needed sh5m (about $1,370). A friend loaned him the balance of the money.
Despite rebuke from his peers that selling ice cream was too low a job for a university graduate, Muyinda persevered. As a result, they isolated him. But he cared less. After all, his parents loved the business idea and have financed it as well. One of Muyinda’s classmates had introduced him to the business. He, therefore, knew full well what to expect. Ice cream is considered “comfort food” and a treat especially comforting during a pandemic.
To those who look down on him and others in jobs without prestigious titles, Muyinda advises them to work.
His business, located a several metres (about 20 feet) away from UCU’s Tech Park gate, is booming. In March, Muyinda was recording almost 100 customers daily.
“I have been in the ice cream business just for a few months, but it has already picked up,” he said. “The business idea was good and the UCU students haven’t let me down, most of them are my customers.”
The high number of customers was not by accident. Muyinda recently introduced board games at his business premises, to attract more patrons.
Muyinda’s day starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m, the start of the curfew time in Uganda. The country remains under curfew, which was instituted last year, to control movement of people due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time this story was written in March 2021, no movements were allowed in Uganda from 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m, daily.
Muyinda dreams of becoming the most popular ice cream supplier in Mukono town, by expanding his business to different trading centres in the town.
To achieve that, he first has to overcome some setbacks that are already afflicting the business. In addition to the curfew that shuts off customers after 9 p.m., landlords often raise his rent.
“The landlords always think that I am making more from the business,” he said. “In two months, I have shifted to three different locations and this is affecting my profit margin.”
Muyinda, however, remains steadfast. “Challenges keep me going since there can’t be business growth without obstacles,” he said.
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A student (right) is assisted with loading her luggage on a boda-boda as the university closed on June 7. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa
By Jimmy Siyasa The second Covid-19 wave is currently sweeping across Uganda, paralyzing life and livelihoods of many people. Education institutions have been hit, after Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni shut them once again, for 42 days, effective June 7.
Inter-district transport in both public and private means also has been banned for 42 days, starting June 10. Uganda’s health ministry says it has so far registered four Covid-19 variants – the Wuhan strain and the variants from South Africa, India and the UK.
On June 4, Uganda registered its highest number of corona virus cases in a single day – 1,259 out of the 7,424 tests done.
A female resident of Sabiti hall carries her duvet, leaving the hall of residence. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa
During a televised address on June 6, Museveni noted that the restrictions would prevent overwhelming the country’s health system. The current number of hospital beds to manage Covid-19 patients in Uganda stands at 3,793. As of June 6, Uganda’s cumulative number of Covid-19 cases stood at 52,929, reported confirmed deaths at 374 and recoveries at 43,487.
In response to the directive of shutting down schools, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, issued a statement on June 7, asking the institution’s staff and students to migrate to online learning.
“The Division of Academics and the Alpha MIS/UIS team should offer students and lecturers the support they need to ensure that e-learning is seamless, as we have done before,” Mushengyezi said.
In February 2021, the Ugandan government had given the greenlight for education institutions to resume physical classes for the first time since March last year. The return to school, which was expected to be in a phased manner, followed the October 2020 resumption of face-to-face learning of final-year learners, who sat for their national exams in March, April and May 2021.
In his June 6 address to the nation, the President announced that when schools eventually re-open after the second wave, only teachers who will have been vaccinated will be allowed back on duty. UCU has been urging its staff and students to get vaccinated, starting with its health workers on March 12. On June 2, the university rolled out a mass vaccination exercise at its clinic, the Allan Galpin Health Center. An estimated 100 people took jabs on the first day of the exercise.
Staff and students queue up to get inoculated at the UCU clinic. Photo by Emmanuel Kizaale
Uganda has vaccinated 706,000 people, with about 4,000 of those having received their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In the June 6 address, Museveni said the country was exploring possibilities of procuring China’s Sinovac vaccine, Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine and Johnson & Johnson. At that, it is not confirmed if any of the world’s current vaccines cover all variations found in Uganda.
Dr. Geoffrey Mulindwa, the Director of Medical Services at UCU’s medical facility, said the mass vaccination program at the university was an opportunity for the institution to join in the fight against the second wave of Covid-19. At the vaccination exercise, Mulindwa said priority was given to those who were due for their second jabs.
In March, the university commissioned a Covid-19 student task force, to ensure the safety of learners at UCU. The 244 students were tasked with coordinating health activities related to Covid-19 in the university. At the commissioning of the task force, Mulindwa said the university had lost two staff members to Covid-19. At least three others contracted the virus with one recovered and two still in recovery in June.
In early June, UCU had around 500 students living on campus. According to the University Halls custodian, Reverend Simon Peter Ddamba Anatoli, before the lockdown, there were 279 female and 218 male residents. With the latest order, all but a few international students and some athletes are required to leave.
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 Vice Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushegyezi (second from left) helps cut cake at the birding course graduation. Also pictured are Mrs. Mary Kajumba of the Private Sector Foundation, Assoc. Dean of the School of Business Mrs. Elsie Nsiyona and Dr. Martin Lwanga, the outgoing Dean of the School of Business.
By Eriah Lule
Forty students who enrolled for the inaugural birding course class at the Uganda Christian University have flown the nest. The fledglings have fledged.
Birding course graduates and faculty
The students, who have been studying since February 2021, graduated at a low-key ceremony held at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Nkoyoyo Hall on May 26. They were awarded certificates recognising them as birdwatchers. The three-month course, taught as an evening program, was conducted at the UCU’s Kampala campus.
The course was made possible through a partnership between UCU and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, where the university won a sh238 million (about $65,000) grant to train students, especially those pursuing the degree of Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
The students were taught the economic potential of the birding industry, important bird areas in Uganda, professional bird guiding as a career, marketing bird watching locally and globally, establishing and running a birding tour company, as well as conservation and protection of bird habitats.
Uganda has more than 1,000 bird species, according to the African Wildlife Foundation, making the country one of the richest destinations for birding in Africa. More than half of the continent’s bird species are in Uganda.
“We have a big gap in the tourism industry, but with such a training, the industry will grow faster,” Agnes Joy Kamugisha, one of the graduates, said.
“I had the opportunity to learn how to associate with my customers, how to develop good business ethics, bookkeeping and many other things that I believe when I put into practice, my business will live to see its 30th birthday,” she added.
Mary Kajumba, an official from the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, who spoke at the graduation ceremony, said one of the major aims of the agency is to equip citizens with employment skills and empower them to be able to set up projects that can solve the high level of unemployment in the country.
“Birding is one of the areas that doesn’t need much capital,” she said. “I am convinced we are training job creators and not seekers…We hope that this project is rolled out to other universities all over the country after being approved by the National Council for Higher Education.”
Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, the UCU Vice Chancellor, said the course fulfils his objective of imparting skills-based learning.
“I didn’t understand the aim of the project at first, until I was given a lecture on how practical it was, fulfilling my long-term desire of creating skills-based courses, that can bridge the gap between the industry and the classroom,” Mushengyezi said. “I now consider this course a success, so we can now enroll more birders.
He encouraged The Private Sector Foundation to keep “supporting us” so that UCU “can enroll more students.” UCU is the only institution of higher learning offering a course in birding.
Johnny Kamugisha, a professional birder and the CEO of Johnny Safaris, is optimistic about the impact of the birding project.
“This project will produce professionals for our industry. I assure you that with such a course, we shall uplift the tourism industry in this country,” Kamugisha, one of the instructors in the course, said.
Assoc. Prof. Martin Lwanga, the outgoing Dean of the UCU School of Business, which supervises the implementation of the birding project, expressed gratitude that in spite of the challenges they faced, the first cohort has graduated.
“Although we met different challenges, experts in the field of birding helped us design the curriculum, teach and mentor our students,” Lwanga said.
The project was a pilot, to evaluate how effective the short course would be in terms of learning, access to reading materials, lecturers, mentors and field work. Although much of the course content was delivered online, occasionally, students went to the field.
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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Joram Kule (lower right, in black) seated with his family in a displaced people’s camp at his village, after escaping from the ADF rebel captivity.
Joram Kule is a theology student at Uganda Christian University. In 1999, Kule was abducted at age nine by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group that held him captive until his escape four-and-a-half months later. In the late 1990s, the ADF rebels terrorised part of western Uganda. In 2021, they have shifted their area of operation to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This abduction and escape as a child are part of Kule’s story as he works to bring others through their adversities to the way of Christ. Now age 27, Kule says it is the Lord who saved him, reunited him with his family and is now leading him to further be a witness for God’s strength. Kule, who is set to graduate from UCU in 2021, eyes a doctorate in his field of education.
Story as told to Gloria Katya
I was abducted on September 21, 1999, and memories of that night are still fresh in my mind. After supper, the practice usually was that we went to hide in a bush away from our home. We would hide so that when the rebels invaded at night, we would not be abducted from our house as others were. Rumour had circulated that our village, Mirimbo in Kasese district, western Uganda, would be attacked by rebels that night. We even built small grass-thatched huts in the bush, where we would take cover.
When the rebels eventually attacked our village, they came up to our home and followed a footpath that led them to our pineapple and sugarcane farm. And that was the same route to our usual hideout.On their way, the rebels ate pineapples. Sensing danger from the intruders, our little dog barked and my father woke up. When he got out, he saw the dog attack a stranger. That is when he called my elder brothers, who were also in the hut.
A fight ensued outside. It was my father and my brothers who were armed with spears, knives and machetes, on one side, against the rebels.
Joram Kule taking a reading.
For me, it was the noise from the fight that woke me up. When I moved out, I saw my father and my brothers fighting against a larger group of people, using spears and machetes. The fight went on for more than 10 minutes until my father and his team were overpowered.
At one point, my father speared one of the rebels who had attempted to shoot him. Another rebel had hurled a grenade towards my father, but it missed him by a whisker. It was the fragments of the grenade that ruptured part of my father’s ribs.
It was at that point that my father ordered us to retreat. My brothers and my father did. I was not as lucky. As I tried to run away, one of the rebels held me back. And they eventually went with me.
On our way back to their camps in the forests, the rebels raided more homes for food. They slaughtered people’s animals and carried meat in sacks. I was also given a sack of meat to carry.
After the raids, we crossed River Isya and climbed Kati Kati hills. After about two hours, we reached the top of the hill, where we retreated for the night. Very early in the morning, the rebels prepared some meat, which they ate. I did not eat what I was given. At that time, my bigger challenge was how to keep warm. After their meal, we then set off for our journey, deep into the forests. But before setting off, the rebel who was speared by my dad during the fight the night before died and he was buried at that spot.
As we moved deeper into the forests, I recalled what my mother, Masika Grace Maate, had once told me. She said that abductees are killed whenever they said they were tired. So, each time I was asked if I was tired, I would say “no.”
We walked the whole day, before we could get to our destination. At nightfall, we rested and the rebels prepared food. They also erected the shelters where we slept. The next day, we started the journey very early again. We moved through swamps, which made it difficult for us to move faster. At about noon, on the third day, we arrived at the main barracks of the rebels. I was shocked at the level of hospitality at the barracks. I saw rebels in rags, and quite many looking malnourished.
At one point, they brought a strong, beastly man who warned the new recruits that they would live to regret if they misbehaved. He was the hangman in the camp. I later established that the rebels at the barracks lacked food and, therefore, the ones who raided the villages did so with the intention of returning with food. And those who did were welcomed like heroes.
At the barracks, we prayed five times a day since the commanders were Muslims. Although I came from a devout Christian family, I started learning Islam and the Muslim culture. I was also given another name, Ismail. No one was allowed to call me by my real name.
After one week, another group of about 50 men joined us. It had a chief commander called Abdul Majidu. He came with a camera, and, sometimes, took photographs of us. Two of the other commanders at the barracks were Baruku and Mulangira. In my first two weeks at the barracks, I would get nightmares of my father, siblings and mother being shot and killed.
After about three weeks at the barracks, one morning, we were ordered to pack our belongings and leave. The boys and women were told to carry some of the luggage, and they moved ahead of the men. We were moving deeper into the forest.
Behind us were armed men, with cocked guns ready for battle any time. In the forest, we were greeted with heavy rains and fog. Sometimes, we moved under total darkness and also spent days without enjoying sunshine because of the canopy of the forest. Along the way, we would meet skeletons of people by the side of the paths, but no one seemed to care. I did.
After moving for several days and nights in the forests around Mt. Rwenzori, we came closer to an area where people stayed. For the first time in weeks, I saw civilians washing clothes, grazing cattle, and tilling their land. We camped at a place called Kasanzi in Bundibugyo district, in western Uganda. That evening, some men were chosen to go steal food from the gardens of civilians. When they reached the gardens, Uganda’s army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), solders waylaid them and killed some of them. The few who survived returned the following morning, exhausted. They brought sacks of cassava.
One day, one of the rebels asked me to go fetch water for him from the river. I was so blessed that for the first time, I was trusted and sent alone to the river. I moved down to the valley and to the river. On the way, there was an inner voice telling me to escape. When I had established that no one saw me, I started my escape.
However, I walked for several miles without knowing which direction I was going. A thought even came to me to return to the ADF camp. But I soldiered on. The first night, I rested in a wild banana plantation that was like a cave. I discovered it was a shelter for wild animals because it had animal droppings.
In the morning when I woke up, I continued with the journey. I saw a military base from a distance. At one point, I was not sure if it was a base for the rebels or the Ugandan army. So, I took the direction away from the base. As I moved closer to people’s homes, I found a small path that led me to the main road, where I met people going about their business. I was very dirty and shabby and with a bad odour.
I later met a herdsman armed with a panga, who took me to the Ugandan army base in Bwamba village. I was interrogated by soldiers before I was taken to the village chairperson’s home, where I spent the night. For the first time in four months, I took a decent bath and ate well-cooked food.
The following morning, a woman who was the herdsman’s mother had heard my story and paid me a visit with food.
By coincidence, she recognised me. She happened to be one of my aunts who got married in the area and, as luck would have it, had heard about my abduction. I was taken to the district headquarters and then transferred to an orphanage, where my father picked me and took me to an internally displaced people’s camps, where my family and other 800 people were living. After about five years in the camp, we returned to our homes after normalcy had returned.
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The Rev. Liberty Muhereza, who has degrees in law and divinity from UCU, receives an award from the Uganda Police in recognition of ALARM’s contribution towards the improvement of the force. Courtesy photo.
By Eriah Lule Muhereza means “servant leader” in various parts of Uganda. According to Forebears, the world’s largest database of name meanings and distributions, more than 14,000 Ugandans are called Muhereza. One alumnus of Uganda Christian University (UCU) is among them, and appropriately so as he serves as a social justice leader for communities.
The civil rights activism of the Rev. Liberty Muhereza led him to write a training module focused on civil rights ideals to be imparted into society. When he shared his curriculum with leadership of the Uganda Police Force, they did not hesitate to take it up. Today, the module that Muhereza developed is part of the curriculum that is taught to trainees in police academies in Uganda.
Rev. Liberty Muhereza with his family. Photo/ Eriah Lule
“Since childhood, I have always dreamt of a world where there is equity and social justice,” Muhereza says.
It is this dream that even after completing his law degree course, the 38-year-old opted to work with civil society organisations, where he thought he would make more impact than setting up a law firm. He studied a Bachelor of Laws course at UCU, after which he pursued a Diploma in Legal Practice at Uganda’s Law Development Centre.
Muhereza is the Country Director of the African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), a not-for-profit organisation that deals with conflict resolution, servant leadership development, social justice and reconciliation, as well as community transformation. ALARM, a Christian organization that was birthed in 1996, is based in Ntinda, a suburb of Kampala.
The organization operates in six countries in the Great Lakes region: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, where it started in 2002.
Muhereza, a father of two, started working with ALARM when he completed his Diploma in Legal Practice course. He joined the organisation as its head of the peace and justice department. It is while heading the peace department that Muhereza developed a module on social justice that was eventually integrated into the curriculum of the Uganda Police Force.
Police officers being one of the major enforcers of social justice, Muhereza explains, ALARM found it necessary to train them in servant leadership development, peace, justice and reconciliation. He said they also mentor a section of lawyers under the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity.
As a Country Director, he has created partnerships with Civil Society Organizations, Government agencies and many churches in Uganda to train pastors or church leaders. Muhereza says they have held sessions with leaders in the Church of Uganda, the Roman Catholic Church and the Pentecostal churches.
To champion their goal of fostering peace and reconciliation, the organisation set up a vocational school, the ALARM Technical Institute in Pader district, in northern Uganda, to equip former child soldiers, wives of soldiers and illiterate teenagers with self-sustenance skills. Northern Uganda was a hotspot of a two-decade civil war, from 1986, with the atrocities of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels forcing communities into internally displaced people’s camps.
At the technical institute, Muhereza says: “The youth are empowered with skills like carpentry, computer literacy, building and concrete practice, electrical installation and many more, in order to establish a job-creating generation rather than a job-seeking one.” He is the institute’s board chairperson.
Muhereza resigned from his job as the head of the Peace and Justice Department at ALARM in 2015 to pursue the Master of Divinity course at UCU. Upon completion, he joined All Saints Cathedral Nakasero, as part of its clergy. However, due to his exceptional service at ALARM, it did not take long for the organisation to call him back, this time as its Country Director, a position he holds to date.
“Attending UCU ignited my Christian values and leadership skills,” says Muhereza, who was a fellowship leader, choir master and was also involved in various ministries as a student at UCU.
Currently, Muhereza is a board member of Hope Children’s home, a not-for-profit that looks after underprivileged children. He also is the general secretary of the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity, and the board chairperson of Fashion and Compassion, an organization that empowers women with skills for economic development.
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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Students walk on campus during the Easter Semester
By Israel Kisakye and Joseph Lagen The parents of Eriya Lule, a final-year student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication at Uganda Christian University (UCU), are just emerging from the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Lule’s father is a real estate broker, while his mother is a beautician. The two spent much of their time last year at home, due to the lockdown that was instituted by the Ugandan government to reduce the rate of spread of the coronavirus. Operations of salons, where Lule’s mother earns her daily bread, were suspended from March to August 2020.
When the Ugandan government allowed final-year university students to resume studies on October 15, 2020, Lule was among those who breathed a sigh of relief, returning to school after a seven-month lull.
However, the sigh of relief did not extend to Lule’s parents. Where would they get the money to pay the full tuition for their son to complete his studies? That question lingered in their minds.
The normal UCU policy requires that students pay either half of the tuition at the start and the balance before sitting for examinations or pay the full tuition at the start.
“The university only has two registration stamps to indicate half and full payment,” said Joselyn Mukisa, a final-year student of Bachelor of Business Administration. “Without the full payment stamp, it is near impossible to sit for exams, which worried most of us.”
Parents of Mukisa lost their jobs during the lockdown, something which made the 21-year-old contemplate registering for a dead year at UCU. Tuition fees per semester for many of the undergraduate courses at UCU are a little over $800.
Lule and Mukisa were not the only ones going through financial challenges. As a result, the university adjusted the policy for the two and many others with similar economic challenges. Unlike before, where one sat for examinations only after paying full tuition, this time round, the university, through the Financial Aid office, temporarily relaxed its fees policy, granting permission to over 1,000 students who had paid half tuition to sit for their exams. Lule and Mukisa were among the beneficiaries of this goodwill.
“Many students sat for their exams without completing their tuition,” Walter Washika, the manager of the UCU Financial Aid office, said. “We didn’t want to be so hard because we knew what was going on out there, and, besides, we are also parents.”
“Last year, 642 students approached our offices for assistance,” Washika noted. “This number was only for the finalists who had been allowed to report back to school.”
But hundreds more who were studying remotely using online platforms also reached out to the Financial Aid office to be permitted to sit for their end of semester examinations before completing the fees payment, and Washika permitted them.
Washika noted that before Covid-19 struck, only between 40-60 students would run to his office per semester to ask for pardon to sit for the examination before completing their fees payments.
Lule explained what the arrangement entailed: “About 30 of my classmates, myself inclusive, were given exemption letters by the Financial Aid office, so as to be able to sit for the exams. The letters allowed us to sit for our examinations after paying only half of the tuition required and we were asked to complete the outstanding balance before graduation.”
Washika confirmed that a number of students who were allowed to sit for the examinations before paying full fees have since paid their balances and continued with the new semester. For the finalists who have not yet paid he said they will not graduate until after the balance is settled.
This year’s first phase of graduation will take place on July 2, in a virtual nature. The next virtual ceremony will be held in October.
The Financial Aid office has, since inception of the university, offered a life-line to thousands of students, ordinarily contributing a little under $100 to each of its beneficiaries’ tuition balances.
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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