Tag Archives: Literacy

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

January 3, 2020UCU Alumni: #socialwork, #dissertation, #internship, #Research, #UgandaChristianUniversity, Christianity, HIV/AIDS, LiteracyPatty Huston-Holm

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.

“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.

Third World people investment – USA visitor to UCU offers insights

December 31, 2019Faculty, Students#beingbusy, #graduateschool, #LindaKnicely, #Research, #Thirdworldinvestment, #UgandaChristianUniversityPartners, #Volunteer, Literacy, UCU, Uganda, WritingPatty Huston-Holm

Americans Patty Huston-Holm (right) and Linda Knicely – volunteer lecturers and coaches for Uganda Christian University post-graduate students (UCU Partners photo)

(SECOND OF FOUR-PART SERIES: This is the second of four stories about a five-year-old, American-led writing and research workshop at Uganda Christian University. The first article contained reflections of the Ohio woman who founded and leads the training. This second article reflects thoughts of an American volunteer in 2017 and 2019. The final two articles feature UCU graduates who helped with the workshop. Parts I, III and IV can be accessed at those links. A video is here.)

By Linda Knicely

“It’s not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?” So said American essayist and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau.

Ugandans are busy. During the four weeks that I and three other American lecturers spent on the Uganda Christian University (UCU) campuses in four different locations, presenting to graduate students and faculty members during the dissertation clinic and trainings and individually coaching the students in 2019, this was apparent.

Sometimes they’re busy earning a living, taking care of children, and handling other tasks needed to survive. Other times, they’re busy relaxing and enjoying fellowship with one another. On campus, they’re learning. Both formally from their instructors and peers in the classroom sand informally during pick-up basketball games, at the canteens or as they walk and talk with each other. They’re learning how to grow into young adults of integrity, guided by Christian principles in the nurturing environment of UCU.

They’re also teaching.

Linda Knicely, left, with one of her students from 2019 (UCU Partners photo)

They teach by example – the genuine and warm “You are welcome” that greets us at every turn brings smiles to our faces and is not as common in other parts of the world as one might think (or wish). They teach by sharing their stories with us and sometimes their language and their culture. They teach by risking vulnerability as they reveal their fears, their hopes and their dreams for themselves, their families, and their country of Uganda.

Americans are busy. Sometimes we’re coping with what, as I explained to one of my UCU students, David, we call “first world problems.” Very minor issues, in the scheme of things. We work hard, both on the job and even at play. We can find it hard to relax and just “be.” Sometimes, unfortunately, we consider ourselves more often as “teachers” for the rest of the world, than learners. What a loss, for those that have that perspective, for there is so much to learn in Uganda.

I’ve been busy. When I first came to Uganda for six weeks two years ago (2017), I had no plans of making a return trip. It wasn’t a personal judgment about Uganda, but more about my craving to explore and experience as many different places in the world as possible.But because of what I learned that year from the people of Uganda, mostly in the UCU graduate school program, and the piece of my heart that I left here, I surprised myself by deciding to return.

In very typical American fashion, as our students (and interns) in 2019 have learned, we (our American team here) like to “keep time” and schedule ourselves tightly in order to be as productive as possible. I came back to teach, of course, and to support the graduate students with whom I interacted, to successful completion and defense of their dissertations.

But I also came back to learn more, and to re-imprint the lessons of two years ago on my memory and in my heart. My time spent here at UCU during this visit has felt even busier. Self-reflection will be a process that may wait until I return to the USA and my life there. But I hope that some of the lessons that I learn in Uganda prompt me to always question: “What am I busy about?”

And then there’s Patty Huston-Holm, the queen of “busy.” Patty was in Uganda for her eleventh visit in 2019 with many of the visits lasting months at a time; she led the student and faculty dissertation training for the fifth consecutive year on behalf of UCU Partners and the UCU School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies. While we (me, Tracy and David Harrison) were along this year, other years she has “flown solo.”Patty is never satisfied with what’s she’s done before, but constantly strives to improve the presentations or extend the program’s reach.

This year, she added coaching sessions at the UCU Kampala campus and faculty and student presentations on both Kabale and Mbale campuses. And the work that we’re directly involved with only represents one of the many roles that Patty has personally embraced in her support of Uganda Christian University’s mission.

I think that even those staff who know her on campus would be surprised at the time that she invests when she is home – continuing to arrange logistics and remain in communication to plan next steps, etc. She commits her tremendous talents and experience to this work out of Christian love for her Ugandan brothers and sisters, both those she knows already and those who will be impacted in the future through the vision and efforts of today’s students and staff at the university.

Patty’s clear sense of what she should “be busy about,” inspires me, and many others whose lives she has touched.

Two years ago, during one of our first conversations about Uganda, she told me that she believed in “investing in people.” I can’t think of a better way to be busy.

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Ohioan Linda Knicely volunteered with Patty Huston-Holm in 2017 and 2019. To learn more about how to become part of this literacy work at UCU, email Patty at hustonpat@gmail.com. For more information about UCU Partners and how to contribute financially to students, programs and facilities at UCU , contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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

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‘He was my student. But I also was his’

December 30, 2019Faculty, Students#abuse, #ColumbusStateCommunityCollege, #Goldmining, #LakeVictoria, #PattyHustonHolm, #pollution, #prayer, #Research, #UgandaChristianUniversityPartners, #Volunteer, Literacy, UCU, UgandaPatty Huston-Holm

American Patty Huston-Holm (standing) with UCU graduate school leadership, Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo and Joseph Owor (UCU Partners photo)

(FIRST OF FOUR PARTS: This is the first of four stories about a five-year-old, American-led writing and research clinic at Uganda Christian University. The author is the founder and lead facilitator of the training. The second article reflects an experience of one USA citizen who assisted with the clinic in two different years. The final two articles feature UCU alumni who served as interns with the clinic. Parts II, III and IV can be accessed at those links. A video is here.)

By Patty Huston-Holm

I don’t think much about gold. I’m not a wealthy person, so the only gold I’ve ever had is in the wedding band I’ve worn for 27 years. And the only reference I had to this precious metal was during a junior high school history class when I learned it was discovered in some kind of “rush” and then used in coins in the United States in the 1800s.

Until Monday, August 13, 2018…

Sometime around 4 p.m. and at a desk in a room shared with two other people at Uganda Christian University and in a country I had associated with tea, tilapia and bananas, a young student named Christopher Mwandha expanded my knowledge about gold. The mining of it around Lake Victoria, he said emphatically, was destroying the wildlife in this second largest body of fresh water in the world. Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, is home to hippos and fish and more.

That afternoon and in a room filled with East African tropical heat moved around by a fan, Christopher talked about his water pollution research connected to gold mining. In particular, his focus was on the small village of Nakudi near the Kenyan border. It was here in an area previously known for farming and fishing that a group of some farmers and fishermen struck gold when digging a hole to bury a friend. They buried the friend elsewhere and became miners.

Christopher’s dissertation research surrounding this is a requirement for his master’s degree in Science and Water Sanitation. He is one of 150 UCU students I coached and one of more than 300 I’ve taught in five years of leading a writing and research training through the university’s School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies (SRPGS).

He was my student. But I also was his.

I am an education missionary.

Yes, I’m a volunteer – starting when coming to Uganda with a Reynoldsburg, Ohio, church in 2009. Yes, I contribute financially to Uganda’s needy. Yes, I’m a believer in Jesus Christ. Yes, coming from the Mid-West that gets brutally cold in the winter, I sweat and work hard. But I don’t build buildings, preach the gospel or give up my American home so that others can have one in Africa.

A lifelong writer and teacher and an Ohio State University Buckeye with journalism and communication degrees, I invest in minds. I build people. And they build me.

One avenue for this building is an annual, free workshop to help post-graduate students and their supervisors with dissertations and thesis projects to improve the master’s degree graduation rate and to expand global awareness of their research. The workshop includes large-group lectures and one-on-one coaching. The individualized assistance is where the magic occurs – both for coaches and students.

I tell students that writing a research paper can be lonely. Having a coach who believes in you helps fill that void; it’s half the battle towards completion. Coaching them to produce a paper with credible, original, well-written and compelling information is the other half. Good coaches listen – and learn – while nudging students to see what they have to offer their country, continent and world.

With the first clinic in 2015, my husband, Mike Holm, and I began supplementing what university faculty members were already doing with their heavy workloads. Under the guidance of SRPGS leaders, Dr. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo and Dr. Joseph Owor, we implemented a learning model that keeps getting better. Two interns that we hire each year make us better; likewise for them as they receive resume-building experience and get jobs or further education shortly after working with us.

Columbus State Community College President, David Harrison, with a USU post-graduate student he coached in 2019 (UCU Partners photo)

Americans Linda Knicely and Larry Hickman, career development specialists; Sheila Hosner, an international health specialist; Tom Wanyama, an engineer and professor; Tracy Harrison, a reading specialist; and Dave Harrison, president, Columbus State Community College; helped with improvements by their on-site assistance and expertise at various times over the five years. They came from Ohio, Washington State and Canada – all as volunteers.

Now, semi-retired, I donate my knowledge and skills in Uganda for four to six months a year. Approximately half of that time is with graduate students. The other half involves working with young journalists, public relations employees and other university staff on various literacy initiatives. Occasionally, like now, I write.

As I reflect on what I’ve learned from UCU’s post-graduate students, I recall how they have educated me on such topics as disparities of health care in higher poverty areas, injustices for women when it comes to property and child “ownership,” truthful news reporting in South Sudan war zones, Islamic to Christian conversion, prevalence of counterfeit drugs, differences in preaching and teaching of the gospel and terminology such as “waiting homes” to help economically disadvantaged women prior to delivery of a baby. Interest in their research often finds me digging into their topics after the coaching sessions and late into the night.

Beyond the academic, the young people I meet in Uganda stretch my appreciation and thankfulness.

One such master’s level student in 2016 sobbed from a simple gesture of giving her half of my granola bar during a lunchtime meeting. Through tears, she shared her childhood story devoid of love and compassion. She was abused by a stepmother who denied her food and water to drink or bath, forced to sleep outside in the dirt and required her to walk alone and vulnerable in the dark to get alcoholic beverages for her father’s new wife. She was grateful, she said, for a simple gift of food from me that day. That afternoon, in addition to working on research in the university library, we held hands, prayed and forgave.

God’s work is good. And it’s not lonely.

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Patty Huston-Holm has been volunteering through UCU Partners for half of her decade of service in Uganda. To learn more about how to become part of her work, email her at hustonpat@gmail.com. For more information about UCU Partners and how to contribute financially to students, programs and facilities at UCU , contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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

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UCU represented at 11th Pan-African Literacy Conference

August 26, 2019Facultygender equity, Literacy, mother tongue, Pan-African, UCU, UgandaPatty Huston-Holm

A conference keynote speaker, Dr. Wendy Saul, left, poses with Uganda Christian University staff members (left to right) Mary Owor, Deborah Mugawe and Patty Huston-Holm (a conference breakout session presenter).

By Patty Huston-Holm

More than 500 teachers, librarians, NGO leaders and policy makers from throughout the continent of Africa but also from North America convened for the 11^th Pan-African Literacy for All conference August 20-22 in Kampala, Uganda. Several staff, students and alumni from Uganda Christian University (UCU) were among participants.

The overriding theme for 80 conference keynote and breakout sessions was how literacy is a bridge to equity for all countries. Most presentations focused on the country of Uganda with sub-themes that included research, strategies and advocacy for mother tongue languages, gender balance, responsible use of technology, work originality, financial support, teaching in the context of the real world and service for handicapped students.

UCU writing and study skills tutor Mary Owor, left, participates in a conference session.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Uganda has an adult literacy rate of 70 percent, compared to the 95 percent United States literacy rate. The Uganda male literacy rate is 79 percent compared to 62 percent for females.

The single biggest discussion centered around how early emphasis on original language positively impacts literacy levels. The late Professor William Senteza Kajubi in 1987 authored a report that in 1992 became an adopted “White Paper” for reforming Uganda education, including the teaching of mother tongue languages for some of the seven primary grades before the six secondary/high school grades. While Uganda has 65 indigenous communities with 44 languages, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has endorsed grouping those into 12 “combined” local languages.

UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) in 2016 recommended that mother tongue language be reinforced over English for at least primary grades 1 through 3. This was based, in part, on Uganda National Examinations Board results showing high primary school performance in mathematics that is taught in the mother tongue compared to low performance for reading and writing where English is used.

Despite research and government documentation that reinforces the value of early focus on local language and expert opinion that a person only learns to read and write once in a lifetime, conference participants argued that implementation is not taking place, particularly in private schools. Some conference delegates pointed out that teachers who contend they are focusing on mother tongue only teach it “15 minutes a day.” Others pointed to a lack of local language books to support Ugandan government guidelines. And still others commented that parents and some other stakeholders want English emphasis for the status of it.

NGOs in particular were reminded to provide assistance for the context of the community to be served vs. implementation of a program that works in developed countries.

English books that exist in Uganda often contain language and pictures depicting girls in subservient roles to boys. Other education gender equity balance issues are related to support of girl menstrual challenges, early marriage and unequal sharing of home chores that lessen girl time for studies and, therefore, improved literacy. The Kajubi report went so far as to suggest that because of such issues, girls who make it to the university level should get an extra 1.5 points to assure enrollment there. The Ugandan government adopted this proposal as well as the report’s reinforcement of technical/workplace skills in education.

“Literacy doesn’t just mean reading and writing,” said Deborah Mugawe, UCU daycare administrator. “It’s so much more. It’s empowering.”

In addition to leaving the conference with information to apply to her work, she realized that “the problems I face, I’m not alone.” She is thinking about how to get more people to sit and read with a child than to simply donate books. And she is even more convinced of the need to reinforce literacy at an early age.

Mary Owor, a UCU PhD candidate and Foundation Studies tutor, was most interested in the mother tongue information because it informs her teaching of undergraduate student writing and study skills.

“I realize most of our students struggle with writing because they started with English too soon,” she said. “I know now that I need to give the students more practical work…and I know I should write my own local language books for children.”

The conference, held every two years, will be in Zambia in 2021 with an exact date and location to be determined.

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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 student mixes entrepreneurship with artistry

July 16, 2019StudentsLiteracy, literature, mother tongue, Music, UgandaPatty Huston-Holm

Onyong Yubu Prince, a student in UCU Journalism, Communication and Media Studies

By Patty Huston-Holm

Creativity and resourcefulness have long been part of life for Onyong Yubu Prince. So, for the gospel singer-turned university student, it was only natural that he should jump at the chance to do something new – like writing children’s books.

He is one of more than 300 Uganda Christian University (UCU) students and staff members who were engaged in the UCU Literature Department mother tongue translation project – an initiative designed to enhance literacy and increase excitement for reading and writing among Ugandan children. At the end of 2018, nearly 700 stories had been translated into 26 mostly-Ugandan languages.

Onyong, a student in UCU Journalism, Communication and Media Studies, wrote one of those stories. It was entitled “How to become what I want.” After that, he translated somebody else’s story called “Arrow of God.” Lastly, he wrote a final book entitled “Satan is a lazy man,” which became popular in a short amount of time. Within a few months, he sold more than 200 paperback books for 8,000 Ugandan shillings (around $2.25 American) each.

Onyong, age 24, acknowledged his success is as much about his overall reputation as it is his literary talent.

“I’m famous in northern Uganda,” he stated. “I have been a gospel singer since age 17, writing and performing my own songs.”

His notoriety is connected to his appearance and his talent. He openly discusses his size. He is small in stature and will remain so throughout his life – the result of a birth defect caused, he said, by medicine given his mother before she gave birth. It has hindered relationships with some.

“I am still discriminated against because I look smaller than most people, but it doesn’t bother me,” Onyong said. “God loves me, and He wants me to prove to others that I can achieve through what He has created in me.”

Onyong’s success also is about social media. With Facebook “friends” at a maximum of 5,000 per account, he has three Facebook pages. From there, he makes connections for performances and has made contacts to sell books in English, Lango and Acholi languages to schools and children ages 10 and below.

Onyong is uncertain where his career will take him when he receives his bachelor’s degree this October, but he is hopeful about getting a television anchor job.

His favorite scripture is I Corinthians 1:7, which addresses shaming the powerful. It gives him courage.

“I have accepted Jesus as my personal Savior,” he said. “He always answers my prayers.”

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To learn more about the UCU mother tongue translation project, go to https://www.ugandapartners.org/2018/10/mother-tongue-translation-project-elevates-literacy-for-ugandas-children/. 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.

Peggy Noll inspires Uganda’s next generation of writers

October 26, 2018NewsChildren’s Literature, Literacy, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Douglas Olum
It was 2:57 p.m. (East Africa time) when I left The Standard newspaper office at Uganda Christian University (UCU), where I work. I sped towards Eunice Guest House, located at the foot of the forested hill on the southeast side of the Mukono campus. I had three minutes to arrive for a folklore lecture due to be delivered by Peggy Noll, the wife of the former and founding UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Noll.

But the venue had been changed to M3, one of the rooms on Maari block, a lecture block at the university. I rushed to the new venue. Mr. Peter Mugume, the acting head of languages at the Faculty of Education and Arts, was delivering his opening remarks.

“We are glad to report to you that the department you started has grown. We now have PHDs in literature, Masters of literature and we teach various languages like French, Kiswahili, Chinese and Spanish as undergraduate level,” Mugume said, addressing his message to Peggy.

The venue, located at the ground floor of the single-stair building, was packed with undergraduate students from first- to third-year and their lecturers. Reading from their faces, I could tell that there was thirst for more knowledge, the kind that Peggy Noll would soon impart to them.

After a few speeches from their staff, most of which were praises and recollections of great roles that Peggy played in transforming their lives, the Rev. Abel Wankuma Kibbedi, who was the Master of Ceremony at the event, introduced Peggy Noll.

She shared books, including various children’s literature, a collection of stories authored by Sir Apollo Kaggwa, an influential political figure in the pre-independence Uganda, and her own literature, “Under the mango tree,” which describes an environment seen by students on daily basis but with little attention.

“I would like to see someone write about him. For instance, why would he be busy collecting and writing these stories when he was Prime Minister?” Peggy Noll said, as she encouraged the students and staff to write and share their stories.

“You don’t have to look down on simple stories,” she said. “Children’s stories are very important.”

The study of literature at UCU started with only one student, a clergyman from the Western part of the country. But soon it grew to seven, all of who were pursuing it in line with the vocation to teach the English language. Right now, there is an entire department dedicated to the study of literature and languages.

Mary Owor, a lecturer at the department, agrees with Peggy on the importance of compiling children’s literature and other simple stories saying, “As Ugandans, it is time for us to get out of the oral story telling and get into written.”

On the part of the students, the lecture that could have started as an option to their program, turned out to be a life-changing event.

Daniel Kishoda, a student of Bachelor of Arts in Education with Languages, said the lecture has inspired him to focus more on his writing projects.

“I always know that all the peace and stability that we long for in this world rely on us because we can influence society using literature, but I had never concentrated on my writings,” Kishoda said. “You (Peggy Noll) have given me a dose of inspiration that will make me focus more on my writings.”

The students resolved to resurrect the inactive “Literature Association,” founded in 2005. They have committed to write poems and short stories and share with their lecturers. Through individual and association effort, literature will grow again in the country.

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If you are interested in supporting UCU programs like this one in literature, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners’ Executive Director, at mtbartels@gmail.com. Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.

‘Mother tongue’ translation project elevates literacy for Uganda’s children

October 9, 2018NewsChildren’s Literature, Language, Literacy, Reading, Translation, Uganda, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Uganda Christian University faculty member’s book, which is published in 30 languages

By Patty-Huston Holm

What if after years of affectionately calling the woman who gave birth to you by the name “mother,” you are told she had to be addressed as “maama wange?” At the same time, your mother’s brother that you grew up knowing as “uncle” is now “kojja wange.”

The words you heard and spoke with emotional attachment in your western, predominately English-speaking country since birth takes a back seat to a Ugandan tribal language called Luganda. Now, everything you read and say is no longer in English, but in Luganda.

That, according to Cornelius Wambi Gulere, senior lecturer in literature, at UgandaChristian University (UCU), is similar to what happens with Ugandan children born into tribes speaking more than 65 different languages and dialects before going to schools where English is spoken and read. Not only do the children drift from the native language but also pull away from the feelings associated with those first words, the desire to be creative when putting words together and the excitement for reading and writing.

Project possible because of UCU Partners
The UCU Department of Languages and Literature project of creative writing, translation and publishing for children strives to change that – one book at a time. With most of the financial backing from an anonymous donor through UCU Partners, English stories with illustrations are being translated and published into the “mother tongue.” From April to October of 2018, students and staff members at UCU and Uganda’s Kyambogo University had translated 1,000 stories into around a dozen languages. Among the languages in the project are Ateso, Acholi, Kumam, Rukhonzo, Lusoga, Luganda, Kiswahili, Rufumbira, Kinyarwanda, Runyankore-Rukiga, and Runyoro-Rutooro.

Peer review to assure literacy quality is part of the process. In addition to Cornelius, others helping with that review are Manuel Muranga, Monica Ntege, Constance Tukawasibwe and Peter Mugume, among others.

A western humanitarian strategy has been to increase literacy in underdeveloped countries by donating books in English – an appreciated action especially in a country like Uganda where the government does not provide financial support for libraries. The less recognized but effective approach to fighting illiteracy, however, is to reinforce reading through the words children hear first.

“When reading is familiar, it is easier and more enjoyable,” said Dr. Cornelius, who has had his original children’s book, “A Very Tall Man,” published in 30 languages. “Plus, literacy increases with the more languages you can read.”

Words + illustrations = Creativity
And the value of illustrations with stories should not be overlooked.

“Pictures often carry more messages,” he said. “Ask a child to tell his own story by looking at the pictures, and watch something amazing happen. The illustrations increase creativity and lifelong enjoyment with books.”

For the Department of Languages and Literature in the UCU Education and Arts Faculty, the children’s literature project has benefits beyond serving Uganda’s children. It offered opportunities for interdisciplinary and off-campus collaboration. Translators include UCU’s own students and staff – undergraduates from Journalism and Media studies and the librarian at the Mukono campus, for example – and students at Kyambogo University in Kampala. Support also comes from the Uganda Community Libraries Association, local community families and the free on-line children’s Web sites of Story Weaver and African Storybook. Besides UCU Partners, other literacy support has come from Hewlett and Neil Butcher Associates.

UCU Student translator, Buryo Emmanuel Noble

“I started learning English when I was 6 or 7,” second-year journalism/media studies student Buryo Emmanuel Noble recalled. “I wanted to keep speaking my native language, but it was hard because I was in boarding school.”

Buryo was one of the project translators, doing the work from English to Runyankore-Rukiga without charge because he not only enjoyed doing it but felt it would help young children from his Kiruhura home in western Uganda. He smiled as he recalled the story he translated. It was about a sheep who wanted to leave the city and get back to his country home.

Another UCU student translator, Babirye Dinnah, also in journalism/media studies, translated from English to Luganda a story about a hare and hyena. The lessons were about trust, honesty and laziness. Her first career goal is to be a news anchor, but after the project, she realizes that with her knowledge of five languages, she might be able to get a job as a translator after obtaining her bachelor’s degree.

“It’s very important for children to know their local language to interact with family and know about their family history,” she said.

According to Cornelius, the next step beyond the initially funded translation is to have a doctoral studies program focused on children’s literature.

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One of UCU’s core values is service. Faculty and students seek to live this out by connecting what they are teaching and learning in the classroom to the broader society, meeting the needs of Ugandans who may never set foot on the University campus. If you are interested in supporting projects like this one in Uganda, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners’ Executive Director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

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