Tag Archives: #social work

Sister Mary’s ‘endless call’ to help abandoned children

September 4, 2024News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Social Sciences#social work, Alumni, Master’s, Post-graduate, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Sister Mary Nakitto, master’s degree in Social Work

By Christine Mirembe
(third of four parts – UCU postgraduate focus)

With a heart called to serve, Sister Mary Nakitto devotes her life to abandoned zero- to three-year-old children, providing them with love, support and a chance for a brighter future. The recent Uganda Christian University (UCU) master’s degree graduate in Social Work sees herself as a caregiver and voice for this often-overlooked population.

“As a religious person, my call to serve is so obvious and most expected by the community,” she said. “Therefore, my field of study was directed towards empowering my capacity to serve with expertise and confidence which merged well with what I should be as a religious person.”

Born June 23, 1979, at Nsambya Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, Sister Mary’s journey is marked by compassion, dedication, resilience and a deep commitment to her faith. Her educational voyage from 1992 to 1997 took her through St. Pontiano Ngondwe, a humble Senior Secondary School, in Nazigo, Bugerere. From a tender age and because her school required students to perform manual labor, she learned the value of teamwork and various practical skills.

After completing her secondary education and focused on the complex needs of marginalized people, Sister Mary pursued a Bachelor of Development Studies at Makerere University. With a desire to learn and do more, she embarked in 2019 on a master’s degree at UCU. Studying from the Kampala campus, she is among the inaugural class of 21 students to graduate in July 2024 with a master’s degree in Social Work.

“Among my classmates were three fellow nuns from different religious institutes,” Sister Mary recounted. “We attended in person and bonded well.”

Her postgraduate academic journey was fairly smooth until the Covid-19 pandemic sentenced all institutions of learning to a lockdown.

“The total lockdown and many other government directives could not permit movements at any cost,” she recalled. “UCU had immediately engaged us to study online but the government interrupted and ordered them not to proceed with the online classes because other universities were not able to facilitate online programs.”

In 2021, UCU online classes commenced during the Easter semester, allowing Sister Mary and her classmates to do their examinations online under supervision.

With all requirements but her dissertation completed, she embraced the work of research on the topic of “Push Factors Associated with Parental Child Abandonment: A Case of Kalungu District.” Her study examines why child abandonment persists despite endeavors to rescue children. She assessed the factors that sustain the prevalence of child abandonment. She looked at possible mitigation measures for this problem.

By the end of 2022, she had successfully completed and defended her research to qualify for UCU’s July 2024 graduation.

With a master’s degree, Sister Mary qualifies within required government guidelines to work with the probation office, police and the magistrate to help rescue the babies in dire need. Apart from helping her fellow workers with hands-on knowledge and being a consultant in the field, this advanced degree has built her confidence in community work and all issues concerning child care and other social activities like counseling, community development, donor funding activities and more.

“I would say that service is an endless call in our society which we all ought to willfully offer to our respective communities; this is what our faith calls for,” said Sister Mary, 45, and warden at St. Francis Revival Home, a baby facility in Kalungu District. “Education is a weapon that empowers us and shields us to serve with expertise and confidence amidst the challenging world where we live so that our efforts don’t go to waste or are misallocated.”

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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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Non-profit empowers youth through basketball

May 1, 2024News, Sports, Students, UCU School of Social Sciences#News, #social work, #students, sportsPatty Huston-Holm

Ekirapa Zachariah playing for the UCU Canons.

By Pauline Luba
A decade ago, the paths of Bwambale Kennedy, who was preaching the gospel, and Ekirapa Zachariah, who had a passion for playing basketball, crossed. At the time, Bwambale was using music, art and sports to help youth identify their purpose in life. Ekirapa’s great skills in playing basketball made him a natural fit for Bwambale’s programs.

But it was not through basketball that Bwambale first met Ekirapa. The latter had been interested in joining the music classes of the former. It was from there that Bwambale convinced Ekirapa to try out his skills in basketball, too. At the time, Ekirapa was a Senior Two student at Blessed Victor Senior Secondary in Mityana district located in central Uganda.

Since that meeting between Ekirapa and Bwambale, the two have influenced youth behaviour change for years through Holy Street Basketball, an academy that they started. The initiative also helps nurture talent, restore hope and transform lives, especially among children living in slums in Kampala. After setting up the academy, they began reaching out to families during holidays to interest the parents in letting their children learn basketball.

Ekirapa is one example of talent nurtured through the academy. Despite being one of the founders of the academy, Ekirapa also has been one of its beneficiaries. Presently, the 24-year-old plays basketball for the UCU Canons, a basketball team of Uganda Christian University (UCU). The UCU Canons, one of the most successful basketball teams in Uganda, plays in the country’s premier basketball league, the National Basketball League (NBL), with several championships under its belt.

The Holy Street Basketball academy focuses on training the youth on skills in basketball by professionally-trained coaches. It also holds regular camps and tournaments, where the children showcase their skills and promote healthy competition.

During the camps, the academy also conducts workshops to promote self-esteem and training in life skills. According to the organization’s website, the workshops address topics such as communication skills, teamwork, nutrition, health and conflict management, among others.

“The academy will produce the best players in Uganda. It’s going to change basketball in the country,” Ekirapa, who was raised by a single mother, said during the interview. The Holy Street Basketball Academy is part of the Holy Street Outreach International, a non-profit organisation. Bwambale is the Executive Director of the non-profit, and Ekirapa is a volunteer.

Auma Angella is another of the success stories of the academy. In 2020, Akello Daphne went to train in basketball with Auma, her 13-year-old sister. Often, Auma would sit by the side, watching her sister on the court. However, Auma’s consistency in going with her sister for the training drew the attention of the coaches, who urged her to join the court too. She hesitated. However, after the coaches gave Auma a nudge, on August 1, 2020, she tried out her skills in basketball. Just after three months on the court, the coaches in the academy had noticed the talent that Auma possessed.

Because of that exposure, she got a full scholarship to study at St. Noah Girls Secondary School, Zana, near Kampala.

In October 2021, Auma was invited to Uganda’s Under-15 national basketball team for girls to participate in the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) U15 Skills Challenge. The tournament took place in Uganda.

Last year, Auma’s school, Buddo Secondary School, won the Africa Schools Sports Federation 3×3 in Morocco. In the tournament, Auma was named the Most Valuable Player.

There are many other players who have secured scholarships through the skills they acquired at the basketball academy. Ekirapa is one of them. In May 2024, he joins UCU to pursue Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration. He recently completed his Diploma in Arts and Design from the Michelangelo College of Creative Arts Kisubi near Kampala.

Ekirapa, the son of Ekirapa Godfrey, who is self-employed, and Ekirapa Harriet, a school bursar, is the third born of six children.

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‘My life is a footprint of God’

October 30, 2019Scholarship, UCU Alumni#children with disabilities, #social work, #Uganda Christian University Partners, Alumni, God, Jinja, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

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.

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