Category Archives: UCU Alumni

Barriers to integrating e-Learning into Uganda’s education system

COVID-19, News, Students, UCU Alumni, , , , , ,


e-Learning compatible with multiple devices that can be accessed by both staff and students. COURTESY PHOTO/UCU Law Society

(NOTE:  This article was written before the Uganda National Council for Higher Education gave late August 2020 approval for UCU to offer on-line courses.)

By Alex Taremwa

On Friday, July 3, 2020, my good friend Rebecca Karagwa, a recipient of a generous Uganda Partners scholarship, should have graduated with her Bachelor of Laws from Uganda Christian University (UCU). Only that did not happen. After waiting for online exams in vain, she celebrated anyway. She cut the cake and ate it.

Her official school completion was delayed partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced schools shut but also due to the Ugandan education system technological limbo in 2020. Since the colonial era, classroom instruction in Uganda – even at top government-supported universities like Makerere University (the 8th Best in Africa according to recent rankings) has been a blackboard and chalk affair.

While students in countries like Rwanda begin to interact with computer technology as early as primary school with the help of education tablets that the government freely distributes, it is common for a student in Uganda from a rural area like Kazo to join a university without ever touching a computer.

UCU Students browse online reading material in the UCU Hamu Mukasa Library. COURTESY PHOTO/UCU E-Learning
UCU Students browse online reading material in the UCU Hamu Mukasa Library. COURTESY PHOTO/UCU E-Learning

I write from experience. Before I joined UCU in 2010, the best I knew about a computer was to correctly identify the mouse, keyboard and monitor. It was the first-year, UCU Basic Computing Foundation Course Unit that moved me to computer literacy; I scored 98%. This is true today for many students at Ugandan universities.

While the Ugandan government directed that Information and Computer Technology (ICT) be taught compulsorily at secondary level, most schools in rural areas and some in peri-urban areas have at most eight functional computers to be used by a population of 800 students or even more. At the maximum, each student will have interfaced with the computer for about five full hours in a term. To say that this time is insufficient to create any sort of mastery is an understatement.

Nevertheless, students move on to the universities where some semblance of e-Learning can be felt. Lecturers often send course material on Email and can ably grade assignments through academic systems such as Moodle. But from experience, both students and lecturers confess that the traditional approach where assignments are typed and printed is more “effective” than the modern style because the latter requires an internet connection or a physical presence at the University where one can access free Wi-Fi.

But there is an even bigger reason. Most of the courses taught at universities had not been customized for online delivery. When you visit the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) website to see the listed of accredited online courses for universities, you’re met with an empty list. There is, however, a list of new guidelines that the NCHE is mooting to furnish universities in a bid to support their customization of online programs.

Online programs have to be immersive and interactive to compensate for when the students are not physically present at the university as the case is now. The challenge is that neither the university nor the government can guarantee that students will have access to a computer and stable Internet to support this kind of learning.

Statistically, only 42% of Ugandans are connected to the Internet, according to the Uganda Communications Commission. This represents 19 million of the 45 million Ugandans. If you break this figure further, the biggest concentration of Internet users is in Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, Entebbe, Jinja and other major towns, but most of the rural countryside where the students are during this lockdown is largely uncovered.

To worsen matters, Uganda has the most expensive Internet per megabyte of all the countries in East Africa. It doesn’t help our case that social media platforms like WhatsApp, on which students are currently interacting as they hope for take home exams, also attract a daily tax.

It would have been better and cheaper for the government to lift tax on social media to promote learning via smartphones on Facebook Live and YouTube but instead, the government is settling to buy two radio and television sets for each of the 140,000 villages in the country. While this happens, universities like the United States International University in Africa in Nairobi, Aga Khan University and other ultramodern institutions have already closed their semesters successfully by administering exams online. All the institutions had to do was to use part of the students’ already paid tuition to activate for them data bundles with which to access, write and submit the exams.

Together with an e-Examination system that closed submissions after the permissible three hours, the universities were able to avoid physical access to the premises, keep COVID-19 at bay and still successfully close their academic calendars with minor interruptions.

Selfishly though, the government has refused to allow institutions like Uganda Christian University (UCU) that have the necessary infrastructure to support e-Learning to proceed with their academic calendar, claiming that some students who are in rural areas will not be able to access the learning material – even when the very students petitioned the Speaker of Parliaments seeking permission to sit their exams and move on with their lives.

Uganda has attempted and failed twice to allow finalists to return to their respective institutions of learning to write their examinations. Information from the corridors of power now has it that the government is mooting to force a dead year on students like Karagwa that were hoping to graduate simply because there is no infrastructure to support e-Learning.

As long as COVID-19 is still a global pandemic, education in Uganda will remain on halt and even when schools resume in the near future, e-Learning will remain a far cry until the technological barriers to uptake are addressed.

Alex Taremwa is a journalist, a graduate of UCU and an MA student at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) of The Aga Khan University in Nairobi.

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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 Alum Christine Nimwesiga poses with a group of nurses after training them on maternal health practices.

‘Nothing inspires me like bringing new life into the world’

Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Medicine, , , ,


UCU Alum Christine Nimwesiga poses with a group of nurses after training them on maternal health practices.
UCU Alum Christine Nimwesiga poses with a group of nurses after training them on maternal health practices.

By Alex Taremwa

(NOTE:  Story and photos were generated before Uganda’s COVID-19 lockdown.)

Buried deep in the western region of Ibanda District is Uganda Christian University (UCU) Nursing Graduate Christine Nimwesiga. A trained nurse and midwife, she deputizes the District Health Officer and has been at it for seven years since she was transferred from Kisoro District.

Ibanda is a district on the verge of a municipality status, but its maternal and infant mortality leaves a lot to be desired.

“When I joined, the district registered about 18 maternal deaths,” Nimwesiga said. “but we have halved that figure to about eight and even those are referrals from outside districts.”

She is not just an administrative person. She is a self-motivated nurse and midwife who gets her hands dirty in the field. In her own words, nothing inspires her like the delivering a newborn, especially being there for that first cry.

UCU Nursing Graduate Christine Nimwesiga reviews district Maternal and Neonatal Health records with a nurse at Ruhoko Health Center in Ibanda district.
UCU Nursing Graduate Christine Nimwesiga reviews district Maternal and Neonatal Health records with a nurse at Ruhoko Health Center in Ibanda district.

Among Nimwesiga’s accomplishments in Ibanda is that 77% of pregnant mothers deliver in hospitals. She achieves this using Village Health Teams (VHTs) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) that are trained to encourage hospital-administered deliveries.

However, needs remain. She admits that although 86% of pregnant women turn up for the first antenatal check-ups in hospitals, only 46% return for the fourth visit. As a result, cases of severe anaemia and haemorrhages manifest often during birth, some causing maternal deaths.

Documenting the need in 2018, Nimwesiga presented a research paper at the annual Nurses Celebrations. It was titled; “Assessment of adherence to iron and folic supplementation among pregnant women attending ANC.” Her results revealed that pregnant women do not take supplement iron and folic recommended during pregnancy; hence, the anaemia.

As a result, she has developed plans to train nurses on identification of potential complicated births, structured stakeholder meetings in the health sector to adopt interventions that are making Ibanda some kind of a model district.

“I have formed committees at each of the 22 high volume delivery health centres where we monitor, record, follow-up and report on each prenatal, neonatal or postnatal deaths. The results are what inform our interventions,” she said.

Nimwesiga revived the technical support supervision committees that train and mentor health workers on safe delivery, nutrition and baby resuscitation for children born when they can’t breathe, and these committees trickle down to Sub-County and Parish levels.

“It was an intentional career development plan,” she said. “Every year, I ensure that we send one nursing officer, two enrolled nurses and two enrolled midwives to school. Now I have a pool of professional staff to pick from. I have even put it in the budget that at least three nurses attend the annual nurses’ celebrations.”

Personal goals
Nimwesiga’s kind of nursing is an evidence-based one. She would rather spend her day researching, publishing and studying on solutions to her people’s problems but she has no financial support for her research. She can neither publish nor go to the field.

“Most funders want to channel their support through universities leaving most of us with valuable field knowledge and access to respondents out. In places like here, we are in a pool of data but a local government will always remain local. We have no funding, no Internet, nothing,” she lamented.

Nimwesiga, age 38, wants to have her PhD by the time she is 45. She will then join academia, grants writing and research and perhaps move close to her family that currently lives over 300kms (186 miles) away in Kisoro.

UCU relationship
Nimwesiga holds UCU in a special place in her heart. Not only did she get a promotion after her MA in Nursing, she also has been involved in the Department’s activities and ensures that UCU Nursing graduates get internship and employment places. In the future, she hopes UCU can implement plans to conduct speciality continuous development courses for working graduates.

“Our staffing is at 67% – both medical and support staff,” she said. “Compared with other places, we seem to better off but when you compare with the population of 270,500, we are limping. So I created two positions under me for capacity building and most of these are UCU graduates.”

Nimwesiga has won several scholarships including a 10-day leadership course in South Africa that she began in March. The course was taught in South Africa and only four participants were  from Africa, and she is the only Ugandan.

She is grateful to UCU for the opportunities that it gave her and the foundation to take her career by a firm grip. She advises nursing students at UCU to be self-motivated, work passionately and focus on changing the livelihoods of the people in their communities.

“Your actions will sell you. I love my profession. I am a born nurse and it gives me great pleasure to serve my people. It has taken me places,” she concluded.

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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.

The Bartels family

2020 Global 5K participants from USA, Canada, Nigeria, Uganda

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The Bartels family
The Bartels family

By Patty Huston-Holm

“If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.”

The African proverb was the essence for the first few years of the Global 5K, a five-kilometer (3.1 miles) walk/run/social engagement activity sponsored by the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Partners non-profit organization. Abby Bartels, who lived for 10 years on the University campus and raised three children there with her husband, Mark, is the founder.

The year was 2015 and a time when many organizations were jumping on a 5K fund-raising bandwagon. For UCU Partners, it was less about raising money and more about building a relationship base among alumni of the Uganda Studies Program (USP), a one-semester, UCU learning experience for students enrolled in Christian universities, mostly in the United States. Mark Bartels, executive director for UCU Partners, started USP on the UCU Mukono campus. UCU Partners values USP alumni because they are a unique set of donors who have lived and studied at UCU.

“The event was actually better than expected because it strengthened connections not just with American students but with Honor’s College students and staff,” Abby, now living in Pennsylvania, said. “In addition to a time for remembering and re-connecting about a cultural, Christ-centered experience, it became an opportunity to raise money for Ugandan students in need.”

According to Ashton Davey, UCU Partners fundraising coordinator and facilitator for the 2020 Global 5K, nearly 200 people participated this year. Despite the hiccup of having an event on April 4 in the midst of worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns, more than $3,000 was generated, mostly by participant purchases of the event’s green T-shirt.  The funds will supplement tuition for 12 needy students at UCU.

“Many participants found the Global 5K to be good motivation to get out of the house and simultaneously support a great cause,” Ashton said. “The event’s flexibility allowed people to participate alone from wherever they live, which allowed them to adhere to social distancing guidelines.”

So what was it like engaging in an event during an unprecedented worldwide pandemic?  From Canada, Nigeria and Uganda, and nearly half of the 50 USA states, here is a sample of thoughts compiled from virtual interviews.

  • Atimango Innocent (Minna, Nigeria) – former UCU Honors College student who previously benefited from the scholarship assistance and was once a USP staff member; now engaged with The Navigators, two-year discipleship training program
Innocent, running in Nigeria
Innocent, running in Nigeria

In the midst of focusing on Mathew 28: 19-20 and its message about “making disciples of all nations,” Innocent and a friend, Drew Uduimoh, did 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) for the Global 5K. She has done it every year except for maybe one when the event didn’t get off the ground. For 2020 and while Nigeria reported more than 800 virus cases, she jogged around the town where she lives with no lockdown restrictions.

“I feel personal about it since I was one of the students who benefited directly from the funding,” she said of the Global 5K. “But I also find it a time to do reflections on people and on the Lord.”

  • Mikaela Hummel (Pakenham, Ontario, Canada) – USP student in 2019, while studying at Houghton (NY) College, where she receives her undergraduate degree in May; preparing to begin studies for a Masters of Science degree in physiotherapy
Mikaela, at right, with her family in Canada
Mikaela, at right, with her family in Canada

On the day of the Global 5K, it was 10 Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) in Pakenham, Ontario, where Mikaela participated in the event with her mom, dad, sister and dog. She wore long sleeves under her green shirt and her traditional African kitenge-design shorts. The area where they ran was a bit quieter than usual as COVID-19 restrictions had most stores closed and gatherings limited to five people or less.

“The experience in Uganda helped me to pause and think about what is really important in life,” she said. “The Global 5K is a time to reflect on that again. The pandemic puts the brakes on even stronger, reminding us to trust God.”

  • Erin Neilson (Gallup, New Mexico) – USP student in 2006 while majoring in music at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa.; now raising two children and serving on a church music team with her husband, Phil, a middle school English teacher and also a 2006 USP student and USP program assistant 2008-2009
USP alumni, Erin and Phil, and family in New Mexico
USP alumni, Erin and Phil, and family in New Mexico

On the date of the 5K Zoom discussion on April 20, New Mexico had more than 2,000 confirmed cases of cornonavirus. Sixteen days earlier, the Neilson family of four, living in a small town near part of the Navajo Nation, did 5 kilometers.  A special highlight was that Christiana, age 5, made the entire distance on her own. Caleb, a toddler, was carried.

“We had been hoping to hike with friends, but due to social distancing requirements, we ended up with time just as a family,” Erin said.  Fourteen years after our USP experience I am reminded of the value Ugandans place on presence and am trying to live that daily with my children.”

  • Laura Sollenberger (Gainesville, Florida) – USP student in 2018 while majoring in exercise science at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa.; now finishing her Penn State University bachelor’s degree in nursing through on-line classes while living back home with her parents
Global 5K Zoom with Laura (in Florida)
Global 5K Zoom with Laura (in Florida)

For Laura, her career move from occupational therapy to nursing was stimulated by a 150-hour internship at the Church of Uganda hospital (Mukono), where she realized the intimate and critical role of health care workers at a patient’s side. COVID-19 has reinforced that decision with some frustration that she can’t be on the front line now; she graduates in December.

Laura’s UCU experience in 2018 was “life-changing with deeper connections to friends and God, clearer purpose, better understanding of systemic injustices, and the challenge of learning from new cultural perspectives,” she said.

Laura planned to re-connect with 10 of those friends by participating in the Global 5K and making rolex afterwards in Lancaster, Pa. Instead, she is sheltered with family in her home state of Florida. Her mom and dad did the 5K with her.

“We did a Zoom afterwards,” she said of her USP friends. She added, “I will definitely go back to Uganda someday.”

  • Molho Bernard (Kilowoza/Mukono District, Uganda) – 2018 UCU graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Education, working with the Honors College and USP up to February 2020 when Ugandan universities closed due to COVID restrictions while pursuing a Masters of Education in Planning and Administration.
Bernard and young friend, Matthew
Bernard and young friend, Matthew

On April 4, Bernard engaged in his second Global 5K by walking around his compound – different than the previous year when there were more people and it occurred on the campus.  His “informal” companion during his warm-up with push ups and laps around the compound was a two-year-old named Mathew who lives in the same area and “loves coming to my room to watch me do some art work.” The 5K has special meaning to Bernard as he was once a recipient of the money raised through the event.

“In 2018, my family was going through a financial breakdown, and I was afraid of getting a dead semester,” he said. “Through the proceeds of 5K through UCU Partners, I was able to have my tuition and graduation fees cleared.”

Bernard continues to appreciate the Christian and academic standards at UCU. The environment has enabled him to “know Christ more, and I have grown up more in loving, trusting and obeying Him.”

Ashton, who splits her time between Uganda and Kansas, said it was “heartwarming” to see social media posts of people supporting Uganda Christian University in the 5K green T-shirts – from those  “running in rural villages in Uganda and families hiking to wave across the state border at each other to USP alumni organizing a Zoom call to reflect on the lessons they learned in Uganda.”

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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. For more information or with ideas for the 2021 Global 5K, contact Ashton at ashton@ugandapartners.org.

Sarah Lagot Odwong, UCU graduate and USAID employee

COVID-19: Panic buying, added work from home, trusting God

COVID-19, UCU Alumni, , , , , , , , , , , ,


Sarah Lagot Odwong, UCU graduate and USAID employee
Sarah Lagot Odwong, UCU graduate and USAID employee

By Sarah Lagot Odwong

March 21st, 2020. 11:32 p.m. Uganda had its first identified case of COVID-19.

My mind buzzed with a thousand thoughts. Only weeks earlier, my siblings and I – with our own bills to pay – had emptied our savings to complete a large part of the construction work for my mother’s house. Because her life had been wrought with difficulty, it was always our dream to give her a place of rest.

There is no good time to be dirt poor, but having a bank account blinking red when a government shutdown is inevitable is the worst of times. Sleep eluded me.

I arose early on March 22. On my way to work, I noticed the unusual flurry of activity on the Kampala roads. The traffic was horrendous. Pedestrians trudged in silence on the pavements with swift gaits and downcast faces. The boda-bodas (motorcyclists) rode dangerously, swerving and wedging through the small crevices within the disorganized flow of traffic. It was a dystopian sight. I got into work in a pensive mood. I did not have much time to settle at my desk as a staff meeting was hurriedly called.

We sat hunched on white rickety plastic chairs in the parking yard. The chairs were spaced out from each other. Some staff wore masks. Others nervously tinkered with their phones.

Our boss announced, in part:

“As you all know, the first positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed last night. The grapevine alleges that the country will be in some sort of lock down. It will probably be announced later tonight when the President makes his address. I suggest that we share work plans with line managers and get all the resources we need to work from home…You will have your salaries in your bank accounts by this afternoon…”

At least some positive news. I got a notification from my bank at 1 p.m. that my account had been credited.

I picked up my bag, scampered to the car and drove to the nearest supermarket. I passed by the bank ATM at the premises, withdrew some cash and sauntered into the store. Inside, the panic buying had already ensued. There was a mad dash by shoppers. The queues stretched for miles. Shoppers’ trolleys were loaded with toilet paper, kitchen towels, soap, wipes and other hygiene products. Others heaped vegetables, milk, bread, cartons of beer, meat and liquor.

Only one big bag of rice remained. I grabbed it. I proceeded to pick up other dry rations, hygiene products and joined the snaking lines to pay prices that had increased tremendously in a matter of hours. Little bottles of sanitizer that were affordable a week earlier now cost almost ten times more. I bought just one.

Like anticipated, President Yoweri Museveni announced a lockdown of the country for an initial 14 days. After the two weeks lapsed, 21 additional days were added.

While fortunate to still have a job, my workload increased with hours extending from early morning to late at night. Not only do I have a full-time job, I also support the crisis communications for the epidemic response.

Before the outbreak, I was living out of suitcases, on the road for days and sometimes weeks at a time, working long hours. Now at home, my workload has ramped up even more. I jealously read texts in group chats from my girlfriends who suddenly find themselves with bursts of free time. They are learning new languages on Duolingo, learning to sew and evidently having an extended holiday off work.

Not me. I spend my days hunched at a desk in the living room with my pajamas on and my hair tied in a headscarf. I am writing, attending endless Zoom and Skype meetings, and tending to incessant phone calls.

What I have found hardest is the physical distance and inability to see family – both in Uganda and elsewhere. No travel on roads or in the air. We created a family chat group on WhatsApp, which helps my coping. Seeing videos of my nieces and nephews doing hilarious things, the new baby attempting to walk and other family milestones, I am reminded that there is hope after this plague blows over. And it will.

What precious time I have away from my computer, I am reminded to prioritize the things that really matter. Family, faith, friendships, love and personal development.  We waste time chasing the wind, like the writer of Ecclesiastes opines. The “busy” job, the career growth, and monetary gain. All of it is meaningless.

What this pandemic has shown is that when it is stripped down, life makes meaning with just the simple things. Healthy thriving relationships with God, family, friends and the people who love and support you. They will always be a constant. All the other material contraptions we chase fade away. This epiphany has made me change gear.

In what I hope are the final days of this lockdown, I have a different attitude and mindset. Going forth, I aim to structure my work to fit within regular hours. I aim to find more time to check on the people I love.

I am determined to create extra time to pursue my passion projects. I wrote a book during my undergraduate studies that I need to publish this year. I have autobiography projects that I must complete. I have a consulting business to grow. I have a PhD proposal to write. There are friends and family to check on. I have series of sermons to watch.

I have seen the Lord’s handiwork amidst this chaos. He has been faithful. There is no day I have slept hungry. I have a roof over my head. My utility bills are paid. I still have a job. When I feel overwhelmed, I remember that the creator of the universe knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb. He had the foresight that I would go through this calamity. And he promised to help me weather it.

(Sarah Lagot Odwong is a graduate of Mass Communication from Uganda Christian University and received her Master’s degree in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response from The University of Manchester, England. She currently works for USAID’s Better Outcomes for Children and Youth Activity as the Communications Director.)

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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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Madonna waiting for her dad to come home from work

‘I can’t hug her the minute I get home’

COVID-19, UCU Alumni, , , , , , , , , , ,


Madonna waiting for her dad to come home from work
Madonna waiting for her dad to come home from work

By Constantine Odongo
Emmanuella Madonna is three years old. Every weekday, after taking her after-school nap, the kindergarten pupil engages her friends in the neighbourhood in games, such as dodge ball and hide-and-seek.

That was before mid-March 2020 and COVID-19.

On March 18, she got an abrupt, indefinite school holiday after the Ugandan government announced a closure of schools and a ban on work, unless it was an essential service. The ban was to enforce the health guideline of social distancing and staying home to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has become a pandemic. Madonna now spends more time with her mother at home and keeps wondering why I, her father, cannot stay home with them.

Emmanuella Madonna studying from home
Emmanuella Madonna studying from home

As an employee of Uganda’s New Vision newspaper (i.e. news jobs are considered essential), it means I’m gone much of the day and conceivably more exposed to the potentially deadly virus.

Madonna doesn’t get that. She doesn’t understand why I can’t hug her the minute I get home between 6:45 and 7 p.m.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni on March 30, 2020, announced a two-week stay-home order and capped it with a 11.5-hour curfew from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. The order and the curfew were then extended by another three weeks.

Since, most times, the normal working hours at my office are not enough for me to accomplish my tasks, I often work up to the 11th hour.  My workplace, being a media house, is open 24 hours. But, nowadays, the newsroom is almost empty, save for security personnel, especially past 6 p.m. People abandon office early, in order to get home and beat the curfew time of 7 p.m.

It usually takes me up to 25 minutes to cover the 14km (8.5 miles) distance from my office located in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, to home in Kawempe, a city suburb. I spend close to half of that time at roadblocks, trying to explain to security why my media movement permit sticker is on the dashboard and not on the car screen.  Some motorists had lost their outside car stickers to thieves, who would pluck them off cars and sell them in the black market in Kampala, sometimes as high as one million shillings (about $280).

As I arrive home after work and oftentimes after the routine security interrogation, I see Madonna run to arms she can’t yet embrace – until I am cleansed of possible contamination to her and others in my family. I watch a fight brewing between Madonna and her nanny, who is seven times her age, but understands her job to keep a daughter from her dad in the world of COVID fear. I always ensure I bathe as soon as I arrive home, before getting into contact with anything or anyone, so that I do not become a conduit for the coronavirus.

Every morning, if Madonnna wakes up before I set off for work, she tries her luck in convincing me not to go to work that day. When President Museveni banned public and private cars from the roads on March 30, I carried my computer home and set up myself to work there. However, an unstable Internet network, an unfavorable work station and distractions by children hindered my ability to work.

Madonna’s sibling, Morgan, will be making one year on May 5. Throughout the day, I arbitrated disputes between her and Morgan. April 1 was day two of my full operation from home. We were both at our workstations, Madonna’s about two metres (6 feet) away from mine. When I stepped away from the room to receive a phone call, Madonna removed a keyboard key.

Madonna’s grandmother, a lady she was named after, lives and teaches in a primary school in Tororo district, located 220 kilometers (136.5 miles), east of Kampala. One-and-a-half weeks before the lockdown, schools were closed. Initially, teachers saw joy in the holiday. But it was short lived as they experienced more than one negative aspect of the lockdown.

Constantine Odongo
Constantine Odongo

The weekend after schools had been closed, as one example, Madonna’s grandmother attended a funeral in Tororo, without knowing that she and some friends were going against the guidelines of the Ministry of Health – that only close family members bury the dead due to social distancing. There were water points for the mourners to wash their hands before getting to the funeral, but not many even understood why the water and soap had been provided.

Such stories justify why the Government enlisted the services of the security forces to enforce the observance of the lockdown guidelines. I remind myself of this each time I am stopped. Life as we know it has changed for Madonna and me. With God’s guidance and understanding, we will appreciate the fruits of the difference and get through it.

(Constantine Odongo is a deputy chief sub-editor for New Vision. He received an MA degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Uganda Christian University.)

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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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COVID-19: What $40 a night in quarantine teaches you

COVID-19, UCU Alumni, , , , , , , ,


Alex Taremwa doing an on-line class via Zoom.

(During this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic, UCU Partners will be publishing stories about how UCU-connected Ugandans and Americans are coping.  This is the first of several accounts.)

By Alex Taremwa

In my shared apartment, Guma Jeremiah storms in from work. I call him the “diplomat extraordinaire” because he works for the Ugandan Foreign Service based in Nairobi. Panting is not Guma’s usual demeanour, and I can sense the haste and unease in this voice – evidently, he is scared.

“Have you watched the news yet?” he asks.

I send my hand for the remote and switch to NTV Kenya. The authorities are confirming what we feared the most – Kenya’s first Corona Virus Disease (COVID)-19 case – a 27-year-old female who had travelled in on March 5 from Chicago in the United States with a connect flight that went through London in the United Kingdom.  Both the USA and the UK were flagged high risk by my country, Uganda.

What followed was silence, then a unanimous decision that shopping essential supplies was paramount. The supermarket in our affluent neighbourhood of Kileleshwa, Kasuku Centre, is often less congested but this particular afternoon, it was as if people went out at the same time to shop. The place was filled to the brim – forcing some prices to shoot up.

At the counter was a Chinese man whose tray was mostly occupied by bathroom tissue paper – enough to cover him for two months or more. I can’t tell if it was the four-metre (up to 13 feet) social distancing recommendation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) or his nationality that is associated with the genesis of the novel Coronavirus, but other panic shoppers gave him more than the deserved distance accompanied with a rare stare. I shopped for beef, bread, soap and groceries. Philip, my other housemate, sent for some alcohol.

“If I have to die, I don’t want to meet God sober,” he joked. He is terrified by face-to-face interactions.

Kenya’s announcement on March 13, 2020, was a wakeup call for Uganda. The virus that supposedly didn’t affected “blacks” or “Africans” as previously assumed had touched base in the region. When I first posted the update on my social media, the first responses I received were asking if the victim was White or Black. Around the East African region, Rwanda, the DR Congo and South Sudan announced cases. Uganda, in the middle, was now sandwiched with cases in all directions.

The next move for President Yoweri Museveni was simple, at least according to the opinion of most Ugandans I interacted with: Close the borders and stop all flights. They didn’t care that out of those borders were other Ugandans like myself – students, expats, parents – who wanted to return to their families. It looked imminent that the President, being the populist that he is, would heed to this pressure. He didn’t.

Instead, the president announced mandatory quarantine for all returning citizens – especially those from “Category One” countries that had more than 1,000 cases confirmed. This was my window to come home. Folks on the “Ugandans in Nairobi” WhatsApp group that I created agreed that if we waited, we would be locked out.

And so, I packed ready for quarantine – normally a 14-day absence from the physical scene but present on social media. Living in Uganda though, where we pay tax for being on social media, it is possible to be absent on both scenes.

The journey home
At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), I met a one Alex Kawalya. He had spent the night at the airport because he had run out of money to hop onto the next flight. He had just sold his phone to one of the airport staff to get a seat aboard Kenya Airways to Uganda where he wished for a miracle if he was to afford the $100 price per night in Entebbe Central Inn Hotel where government was quarantining returning citizens for 14 days.

Stories of returning Ugandans being herded like sheep by the army to the hotel were sickening. Women and children slept in lobbies and the government would have nothing of the “I am a student on scholarship in Kenya and I can’t afford $100 a night” talk.  Like Kawalya, I boarded KQ 412 at 11 a,m., not knowing what fate awaited me at Entebbe International Airport – but I boarded anyway.

It was the only one of the few flights heading to Kampala and from the look of things, one of the last ones as Jambo Jet, Fly Sax, and even Uganda Airlines were no longer plying the EBB-NAI route – a real catch 22 situation. You’re not wanted at home, but you cannot stay where you are.

Uganda confirmed her first case on Saturday, March 21, after I had been in the country for a few hours.  The victim, looking feverish, was a Ugandan coming from Dubai and had flown in at 2 a.m. aboard Ethiopian Airlines. Having just flown in and in the process had interacted with another Dubai returnee, the pressure mounted. Even when I wasn’t put in institutional quarantine, I felt sickish. I volunteered Kawalya’s name to the Ministry of Health for testing and he did well.

Life in Quarantine
On March 26 and from my self-quarantine hole at Kisubi Forest Cottages in Entebbe, where I am writing this, Uganda has 14 COVID-19 cases. President Museveni closed the airport and borders soon after and has since closed public transport, churches, markets (except for food stuffs). And as of today (March 26), all the 104 tested samples of suspected cases had turned up negative. From this hole, I keep my family updated about my health at all times. Occasionally, I go out, watch the stars and feed the mosquitoes – they are really hungry.

I have to cough up $40 a night to keep my family and country safe but with the stories of people bribing their way out of quarantine, others not staying home as required and thousands who have to be forced to wash their hands with soap – I am not sure if my sacrifice will make any difference.

One of the new cases is a father who travelled from Kisumi, Kenya, by bus and ended up infecting his 8-month-old baby. My conscience tells me that feeding mosquitoes is much safer that infecting innocent people. When I finally get out of this place on April 3, these mosquitoes will surely miss me.

Alex Taremwa is a graduate of Uganda Christian University, a journalist and Masters Fellow at the Graduate School of Media and Communications, Aga Khan University. 

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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.

Shepherds (in red jerseys) representing Uganda at international level

UCU Shepherds gain notoriety in rugby world

Sports, Students, UCU Alumni, , , , , , ,


Shepherd Alumni before a national game
Shepherd Alumni before a national game

(NOTE: Across the United States, March Madness refers to National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball competitions – a month when university rivalries are at their peak. While March Madness was cancelled due to the Coronavirus in 2020, these Uganda Christian University sports stories are offered in honor of what was to be. The stories are a collaborative of The Standard and UCU Partners.)

By Maxy Abenaitwe

In the early years of the past decade, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) 7s Shepherds were the untouchables of East African rugby.

As a result, the Uganda Rugby Cranes and other national clubs like the Black Pirates continuously fished from the Shepherds’ pond. It is no wonder that half of the Uganda Rugby Cranes are former Shepherds.

Rugby, which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century, is a sport involving two teams of 15 players each. They carry, pass and kick a ball into an end zone with winning determined by the greatest number of points. Often, the sport is known as “rugby sevens” for seven players per team engaged in seven-minute halves. The most basic law of the game is that no player is allowed to throw the ball forward to a teammate. In rugby, the ball is moved with sideways or backwards tosses or a player kicking and running with the ball.

Uganda had a deep history of men’s rugby participation ahead of the country’s first official rugby match in 1958. In 1955, the Uganda Rugby Football Union was formed. Much as there were no clubs at the time, games were frequently played between representatives from Kenya and Tanzania (or Tanganyika as it was called at the time) teams, but matches were mostly against the Royal Navy as well as some British and South African Universities.  In 2000, UCU took on the rugby mantle and over time developed a great team of influential players.

Shepherds (in red jerseys) representing Uganda at international level
Shepherds (in red jerseys) representing Uganda at international level

Over the years, UCU players have been recognized for their talent. Philip Wakorach has been the most desired player, whose talent is sought across borders, namely in Kenya and France. Equally, Ivan Magomu has been the best fly half (receiver of a short pass). Pius Ogena was recently awarded Male Rugby Player of Year 2019 under the Uganda Sports Press Association Awards, and Desire Ayera was recently ranked 37th player of Uganda’s 2019 top athletes.

Considering their current maiden performance, the current Shepherds are leaving lasting marks. The team won gold at the 2019 University Side Step 7s events. The Shepherds went ahead to win during the 18th AUUS 2019 games at Kisubi University.  And immediately after their remarkable performance, two players were called at the National Rugby Cranes team.

Ivan Kabagambe, a former Shepherds’ player, says the great performance is largely inspired by the success of the Shepherds alumni.

“The alumni have also kept in touch to ensure talent keeps growing,” he said.  “This has been done majorly through friendly matches between the Shepherds and their alumni.”

Despite a few challenges, Kabagambe thinks there is no excuse for not making it at UCU. This signifies that with more support from the university, the team could do wonders since the passion and talent is there. If only the Shepherds could participate in more tournaments, have more funding and have enough designated rugby training space, more medals would be brought home.

Why the great performance
Approximately 90% of the Shepherds attribute their success in the larger rugby world to UCU’s favorable environment that best suits sports development. They cite the hilly landscape, availability of drinking water all over the compound, access to good food, and use of gym facilities as well as university administrative support and medical attention.

The good medical attention, specifically the physiotherapy, helps the players to quickly get back on their feet and continue with their struggle.

Additionally, UCU sportsmen and women have a reputation of being the best people to work with. This is because of their remarkably good discipline.  The factor of character also has contributed to the quick growth of the Shepherds.

The future of rugby
Close to 50% of the rugby clubs, the national team inclusive, have aging players. This means university students are being targeted and have professional opportunities.

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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.

‘Nursing is a calling from God’

Faculty of Engineering, Design & Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, UCU Alumni, , , , , , ,


Annet Kabanyoro, UCU graduate working on her PhD in South Africa
Annet Kabanyoro, UCU graduate working on her PhD in South Africa

Annet Kabanyoro is a doctoral student in healthcare at the University of South Africa. The dean of the School of Nursing at Kampala International University, she has risen through the ranks from enrolling in a certificate in nursing and kept on advancing, including with a master’s degree from Uganda Christian University (UCU).  This is part of her story as told to UCU journalism student Esther Byoona.

What do students learn in a doctoral health science program?
There is an advanced level of learning. Communication and how you communicate are advanced. We do write ups, learn how to write, scientific writing, completing the thesis because you’re at that advanced level. Everything is advanced.

How does this level of health education improve healthcare in Uganda?
When you’re at an advanced level, you can influence policy in a positive direction, to make sure health service delivery is improved to make sure people do the right things. You ensure people are using evidence, evidence-based practice, research and published scientific information so when you’re at that level you are able to influence policy, read literature synthesize it, write in scientific journals and implement more.

Why do you care about healthcare in Uganda?
A population that is not healthy cannot advance.  Without healthcare, more people would be sick all the time.  People cannot go to work, go to business, and go to school. There is nothing that can go on. Health and care of it should be taken as a priority. When you are healthy, you could do many things including self-care, but sickness debilitates and some people can hardly care for themselves.

What does your career path in heath care look like?
I started at a low level in 1992. I was at the certificate level in nursing and I kept on advancing.  I did a diploma, degree, a masters, now I am doing my PhD. I have done other courses like leadership and management and others. But I started at that lowest level so I’ve gone through all the levels of training in nursing since 1995.  I assumed different roles ranging from being a bedside nurse in the clinical area to a nurse educator.

What do you love about the healthcare profession?
When you’re a health worker, and someone comes to you very sick, and they get better, you feel motivated. You feel happy, you feel great and sweet and you know that wow, you did your part. I love to see a patient who came when they were very sick and then improve and they are walking and smiling and thanking you. In education, when you see students on day one, you see they don’t know anything about the profession so you train them. They get to know what you do. Seeing students advance and get well socialized in the profession excites me.

What are the other benefits?
I get enumeration, and enumeration helps me take care of my family. My first born is a doctor. Though it can never be enough, we thank God we have food, housing, and clothes. I network with my colleagues professionally both locally and globally. I did a module in America.

What are your challenges?
Working in a resource constrained environment. Sometimes you want to do something but you don’t have the resources. I have to improvise all the time whether in clinical or education. You want to do a training and you cannot refuse them because it is their right but the resources are never enough. And culture can be a challenge.

Do you have any advice for those who may want to study healthcare?
They should understand nursing is a calling from God. You should deliver service above self. The nurses’ anthem spells it out. There is not much money earned from nursing. Professionalism is key.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs such as the ones in nursing as well as other 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.

Sheila, center, is shown with some faculty at Bishop Barham University, Kabale, where she assisted in her role as an intern with the fifth annual dissertation writing and research clinic in 2019. (UCU Partners photo)

Sheila Ainembabazi, 2019 UCU Literacy Project Intern: ‘God will make a way’

Scholarship, UCU Alumni, , , , , , ,


Sheila, center, is shown with some faculty at Bishop Barham University, Kabale, where she assisted in her role as an intern with the fifth annual dissertation writing and research clinic in 2019. (UCU Partners photo)
Sheila, center, is shown with some faculty at Bishop Barham University, Kabale, where she assisted in her role as an intern with the fifth annual dissertation writing and research clinic in 2019. (UCU Partners photo)

(LAST OF FOUR PARTS: This article features one of 10 interns hired to assist with the five-year-old Uganda Christian University dissertation research and writing training. She was selected from among 200 applicants. In addition to serving post-graduate students through the clinic, interns build their own resumes and obtain jobs or further education opportunities. Parts I, II and III can be accessed at those links. A video is here.)

By Patty Huston-Holm

When Sheila was born in 1996, she was given the Ugandan name Ainembabazi, which in her Runyankole mother tongue language means “God has grace.”  She was the first born of Frank Kamukama, a vocational agricultural teacher, and Grace Kiconco, a housewife and part-time shop owner who sells basic household items in their Western Uganda Mbarara District.

Her younger sister, Franklin, got the name Ainomugisha, which means “God has blessings.”  Her two brothers, Kelvin Ainamaani and Alvin Ainebyoona, have Ugandan names translated to “God has power” and “God is everything,” respectively.

God, obviously, is central to the family.

Sheila Ainembazi, intern
Sheila Ainembazi, intern

Thus, on the September 2, 2019, morning of this interview, Sheila praised the Lord for placing her in the next phase of her studies to be an attorney.  While disappointed that she would be in a nine-month Law Development Centre (LDC) program in Mbarara and not alongside her best friend, Ruth, chosen to study in Kampala (269 kilometers or 167 miles away), she was grateful. Sheila and Ruth, who graduated in July 2019 with Bachelors of Law degrees from Uganda Christian University, received entry into the country’s LDC program with classes starting September 23. Due to some Ministry of Justice disagreement, this cohort of students was not required to take the usual pre-entry exam to qualify for this phase.

Coming from humble beginnings, Sheila has been able to find blessings and patience wherever she has been placed.

At UCU, she was a work study student who rose early each morning to clean offices, dust library books, prepare tea and make deliveries before her classes as part of her tuition reimbursement. She learned the value of being “the least of these” and appreciation to those who noticed and thanked her for her work, including Dr. Joseph Owor in the School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies (SRPGS).

While studying law on the UCU Mukono campus, she became especially concerned with Ugandans who were mistreated due largely to their literacy levels.  Her final research paper focused in the inequalities and legal violations related to land ownership and transfer rights, especially as it pertains to women.

“Most Ugandans are illiterate,” the 23-year-old said. “They go in and buy a two-page book and write sale agreements and think they are done until they save money and go further to register their land.  Then a richer, more literate person comes in and agrees to pay more and gets a title. For women, a husband dies or leaves, and the clan pushes her and the children out even though she legally has ownership.  These are some of the issues I want to help with.”

Noticing injustices, Sheila reflected, has been part of her life for quite some time.  A leader in her high school, she often noticed student issues and brought them to the attention of administrators.

“I remember we were being served old food at the canteen,” she said.  “The mandazi (fried doughnuts) were molded.  We broke them open and saw it.  I brought that to the attention of our school leaders, and it was resolved.”

Sheila understands being shunned and humbled.  Not all around her at UCU understood or valued her janitorial work.

“One student (in Law) told me that doing a maid’s work was not good for my career,” she recalled.  “He said people don’t trust a cleaner.”

But one such person who did trust her was the Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, UCU’s vice chancellor.  He observed her diligence and hard work and, along with his wife, Ruth, decided to provide Sheila with lodging at their house as part of their support of her scholarship in her final two years. Being able to work and live on campus and have her housing and some food provided enabled Sheila to focus more and excel higher in her studies.

For this, she is grateful, along with being chosen as a 2019 intern for the UCU Partners and SRPGS co-sponsored clinic to help post-graduate students. She learned a lot about technology, organization, time lines and service.

Today, she is concerned about paying fees for her next nine-month law study program.  Some of her payment of $400 for three months work in the internship will help. She is praying for more support.

“God will make a way,” she said.  “God has made a way.”

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, including the post-graduate literacy program, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

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Allan Kasango, 2019 UCU Literacy Project Intern: ‘I ask the Lord to show me’

UCU Alumni, , , , , , ,


Allan Kasango poses with Sheila Ainembabazi – both interns for the 2019 UCU training to help master’s students finish their dissertations. (UCU Partners photo)

(THIRD OF FOUR PARTS: This article features one of 10 interns hired to assist with the five-year-old Uganda Christian University dissertation research and writing clinic. He was selected from among 200 applicants. In addition to serving post-graduate students through the clinic, interns build their own resumes and obtain jobs. A profile on another intern appears in the last part of this series. Parts I, II and IV can be accessed at those links. A video is here.)

By Patty Huston-Holm

“Please,” implored Allan Kasango, “can’t you take just one more?”

Speaking softly but forcefully, the almost 24-year-old asked the three Americans volunteering their time with Uganda Christian University (UCU) post-graduate students to squeeze one more, and then “just one more” into their already-packed schedules.

“You can’t refuse him,” Linda Knicely from Ohio USA said, half joking.

Thus is one special trait of Allan Kasango, a UCU alumni selected for an internship with the fifth annual clinic to help mostly master’s level students with their research and writing. One of Allan’s tasks was to schedule students for individualized coaching with the Americans. He did it well with a reminder, “We need to serve them.”

His curriculum vitae mentions that he is “adaptable, self-motivated and enthusiastic.” Friends, according to Allan, say that he is “humble, caring, loving, calm, helpful.” These characteristics contributed greatly to the fact that of the 115 students enrolled in the 2019 four-week workshop, 91 received one-on-one assistance and most attended the weekly, two-hour lectures.

Allan Kasango

“I believe in working hard to get what I want,” he said.

The oldest of three children from the eastern Uganda region of Tororo, Allan’s mannerisms are influenced by the compassion of his mother, Justine, and the work ethic of his father, Wilson, a medical doctor with the United Nations and serving in such high-need areas as South Sudan and Yemen. The mom is of Samia culture. The dad is Musoga.

While his father’s position might wield influence for a job, the son is expected to “make it on my own,” Allan said.

It was through his own efforts that Allan found work with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) and Tororo General Hospital. Both experiences provided opportunities to use the knowledge and skill acquired through his UCU bachelor’s degree in social work and administration. In addition to such clerical tasks as filing and scheduling, he counseled clients about their social and medical issues, including those who are terminally ill.

“I went into communities to help distribute drugs, to provide clients with disease coping skills,” he said. “I listened and offered advice to help people live healthier and longer.”

Work at the two locations was unpaid. Thanks to UCU Partners, an American-based, non-profit fundraising arm of UCU, Allan received a salary of $125 a month for three months. With this, he was able to help with living expenses in the nearby Seeta house he shared with six other family members and “save a little” for a future job hunt and possible support of his siblings, Daniel, age 4, and Fiona, age 16. In Uganda, the oldest child is expected to help with education costs for younger brothers and sisters.

“When I was in primary school, I wanted to be a doctor or a pilot,” Allan said, recalling a song where students would stand in front of the class and insert their early career aspirations in a designated place. He was fascinated with airplanes, but has yet to ride in one. As his education continued, weak performance in science ruled out a job in medicine.

Social work – with its people and service focus – is a good fit. Active listening and caring came easy.

As Allan’s internship came to an end in mid-September 2019, he was looking at job advertisements and discerning next steps while “talking with the Lord.” He was exploring whether he should join an existing social work organization or do something entirely different, such as opening up a wholesale shop with food items.

“I always put my thoughts in prayer,” he said, referring to Matthew 7:7 and its reference to asking, seeking and knocking on doors. “I ask the Lord to show me what to do next. He will open up the right thing.”

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, including the post-graduate literacy program that hired Allan as an intern, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

Aisha Nabukeera, left, with burns shortly after her abuse at age 13; and, at right, wearing her UCU graduation cap and gown.

UCU graduate uses personal scars to reinforce war against child abuse

UCU Alumni, , , , , , , , , ,


Aisha Nabukeera (upper left), a survivor of child abuse, is shown in the field educating children and others about abuse and their rights as part of her foundation’s work. The 26-year-old USU graduate was purposely burned over 80% of her body at age 13.
Aisha Nabukeera (upper left), a survivor of child abuse, is shown in the field educating children and others about abuse and their rights as part of her foundation’s work. The 26-year-old UCU graduate was purposely burned over 80% of her body at age 13.

By Joseph Ssemutooke

In 2006, Aisha Nabukeera drew national attention after suffering child abuse that nearly claimed her life. Age 13 and in Primary Six at Nyendo Primary School in the southern Uganda town of Masaka, Nabukeera suffered third-degree burns on 80% of her body after her step-mother forced the young girl to wear a petro-soaked dress while lighting a kerosene lamp. A neighbor who came with a bucket of water saved her life but not the physical scars she still wears.

Today, the 26-year-old Nabukeera is one of Africa’s foremost youth champions of the fight against child abuse and, despite the scars and horrific memory, was a finalist and named Miss Popularity in the 2015-2016 Miss Uganda beauty pageant.

Aisha Nabukeera poses with her foster father, Frank Gashumba, on her graduation day at UCU.
Aisha Nabukeera poses with her foster father, Frank Gashumba, on her graduation day at UCU.

A 2018 Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate with a Bachelor of Social Works and Social Administrative degree, she is the founder and director of a fast-growing, anti-child-abuse initiative, the Aisha Nabukeera Foundation (ANF), which was started in 2017. In 2019, Nabukeera was named one of Africa’s 12 beneficiaries of the Generation Africa programme.
The ANF advocates for children’s rights and assists abuse survivors. Representatives of the foundation visit schools to promote awareness and prevention about child abuse. The Generation Africa programme, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, seeks “to help young Africans whose personal experiences have shaped their determination to help others facing challenges across the continent through telling their stories globally.” The dozen selected each year receive training in global development skills to further inspire change.

Aisha Nabukeera, left, with burns shortly after her abuse at age 13; and, at right, wearing her UCU graduation cap and gown.
Aisha Nabukeera, left, with burns shortly after her abuse at age 13; and, at right, wearing her UCU graduation cap and gown.

“When you tell someone your story, they get hopeful about life,” said Nabukeera, who received the Generation Africa training in Johannesburg, South Africa, in mid-2019. “For many children facing tough conditions that have seen them go through abuse, seeing me and hearing my story gives them hope.”

Nabukeera uses her experience of excruciating agony and pain from her abuse as well as the pain still with her today in her passionate fight against child abuse.
“My mother told me many years after the incident that she even thought of poisoning me and killing herself because she couldn’t bear to see me in pain and having no money to fund the treatment,” Nabukeera said, pointing out the added psychological damage of bullying because of her bodily scars. “At school some called me things like ‘roast chicken.’ When I contested in Miss Uganda, some said I wasn’t beautiful enough to be there.”

When Nabukeera’s biological mother reported the case to the local authorities to try and get justice for her daughter, the step-mother insisted that Nabukeera had simply tried to self-immolate herself. Her biological father sided with the step-mother.

As part of her child abuse battle today, Nabukeera urges the government to strengthen penalties on persons who hurt children. She says oftentimes when children’s rights are abused, responsible authorities don’t take serious action, which widens the door for other perpetrators.

“Stop telling abused children that their pain is not a big deal and that there are people worse off than they are,” she said. “No one should ever belittle someone else’s suffering, instead people should work to heal those who are suffering by bettering their conditions and helping them get justice where they have been served injustice.”
She also advises children to speak out. She says that if one fails to get assistance from close relatives, the child should talk to neighbors or nearby authorities. To parents, she calls for equal attention to their children, whether they live in polygamous or monogamous families.

She credits several adults for her ability to pull away from her childhood incident. Among these is Ugandan socio-political commentator Frank Gashumba who pledged to unofficially adopt the “burnt girl” and become her “father.” He helped her through school. In 2009, the late founder and director of the St. Lawrence schools, Prof. Lawrence Mukiibi, gave her a six-year scholarship at St Lawrence School, Horizon campus. And after passing her UACE exams in 2014, she joined Uganda Christian University.

“Most of my (biological) family abandoned me,” Nabukeera reminisces. “Going to school was just out of question for me. I was treated as a hopeless case, and so I lost all hope. I thought it was the end of my life, which made me so bitter and angry at the world.”
Acts of kindness from Frank and Lawrence – two one-time strangers – turned that around. She has since found forgiveness and grace for her step-mother and others.
“Now, I believe her act of malice might have been the greatest gift of my life,” Nabukeera said. “I have moved on.”

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To support Uganda Christian University students, programs and facilities, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

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Conrad Oroya displays some accolades at his office in Gulu

‘…thank you note from a poor person is more worthy than a Mercedes-Benz’

UCU Alumni, , , , , , , ,


Conrad Oroya displays some accolades at his office in Gulu
Conrad Oroya displays some accolades at his office in Gulu

By Douglas Olum

In today’s Uganda, the pursuit of a law degree is a top choice of school children and their parents, largely because of the career path’s reputation for securing private and public jobs that yield money. Most law schools receive overwhelming applications. For the 2019 intake, for instance, Uganda Christian University (UCU) received more than 1,000 applications, but only admitted about 400 due to capacity limitations.

For many, it’s about the money.

UCU graduate Conrad Obol Oroya
UCU graduate Conrad Obol Oroya

For Conrad Obol Oroya, a 2011 UCU Bachelor of Laws graduate, it isn’t. He channels his knowledge to pro bono (free legal) services. His journey along this path started from UCU where one of his professors, Brian Dennison (now living and working in Georgia, USA), included community legal support training. During his legal profession preparation, Oroya says he participated in land conflicts mediation and helped people to write their wills, among other free services.

His passion to help the less fortunate continued as he received his postgraduate certificate in legal practice in 2012 from the Law Development Centre, where he took a job at the institution’s Legal Aid Clinic. He was soon employed as the Court Reconciliator. He later joined Legal Aid, a pro bono legal service provider in Uganda where he served as the Assistant Legal Officer before he was promoted to Legal Officer. After that, he worked for the International Justice Mission, another pro bono legal service provider.

Oroya says he is passionate about helping the economically disadvantaged get justice. He believes that poor communities like those in northern Uganda really need his services. A 2016-17 report by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimated that at least 10 million of the estimated 37.7 million Ugandans live in poverty.  People in Eastern and Northern Uganda, depending largely on subsistence agriculture, are the poorest of the poor.

“It would be fancy to work in Kampala and make a lot of money but that would be serving personal desires without impact on the community,” Oroya says, “To me, a thank you note from a poor person is more worthy than driving a Mercedes-Benz.”

Oroya is a full-time lecturer at northern Uganda’s Gulu University. He also owns a law firm, Conrad Oroya Advocates in Gulu, and is a Regional Counsel Member of the Uganda Law Society, representing lawyers from northern Uganda. But he continues to offer free legal service both at a personal level and through his previous employer, Legal Aid.

Every Wednesday, he travels to a court in the neighboring Nwoya District as a lawyer on State brief (without pay) to defend individuals caught on the wrong side of the law. In his office, there are two huge piles of files – one for paid services and the other for free services. He says most of those pro bono files are for poor men and women who generally have only the clothes on their backs and a small piece of land being grabbed by wealthy individuals.

“I am happy to be serving in this community because I am making some impact,” Oroyo said. “I have won at least 300 cases and restored more than 400 families to their land after wealthy individuals grabbed them. My pro bono services also have greatly helped to decongest the Gulu Prison.”

A call to servant-hood was so strong that Oroyo turned down a prestigious opportunity to work in Europe. In 2016-2017, he got the Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue a Master in International Human Rights and Criminal Law at Bangor University in the United Kingdom (UK). Of 29 Ugandans that year, he was the only Ugandan legal scholar. And he emerged as the best Master of Law student. His dissertation was titled, “Law Reform Examination and Property Rights and Gender Equality: Women’s rights to property upon divorce and separation, a comparative legal study of Uganda, England and Wales,” also was voted as the best dissertation in 2017.

Those achievements earned him two accolades and he immediately got an offer from a professor to work with him as a Research Assistant, a position that would have automatically earned him a teaching job – and more money – in the UK. But Oroya says beside honouring the terms of agreement he had with his then employer, International Justice Mission, he knew that the poor in northern Uganda needed him more. So he turned down the opportunity.

Upon his return to Uganda, Oroya embarked on a move to try and reform the systems in place. He trained fellow lawyers, prosecutors and police officers on best practices of investigation and the need to respect individual human rights during arrests and detention. Detention without trial, torture, and grabbing of land that deny individuals the right to own property are the most common forms of human rights abuses meted by law enforcers in Uganda.

Many times, suspects are arrested before investigations are done and they are held in custody for weeks or months beyond the mandatory 48 hours as police investigate. Besides, it is a common practice for the wealthy to buy favors and win cases against poor individuals who cannot afford the cost of legal representations.

For Oroya, there is much more to be done. And he feels led to help do it.

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To support Uganda Christian University students, programs and facilities, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com. Also  visit us on Facebook and Instagram.

Alumnus finds greener pasture in UCU as he gives back to the community

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Monday Edson (right) prepares to carry out a test on the UCU Vice Chancellor, Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, inside the new university ambulance while the Guild President, Bruce MugishaAmanya (in suit), looks on, shortly after the new university ambulance was brought.

By Olum Douglas

When Monday Edson joined Uganda Christian University (UCU) for his undergraduate studies in 2010, he did not see himself on the Mukono campus beyond getting his degree. Edson then had a diploma in nursing and worked at a specialized children’s neurosurgery center called Cure Children’s Hospital of Uganda. At Cure, he was the In-Charge for the Intensive Care Unit and Wards.

But when he graduated in 2013 and returned to his work place, he felt something was missing.

“I enjoyed the Christian components of life in UCU, especially the mission weeks, prayers and worship,” Edson said. “I could not wait for a chance to return to UCU because as you may know, our work requires a lot of spiritual enrichment. And UCU provides that working environment.”

Monday Edson carries out a check on a student at the Allan Galpin Health Centre. His education is supported by UCU Partners.

His love for the university was not only based on the spirituality but also the dream to pursue further studies and share his knowledge and skills with aspiring nurses, a thing he believed the university would grant him.

Indeed, his dream is coming true, thanks in part, to Uganda Christian University Partners financial assistance. Edson, now a final-year student of the Master of Nursing Science at UCU,says after exhausting his savings to sponsor himself for the first and second modules of the program, he was at the brink of dropping out until Partners stepped in. The sponsorship has saved him from worries and given him room to focus on his work and studies.

“Many times people think when they gain skills they should run away in order to find greener pastures, forgetting that there are even greener pastures where they are,” he said. “I have found mine in UCU and I want to work, study, teach and mentor future nurses from here.”

Since his return to the university in 2013 as a staff, Edson was appointed Head of Nurses at the university’s Allan Galpin Health Centre. His key roles include supervision of nurses. But it is common to find him in practice, attending to students and staff in need of health care. He also enjoys mentoring student nurses at the university as time permits. After his Master in Nursing Science, Edson desires to pursue a PhD in the same field to enable him venture into teaching.

“I feel that I have the calling to teach, but that does not mean I will quit practicing,” he said.“My aspiration is to see the theories we learn transmitted into practice. And that is what motivates me to mentor the students.”

Outside his prescribed tasks, Edson also chairs the university’s Inspection Committee, a subcommittee of the Health and Safety Committee. His committee inspects and ensures good hygiene and healthy practices at the university’s kitchen, dinning hall, canteens and halls of residence.

To his work mates, Edson is a humble, down-to-earth, team player who is very active in every activity that involves the university’s health center.

Kenneth Kiggundu, a Medical Records Clerk at the health center, says, “Edson is a very knowledgeable person in nursing procedures, yet very humble.” Rachael Nakamya Lule, the health center administrator also says, “Edson is very committed and easy to work with.”

Since his appointment as the head of nurses in 2013, Edson has pushed for several changes in health services at the facility. Such alterations include expanding service hours from 12 to 24 hours a day. The work shifts increased from two to three eight-hour shifts that include a night shift.

While he says human resource remains a great challenge at the facility as nurses must carry out nursing as well as dispensing duties that many times cause delays, Edson is happy that a lot has changed within the health center, and many more students are appreciating the services.

To Edson, his job is a fulfillment of Christ’s mission, and there is no greater satisfaction in it than a “thank you” note from a client.

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To support UCU students, programs and facilities, 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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Caleb Ndishakiye Niringiyimana, director of Glow-Lit and a UCU graduate, gives a literacy lesson to children in Uganda.

UCU alumnus launches volunteer effort to improve Uganda’s literacy

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Caleb Ndishakiye Niringiyimana, director of Glow-Lit and a UCU graduate, gives a literacy lesson to children in Uganda.
Caleb Ndishakiye Niringiyimana, director of Glow-Lit and a UCU graduate, gives a literacy lesson to children in Uganda.

By Caleb Ndishakiye Niringiyimana
Your passion could be the only tool you’ve got to positively change the world around you.

That’s the short answer to what’s behind the non-profit I started. As a book lover and a Uganda Christian University (UCU) alumnus from the Department of Literature, Education and Arts faculty, I am the founder and director of Glow-Lit Ltd (Glow-Literature Limited) under the theme of an “Africa that reads.”

Glow-Lit grew from a conviction that a strong reading culture among Africans is the least-trodden avenue to solving the many socio-economic bottlenecks we face.

Glow-Lit is a non-profit organization with a mission to cultivate a culture of reading

Despite the nearly 20% poverty rate (not a nice statistic) in Uganda, our education, hygiene and sanitation, and access to services are appalling. With about 100 registered public libraries and only about 50 of them fully operative, about 71% of people above age 10 able to read, and about 90% of the ones reading doing it for grades in school, it is easy to see the co-relation between the state of social amenities and self-empowerment through reading.

A book has power, in part, because it is written with emotions, convictions and/or facts from the author. Therefore, an innate light can be found within the pages of a book, and when people read the book, they are impacted in two ways: First, sharing the light from the book; and second, being charged (lit or enlightened) to do something with the knowledge–which is the symptom of self-empowerment, and transforms the conditions of life, even at a community level. Hence the name, Glow-Lit (do something for yourself and your community with the light you have).

At Glow-lit, we believe that book lovers are the best agents to make more book lovers and world changers. Therefore, we gather book lovers and take them to schools and communities where people are gathered. The locations are school buildings, community libraries, corporate companies, homes, and coffee/tea shops. We pair people who love to read with individuals wanting to improve their reading. We read and grow together at a schedule convenient for each community/entity that hosts us. The standards of skill and passion enable growth into a mentor, who is assigned new entrants in our reading track and the cycle continues. Therefore, you can glow when lit, and growing your love for books can light you.

We also ensure there is accessibility to books. The majority of African families and schools cannot afford a book, and government funding priority is given to academic pamphlets instead of books. We work with entities that donate books, and we identify the need, which is predominantly private primary schools, some public primary schools, private secondary schools and of course communities where residents almost have nothing to rely on for reading once they are not in school.

Our focus is on developing the reading culture among our children and youth, especially in the formative years. This is because the values learned as a young child have a greater possibility of lasting and being lived with ease compared to ones taught in later years of development. This though does not eliminate adults who have the need and will to jump on the literacy train.

We also acknowledge the wanting state of scholarship on African literary works. We envision an online platform where professors and researchers avail their analysis of African literary works to other scholars in order for us to “Take African literature to the world.” We would love to have students of African literature hear from those who went ahead of them about these works, and we as Glow-Lit are ready to be the medium.

We operate only in Ugandan schools and communities with hope to serve Africa entirely, someday. More than reading, we mentor youth and facilitate character formation using books. That is why we read both fiction and nonfiction alternatingly. Fiction is aimed chiefly to reading for entertainment; yet still the message, characterization and the style help refine our youths. Nonfiction, which is usually youth livelihood, leadership and many relevant subjects, are organized in a workshop setting with facilitators. Testimonies from students keep us moving. We work so closely with school reading clubs focusing them to intentional reading. Once we come in, we make reading so fashionable that these clubs grow tremendously, bringing new book lovers, almost doubling the initial numbers in less than a year’s operation. Registering such impact is a huge milestone and signal to how much more can be achieved.

Our program, “The Home Book Drive,” (our most loved program) which runs during school holidays, focuses on engaging children in reading from their homes. We reduce their TV time by taking books and inviting children from the neighborhood to join in reading, playing and snacking.

Our team of 24 is comprised of professional and student volunteers, 100% driven by the passion to give.

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Glo-Lit needs book donations and reading volunteers. To learn more, go to www.glow-lit.org.

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For more of these stories and experiences by and about Uganda Christian University (UCU) students and graduates, visit https://www.ugandapartners.org. If you would like to support UCU, contact Mark Bartels, Executive Director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org or go to https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/Also follow and like our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.

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‘My life is a footprint of God’

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Namangale (third right) heads for her degree

By Douglas Olum

“My life was surrounded by death, death and death. Sometimes we read about faith in the Bible and doubt it, but for me, I have seen and experienced it.”

Such were some of the reflections of 27-year-old Jane Najale Namangale as she was recognized as the overall best performer at the 4th part of the 20th Uganda Christian University graduation ceremony on October 25, 2019. She scored a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.82 out of 5.00.  She was among 32 first class graduands out of a total of 1,200 who marched on the red carpet that Friday.

While she was being celebrated, Namangale did not have a parent or relative who accompanied her to witness her victory. In her cheering section was a friend, Kelly Rompel, an American Missionary based in Uganda. The reason for lack of blood relatives was that death took almost everyone around her.

One of six children, Namangale never saw her father because she was born months after his death. Her mother, Mary Auma, died six months after her birth. Left in the hands of her aged grandmother, the baby Namangale could not receive the adequate care needed. A local, missionary founded childcare organization, Good Shepherd, took her and one brother. Three sisters and another brother, fathered by a different man, were taken by that man.

At Good Shepherd, Namangale and many other children received food, medication, health care, clothing, education, among other needs. She also got spiritual nourishment at the center.

However, she was dropped from the organization’s care after she finished her secondary (Ordinary Level) education because of policy issues. But an American missionary family, took her on because she had no home to go to. The family of Michael Templeton took her through high school to acquire the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education.

But when the Templeton’s left Uganda, Namangale and some of her friends started selling fruits in the Eastern Uganda, Jinja town, for survival. For about three years, she was in this trade before she got a cleaning job with Cherish Uganda, another childcare organization. She worked with the organization for four years.

It was from Cherish Uganda that the grown up Namangale interacted with disadvantaged children, most of who had mental health problems, and developed the desire to practice social work. She wanted to return to school and pursue a degree in social work but her earning was too little to take her to a university.

“I shared my feelings, prayed about it and also asked my friends to join me in the prayer,” Namangale said. “Mine was nothing but pure faith.”

A few months later, one of her brothers from her step dad offered to pay for her studies at the university. Namangale was admitted to the UCU Social Work and Social Administration program. But during her first semester at the university, her brother, Walter Wanjala, who was an architect, got involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident that claimed his life. It was especially heartbreaking as this was her closest relative.

“At that point, I got so angry with God,” Namangale said. “I felt like any other person could have gone but not him because he was the full package of both a brother and parent. I even doubted God and kept asking: Why, why, why? But that was the time I saw God’s hands.”

An American friend to her former guardian, Templeton, came to her rescue. He had been trying to get in touch with her and help her for quite some time. Immediately, he took care of her tuition and all academic related needs.

“I gave education my best because I knew this was the only chance I have,” Namangale said. “If I delayed to graduate, there was going to be no other source of money to see me through school.”

As she graduated, three of her five siblings have all died. The other two returned to their roots somewhere in Kenya.

Despite obstacles and a void of family, Namangale sees her life as “a footprint of God” – one that will enable her to positively impact children with disabilities by establishing a care center for them and to help older students as a university lecturer. She believes that God has a purpose for which he allowed her to go through all the hardships.

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To support UCU students, programs and facilities, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com or at UCU Partners, P.O. Box 114, Sewickley, Pa. 15143.

Also, follow up on Facebook or Instagram.

Mainstream journalism fight in social media world

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Alex Taremwa shares information during a September 2019 presentation at the United States International University-Africa, based in Nairobi.

By Alex Taremwa

It’s Friday morning at Matooke Republic, a largely digital-only Ugandan newspaper that I edit. The metrics are not tallying up, and we have already lost clients due to the nosedive of our readers from over 150,000 daily to under 30,000.

Under normal circumstances, editors in legacy media – that is, those practicing traditional journalism – do not concern themselves with revenue issues. They focus on the words and let the sales and marketing team make money.  But the digital disruption shook up several trees in newsrooms.

Here I was on a Friday morning explaining to my bosses how the plunge in our audience reach was not because we did not have good content but because Facebook, a giant technology company in California, had chosen to limit the reach of posts from businesses, brands and traditional media houses.

(How do UCU students get news? Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zZJc95-daY&feature=youtu.be)

The results were instant. Not just at Matooke Republic. Even big international cable news companies felt the pinch. Jennifer Grygiel, Assistant Professor of Communications (Social Media) and Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, at Syracuse University in New York published a paper that said that media publishers as small as Matooke Republic lost more half their reach when the changes took place at the turn of 2018.

In her research, Grygiel found that one effect of the change was to reduce the number of interactions Facebook users had with credible journalism outlets.  In the United States, the focus has been on politics with Facebook algorithms noted in the midst of the last American election in 2016 and then with use of Facebook personal profile information for political advertising by the British consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in his statement  about the changes in January 2018, noted that his vision of Facebook was interaction between friends and family. He said the algorithm change was made because the social media space had been clogged by updates from the media, businesses and brands, cutting down on the human interaction.

Chart demonstrating Facebook reach dive

Data from CrowdTangle, a social media monitoring company, shows that Facebook traffic dropped noticeably at such credible media sources as CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, The New York Times and The Washington Post after the Facebook company updated its algorithms to favor friends and family in June 2016. Long story short, by August of that year – seven months after Zuckerberg’s announcement – the News Feed algorithm change had resulted in a drop in engagement for Business Pages. For some, the drop was as much as 50%.

Back to the Matooke Republic meeting, some of the smartest men in the room – me inclusive – sat in the corner office in September of 2018 and began to brainstorm how to beat this algorithm change. Our stories have been trending the whole month since Ugandan politician and musician, Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), dodged a bullet a few weeks earlier in Arua where he had been campaigning for a colleague.

Some of our stories had hit over 1,000 shares on Facebook alone. The platform was a key distribution point of our content, followed by Twitter and WhatsApp. But then we were reaching ZERO people all of a sudden. We had to think, and think fast.

Here are three things we did to survive and thrive in the social media game, particularly with regard to Facebook:

More photos and video
After careful observation of our platforms, we noticed that the Facebook algorithm was targeting stories with links to the Web site but did not mind photos and video. The two formats of content travelled almost as fast as before but stories shared directly from the web to our pages did not receive much attention. That is how we adopted video as form of content distribution. The video editor, Asiimwe Vincent Smoky, suddenly became the busiest man in the room and the cornerstone of our turnaround. The pages began gaining traction and the renaissance started.

Sharing stories on personal timelines
Another observation we made was that although the algorithm limited the access of stories shared from our website to the page, the stories reached a better number of people when shared from personal profiles of individuals. We quickly encouraged our team to start sharing their stories and those of their colleagues on their timelines, the groups they are in and forums of public discourse.

We used 40 Facebook groups as a testing ground and got exceptional results.

Game changer Bitly
The other trick was to study the competition and see how they were sharing their content. We noticed that both the New Vision, Daily Monitor and a few other Ugandan online platforms were using Bitly – a website that shortens other website links. Turned out that if a link is shortened using this website, the “smart” algorithm could not flag it; therefore, people were more easily led to the website.

From my research, I have found several new techniques such as native video, live video, Facebook, Instagram stories and Snapchat stories, embedded video.

So here’s the bottom line regarding social media, namely Facebook. With over 2.5 billion active monthly users, Facebook will remain at the heart of content creation and distribution for news media. It is how traditional, journalistic media use such platforms that will determine whether we win or lose in the game that Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, Netflix are winning.

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Alex Taremwa, a Uganda Christian University graduate with a degree in journalism and mass communications, is studying digital journalism at Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications in Kenya.  He shared this information during a September 2019 presentation at the United States International University – Africa based in Nairobi. He also participates in industry-led discussions about the place of social media in newsrooms and the effects on journalism credibility.

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For more of these stories and experiences by and about Uganda Christian University (UCU) students and graduates, visit https://www.ugandapartners.org. If you would like to support UCU, contact Mark Bartels, Executive Director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org or go to https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/

Also follow and like our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.

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Uganda Christian University education opens doors

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Mahoro Anitah Mugisha – UCU graduate with multiple career choices

By Patty Huston-Holm
For Mahoro Anitah Mugisha, Uganda Christian University (UCU) was a launching pad for her career experiences at the Uganda Communications Commission, Uganda National Roads Authority, Rwanda Development Board and Sino Africa Medicines and Health and to try her hand at selling on-line products. It also opened the door for her to study in China.

“It’s a Christian environment, and I’m a born-again Christian,” she said. “But the reputation and networking with other students and people associated with UCU make it so much more.”

While eating a meal of mushroom-covered chicken, mashed potatoes and rice at Kampala’s Mediterraneo restaurant, Mugisha talked about what led her to study towards her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and the UCU quality education and reputation and something that she didn’t expect – openness to other cultures and ideas.

After obtaining her undergraduate degree in 2016, she worked and volunteered and then applied to get a post-graduate degree at a university in China. In July of 2019, she received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of International Business and Economics and Economics, Beijing China.

“Having a degree in one specialty shouldn’t lock you in,” she said. “You can use that knowledge and skills in so many areas.”

So it was that the little girl who once dreamed of doing voices for animated films and then to be a veterinarian found herself in mass communications with skills to transfer and use in multiple places. Event planning, public speaking and technology file management are just a few.

“UCU helped me become serious while providing me the opportunity to network and explore,” said Mugisha, who at age 26 in September was working at Visit Uganda Tours and Travel LTD.

Exposure to like-minded and different students at UCU and in China has opened her world views, stimulated her desire to know people of different cultures and given her confidence to step outside the norm. Her best friend in China was from Afghanistan. She watches the news about the China-Hong Kong protests with a more informed understanding. She has a pet rabbit and kitten in a country where people are known for fear and dislike of pets.

“Society doesn’t generally push you to explore various dimensions of your personality,” she said. “A university education does. I’m not sure what I will do next but I know that I’ll keep growing.”

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To support Uganda Christian University students, programs and facilities, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.
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Rev. Amos Kirmera and his wife, Florence, receive prayers from UCU’s vice chancellor and priests during an Aug. 25 church service on the Mukono, Uganda. The family has been chosen to serve a minimum of two years in Massachusetts. (UCU Partners photo)

Uganda Christian University Assistant Chaplain Goes into American mission field

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Rev. Amos Kirmera and his wife, Florence, receive prayers from UCU’s vice chancellor and priests during an Aug. 25 church service in the Mukono, Uganda. The family has been chosen to serve a minimum of two years in Massachusetts. (UCU Partners photo)
Rev. Amos Kirmera and his wife, Florence, receive prayers from UCU’s vice chancellor and priests during an Aug. 25 church service on the Mukono, Uganda. The family has been chosen to serve a minimum of two years in Massachusetts. (UCU Partners photo)

By Patty Huston-Holm

Rev. Amos Kimera is aware of how alcohol, technology, materialism and peer pressure get in the way of a life fully committed to Christ. He’s seen that in his 36 years of growing up and working in Uganda. He also knows such temptations are greater in developed countries.

In early September, when moving with his family to the United States, Rev. Amos hopes to play a small role in turning that around. The Uganda Christian University (UCU) assistant chaplain has accepted an offer to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and to be a pastor at a Ugandan church in the Boston, MA area.

On a Monday afternoon and after fighting traffic in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala and helping eight students from Germany settle in for a semester on the UCU Mukono campus, he reflected on the decision that was three years in the making. In addition to offers on the American side, he had the blessings of Archbishop of Uganda the Most Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali and UCU Vice Chancellor Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi.

Mostly, however, the New Testament Matthew Chapter 9 stories of Jesus’ healing drive Rev. Amos.  He recalled a visit to Boston and one youth healing opportunity that was missed.

“An 18-year-old from Uganda had everything going for him with offers for college and more,” Rev. Amos recalled. “Yet, he felt pressure and felt not good enough.  He committed suicide.”

UCU Vice Chancellor Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, right, sends off a member of the UCU chaplaincy. The family was scheduled to leave Uganda on Sept. 3. (UCU Partners photo)
UCU Vice Chancellor Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, right, sends off a member of the UCU chaplaincy. The family was scheduled to leave Uganda on Sept. 3. (UCU Partners photo)

In partnership with his wife, Florence, Rev. Amos has not just counseled youth about their self worth and positive lifestyle changes, but has walked alongside of them. Sometimes, it is listening, laughing, watching a movie –not judging while demonstrating a lifestyle devoid of alcohol and other destructive behavior.  Often, God is not mentioned at all.

“My wife is the biggest supporter of my ministry,” he said. “We have had young people at our house, telling us they are a ‘waste.’ My wife tells them that others may define them that way, but that is not who they are.”

While working on a master’s degree in urban ministry leadership and serving at St. Peter’s Anglican Church of Uganda in Massachusetts, Rev. Amos anticipates his work will be with youth ages 2 to 20.  Florence will volunteer at the church while focusing on the care of their two children, Makaila Mwebaza Nakalema (5 years) and Moriah Mirembe Kisakye Nassuna (11 months). With husband and wife from the central Ugandan region – she from Mukono and he from Mityana and Luweero – they plan to reinforce the Luganda language and tribal customs at home while introducing their children to a new culture in the United States.

In previous visits to Germany (where he forged a relationship between UCU and an international university), the United Kingdom, South Africa, Indonesia, Norway, Poland, Italy, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and the USA, Rev. Amos has become keenly aware how wealth pulls people away from the Christian faith.

“When you have everything, you don’t need God,” he said.  “My fridge is full, I have a car. Life is fast. Where is God, and why do I need Him?”

The unintended consequence of modern technology, particularly for youth, is the distraction from a faith-based walk. Rev. Amos’ strategy is not to fight modern media, but to join them. With his first degree from UCU in mass communications and a post-graduate degree in divinity, he is seeking solutions on how “robots” can make the church stronger.

“Church leaders need to learn how to use these tools so we’re not left behind,” he said. “Children are struggling between modern ways and the Truth. We need to be smart to overcome world views and remind youth that God is in control.”

Leaving UCU is bittersweet for the assistant chaplain. He will miss the students.  Likewise, Amos and Florence will miss their family members who live in Uganda. Florence’s mom has been a constant babysitter. And a Boston winter with bitter-cold snow and driving a car on a different side of the road will be among cultural adjustments.

But Rev. Amos thinks about Matthew 9:38 and Jesus’ message to his disciples about the plentiful harvest with few workers; he knows he is being sent into that harvest field.

“God is sending me into this mission as He always has,” he said.

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To support UCU students, staff, programs and facilities, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

UCU alumna in England: Surviving and thriving with character and faith

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Sarah Lagot Odwong (third from left) celebrating Uganda independence day with friends in the United Kingdom.

By Sarah Lagot Odwong

Graduate school was always a childhood dream. A Master’s degree. Perhaps several Master’s degrees. And a PhD, that is Dr. Sarah Lagot Odwong, has quite a punchy ring to it. The academic designation adds power to tell the story of hope.

From a simple, dusty Barjere village in the throes of recovery after over two decades of civil war in Northern Uganda, beauty could rise from ashes. More importantly, young women who shared my background could see that they could achieve anything. They could paint pages of colorful life portraits. They could tell their life stories in whatever manner or fashion they felt represented their authenticity.

Uganda Christian University graduate, Sarah Lagot Odwong (center) with members of her church youth group in England.

When I got an email confirming my admission into a global top 10 humanitarian graduate school at the University of Manchester (England), I envisioned pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of my life painfully strewn by circumstances and carefully gathered back finally fitting into one coherent whole. Now, I could visualize myself seated at “The Table of Men.” Now, I could see myself applying for global positions of leadership in the places where people who looked like me, who thought like me, who spoke like me hardly ventured or never got the opportunity to enter. I was elated.

This breakthrough was the culmination of prayer and hard work. And so my journey to England started. I did not know what to expect. I was anxiously hoping that I did not make a mistake in coming to the graduate school instead of accepting a seemingly life-changing job offer.

I knew that in spite of my fears, I had to make this experience count. I was welcomed to the United Kingdom by a harsh gust of icy wind at the airport. I remarked to a colleague who came to pick me up that I hoped the rainy, chilly weather was not ominous of what lay ahead.

Once at school, I settled in with much gusto to the rigors of course registration, opening bank accounts, finding a place to live, attending socials with classmates, joining societies, visiting museums, searching for a new church, meeting new people from around the world, learning to ride double-decker buses and trains, trying out new cuisines (I live three minutes away from a two-mile stretch of Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, Lebanese, Afghan, Iraqi, Caribbean, Chinese, Thai restaurants dubbed The Curry Mile.). The experiences of a new place, new culture, and new people were initially exciting. Until they weren’t.

One shock that jolted me out of my reverie was an academic roadblock. For most of my life, school came fairly easy to me. Granted, I work hard. Extremely hard, I might add. However graduate school outside of Uganda challenged me in ways that I could never fathom. My classmates were 29 of some of the smartest, most competitive and accomplished people from around the world. Some had led United Nations humanitarian operations in Iraq. Others had overseen disaster relief efforts in Haiti, Japan and other corners of the globe. Suddenly, my experience leading a small communications department in the Uganda Country Office of an international non-profit seemed incomparable.

This was when the “impostor” syndrome set in. I wondered if I was good enough. I wondered if by some strange twist of fate I had fluked my way into the program. I pondered on how I would measure up to academic giants and people of noteworthy professional report over the course of program. My self-confidence dipped. It must have showed. Some boisterous types made it a point to laud their career exploits and academic achievements around me.

Overnight, my work was not good enough. The professors’ comments on my assignments were razor sharp and captious. I lacked critical thinking abilities, they said. My academic writing was lackluster. My thoughts were incoherent. I needed to reference better. Stop using colloquial language, they opined.

One in particular failed me flat in an assignment, calling my referencing for the paper “atrocious. “ I failed and picked myself up numerous times, but this time was different. The surly remarks ate into my psyche. I started to feel constantly inadequate. Self-doubt crept in. I walked into the graduate study office and cried at my desk.

Dark cold days, no friends, no family and mind ready to explode with stress and fatigue. I was struggling. And I did not know how to get a grip on the fast spinning chaotic wheel that my life had become.

Being thousands of miles away from my biological family in Uganda and my bonus family in Ohio, I kept up a facade of a big strong girl facing a big unwelcoming world. But even big strong girls falter. Phone calls, emails and texts from my loved ones contained the usual banter of familial relations. “How are you?’,” they prodded. I answered in the affirmative. I was doing okay, I was learning new things, and I was meeting new people. How far from the truth! I feared to rock their boats. Confessions of struggle would elicit worry and panic.

I made a difficult mental decision to turn things around for myself. It took utmost courage but here’s what I did:

  • I asked to resubmit certain assignments where I attained less than desirable grades. They were re-marked and I got much better grades.
  • I extracted myself from the class social setting to avoid the constant negativity and comparisons.
  • I sieved comments put on my assignments. I took to heart the ones that prompted me to learn and improve. I dissociated from the ones that were penned in jest and bad taste.
  • I joined a new church and started attending youth fellowships on Thursday evenings.
  • I became more deliberate about keeping in touch with family and friends in Uganda and in Ohio. I called regularly. I sent texts. Maintaining a line of connection with the people who mattered most in my life reminded me of the circle that valued my worth. It reaffirmed my existence and evoked appreciation of my capabilities. Family and friends will do for your self-confidence what a thousand self-praise singers cannot.
  • Above all, I found God in a brand new way. In the midst of the chaos, He anchored me. In the midst of insecurity and instability, He was a refuge. I developed a relationship of reckless faith, of absolute trust in his ability to steer the course of my life. I knew that despite what the reality presented, I was coming out stronger on the other side. That for me, made all the difference.

When people ask me about my experience of graduate school, my mind does not immediately wander to the mundane academic rigors associated with it. This was the easy part.

Instead, it veers to something more profound: Character.

Nobody prepared me for the loneliness, doubt, tears, frustration, agony and disappointments. I had to learn to gain resolve, to build a stronger relationship with God, to strengthen my resilience muscles, to find the inner strength daily to get up and put in the work. I came to understand that the mind creates in the spiritual what eventually manifests in the physical. You have to believe in you first before anybody else does. I realized our lives are dictated by variables and constants. Variables are opinions of men and always subject to change. Constants are laws. Our lives should be run by constants (truth). There is no truth without the WORD.

This certainly put things into perspective. People who maligned and doubted me uttered variables. My life should not be swayed like a yo-yo ball in the direction of their dictates. I needed to remember whose I am.

I chose to align to what the WORD said about me. I am an overcomer and a world changer. Whosoever is born of God overcomes the world. God’s purpose for our lives is that we fight the good fight of faith. Perpetual sleepless nights spent studying, constant fatigue, no social life, walking alone in a snow-filled park, praying in the cold; I needed to keep sight of the vision. The resultant good grades, the PhD admission, the extended professional networks, speaking engagements with global organizations did not come out of nowhere. They were borne out of painful sacrifices, never giving up, and the unmerited favor of God.

In a nutshell, my key takeaway from graduate school was the importance of character in navigating this journey called life. People see your outward glory. They do not see the toil and sacrifices planted prior.

Do not expect many to understand or even support your dream. Even the people set in your path to steer you to your destination will be inhibitors. Hold on to the people who love and support you. They will buttress you from the waves of adversity.

Above all, remember that the situation you find yourself in is only “impossible” because you have not taken action. “Impossible” is only an opinion in the minds of men. You define the limits of what is possible and what is not. As long as you have a mind to think, you have everything you need to achieve your dreams.

Becoming Dr. Sarah Lagot Odwong does not seem so far-fetched anymore. Running the United Nations Directorate of Gender is not a childhood mirage anymore. It is actually a dream within potential grasp. One day, a young girl in Barjere village will say: “I pursued because I saw her pursue. I soldiered on because she never gave up.”

All things are possible to him or her who believes. Pick up your cross and try again.

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More information about Uganda Christian University can be obtained at http://ucu.ac.ug/.

To support UCU students, programs and facilities, contact Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org, or donate directly at: https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/

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Matende Wilson with his mother on his graduation day in October 2018. (UCU Partners Photo)

UCU Partners Scholarship support for single mothers

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Matende Wilson with his mother on his graduation day in October 2018. (UCU Partners Photo)
Matende Wilson with his mother on his graduation day in October 2018. (UCU Partners Photo)

By Brendah Ndagire

One of the challenges of being a single mother – worldwide and in Uganda – is meeting the responsibility of educating children. The 2016 World Bank report shows that 26.90% of households are ‘Female Headed’ in Uganda. The reality is that Ugandans estimate the percentage of both female-headed homes and/or single-parent homes to be higher.

And the challenge is that Uganda as a nation struggles with the problem of research deficiency, largely due to the fact that majority of the population lives in rural areas, where such data, if collected, can be easily skewed.

Organizations such as the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA- Uganda) and Single Parents Association of Uganda (SPU) that work primarily on women issues, report that Ugandan women are single mothers for different reasons. Causes include death of the father to a disease or accident and/or father accusation of a crime and/or incarceration; unemployment of both parents; and willful abandonment of pregnant women.

Nabiryo Annet, mother of Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate Matende Wilson Paul and four other children in Mukono, is one such single mother.  And like most other single mothers, she has struggled since she first learned the news of her pregnancy. When she had her son at age 16, his father abandoned her. She had to raise Wilson with her father.

“My father played the role of the father and grandfather at the same time,” said Annet.

When Annet got pregnant, her friends advised her to get an abortion because she could not possibly support her son on her own. But she refused. Looking now at her grown son who has a UCU Diploma in Business Administration, and all his academic accomplishments, Annet often thinks about the damage she could have done if she had aborted him.

But God has accompanied Annet through the USA-based UCU Partners nonprofit organization. Wilson Paul is a recipient of a UCU Partners’ scholarship. She remembers a time when Wilson graduated from high school. She did not know where to get the money for him to proceed to the university. When her son told her that he was receiving tuition support from a UCU Partners benefactor, she was filled with joy and gratitude. She did not know how he had managed to apply, or how he got accepted by UCU’s Financial Aid Office, but she felt that God had answered her prayers.

“I am grateful to UCU Partners’ scholarship and his sponsor specifically,” Annet said. “What stands out to me is that UCU Partners does not only give financial support, but sometimes some sponsors also give  career guidance to their students. My son would go on to be a chemistry teacher and mentor to high-school students upon the guidance of his sponsor at UCU.”

Today, Wilson’s mother is very hopeful about his future. When UCU Partners interviewed him, he had plans of going back to UCU for further studies. In January this year, he enrolled in UCU’s bachelor program in Business Administration, while serving as a Finance Assistant to the school where he is teaching chemistry.

There are more than 50 higher education institutions in Uganda, but these single mothers choose UCU because they want their sons to be rooted in Christ, and identify with UCU’s values of stewardship, community, integrity, and servant leadership.

When UCU’s financial aid office, in collaboration with UCU Partners, looks at which student to grant tuition support, they usually listen and learn the story of the student who is applying for support. Very rarely does the financial aid office get to hear the story and experiences of their parents.

Annet is not the only single mother UCU Partners has supported.

Odongokola Joshua with his mother on his graduation day in October 2018. (UCU Partners Photo)
Odongokola Joshua with his mother on his graduation day in October 2018. (UCU Partners Photo)

Stella Amonyi, is another mother the organization has supported. Her son, Odongokola Joshua El Shadai, also graduated with a Diploma in Business Administration in October 2018. He and his mother live in Kampala, but they are originally from the Northern district of Uganda, Lira.

Stella has worked as a mother to 47 orphaned and street children at Agape Christian Children Home/Center, in Nsambya, Kampala, for the last 11 years. With the sudden death of her husband, she held a job and raised their four children. Her husband died when Joshua, the youngest of the four children, was just three months old.

“My son never got a chance to meet his father. I thank God for caring for my son through UCU Partners,” said Stella.

When she learned that Joshua was receiving a scholarship from UCU Partners, she was very thankful to God.

“I have always prayed that God uses my sons and daughters for expanding His Kingdom. If it wasn’t for God, they would be nothing,” said Stella. Today, with a UCU diploma in hand, Joshua is enrolled in UCU’s bachelor program in Business and Administration. He wants to be an accountant.

Most parents in Uganda are responsible for their children’s education from kindergarten to the university. When UCU Partners supports students at UCU, they indirectly support their parents. This is why parents, such as Annet and Stella, are very grateful to UCU Partners who have empowered their sons through access to university education.

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For more of these stories and experiences, visit https://www.ugandapartners.org.  If you would like to support a current student or otherwise support the university, contact Mark Bartels, Executive Director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org or go to https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/

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