Tag Archives: UCU

Ssebyanzi, a beacon of hope for the disabled

December 13, 2024News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Education#Divinity, Alumni, blind, deaf, Theology, UCUEdwin Byarugaba

Rev. Fr. Dr. Bonaventure Ssebyanzi Wasswa at his 2024 graduation.

By Eriah Lule
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:18-19 was the spark that lit Rev. Fr. Dr. Bonaventure Ssebyanzi Wasswa’s effort to advocate for the marginalized. This scripture served as the catalyst from the day he set his foot at Mulago Catholic Parish in Kampala, which had a school for the deaf, in its compound in 2008.

Having served as missionary with the Spiritans Missionary within the Catholic church and with his background as a primary teacher back in 1995, he couldn’t let the candle burn out. He started teaching in the parish school and later became its Incharge (head teacher).

Ssebyanzi witnessed different challenges and gaps faced by special needs children – especially the deaf – while trying to pursue their education.

He enrolled for a Postgraduate Diploma in Special Needs in 2009 – 2010 and later for a master’s degree in Education Administration and Management, majoring in Special Needs Education, at Kyambogo University, a public institution in Uganda.

It is with such a background and zeal that Ssebyanzi decided to pursue his PhD in Education Administration and Management from Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2017. He graduated in 2024.

Ssebyanzi’s thesis focused on these hearing impaired students’ transition from lower-primary to post-primary sections like secondary schools and vocational institutes.

“At my master’s research, I looked at the implementation of disability policies in schools, while at my PhD I focused on these students transitioning from lower-primary to post-primary sections,” he said. “In primary schools, you will find numbers, yet in post-primary, you don’t see them, which means many are not empowered to be self-reliant.”

He carried out his research across the different regions of the country and was shocked to find out that the country has only two secondary schools for the deaf. These are located in Mbale in the eastern region and in Wakiso in the central region.

Ssebyanzi’s findings further revealed that whereas the country has one special needs department of education; it is at Kyambogo University. Many special needs schools don’t have specialised special needs teachers but rather any teacher is sent, and they learn on the job.

He further affirmed that children feel more comfortable during school times since they are surrounded by supportive circles that don’t exist at home, which conveyed the kind of treatment they get from their communities.

He recommended that Special Needs teachers should be exposed to other kind of impairments in their trainings; that a National Policy of the Disability could be forcefully implemented; and that civil education and campaigns are launched to raise awareness. This policy should address enhancing educational departments to boost the training of Special Needs teachers and more research and publications on the area of impairment to have a wider literature for reference and advocacy.

But, who is Ssebyanzi?
The 50-year-old was born to the late Tiburitio and Mary Namugga Kaweesi of Kalisizo, Kyotera District, in the central part of the country. Ssebyanzi is the second born of the couple’s nine children.

Kalisizo, Uganda – birthplace of Ssebyanzi

Despite his late father being a devoted lay leader in the church, the son initially resisted the calling to follow in his father’s footsteps. At that, after attaining his certificate as a Grade III teacher from Rakai Teachers College from 1993-1995 and teaching for three years, he decided to join the seminary in 1998 and was in formation (training in becoming a priest) for 10 years.

He attended the Urban University in Rome’s affiliate in Arusha, Tanzania, from 1999-2002 for his Degree in Philosophy. He later joined Tagaza College, an affiliate of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, for his degree in theology and majored in biblical theology from 2003-2007.

He was ordained as a priest in 2008 and started his missionary work first in Kampala and later in Mulago.

Currently, Ssebyanzi serves as formator (a priest that trains future priests) at the Namugongo Post Lance Centre, a place he served as the rector but stepped down to pursue his PhD.

His candle for the disabled burns vigorously for a world where they would live better and be self reliant.

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Uganda Christian University has many alumni stories like this one. To support 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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Alumni Association welcomes new leadership, celebrates milestones

November 20, 2024News, UCU AlumniUCU, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

The new UCU alumni executive team is sworn in during Community Worship in Nkoyoyo Hall. Terms run for three years, ending in 2027.

By Eriah Lule
The Uganda Christian University (UCU) Alumni Association ushered in a new era of leadership during a three-year term, swearing-in ceremony at Nkoyoyo Hall on the Mukono campus.

The Executive hands over a “check” of sh10 million ($2,657) to management towards the construction of the Bishop Orombi ICT Complex at Arua Campus. UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi is at right.

On August 18, 2024, the university community witnessed the 2024-2027 swearing-in of the new committee, with Emmanuel Wabwire re-elected as Chairman for a second term. Wabwire, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies from UCU and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Catholic University of Milan, is the Executive Director of Faraja Africa Foundation, a Social Enterprise in Kampala.

Amponda Agaba Kenneth, a 2021 UCU School of Law graduate who is pursuing his career at Agaba Muhairwe and Company Advocates, assumed the advocacy role of Speakership.

The election was held at a time when the Association was reflecting on significant achievements made over the last three years. Under the outgoing leadership of Wabwire as Chairman and Oboth Julius as the General Secretary, the Association worked to maintain a strong connection between the university and its alumni, both locally and internationally.

Some of the key achievements highlighted during the ceremony was the Association’s donation of $2,657 (sh10 million) towards the construction of the Bishop Orombi Information Technology Centre complex for the Arua Campus, which will be a one-stop tech center to positively impact the education system in Uganda’s West Nile region.

The previous Executive group also donated a training kit for the UCU Canons, the University’s male basketball team. The kit was a symbol showing the association’s support towards the struggling department.

The purchase of an Alumni van was another major milestone, significantly improving the Association’s ability to conduct its different engagements as well as generating a surplus income.

The digital era brought about by the pandemic saw the Association embracing online platforms to engage alumni through virtual events and regular updates like the General Assembly in 2021, while physical engagements, like the Homecoming events in 2022, to mark the university’s 25th anniversary, and Prayer Breakfast in 2023, were well received.

“We try to establish different projects to earn some income but also support our alma mater in its capital project developments,” said Wabwire. “This helps us to increase our relevance and influence among the Alumni community and entire University body.”

Joshua Mukisa, a 2014 UCU graduate of a Bachelor of Education, is one alumna who sees the Association’s embrace of technology as necessary and unique. The Association held an online election and peaceful transition, a mark that set the bar for other institutions.

“There has never been a peaceful alumni election in University history in Uganda, having one online is something new,” he said “We have set a bar that other institutions can benchmark and learn.”

Despite successes, the Association faces persistent challenges like low alumni participation in its activities, limiting alumni engagement and the growth of regional chapters, prompting it to call for greater involvement from alumni leadership.

As the new committee takes charge, the focus is on strengthening the Association’s financial base, expanding its international chapters, and enhancing alumni engagement across all regions. With a strategic work plan in the pipeline, the Association remains optimistic about its future, hoping to build on past achievements to make an even greater impact on the UCU community.

Wabwire acknowledged obstacles but emphasized the importance of unity and commitment to the Association’s goals.

“We must all work together to ensure that UCU continues to be a place of excellence, not just for current students but for alumni as well,” he said.

As the new leadership embarks on its mandate, the Association remains committed to fostering a vibrant and supportive alumni network with hopes of a brighter and more connected future for all its members.

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To support UCU 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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Regional law moot competition unearths talent at UCU

November 18, 2024News, Students, UCU School of Law#Kenya, #Moot, #News, #students, School of Law, UCU, UgandaPatty Huston-Holm

Stacy Angel Ndawula and Jude Mulumbye at the moot competition

By Pauline Luba
Personal data is a key driver of an election cycle in any country. From the time of registration, voters leave personal information that becomes useful during the campaigns, as well as during the elections. The data provided by the voters is useful in determining where the rallies are organized and how the campaign messages are tailored.

The theme of personal data during elections was the subject of a recent law moot (simulated) competition in Kenya, where students of Uganda Christian University (UCU) not only participated, but also returned with honors.

Stacy Angel Ndawula and Jude Mulumbye showcased their debate prowess in the competition, both relevant and timely, given the rise in the use of biometric technology in developing countries, including Uganda, and its implications on privacy of the data of the voters. Biometric technology is the science of using automated methods to recognize people based on their biological and behavioral characteristics.

Ndawula and Mulumbye are year-three students pursuing a Bachelor of Laws at UCU.

The moot focused on a hypothetical case involving the East African Civil Liberties Union against the Electoral Commission of Umoja. The case touched on issues of data privacy in elections, specifically addressing concerns about the security and the use of personal data collected through biometric systems.

According to Ndawula, the challenge was to find a balance between ensuring electoral integrity and protecting individual privacy rights.

“Moots expose you to what to expect in the legal field,” Ndawula noted, adding: “They help you grow skills in research, speech and analysis.”

For four months, Ndawula and Mulumbye worked on their memorials (written arguments), researching extensively and preparing for the oral rounds.

“You sacrifice a lot for the moot,” Ndawula said, emphasizing the long hours and the pressure to perform well at the regional stage. Despite never having participated in a moot before, she was determined to challenge herself and improve her confidence.

The path to Kenya was no easy feat for Ndawula and Mulumbye. They were among a select few chosen from class moots held at UCU in their second year. The students were then evaluated and encouraged to apply for various moot competitions. Ndawula had qualified for the Unwanted Witness Privacy Moot, and Mulumbye had his eyes set on an international platform to test his skills. After four months of preparation, they both stepped up to represent Uganda in one of East Africa’s most competitive moot events. Daystar University of Kenya won the competition, beating Africa Nazarene University, also from Kenya.

One of the unforgettable moments for Mulumbye was the impact of their team work. He credits Ndawula for keeping him aligned during the arguments.

“There were moments where I would forget a provision or a case, and Ndawula would write it on a sticky note, and vice versa” Mulumbye recalled. This didn’t go unnoticed by the judges, who commended their seamless teamwork and legal knowledge.

The competition wasn’t without its challenges, though. The team often stayed up all night, reading through cases and legal provisions as they prepared for each round.

“The stress was overwhelming,” Mulumbye admitted.

The draws for the semifinals again pitted UCU against Daystar University. This time, however, the UCU team was edged out, with a narrow score of 58 to 57. While they didn’t make it to the finals, the performance of Ndawula and Mulumbye earned them the title of the best Ugandan team in the competition.

Ndawula, who was ranked the best oralist in the overall competition, encouraged her fellow students to participate in moots, adding that though the preparation is time-consuming, the skills one gains, from research to time management, make it worthwhile.

Mulumbye highlighted how the moot sharpened his oratory skills and gave him invaluable insight into court procedures.

“Now I know how to submit and raise preliminary questions in court,” he said. “This experience has also taught me time management and the importance of teamwork.”

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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 medical student Linda Obukor Ojore shares slice of life

November 12, 2024News, Students, UCU School of MedicineDoctors, Kampala, Mbale, Medicine, Mengo Hospital, UCUEdwin Byarugaba

Linda Obukor Ojore, year-three Uganda Christian University School of Medicine student, arrives outside Nassolo Ward, Mengo Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, at 7:30 a.m.

(What’s an average day like for a UCU medical school student? This two-part story is designed to provide some insight. Today is focused on one year-three student.)

By Patty Huston-Holm
It’s Monday morning in the 35-bed Nassolo Ward at Mengo Hospital on Cathedral Hill Road, Kampala, Uganda.

At 8 a.m. Linda Obukor Ojore, 22, talks to a woman slightly older. Writing carefully in block letters, Linda, wearing a white coat emblazoned with her name and the Uganda Christian University (UCU) logo, records answers to questions about the woman’s sick child who nearby sleeps with a breathing tube through his nostrils and saline solution entering his body intravenously through his wrist.

“His third admission,” Linda writes about the boy, aged four-and-a-half years. In blue ink, she documents that the child recently has been to other hospitals with symptoms of vomiting and convulsions and one diagnosis of malaria that does not appear to be a reason for any illness now.

“He has no ‘hx’ (history) of chronic illness, no asthma or epilepsy,” she writes as the mother speaks in English and the father, silent, stands nearby, and as both parents show a phone video of the boy walking days earlier. Linda speaks English and Acholi dialect, but only English here.

“No drug or food allergies,” the mother says, and Linda writes.

Year-three UCU School of Medicine student, Linda Obukor Ojore, left, shares a light moment with Dr. Rhoda Mayega at Mengo Hospital during a 12:30 p.m. break from a lecture class facilitated by the doctor.

On this day, 18 beds in Nassolo Ward are filled with children intermittently crying and being entertained with cartoons and happy-and-you-know-it and Jesus-loves-me songs from parent phone screens. Most days, the 35 beds above a tending parent who sleeps and prepares food on the floor are not enough, according to Dr. Rhoda Mayega, a doctor for 15 years and now also mentoring UCU School of Medicine students in their third, as with Linda, and the final, fifth year of studies.

“We have one nurse for all of these,” Dr. Mayega said. “In the section with babies under 28 days, we also have only one nurse.”

From her office near where Linda documents a year-three course-required case study, Dr. Mayega described equipment health care deficiencies including heart/blood pressure monitors, syringe pumps, throat scopes, CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) breathing machines and X-ray, radiology diagnostic equipment.

“We have no ventilators,” she said. “Even mattresses and clean sheets are scarce.”

Next to where Linda recorded a male child’s condition, a father held his sick baby girl as a worker sanitized and flipped the child’s mattress, soothing clean sheets and a pillowcase for her return with a blanket the daddy brought. Above the beds were the words “Let the little children come to me.”

Linda continued writing.

“He has minimally improved … prior to discharge,” she penned. This referenced the boy’s condition before referral to Mengo Hospital. This is one of Linda’s course-required case studies. The parents know she’s a student and approve.

Placing her stethoscope in a large pocket of her jacket, Linda thanked the parents

Linda Obukor Ojore, right, during a morning critiquing session of her patient assessment. Classmate Wanyenze Angelina is at left.

and walked into a nurses’ office, where she further transcribed her notes – this time in red ink – that she would use when giving her oral report before a doctor and her classmates.

Thirty minutes later, huddled within earshot of the parents and still-sleeping child, as well as her classmates who stood in a half circle and near a water bottle filled with disinfectant, Linda spoke, seriously and appreciatively, accepting corrections to her report from Dr. Joseph Ssali.

At one point, he asked her to describe a convulsion, casually referenced as “fits,” in more medical terms. In another part of a 45-minute session, Dr. Ssali asked students to define hypoglycemia, a low-blood sugar condition with shaking and dizziness among symptoms.

“All of us have to have two cases right now,” Linda explained when leaving the ward for a lecture. “What I did this morning is what I need to do with one more patient. We learn from the doctors, from each other and even the patients.”

Most of the doctors at Mengo, including the UCU School of Medicine dean, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, were trained through Makerere University, which has had a medical school for 100 years, compared to the six years since the five-year program was launched at UCU. The UCU School of Medicine collaborates with Mengo, a private, non-profit local referral hospital. Makerere gives its medical students hands-on experience with Mulago Hospital, which, as a national referral institution, has more specialized medicine in such areas as neurology and cardiology. The two hospitals are 4.9 kilometers (3 miles) apart.

Some patient notes from Linda Obukor Ojore

UCU is the newest medical school in Uganda. It was launched in 2018 with nearly 100 current alumni in a country with one doctor per 25,000 people. The World Health Organization recommends one doctor per 1,000 people.

Linda, who was born near Mbale and attended primary and secondary school in Kampala, wants to be among UCU’s July 2027 class with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. Linda and more than 40 classmates are half-way to that goal, which is followed by Uganda’s one-year, required internship.

“I can’t remember not ever wanting to be a doctor,” she said.

When walking across the street from the children’s ward and passing a vendor selling juice and blankets, Linda reflected that her “desire to help people” may have started when her younger brother had congenital heart failure. He had to be flown for surgery in Germany because it wasn’t performed in Uganda.

At 10:30 a.m. in a small room near the UCU School of Dentistry laboratories, Linda and two dozen classmates prepare to share definition, frequency, symptom and cause information and answer Dr. Mayega’s questions about two unhealthy bodily functions – vomiting and diarrhea. Two classmates provide discussion points via a WhatsApp PDF that all students view from their phones or laptop device screens.

“What is the difference between acute and chronic?” Dr. Mayega asked. “What might be symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance? What might be the cause of blood in the stool? How can you determine dehydration without equipment?”

The definition of acute is symptoms less than two weeks; chronic is more than two weeks. Confusion, dizziness, skin color may indicate an imbalance of minerals or electrolytes. Blood in feces could indicate E.coli or salmonella. Without a watch, the medical professional can check the hydration-related responsiveness of color returning to skin with a three-second count.

“Mango one, mango two, mango three,” Dr. Mayega said as students squeeze a finger with the opposite hand to determine color response in three seconds.

“This is harder than I expected,” Linda said. “But being able to relate what is in the classroom to patients is rewarding.”

At 12:30 p.m. and before dashing to a canteen for a snack or lunch prior to afternoon studies, Linda, who has her current sights on pediatric medicine, added that time with doctors and the Christian-based emphasis at the hospital and university is likewise a positive with getting her degree from UCU. In addition to the financial challenges that most students face, one barrier has been seeing people die.

“I watched four people die – three adults and one child,” she said. “I had to realize that doctors can’t save everybody, and that dying is part of life. I will do what I can.”

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Uganda Christian University has many student stories like this one. To support 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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‘I live in the grace of people who see goodness in me’

November 4, 2024News, Soroti, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Social Sciences#social work, Alumni, Latek Stay Alliance, Senyonyi, Soroti, UCUEdwin Byarugaba

Francis Musoni Okiria, Uganda Christian University School of Social Sciences alumni

By Patty Huston-Holm
Francis Musoni Okiria learned early on that social work is just as much about accountability as it is hands-on.

While others may see his career path as divergent from helping others, including vulnerable populations most associated with welfare work, the 2014 Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration provides evidence otherwise. When working for a bank and then Uganda’s MTN mobile communications network – neither of which sounds like typical social work – he was assisting people. His role in these careers labeled finance and IT required him to help others learn how to make money and live in a changing world with a cashless economy.

“Listening, developing rapport to execute – those are social work skills,” Francis said. “The way you blend with people to help them understand is valuable.”

These days, the 34-year-old Francis is helping community and national organizations secure funds and be accountable for how they use them to reduce poverty. In his role as program manager with Latek Stay Alliance Uganda, he helps monitor and mentor some of roughly 50 non-profits that are current or prospective grant awardees through the German-based Alliance charity.

“Too many times, money is allocated for a good cause, but that funding is not properly used as a result of poor management that a number of organizations face,” said Francis, who got a master’s degree from Uganda Management Institute after leaving UCU.

According to the Latek Stay Alliance website, the alliance itself is a non-profit with approaches focused on lifting people up through health, education and income generation. Members use proven practices to strengthen collaboration and capacity building by identification of good practices.

Most days, Francis works with seven colleagues in a Kampala office. But, on average, one day a week, he travels around the country to monitor grant recipients and/or evaluate what a Community-Based Organization (CBO) or a Non-Government Organization (NGO) claims it is and if it fits with Alliance goals.

“Are providers giving money on time? Are recipients doing what they are supposed to do? These are some of the questions we ask,” Francis said. “We always ask recipients if anything has changed from the time their award was requested. Sometimes, the on-site visits are an opportunity to redesign the programs.”

Stay Foundation started in 2013 with pilot projects that involved training of nurses and teachers who would train and mentor others in their fields. Shortly thereafter, the Alliance started supporting 30 social enterprises, growing to around 50 by 2024. Two of those enterprises are Vision Terudo and African Partners for Children (APPCO). Every three years, new members are recruited, often through recommendations by CBO and NGO members.

What Alliance calls “social entrepreneurs” are poverty fighters in four main categories: Stay Feed (agriculture, helping small farmers receive quality seeds and instruction for sowing, crop change, harvesting and storage); Stay Tree (reforestation, teaching how to increase income through tree planting to re-naturalize soil to grow peanuts and beans); Stay Youth (income from vocational training, including crafts) and Stay Bee (bee keeping).

Francis, who started with Alliance as a program officer and then program manager, recalls one success story related to the bee keeping initiative in Ngora District, eastern Uganda. The Stay Bee trainees went from sleeping in grass-thatched mud and wattle huts to living in cement structures with iron sheet roofs within two years. After learning about bees and their value by making and selling honey and wax candles, families also had more food on the table and more children in school.

Francis and his mother, Mary Frances Adiro, at a passion fruit project they started to raise funds to care for his late brother’s children

“Before, there was hardly one meal a day, alcohol abuse and domestic violence,” he said. “Now, these local farmers who were struggling to live on raising chickens and pigs are engaged with products that are highly popular and bringing in more money.”

Francis, a three-year employee with Alliance, said that with Alliance training, the beekeepers understand the best way to increase production – “that it’s more than a beehive.” The farmers learn about pollination, avoiding chemical sprays and noise and putting down cassava flour and jack fruit to increase bees and their production.

On a deeper level, as Alliance assists with education, health and livelihood, there are lessons in hygiene, menstrual understanding and advice for those with chronic health conditions. The softer skills like teamwork and timeliness are emphasized.

When Francis isn’t working full-time with Alliance, he volunteers with Youth Nest Uganda, an organization that focuses on employability skills (tailoring, etc.) for young people. Seventy-five percent of Uganda’s population is under age 30, with many of those unemployed.

While Francis is successful now with subtitles of project manager, monitor and planner, he knows well the population his organization serves. One of three children and five step-children, he was raised during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency by a mom who worked as a midwife and nurse in the districts of Soroti and Kaberamaido in eastern Uganda. He was age three when his father died.

Francis, who speaks Ateso, English and German, saved money alongside his mother to pay his school fees through secondary education at Kiira High School in Jinja and post-secondary at UCU and Uganda Management Institute in Kampala.

“My life is God’s mercy,” he said. “I live in the grace of people who see goodness in me and, with humility, I owe them to Christ.”

On a recent, rainy Sunday and while visiting the UCU Mukono campus for worship, Francis recalled vividly a chance meeting with the then UCU Vice Chancellor, the Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi.

“He shook my hand and I felt grateful I could meet him,” Francis recalled. Over the years, including when Francis gave a speech at the US Embassy in Kampala, he remembered that embrace to his hand, and how it “made me think I could be a leader.”

Francis hopes for more opportunities following the attainment of a PhD, perhaps through studies in Germany.

“I want to see positive change and I’m glad to be a part of it,” he said.

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Uganda Christian University has many student and alumni stories like this one. To support 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.

Also, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

Music cements focus on God at UCU

November 1, 2024Faculty, News, Students, UCU AlumniAlumni, Church of Uganda, Music, Mustard Seed, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Some students from the UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication lead a song during a recent main campus community worship.

By Christine Mirembe
From the majestic sounds of the Umoja choir to the vibrant rhythms of the African beats, streams of melodies flow from the Mukono Nkoyoyo Hall, a symphony of faith and talent that engulfs the ambiance at Uganda Christian University (UCU).

Music is the universal language that bridges cultural and linguistic divides, a powerful force that holds the UCU community in a shared experience of worship, comfort and joy.

Under the leadership of Mr. Omiel Nathan, the overall Music Director at UCU since 2009, the Mustard Seed choir, the Chapel choir or the Umoja choir unite every Tuesday and Thursday at midday (12 Noon to 1 p.m. East Africa Time) to lead the UCU community in worship and prayer for an hour, aside from the Sunday worship services.

“There is a lot of diversity that is shown in the uniqueness of song choices, from the songs in regular church worship to church hymns that define the Anglican communion,” Mr. Nathan said. “We are serving God with the uniqueness that every person brings from wherever they come.”

Audience during community worship music in Nkoyoyo

The director noted that the music groups are non-denominational but that members are expected to adhere to Anglican ministry as the Church of Uganda has oversight for UCU.

The university-led groups also lead the larger UCU community in worship and prayer in two services on Sunday morning. Occasionally, groups like the Uganda Mother’s Union are invited on the stage to lead songs.

The Umoja choir, whose name originates from the Swahili word “umoja” meaning “one,” is a vibrant combination of the Chapel and the Mustard Seed choirs. The Mustard Seed choir gets its name from the biblical Mark 4:31 reference to the seed as “the smallest of all seeds of earth,” but “when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.” When the chapel and seed choirs come together, often during special functions, they form a united voice, aptly named Umoja choir, blending their hearts and voices as one.

The choirs’ repertoire is a global musical journey, featuring songs from every corner of the world. The type and content of music used during prayer gatherings is usually aligned to themes of the respective services. In some cases, the UCU Chaplaincy is engaged with selections. Most songs are in English, but sometimes Luganda and other mother tongue translations are engaged with words on screens to help the congregation join in.

A recent service featured “Jesus paid it all” and “Forever,” the latter of which reminded church-goers that God’s “love endures forever.”

The choirs practice at least once a week with instrumentalists (drums, keyboard, guitar). The practice includes music, fellowship and prayer.

“Music is generally loved by everyone,” said Treasure Jemima, a music director for the 27-year-old Mustard Seed choir. “You find that some people come to church for only praise and worship, so music is what draws them to church.”

Aside from a commitment to practice and dedication to serve God through songs, there are no requirements to join a choir at UCU.

In addition to directors, each choir has a chairperson informally called “Papa” and a vice chairperson, casually called “Mama” or vice versa depending on the gender of the person in the roles. The chairpersons are in charge of uniforms or designating colors for members to wear and focused on instrumental accompaniment.

While vocalists may practice only once a week, instrumentalists could rehearse more. At that, some feel it’s not enough.

Joel Namonyo, a bass guitarist and a UCU student in the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, feels his rehearsal isn’t enough, but he is nevertheless committed to his role.

“I think music is an important aspect that helps bring an environment of praise and worship,” he said. “It is a form of ministry.”

Kalule George, a student in UCU’s School of Law, says gathering as a community under the umbrella of music is effective for keeping up spiritual nourishment, as well as being updated about university activities as most of them are announced during services.

Music, which has been part of UCU almost from its inception in 1997, transcends mere co-curricular activities. It is the needle that stitches the UCU community under a blanket of unity and the universal language that resonates with students, faculty members and staff, creating a shared experience beyond academics.

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Uganda Christian University has many stories like this one. To support 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.

Also, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

‘Perhaps for the first time, he smiled’

October 23, 2024News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Social Sciences#Masaka, #social work, Alumni, Kyotera, malnutrition, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Eve Namugera, left, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) alumna and a development facilitator with Act International Mission (AIM), with some students at ACT High School, Kyotera, Uganda. At right, second row, is Stephen Bisatu, AIM sponsorship coordinator.

By Patty Huston-Holm
Eve Namugera uses the word “hope” a lot.

In one story she shared during a rainy morning within Kyotera, Uganda – the place where she was born, where she got much of her education and now is employed – Eve recounted a forlorn mother with her 10-month-old, 4 kilogram (8 pounds), expressionless child.

“The boy was nearly dying,” Eve recalled. “He was panting hard, his ribs and spinal cord were out, with little hair on his head. In tears, the mother was hopeless, explaining how the father removed the boy from her, robbing the infant of her breastmilk for months.”

The boy was suffering from Marasmus, a disease marked by severe malnutrition resulting from lack of calories and often seen in severe cases of starvation and poverty.

Eve noted that the knowledge she has, including from her studies a decade ago at Uganda Christian University and “the gifts I have from God,” enabled her to provide nutritional advice and support, giving hope to that mother and child. The boy who arrived more than a dozen pounds underweight, gained weight within six weeks and, said Eve, “Perhaps for the first time, he smiled.”

Eve Namugera, UCU School of Health Sciences graduate

Today, the almost-six-year-old is a healthy student in a school with the Act International Mission (AIM) Uganda, a community-based organization where Eve works. The boy’s mom has employability skills possible for her and 100 women because of a “Hope Again Women” program through AIM.

“We provided them with healthy living advice, of course, but we also gave both some hope,” Eve said as she concluded this one of many stories on a sunless October 2024 day. “Proving that hope is the joy I feel. What I do is not just work. It’s a ministry.”

For that mother and son, like many, the mission involved teaching the woman how to make sellable baskets and placemats from dried banana leaf stalks, fiber and raffia and about good nutrition beyond the nutrient-rich foods through MannaPack Rice that she was initially provided.

While Eve carries the AIM title of development facilitator, her role is multifaceted, often crossing all six of the non-profit’s programs – two designed to help women and youth have a sustainable income, two targeting good health and diet and two connected to Child education and funding for a school and its students. Of the 1,112 students (626 junior school and 486 high school) ranging from ages 4 to 20, at AIM schools, half have sponsors with most of those supporters in the United States.

Eve knows the economic challenges of the 13,000 residents in her village, that the Kyotera area still carries the 1980s label of “ground zero of AIDS,” that alcoholism is an issue, especially among men, and that many children are raised by elderly relatives who want them to work as laborers rather than attend school. She also knows that most of the current secondary students – even ones with sponsors – may fail to join university because of the cost. She knows she is fortunate to have parents who nudged her to higher education.

“Neither of my parents had a full-time job,” Eve, the oldest of 10 children, said. “They sold fish maws and agricultural products such as beans and maize. They wanted me to have a good education.”

She attended Christ the King Secondary School locally before finishing high school roughly nine miles away in Kalisizo. With a love of science, her initial goal to become a doctor was switched to social work because of the medical school cost. She quickly realized her place in social work as she completed her UCU bachelor’s degree in community health in 2015.

AIM, formerly called Rakai Orphans Development Initiative (RODI), first honed Eve’s talents as a volunteer, then as an administrative assistant and then to a development facilitator. She has worked for AIM for seven years.

Eve, age 30, married and expecting her second child, sees her time at UCU as critical to her Christ-centeredness. Now identifying as a “Pentecostal Christian,” she in particular points to her undergraduate studies in the Old Testament and New Testament as cementing her understanding of the Bible. She continues to be driven by 1 John 4:7.

“We are designed to love one another,” she said. “Everything we do should be about love.”

According to Richard R. Mutaawe, AIM Director of Programs, the CBO’s mission is “to raise action-oriented God-fearing leaders; well nurtured and equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to serve beyond self.” For that to happen, he added, “You need committed people, beyond just being employees, and that is what Eve brings to this organization. She is a mother to our adolescents.”

According to Eve, the most fulfilling part of her job is making a positive impact in the lives of others and helping them reach their full potential. These growth areas, she says, involve compassion, patience, integrity “but most of all hope.”

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UCU opens doors to disc golf sport

October 21, 2024News, Sports, Students#News, #students, disc golf, Eagles Wings Disc Golf, sports, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

UCU Director of Students Affairs, Pamela Tumwebaze, throws a disc during the disc golf launch.

By Kefa Senoga
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has added a new chapter to its legacy in sports by launching disc golf as the latest addition to the university’s diverse games lineup. Disc golf brings fresh opportunities for competition and the pursuit of sporting excellence at the university.

UCU sports tutor Samuel Lukaire said the university’s collaboration with Disc Golf Uganda to introduce the sport at UCU was driven by the opportunities it presents for students. Among these is participating in international competitions, which would expand their sporting experience.

UCU's Sam Lukaire (extreme left) cuts the ribbon with other partners during the launch. — UCU’s Sam Lukaire (extreme left) cuts the ribbon with other partners during the launch.

According to Lukaire, the future plans for this game at UCU involve improving the recently created disc golf course at Besania (Ankrah) Hill. The improvements are not only to upgrade the playing experience but also to attract both national and international events to the university.

“We will organize many training camps to help develop the skills of those interested,” Lukaire said, emphasizing their commitment to nurturing talent and growing the sport at UCU.

The Federation of Disc Golf Uganda has provided a few instructors and equipment to support the training, helping to ensure a smooth introduction of the sport to the university community since the Oct.5 launch with the USA-based, Christian-focused Eagles Wings Disc Golf group.

Israel Muwanguzi, the coordinator of Disc Golf in Uganda, said as a federation, they will continue to monitor progress and provide support whenever needed.

“When we organize tournaments, the UCU disc golf course will be one of the venues,” he said. “This will keep players active and engaged throughout.”

He says disc golf is a simple sport to learn and play. Instead of hitting a ball with a club as is the case with golf, in disc golf, players toss a plastic disc at a basket rather than a hole.

Muwanguzi notes that disc golf has significant environmental benefits, making it an asset to any community. Unlike traditional sports, which frequently require substantial infrastructure, disc golf can be played in natural settings with little damage. The courses make use of existing landscapes, helping to preserve green spaces.

Muwanguzi adds that while disc golf has been played for over 50 years in the world, it will celebrate its second anniversary in Uganda in December this year. UCU is now the fourth site in the country to have a disc golf course, following courses at Ndejje University and other locations in Katosi and Bundibugyo.

Muwanguzi said that as more universities join, the next big step will be to compete in inter-university games.

US-based Eagles Wings Disc Golf Club members were present at the launch.

In their attempts to promote the sport to various institutions and communities, Muwanguzi acknowledges their collaboration with several partners, including the Professional Disc Golf Association, the global governing body for the sport, the Paul McBeth Foundation and the USA-based Eagles Disc Golf Club.

These organizations have all supported Disc Golf Uganda in developing courses, including at the UCU main campus.

Sam Welikhe, a second-year ICT student at UCU, expressed eagerness to explore and learn about the new sport, stating that he would like to participate in the game once the activities get underway.

Bimbona Sulphina, a first-year mass communication student at UCU, also expressed interest in participating in the new sport, saying, “If I start learning this game now, I could become an expert in the future.”

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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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Organization elevates African youth through brass music

October 16, 2024UCU Alumni, UCU School of EducationAlumni, Brass for Africa, Music, School of Education, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Some members of the All-Star Band at the October gala concert marking 15 years for the Brass for Africa NGO

By Patty Huston-Holm
Saturday night at one venue in central Kampala, Uganda, found a tuba in a wheelbarrow, young women moving with pots on their heads, a comedy skit on how a man should treat a woman and brass instrumentalists playing songs while dancing.

Brass? Yes. In Uganda? Yes.

Twenty-nine youth with seven types of brass—horn, cornet, baritone, trombone, tuba and the less familiar euphonium and flugelhorn—took center stage in an instrumental, dance and vocal performance on Saturday, Oct. 5. The mostly Ugandan performers were the focus of a two-hour gala celebration of 15 years for Brass for Africa.

Bwambale Bernard Molho with Jim Trott, Brass for Africa founder

“When people think of African music, they don’t think of brass,” said Bwambale Bernard Molho. “But maybe they should.”

Molho, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Education graduate, is the Partner Relations Officer for the British-based, brass-focused NGO and Executive Assistant to Lizzie Burrowes, the non-profit director of music education. Molho, also a former UCU graduate assistant and honours college coordinator, explained how it started with the idea of one British man, Jim Trott.

“He’s a pilot and passionate about music,” Molho said. “He happened to visit the slums in Kampala during one layover and saw the poor condition of some musical instruments. At the same time, his son’s school in London was discarding brass that was in better shape than what children here had.”

Trott, who plays the cornet and piano, transported those discarded instruments to Uganda as a start. From that small beginning in 2009, Brass for Africa has blossomed to 2,000 mostly age 9-24 brass students in Uganda, Rwanda and Liberia. From that pool of music students, around 30 are selected every year to join the inspirational All-Star Band that was chosen for the gala for the second consecutive year. Before a dedication song, Burrowes tearfully talked about two band members who died—one in 2022 and another in 2023.

Bernard, left, with some All-Star Band members performing at the gala

In addition to Trott, roughly 50 current and potential Brass for Africa supporters from Uganda, England, the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland listened on Oct. 5 to the band’s 12 selections, heard testimonies about the band’s positive impact on the youthful performers and were reminded of how the NGO started and how it operates. The charity has partnered with over 20 organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Plan International, Mercury Phoenix Trust, Oxfam and The Elton John AIDS Foundation to deliver programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Harps and drums have African origins. Brass is traced to the early 19th century in Britain. From “Eye of the Tiger” to the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and “Baba Yetu,” the sound and feel of music at the gala was a blend of European and African tunes with a spattering of African dance in place of traditional band marching.

“I love music, but I’m not a musician,” Molho, a 2018 UCU Bachelor of Arts alum, said.

He has a guitar, a violin and a small trumpet that he is trying to learn. A hearing impairment—possibly at birth but noticed when he was 13—renders him deaf in his left ear but does not hinder his music enjoyment.

“I’m an artist, mostly visual art,” he said. “Art is about music, dance, writing and more.”

At that, Brass for Africa, like many art-connected programs, is about more than music. In addition to tapping into fulfilling individual music potential, the self-esteem focus areas are gender equality, disability inclusion, workforce readiness and community empowerment.

“Nobody ever said they loved me until Brass for Africa,” one performer told the Oct. 5 audience.

“People discouraged me,” another ensemble member said. “Brass encouraged me.”

While expats may come in to help with instrument teaching, Brass for Africa is 95% African and operated with counselors and mentors for music as well as for skills such as problem solving, teamwork and leadership. In addition to Molho, other UCU alumni engaged with the NGO are Kabuye Ronald, Kasule Daniel and Amanya Annah.

With its origin and largest reach in Uganda, the demand for the non-academic social change program spans to Rwanda, Liberia, South Sudan, South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania and Kenya, among others.

For Molho, the Brass for Africa mission of esteem-building fits with his philosophy and everything else he’s been doing. In addition to his full-time position with Brass, he is a virtual mentor in visual art with a young person in France; he helps review grant applications by changemakers with US-based The Pollination Project; and he has managed a Usanii Village Africa art initiative in Kasese since July 2020. The Kasese project that Molho started involves sewing, carpentry and making art from discarded items.

“We call it eco-artistry,” he said of the art component. “Both Brass and Usanii are about empowerment and transforming marginalised communities.

Due to Molho’s focus with Brass for Africa over the past three years, the Kasese effort, possible because of a Pollination Project grant, has occupied less of his time but is still growing.

Molho points to UCU’s emphasis on Christian faith, leadership and development as playing a large part in his career success.

“What leads you?” he asked rhetorically. “God shows me a source of direction. I put in the effort.”

He credits his father, a pastor, for his skill in speaking six languages. He has been helping with interpretation since age 12.

“Most people don’t think of writing or languages as art, but it is,” Molho said. “How you present yourself is an art. How our brass ensemble students present themselves is art. For most of these youth, this is a platform they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

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Buganda princess, a UCU graduate, aspires to serve

October 14, 2024News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of BusinessAlumni, Arua, Beri Cottages, Buganda, School of Business, UCU, Uganda KingPatty Huston-Holm

Phiona Tebattagwabwe Luswata, manager of Beri Cottages in Arua

By Patty Huston-Holm
Ronald Edward Frederick Kimera Muwenda Mutebi II is the current and 36th kabaka (aka king) of the Buganda Kingdom, which is the largest and wealthiest among Uganda’s 56 tribes. Once a prince, he has five children – two princes and three princesses.

“I’m a princess,” said Phiona Tebattagwabwe Luswata.

But she is not the daughter, granddaughter or great-granddaughter of the present king. She’s a niece.

“I’m a great-granddaughter of His Highness Sir Daudi Chwa II,” Phiona said of the 34th kabaka who died in 1939.

In a conversation punctuated with laughter and in the courtyard of Beri Cottages, Arua, Phiona, manager of the establishment and a Uganda Christian University (UCU) alum, explained some of her royal lineage.

Phiona, right, with a Beri Cottages employee, Brenda Bako

In Buganda, a ruling king on the throne is called “kabaka.” When he dies, he is called “Ssekabaka,” to mean “a deceased king.” Therefore, “Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa II” (the late King David Chwa II) produced 20 sons, among whom is Phiona’s grandfather – the late Prince Ssepiriya Daniel Luswata, who is a blood brother to Prince Edward Walugembe Muteesa II who later became king (the 35th kabaka) after succeeding their father and is the father of the 36th kabaka of Buganda Kingdom. This makes the current King Ronald Edward Frederick Kimera Muwenda Mutebi II a first cousin to Phiona’s father, Prince Nakibinge David Luswata.

Surprisingly to some less familiar with royalty, Princess Phiona, a 2016 graduate of the UCU School of Business, is not about being served but serving.

In late September 2024, the daughter of Prince Nakibinge David Luswata of Kawaala shared her lineage, her education and her career journey to her current position as manager of Beri Cottages.

As her parents separated when Phiona was age 2, she was mostly raised by her mother, “Omuzana,” which is a title given to all wives of princes. Additionally known as Regina Nandagga, her mom was a hairdresser who also sold pigs during the Covid-19 pandemic. There are seven siblings from the father and three among the two parents.

Most of Phiona’s primary and secondary education was in Kampala. Her marks were good. While ambition to further her education wasn’t strong, Phiona had her sights on being a teacher like those she had in school or a businesswoman like her mom.

While pondering career choices, she lived and attended church with an uncle in Mukono. With minimal music experience, she played the flute and sang in the church choir, being noticed for her raw talent by Mr. Daniel Ssempereza, then the UCU Music Director.

Although she wasn’t a student at UCU, she was nurtured by Ssempereza to sometimes sing in the choir and play the flute in the main campus’ Nkoyoyo Hall. At this point, her father thought twice and decided she should become a UCU student.

At UCU, her focus was on International Business. Between classes, she applied her entrepreneurial skills through a fast-food selling project (chapatis).

Before the UCU degree, Phiona was involved in commerce, taking an accounting course at MAT ABACUS Business School. She did a short stint as a business news reporter for a “Money and Markets” show with NTV Uganda. She later served as a waitress at the four-star Hotel Africana in Kampala and had industrial training, managing the delivery of merchandise imported from Overseas through Bollore Africa Global Logistics, a shipping and clearing firm in Kampala.

Years later, as a supervisor engaged in multiple jobs at Beri Cottages, she was promoted to manager two years ago.

“A friend from UCU recommended me for this job,” Phiona said.

Laughing, she added: “Arua seemed like the end of the world. I had never been here before, but I love taking risks and trying new things, so here I am.”

Except for the valued time to visit a six-year-old daughter who lives with her mom in Kampala, Phiona generally works every day, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., managing 31 employees in an atmosphere where “they enjoy being here.” She sends a daily report to a managing director – “the best boss I’ve had” – in Kampala.

“I have a passion for serving,” she said. “I’ve created an environment where employees know how to do multiple jobs. I believe we have an atmosphere where staff members smile a lot as I do.”

She credits UCU for making her a good leader.

As for her princess status, Phiona participates in some ceremonies to respect and protect tradition and culture while believing, she said with a smile, “that the current king might not even know me.”

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This story is an example of Uganda Christian University (UCU) successes. To support UCU 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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Alum helps people with ‘devastating life conditions’ in West Nile region

October 10, 2024News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Social Sciences#social work, Alumni, Arua, Methodist, Ohio, UCU, West NilePatty Huston-Holm

Pakwach informal netball team with (seated, left to right) Sailas Okwairwoth, Otim Moses and Ayerango Annette

By Patty Huston-Holm
In a brief break from a netball game on a dirt-surfaced court in the Uganda West Nile Pakwach District, 14-year-old Kaboth Sharon, shifting from one bare foot to the other, was asked in English how she felt.

“I am excited with energy and joy,” she responded in her native Alur (Luo) – as translated by older resident, Otim Moses. Then, under the 11 a.m. Sept. 30 sun and sweating with 13 other youth wearing blue or orange bibs, she smiled and returned to the game.

Sailas Okwairwoth, UCU graduate with vision to lift up youth in his village

Moses and Sailas Okwairwoth grinned. Kabaoh’s expression fits with a plan to give hope to unemployed, school dropout youth from teens to age 35 from their district and the nearby Zombo District, both of which are best geographically identified as near the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Albert Nile. On paper, the 55-page plan is called “Sustainable Skills and Talent Development for Socio-Economic Transformation. “

Okwairwoth, 30, who is the main driver, and his friend, Moses, 35, break the proposal down into two main parts – sports and arts.

“Self-esteem is a huge need among our youth,” Okwairwoth said, nodding to the joy evident among the outdoor netball players. “We see so much promise, knowing that through sports and engagement, we can start there and do more.”

Okwairwoth, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Uganda Christian University (UCU), knows he is more fortunate than most from the rural area where he was born and raised. While Okwairwoth has recently struggled financially to support himself and a two-year-old daughter by selling goods in a small store in Kampala, he has had the privilege of previous educational opportunities in the United States and employment with an Israeli organization.

“The youth in our village lack self-confidence and look defeated and devastated,” observed Okwairwoth’s mom, Ayerango Annette, who teaches entrepreneurship, among other subjects, at Uganda College of Commerce, Aduku. She had the mindset that her son, Sailas, would graduate from a university, and he did.

Parental mindset “against change” is an obstacle, especially in rural Uganda, according to Okwairwoth. He knows that in the area where he was born, roughly one of three residents age 10 to 30 are illiterate and for those older, the inability to read, understand and write is even more dire. He is aware of the Pakwach uphill climb for people in his village to live differently — to realize the value of team sport activities to achieving self-actualization and enabling unwed teen mothers and others to work, make money and support themselves.

But he is not giving up.

“Impossible is nothing,” Okwairwoth said, pointing to the slogan under their initiative name “Pakwach Junction.”

Sailas founded Pakwach Junction in 2017 as a community-based organization supporting Pakwach through its institutions and possibilities to achieve quality social and economic development. Moses and other youth volunteers are assisting with the effort.

Uganda Bureau of Statistics map showing Pakwach and (inset) its geographic location within the country

The word “Junction” is borrowed from the name of a United Methodist Church youth group Okwairwoth was engaged with during his Reynoldsburg, Ohio, USA, internship experience in 2015. That same three-month experience of volunteering for central Ohio organizations supplying food and clothing to the poor and listening to the volunteer efforts of church women started the germination of a plan growing in his thoughts when awarded his UCU Bachelor of Development Studies in 2016 and his Master of Public Health in 2020.

Okwairwoth became increasingly aware of problems and needs back home. As he received his postgraduate degree, for example, he learned of the water rise in Lake Albert that caused a flood displacing 100,000 Pakwach residents.

While employed as a country director for an Israeli company called Topaz International, founder and CEO KUTIC Integrated Development, directing the Junction Pakwach project, teaching in the UCU Social Sciences department, participating in the Greenheart Global Leaders Conference (GGLC) and Alumni Council in Washington, D.C. and, in Germany, and being a Purpose Earth grant recipient, Okwairwoth kept thinking he could and should do more.

“I see us making and selling arts and crafts here,” he said, pointing to an area of mostly dirt surrounded by one row of bricks near the netball activity. “We also can make reusable sanitary pads.”

Instead of youth and others sitting idle, they could be in that space selling soap, clothing and artwork from recycled materials. Okwairwoth pointed to a photo of a monkey that another group made from plastic bottles.

“We can do that here,” he said.

Efforts already accomplished include financial literacy, sex education, preschool education, community library and computer training.

“This project is driven by the needs of vulnerable people with devastating life conditions, addictive behaviors and seemingly no hope,” said Okwairwoth. “This plan is more than paper. It’s full of hope.”

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UCU student shares experience of representing Uganda at international sports event

October 8, 2024Faculty of Engineering, Design & Technology, News, Sports, StudentsMind Games, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

By Pauline Luba
In Runyankole, a local dialect in Uganda, the name Ainamaani means “God has power.” It is a name that usually denotes the family’s reverence of God’s ability to accomplish His will in every situation.

That is the name Oriho Silver, an engineer and Kyokusiima Leonard, a businesswoman, chose for their daughter, Rachael. And, indeed, Ainamaani’s life is one that has demonstrated God’s will and power.

Take for instance her most recent achievement. This past July, Ainamaani and Morgan Wasswa represented Uganda at the International Mind Games that was hosted in Uganda. Both Ainamaani and Wasswa are students of Uganda Christian University (UCU), pursuing Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Ainamaani represented Uganda in this year’s Mind Games championship.

Ainamaani’s journey to an international competition is a testament to her determination and belief that with God, nothing is impossible.

Her involvement in mind games wasn’t planned. During high school, Ainamaani didn’t participate in any sports. But she gave it a try when she joined UCU.

Given the academic demands of her course, Ainamaani opted for mind games, which she thought would be easier. She believed the game would help sharpen her memory without requiring as much physical time and presence as other sports. She learned about the strategic card game they were playing in the championships from her coach, Reagan Egulwa, who introduced her to the sport.

Her decision to participate in this game led her to join university-level competitions. After rigorous training and selection, Ainamaani participated in tours of universities in Uganda, as they popularized the sport.

The tours culminated in the selection of the national team, with Ainamaani and Wasswa being among those chosen to represent Uganda at the international level. She describes the card game as one that requires silent communication between partners as they navigate a bidding process and play to win tricks and eventually a final contract. With two people forming a team and playing against another pair, the game requires players to be both strategic and mindful of the cards in their hands as they try to get to the highest number of tricks possible.

Although Ainamaani’s training was intense, she faced unexpected challenges on the journey to the championship. Her original playing partner, Awor Joy, was unable to compete, forcing her to team up with a new partner, Wasswa, just a few days before the competition. Despite the last-minute change, Ainamaani and Wasswa quickly adapted, reviewing the rules of the game with their coach and watching videos about the game on YouTube.

“We trained together for a few days before the competition,” she explains, “and we made it to the 10th position out of 14 teams and 28 players.”

Ainamaani remembers the experience as both intimidating and exciting. She met and competed against students from all over the world, including the USA and France – many of whom had more experience in the game.

“On the first day, we weren’t used to playing 48 boards a day, but we quickly adjusted to the speed of our competitors,” she says. The high-intensity nature of the competition was unlike anything she had previously experienced, but it proved to be a valuable lesson in adaptability and resilience. Considering that she started learning the sport in May 2024 and was representing the country by July, Ainamaani believes they did their best.

“Being part of the national team, especially when I had never participated in any sport before, was a huge achievement. I also felt proud to represent my university,” she says. Though the competition was tough, Ainamaani appreciates how the game has improved her memory and level of focus, skills she says are directly applicable to her studies in civil engineering.

Ainamaani wishes she had approached the competition with more confidence. The sight of students from all over the world was initially overwhelming, but once she realized that they were all playing the same game, her nerves calmed.

Looking to the future, Ainamaani plans to continue playing mind games, with the hope of returning to the national team as a stronger player.

As the third of five children — three brothers and a sister — she grew up in an environment where family values were at the forefront. She says her parents always supported her dreams, providing a stable foundation for her growth.

“I grew up in a humble and loving family, with my parents always available to guide and encourage me,” she reflected.

Ainamaani attended St. Benedict Primary School in Hoima, followed by St. Peter’s High School and later Trinity Catholic High School in Kakumiro District. All the three schools are in western Uganda.

From a young age, she showed love for physics and mathematics, which naturally led her to dream of becoming an engineer. Her childhood ambition to study at Uganda Christian University was realized in 2023 when she was accepted to pursue civil engineering, a field she had always been passionate about. Her father played a significant role in nurturing her interest in engineering, frequently taking her to construction sites to observe how things worked. “It made me confident about what I was doing,” she said.

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Bishop Chorey’s rise amidst Karamoja’s turmoil

October 1, 2024Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, News, UCU AlumniKaramoja, Theology, UCU, UCU Alumni, UgandaPatty Huston-Holm

Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba of the Church of Uganda introducing Bishop Michael Chorey to the congregation.

By Kefa Senoga
Before he was ordained deacon in 2003, Bishop Michael Chorey, the newly consecrated bishop of Karamoja Diocese, was already involved in Christian ministry, serving in different capacities as a missionary and lay reader. During one of his ministry assignments while he was serving at the Church of Uganda Hospital in Amudat district, he was shot and sustained a bullet wound on the left side of his face.

“While we were transporting a patient from Amudat to Moroto, our vehicle was ambushed by an armed group,” said Bishop Chorey, an alum of Uganda Christian University (UCU). “I was shot, and the driver was also shot in the chest. Thankfully, we all survived.”

Bishop Chorey waving at the congregation

The Karamoja region in northeastern Uganda, where Bishop Chorey was born, raised, and served in Christian ministry, has long experienced tensions and rivalries among its ethnic groups.

Conflicts over resources, territory, and historical grievances in the region often escalate into violence and armed cattle raids, given its status as a nomadic pastoralist area. This has led to significant loss of life, particularly due to gun violence. Reports indicate that illegal firearms are commonly smuggled into Karamoja from neighboring countries, such as Kenya and Sudan, due to its proximity to these borders.

Bishop Chorey attributed the ambush to the insecurity and gun violence prevalent in the region at the time. Despite this, he remained undeterred, driven by a vision for Karamoja, where people would love one another, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. This vision became both his hope and constant prayer.

Bishop Chorey remained steadfast in his clerical journey, never looking back. In 2000, he joined Namugongo Seminary, where he studied for three years and was later appointed chaplain in the Church of Uganda Hospital in Amudat for two years. He was priested in 2005 and made parish priest of Christ Church in Amudat district.

Amudat District, located in the Karamoja region, is home to the Pokot, a minority tribe to which Bishop Chorey belongs. The district borders Kenya, where the Pokot community in Kenya resides on the other side. Historically, the Karimojong and the Pokot people have been traditional and cultural enemies.

Bishop Chorey recounts how difficult it was to preach about love while serving as the parish priest in the Pokot community that harbored deep enmity toward their Karimojong neighbors.

He explains that the raids carried out between the two tribes led to the loss of many loved ones, fueling deep resentment on both sides. When these attacks occurred, thoughts of revenge or counter attacks were often at the forefront. Neither tribe was free from the cycle of bloodshed.

Sections of the congregation at the consecration ceremony

Bishop Chorey notes that nearly everyone in the region owned a gun, and that each month, the church would receive groups of widows, victims of the ongoing violence between the two tribes.

The frequent raids led to a significant loss of life, making it nearly impossible to preach that their rivals, who originated from the same region, were family. The deep-seated resentment and the pain caused by the deaths of their loved ones only fueled this divide.

“Every time we would go to mourn at a home, we planted a seed of the gospel and three of our strong parishes were formed at a time of mourning; we would go and spend a week with the family that has lost its members as we preach, having overnights,” Bishop Chorey said.

He further described the intense atmosphere of that period, particularly for the clergy who continued their ministry work without any form of security. He recalls that at one time, “the government asked Bishop Lomongi whether it could offer escorts to church staff” but that the bishop and the clergy declined.

He adds that the Bishop pardoned clergy members who were unable to attend diocesan meetings, considering the difficulties they encountered as a result of the unrest in the area. He advised, “If we call a diocesan meeting and your spirit or conscience tells you not to travel that day, don’t force yourself.”

Bishop Chorey noted that crosses in memory of murdered Catholic clergy can be found along roads when entering the Karamoja region from Namalu. Locals are known to stop cars and shoot passengers. The Church of Uganda once lost six nurses and a clinical officer in a single day.

Through his work in the church, Bishop Chorey says that he has been able to reach and transform some of the wrong elements, such as cattle rustlers, who have since laid down their guns and become lay readers in the church.

“I have four of my commissioned lay readers who have been warriors and cattle rustlers and these are the guys who are preaching Christ now,” he says.

The Ugandan government also has made efforts to curb gun violence in Karamoja, including disarmament programs and increased security presence.

In 2007, Bishop Chorey joined UCU to pursue a Bachelor of Divinity, completing his studies in 2009. Before finishing his degree, he was assigned to St. Philip’s Cathedral in Moroto.

Bishop Chorey notes that some of his family members were concerned when he was posted to Moroto, where the majority of the people are Karimojong.

He explains that his family feared for his safety, believing that he might be killed because no Pokot had ever worked in Moroto. They were thinking from a traditional perspective of the feud between the Pokot and the Karimojong. However, he says that he spent his time there peacefully and made many good friends.

Bishop Chorey explains that UCU broadened his perspective beyond the narrow view of the Pokot community. As a result, he returned in 2012 to pursue a Master of Arts in Theology and Development. By 2013, before completing his program, he was appointed as Archdeacon back at home in Amudat.

“When I started ministry there, we opened churches from one traditional church that was opened up by the Church Missionary Society to six parishes,” he says.

Bishop Chorey notes that when his predecessor, Bishop Joseph Abura, announced his retirement, he had no thoughts about replacing him due to the fact that Chorey was coming from the minority tribe in the diocese. However he was nominated, winning over his mentor, Rev. Canon Joseph Aleper.

Bishop Chorey has developed a nine-point program plan for the Diocese of Karamoja, designed to address the spiritual, social, and economic needs of the region. The plan prioritizes mission and evangelism as its foremost objective.

“Mission and evangelism will transform the people of Karamoja. When that happens, so much will change in Karamoja and that’s why I put it as the first priority,” he says.

According to Bishop Chorey who grew up as a shepherd in a purely nomadic pastoralist family, his parents did not go to school or church. His father, Mudang Dokongole, has seven wives, including his mother, Cheman Mudang.

His early education at Losam Primary School in Kenya, a church-founded school, introduced him to Christ.

In 1986, after completing his primary education at Konyao Primary School in Kenya, he attended Chewoyet High School, also in Kenya, for his secondary education. He credits his uncle, a government porter to the Assistant District Commissioner, for influencing his father to send him to school in a community where education was not a priority, and the illiteracy rate is today as high as 96%.

Currently, he is in the final stages of completing his Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Development at UCU.

A significant number of people from Kenya, including members of parliament, senators and the West Pokot Governor, attended the consecration of Bishop Chorey on August 25 in Amudat district. The Vice President of Uganda, Maj. Jessica Alupo, represented President Yoweri Museveni as the chief guest.

Bishop Chorey is married to the Rev. Canon Jane Chorey, with whom he has worked in the Pokot Archdeaconry. They have three children.

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From student to director: Emily’s USP Journey

September 23, 2024News, Students, UCU Alumni, USP#News, #students, Alumni, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Emily Entsminger (fourth from left) with some Uganda Studies Program (USP) staff

By Kefa Senoga
In 2007, Emily Entsminger left her home country, the United States (US), for the first time to come to Uganda as a student under the Uganda Studies Program (USP). In 2022, she returned to Uganda to serve on the USP staff as the Student Life Coordinator. In June 2024, she assumed the role of USP Director.

USP is a study abroad program hosted by Uganda Christian University (UCU) and under the Uganda Partners non-profit organization. It offers USA and Canadian Christian university students a chance to immerse themselves in Ugandan culture, academics and community life for a semester

Emily says that during her time as a student in the USP, she developed a deep interest in the program and kept the thought of working with USP in mind, even after she had returned to the US.

“I paid attention if there was a job open at any time but there wasn’t one that my skills particularly fit until 2022 a Student Life Coordinator position opened and my background was in student care and pastoral care,” Emily says.

She applied for the job while in the US and was successful. She loved it so much, and served in it for the past two years.

She recounts that when her predecessor, Rachel Robinson, took a sabbatical in August 2023, she stepped in to fill the role temporarily as Acting Director. Once it was confirmed that Rachel would not be returning, Emily officially assumed the position in June 2024.

Emily says that she believes in the program, which is why she is so passionate about her role as its director.

“I have personally experienced the positive effects of this program,” Emily said. “I can attest to its uniqueness, and the growth, learning and cultural engagement…as well as the way its students return changed.”

She adds that stepping into the role of Director is a privilege for her, allowing her to give back to the program that impacted her so deeply. At the same time, she notes that being involved in something as a participant is quite different from leading it, drawing a connection between her time as a USP student and her current role as director.

Emily reveals that what she loves the most about her job is seeing students grow as she did over the course of four months in the program.

“Students grow, evolve and are exposed to various aspects of life,” Emily said. “I truly enjoy witnessing their journey from day one of having no idea of how to get around to successfully navigating everything by the end of the semester.”

She points out one of the opportunities students have that stretches them is staying with a host family– local, Mukono, husbands, wives and children. Students spend two weeks or an entire semester immersed with these families to build connections and relationships with them and the surrounding community. From Emily’s experience as a student, her host family asked her to be the Godparent to their daughter, and she counts this as one of her most memorable moments in Uganda.

Emily, when a student, with her host mom

Reflecting on her experience as a student in the USP, Emily highlights that the program provided her with a foundation for thinking and engaging with the world. She says the involvement requires adapting to many unknowns and different rhythms—like knowing how to buy groceries and food back home but having to learn how to do it in Uganda. USP students adjust to navigate everyday life in a new context.

Emily continues to narrate that she first realized she wanted to study abroad, especially in Africa, while pursuing her undergraduate degree in Christian Education and Youth Ministry at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, which is part of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). The CCCU has more than 150 post-secondary institution members in the U.S. and Canada and more than 30, including UCU, from an additional 19 countries.

She says that the study abroad option that her school offered was with USP, so she applied, and that’s how she ended up in Uganda.

One discovery by USP participants relates to the misperception of Uganda.

“You realize that with what you have seen in the media. For instance, students may come thinking that everyone in Uganda lives in a grass-thatched hut,” Emily said. “But it’s not what you find; it’s there but that’s not everybody’s life here.”

Emily elaborates that many students enjoy their time in Uganda due to the warm personalities of its people and the pleasant weather, among other factors. As director, she emphasizes that one of her top priorities is to support students in having a good experience in Uganda.

“Helping maintain USP and make it a program of excellence is my priority, but I am passionate about increasing student support, engaging students and supporting them through their experience,” Emily says.

She adds that another initiative she’s embarking on will be addressing mental health needs among students who come for the program.

With her experience as a campus pastor in her native state of Iowa and background in religious education, including a Master of Divinity with a specialization in Spiritual Formation that she obtained from George Fox University, Oregon, Emily remains committed to upholding the values of Christianity and faith as top priorities in the program at UCU.

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UCU alum spearheads cryptocurrency in Uganda

September 19, 2024News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of BusinessBitcoin, business, Crypto, Finance, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Abel Namureba is passionate about cryptocurrency.

By Pauline Luba
At 29 years old, Abel Namureba has earned the “face of cryptocurrency” nickname in Uganda. He is a passionate fintech (short for “financial technology”) enthusiast.

Namureba’s educational journey began at Hormisdallen Primary School. He went to Seroma Christian High School for his O-Levels, and Turkish Light Academy for A-Levels. Namureba’s fluency in math led him towards a career in finance – eventually leading him to Uganda Christian University (UCU), where he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from 2015 – 2018.

“Finance is applied to every aspect of life,” Namureba said.

He stated that while at UCU, he was thinking about the defined success route for accountants. He wasn’t the top or worst student, but he wanted to specialize in something, eventually landing on Bitcoin.

Bitcoin, a form of digital currency, is traded globally across online platforms with a maximum supply of 21 million coins to be in existence. Despite the controversies surrounding Bitcoin, Namureba was intrigued by its potential to reshape the global finance scope, especially in Uganda. He studied it deeply.

Namureba is often dubbed the “face of cryptocurrency” in Uganda.

During his first year at UCU, Namureba was already with the Uganda Revenue Authority and later contributed to Standard Chartered Bank as a junior associate and worked on projects such as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. He then volunteered with Binance and actively worked to educate the masses about cryptocurrency. Afterwards, he joined a startup called Yellow Card as Country Manager, significantly growing its user base to over $100,000 and generating $10 million monthly for the firm. Recently, he left Yellow Card to start Itwe Solutions, a finance and technology consultancy, registered in both the United States and Uganda.

Additionally, he recently completed his MBA at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

For the past decade, Namureba has been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrency in Uganda, frequently appearing on news platforms like CNBC and NTVUganda to debate controversial issues and explain crypto’s dynamics, benefits and pitfalls. He also has participated in the country’s policy creation, the official launch of crypto in Uganda and its ever-evolving regulation by several government bodies.

“Money has evolved, and we are now in a new digital era,” Namureba explains. “Cryptocurrency represents a global currency form.”

However, he warns about the risks, noting that scammers often mislead people into believing they can quickly turn small investments into significant sums such as shs50,000($13) to shs1,000,000 ($272). He stresses that, like all investments, cryptocurrency comes with risks, including fluctuations and potential losses.

Namureba’s personal experience with scams includes losing $20,000 to a fraudster in his early days at Yellow Card. Instead of being discouraged, this experience helped him better understand the industry. He points to infamous cases like the OneCoin scam, where a fraudster embezzled €4 billion ($5.2 billion), from Ugandans, and is among one of the most wanted people in the world by the FBI. Despite the controversies, Namureba remains committed to educating Ugandans about the true potential of cryptocurrency, comparing it to investing in land — a long-term asset that when properly cared for, retained and allowed to grow in value can reap beneficial results.

“Education is key,” Namureba emphasizes. “There is no quick money in crypto.”

He is currently involved in ongoing discussions with the Bank of Uganda, fintech conferences, and blockchain meetings to ensure there are better regulation and protection policies on cryptocurrency and among its users within the country.

When he isn’t working, Namureba enjoys adventurous activities like skydiving, bungee jumping, skating and poetry. Through it all, his faith remains dominant.

A believer in Christ, his name, “Namureba,” meaning “I’ve seen Him (God),” constantly reminds him of this faith.

Born in Kampala and raised in Kanungu and from the Bakiga tribe, Namureba is the youngest son of six of Janet Baryaruha, a businesswoman, and his late father, a soldier. Despite his father’s early death, he remembers a childhood filled with love and provision.

“I live for God’s glory, and I hope to be part of people’s purpose by helping meet their needs,” Namureba said.

His advice to those interested in fintech and crypto is to get informed, volunteer, work for free if necessary and never stop learning.

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UCU master’s research focus on money laundering

September 17, 2024News, SRPGS, UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawAlumni, Law, post-graduate degrees, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Evelyn Zawedde is a Senior Associate at Ortus Advocates

By Irene Best Nyapendi
The main reason Evelyn Zawedde chose a career in law was to ensure equity and justice in the world. And for the 10 years that she has been practicing law, she has examples to illustrate her impact in that quest.

Here is one of them:

In Uganda, it’s not uncommon for unscrupulous individuals to grab property owned by the elderly. Zawedde’s grandmother fell victim to such an attempt when someone in her area laid claim to her land. Upon learning of her grandmother’s plight, Zawedde immediately took action, stepping in to represent her grandmother in mediation. She won the case, ensuring the property remained with its rightful owner — her grandmother. Although her grandmother has since passed away, Zawedde recalls that saving the property was one of her grandmother’s proudest moments, a testament to her granddaughter’s dedication.

Zawedde, a graduate of Uganda Christian University (UCU), earned a degree in Bachelor of Laws in 2011. However, she nearly abandoned her legal career after her initial application for a spot at the Law Development Center to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice was unsuccessful. In Uganda, obtaining this diploma from the Law Development Center is a requirement for practicing law.

When faced with a setback, she sought another opportunity by applying to Kenya Law School, where she was accepted to pursue her Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice. After completing her studies in Kenya, she joined Kilonzo and Company Advocates, one of the leading law firms in Kenya.

A year later, she returned to Uganda and joined DN Kabugo Advocates, now Ortus Advocates, where she currently serves as a Senior Associate in the Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure department.

In July 2024, Zawedde graduated with a Master of Law in International Business Law at UCU.

She explained that the shifting dynamics of the global economy played a significant role in guiding her choice of research focus for the master’s degree. For the master’s project, Zawedde explored the role of preventive strategies in enhancing the fight against money laundering with a focus on selected financial institutions in the central business district of Kampala. The study focused on the fight against money laundering.

“I chose this research topic because money laundering is a global issue affecting financial institutions,” Zawedde said, adding: “I wanted to deeply examine the measures being used to combat money laundering in financial institutions.”

Her study found that to keep the integrity of the financial system intact, financial institutions, companies and governments must co-operate. Her study recommends enactment of laws that leverage technology to prevent and detect money laundering.

With a deep interest in the evolving financial landscape, she hopes that her advanced studies will not only broaden her expertise but also position her to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the international business arena.

Born and raised in Mukono, central Uganda, Zawedde is an Advocate of the High Court of both Uganda and Kenya and all courts subordinate thereto. She is a member of the Uganda Law Society, Kenya Law Society and the East African Law Society.

With over seven years of experience in structuring, negotiation and documentation of natural resource projects and related financings, Zawedde has conducted negotiations, prepared contracts and closed real estate transactions. According to the website of her current employers, Zawedde has acted for several clients in acquisitions of property for project development and developing transaction completion documents.

She attended Nakanyonyi Girls School in Jinja, eastern Uganda, for her O’level education and St. Mary’s Secondary School Kitende in central Uganda for A’level.

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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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Fixing Teeth at Koome Island, Uganda: A facilitator’s adventure

July 5, 2024Faculty, News, Students, UCU School of Dentistry#News, #students, Lake Victoria, School of Dentistry, Staff, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Two female dental students perform a procedure on a clinic participant – one of 400 assisted on Koome Island.

By Dorothy Tushemereirwe
Not all adventures are created equal. Ask me – or maybe query a dozen Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Dentistry students who recently traveled with me by boat to a remote island.

The moment I was carried, yes, carried, and plopped into a handmade boat fashioned of steel and wood, I was in for a ride and experience of a lifetime. Identically attired in orange life jackets, the students, instructors, representatives of the UCU Directorate of Research Partnerships and Innovations, and others traveled with me across a not-so-calm Lake Victoria towards Koome Island, remotely located within central Uganda’s Mukono District.

More than 19,000 residents from as far as Western Uganda make the island their home. In the early 1900s, there were fewer occupants because many fled or succumbed to a parasite-causing African “sleeping sickness.”

UCU School of Dentistry students preparing to see patients on Koome Island

Today, cultures that include Baganda, Banyankole, Bakiga, Acholi, Langi, the Iteso and Lugbara gravitate here, with the lure of free land but little else. Houses are scattered with a church, one government health center and a primary and a secondary school on 3,000, mostly mosquito-free acres. Hand-crafted canoes and nets, scattered about the shoreline, tell the tale of meager economic support through catches of Nile perch and tilapia.

In short, and to help facilitate a dentistry school project of free services to economically-poor residents, I was stuck in the middle of nowhere. Tourists and citizens find other nearby land masses like Ngamba-Chimpanzee Island for orphaned chimpanzees more familiar and attractive, and even livable with restaurant food and electricity. Koome, part of Kyaggwe Saza in the Buganda Kingdom, uses solar energy and sketchy generators.

A group of polished urban dwellers and office-type urban colleagues, we arrived near Entebbe, 22 miles from Koome, with an expectation of a somewhat modern Packwach or Kalangala-like ferry, the kind you see in the honeymoon movies, replete with a roof, and wind sails. I imagined the one I used at Kazinga Channel and pineapple bay, but Koome’s ferry, we were told, got stuck somewhere. The Uganda government, noticing no sustainable commercial benefit from it, was reportedly not thinking of reviving it, but local government officials said that revival plans are underway.

The lessons of obstacles to accomplishment were just starting, albeit untimely and harsh.

Yet, zealous for our (worthy) dental mission among the island’s most vulnerable population, we felt nothing was going to hinder us. The first shock was getting loaded (and I mean physically ) onto a boat. Along with a group of University students and Dr. Arabat Kasangaki, a dentist and teacher, we allowed the rugged hands of a fisherman to carry us to the unstable swinging vessel.

After about 30 of us were nervously hauled onto the seemingly fragile, open-air wooden transport, we navigated the June winds and the gale. The message that we would arrive “soon” was followed by more than two hours of a hair-and-clothing-wet journey of life jacket-tightening and, for some, nausea.

As people from a Christian university would do and as waves hit the transport’s outsides and splashed inside, we sang. Led by Dr. Arabat, there were the words of “Tukutendereze Yesu” as well as the UCU theme song, “To God be the Glory” and other melodies of Zion.

It seemed we were on a trek to a foreign land. Our heavenly home seemed nearer than before. Jonah’s biblical account of every guy in the boat praying to his own god seemed more real, except that in our case, unlike Jonah, we had no hope of a Nile perch spitting us out.

Responses among passengers were both varied and similar. As faith followers, thoughts went to empathy for the Lord’s disciples seeing Jesus sleep through such sea turmoil as did a baby among us on this 2024 journey.

“Service learning is very essential in our training,” Dr. Arabat, a seasoned medical professional said. “Taking our students to remote areas like this one is of value to our students to help those who have been urban all their lives appreciate the need within our communities. We believe this helps them nurture compassion later after graduation. “

I am a mobilizer experienced in Human Resource practice. But no human in this boat seemed either resourced, or emotionally mobilized enough for what we were facing. At that, some, like my neighbor enroute, could still afford a nap.

I had spent a better part of my life familiar with facing discouraged employees, not sailors, so I may have been ready for a pounding boss all my office days, but not a pounding wave. What seemed like an ordinary day quickly turned out dramatic, as engine failure rounded up the early drama at mid-lake when no mainland was in sight.

One of our rowers looked so baffled and clueless, too, to which someone in the boat remarked “He must be an intern.” I am not sure we laughed as well at that joke as we should have. Alas, does anybody banter when the smell of uncertainty is near?

To be precise, it was 2.5 hours later that we had an island in view. You could almost hear the loud sighs, arriving around 4:30 p.m. By sheer grace, we touched land feeling weary, beaten, hungry and emotionally spent.

I wondered: Must fixing teeth be this hard?

Initially, we were to have stayed at the remarkable Ngamba island, (renowned for its chimpanzee tourism) but it was flooded, which meant we eventually had to be booked at Walindi Point, another island about 20 minutes away from the service area and by antiquated boat transport.

The first night on the day we arrived at Walindi point, we were exhausted. We crashed but were awakened by a fierce storm that raged and shook our cabins from Midnight to 3 a.m. Preceded by another boat trip, Koome was waiting for us the next day.

By 7 a.m., my group and our captain, Geoffrey, were enroute to Koome, where dentistry students had spent the night and were already receiving patients – the start of helping roughly 400 men, women and children with cavities, gum diseases and tumors during four days. For ongoing wellness practices, toothpaste and toothbrushes, compliments of Henry-Schein dental supplies, were left behind.

The service there as well as in Mukono was sponsored by the UCU Directorate of Research Partnership and Innovation in collaboration with Uganda Partners, Koome Sub-county Local government and the Uganda Wildlife Conservation and Education Centre (UWEC).

Part of my role, arranged by Uganda Partners, was to support the person recording demographic information. As with many low-income populations, the number of teenage mothers was high, with one particular embedded in my memory. The young woman arrived with her two children, seething with tooth pain and in need of fillings and extractions. I wondered what would have happened if we hadn’t come.

Such is the dire plight of many Koome Island residents that have never seen a dentist. Every mission UCU undertakes on this island is a healing affair, for such who never get a chance to have teeth checked, let alone use a toothbrush.

Would we go again?

“Yes,” Dr. Arabat readily responded. “We would appreciate any support to keep the light shining. We believe this as an entry for other university programmes to improve the livelihoods of the island communities.”

Will I go again? Yes, for the same reasons.

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Uganda red eye epidemic: ‘Not a joking matter’

June 26, 2024News, Students#News, #students, Allan Galpin Health Center, Conjunctivitis, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

UCU student, Bena Nekesa, healing from red eye disease

By Bena Nekesa
In the tranquil backdrop of an Easter break, an unexpected visitor knocked on the door of my life, bringing with it a whirlwind of discomfort and uncertainty. Little did I know that a routine visit to a loved one in need would plunge me into the depths of a relentless epidemic—one that would leave me grappling with pain, fear and the fiery glow of red eyes.

I was among the Uganda Ministry of Health’s reported 7,500 cases of red eye in three weeks, starting in mid-March.

In other countries, such as the United States, the condition is called pink eye, or conjunctivitis. According to the USA-based Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, when small blood vessels in a membrane called the conjunctiva become swollen and irritated, the whites of the eyes appear reddish or pink. Red or pink eyes are most often caused by a viral infection.

My encounter with the red eye epidemic was a journey to recovery marked by unexpected twists and agonizing symptoms related to a condition I hadn’t previously known.

It started with my right eye that behaved like something was moving in it. While I didn’t feel any pain, I knew something was wrong. I shared my suspicious red eye condition with my sisters and mother.

“It seems you are admiring red eyes,” my sister, Gorretti, joked initially.

I laughed. My discolored eyes certainly were not as serious as the health of my grandmother, just home from a four-night Mbale Referral Hospital stay due to breathing problems. At that, my family traced my optical condition, along with some of theirs, to the hospital.

My cousin, Paul, got red eyes at the hospital and transmitted it to my mother. Both complained of having something stuck in their eyes, trying to get others to blow it out. Those trying to extract something from another’s swollen, watery red eyes, contracted conjunctivitis. For them, light was painful. While washing our hands, my sisters and I cried about their condition.

Then, I became part of the epidemic. Not only did the 10-year countrywide census delay me from Uganda Christian University (UCU) classes, but now my pain and limited vision kept me from doing much of anything, including remote learning. Two little sisters, Winnie and Emily, that shared a bed with our mother, surprisingly didn’t get it.

Mom and I got some drugs — Ciprofloxacin, Amoxicillin, Penicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Tinidazole and the eye ointment – to resolve the medical condition. It took us a week to recover completely, and after that we were all healed. I thanked God, and even reported back to campus with my studies.

At UCU’s main campus, some students also experienced the red eye epidemic. Over 200 students were treated at Allan Galpin Health Center during the three-week period.

“My red eyes are so painful,” said William Ingabat, a student of Bachelor’s of Human Resource Management , who was treated with eye ointment at the Mukono campus Allan Galpin Health Center. “I was able to bare the pain as I even sat for my examination.”

Some victims were washing eyes with urine – a treatment not recommended because these body fluids are not sterile.

Dr. Christine Wako, working at Alan Galpin, said medical professions educate against using a bacteria-laden urine flush.

She described some of the cases she encountered at Galpin: “Students come here complaining about one eye first, then the other eye coming later. The recent red eyes were different from the ones in the past. The current ones were healing in four days and affecting anybody that got in contact with the effect person without swelling unnecessarily and being watery like the ones in the past.”

The treatment offered at Allan Galpin included Betamethasone-Neomyan eye drops with preventive washing of eyes/face with clean water regularly, regular hand washing and avoiding handshakes.

I was fortunate that I treated my eyes earlier than others, but there was stigma. Many people will not want to be near you with fear of contradicting the epidemic.

In my family, almost everyone healed within a week. For some of my relatives, it took them only three days.

Red eyes are real and not a joking matter. Stay safe by washing your hands routinely, avoiding handshakes and maintaining other proper hygiene.

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Martyrs persecution fuels Christianity’s unstoppable spread: Uganda legacy celebrated June 3

June 14, 2024Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, Faculty, News, Students#News, #students, Staff, Theology, UCUPatty Huston-Holm

Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine, Namugongo

By Mercy Muhaye
On June 3, Uganda commemorated 60 years since the canonization of its martyrs, honoring 45 young Christian converts executed for refusing to denounce their faith. The deaths of 22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans were ordered between 1885 and 1887 by King Mwanga II of the Buganda Kingdom.

What was meant to be a campaign to suppress Christianity only strengthened it, leading to a legacy that endures and inspires millions around the globe.

The 2024 celebration was led by the Nebbi Diocese at the Catholic shrines of Namugongo, while for the Church of Uganda, the ceremony was organized by the Mid-Western Dioceses. The Catholics celebrated the day under the theme “As for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord” while for Anglicans chose “Conforming to the Truth of God’s Word and not the patterns of the World” as their theme.

“God, through the celebration of today, is inviting us to the bigness of thinking, where we see the need to live according to the designs of God and to be like Joshua who declared that he and his household would serve the Lord,” Archbishop-elect Raphael p’Mony Wokorach said. Wokorach is in a leadership transition from Nebbi Diocese to Gulu Archdiocese, where Pope Francis appointed him archbishop a month ago. He remains the apostolic administrator of Nebbi Diocese until it gets a new pastoral head.

Wokorach encouraged pilgrims to imitate the legacy of the Ugandan Martyrs who lived and exhibited a strong faith regardless of danger to their own lives. The martyrs took the Word of God seriously, and it shaped and marked their lives.

The event, a national holiday, drew a turnout of about 4 million people. By dawn, the shrines were filled to capacity with pilgrims from all walks of life, forming long queues at every entrance. Except during the Covid-19 shutdown, this place in the Wakiso District, central Uganda, attracts more people each year.

Uganda Christian University (UCU) had a notable presence in Namugongo, with many staff, faculty, students, and alumni participating.

The UCU Fitness Club joined pilgrims on Sunday, June 2, 2024, to commemorate Uganda Martyrs Day, covering 20 kilometers (about 12.5miles) from UCU in Mukono to Namugongo. This walk, involving five participants from both Anglican and Catholic denominations, highlighted the unity of the Christian faith rooted in Namugongo. The pilgrimage was both a test of physical endurance and a spiritual journey, deepening participants’ appreciation of their faith and the courage of the Namugongo martyrs.

“I have always admired walking this journey to Namugongo and I’m glad today I took part in it” Beatrice Ayenyo, one of the pilgrims, said.

The history of the Ugandan martyrs is both tragic and triumphant. The first martyr, Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, was executed on November 15, 1885, for pleading with the king to spare Bishop James Hannington, an Anglican missionary.

The main wave of persecution began on May 25, 1886, when King Mwanga condemned Christians to death. Charles Lwanga and his companions were brutally executed on June 3, 1886, at Namugongo. Their deaths were intended to deter others from embracing Christianity. Instead, their martyrdom galvanized the faith.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, attending the event for the first time in four years, addressed the gathered pilgrims: “I congratulate you all for reaching this date despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the Ebola outbreak. I encourage all Christians to multiply their talents and ensure they are not living in poverty.”

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the martyrs’ canonization by Pope Paul VI in 1964. During his visit to Uganda, Pope Paul VI canonized the 22 Catholic martyrs, making them the first saints from sub-Saharan Africa.

The Namugongo event is reputed to be the largest one-day gathering in Uganda.

In a world where religious persecution still exists, the story of the Ugandan martyrs serves as a powerful reminder of the strength found in faith and the enduring power of conviction. King Mwanga’s attempt to extinguish Christianity instead ignited a flame that continues to burn brightly. The pilgrims’ journeys, mirroring the martyrs’ march to their execution, epitomize a collective commitment to uphold and celebrate a faith that no force could ever truly destroy.

Catholic Archbishop of Kampala Paul Ssemogerere said that the Uganda Martyrs Day reminds humanity of the importance of faith, resilience, unity, and witnessing to Christ.

“The martyrs’ story is a powerful reminder of the cost of standing up for one’s faith and the enduring power of such a stand,” Ssemogerere said.

Beyond Uganda, Martyrs’ Day is observed in various countries worldwide, including the United States, Japan, India, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. These commemorations honor individuals such as soldiers, revolutionaries, or victims of genocide, recognizing the sacrifices made by martyrs in their respective nations and reflecting a global tradition of honoring those who have given their lives for their beliefs, freedom and/or country.

From persecution to proclamation, the legacy of martyrs is a compelling narrative of resilience and unwavering faith. As the world continues to honor their sacrifices, their stories remain a beacon of hope and inspiration for generations to come.

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