Tag Archives: Uganda Christian University

University’s First Engineering Guild President Promotes Science, Math and Technology

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Bruce Mugisha Amanya (in tie) during final hours of Guild President Campaign (UCU Partners photo)

BY DOUGLAS OLUM
Following a hectic week of speeches, music, riding in poster-plastered cars and on the shoulders of guys wearing his picture on their T-shirts, Uganda Christian University engineering student Bruce Mugisha Amanya emerged as the Main (Mukono) campus 2018-2019 Guild President.

Amanya’s 1,000 supporting votes edged him ahead of two rivals, making history as he became the first engineering student to obtain the student body leadership spot in the university’s 21-year existence. Amanya, in his third year pursuing a Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering degree, isonly the second guild president from the university’s Faculty of Science and Technology.  An Information Technology student was chosen in 2005.

The day after his late-night Nov. 2 victory, Amanya reflected on his background, his reason for running and his goals for the next year. Among questions during the campaign was how an engineering-type person – someone known for inventing and innovating – would manage leadership.

“The fact that I am a scientist, very many people, which is quite unfortunate, do not see me as a leader,” he said. “They think I can probably play better with mathematics and numbers, than with dialogue and advocacy. But it is very difficult for an engineer to succeed if he is not a leader. We experience leadership directly in the field – managing people, time, equipment or money.”

According to Amanya, engineers have resource management and problem-solving skills. He referred to building structures such as roads and bridges as work where engineers are “co-creators with God.”

While representing all students, Amanya plans to further disprove the common misconception that scientists could not make good leaders by helping to market science courses and build a wider and more engaged Science and Technology alumni base. He wants to make the public aware that UCU is more than the “law school.”

“I had my internship at the Parliament of Uganda,” he recalled. “The very day I reported, I met the Sergeant at Arms and he asked me: What is your name? I told him my name. He asked where I was from. I told him UCU. Immediately he asked me, ‘Are you a law student?’” When Amanya clarified that he was enrolled in civil engineering, the official was surprised that such a program existed.

“Those questions triggered something in me,” he said. “We are right in the city centre but people do not know that we offer engineering courses. I want to resolve that through my leadership.”

Over the next 12 months, Amanya said he plans to lobby for more funding towards science students’ projects from the university, advocate for incorporation of some essential courses not yet being taught by the faculty, ensure that specialist supervisors are brought on board to guide students’ innovative projects, set up an innovation week, cut guild expenditures on trips to support students and form a students tribunal comprised of class representatives to scrutinize guild budget and ensure total accountability and transparency.

“We need to market ourselves. But we cannot market ourselves when we don’t graduate our students. Last year, almost half the total number of finalist students of engineering did not graduate because they did not have anyone to supervise their final-year projects,” Amanya noted.

“I want to see our alumni take on projects within the university as a way of giving back. The university needs to prioritize them after graduating them. That is how we can also advertise them, using what they have done,” Amanya said.

Sitting at a table and near an older brother, Ayesigye Brian Mugisha (he arrived to congratulate), the new guild president concluded with a story of a young man selling mangoes. The story is about a youth advertising his product by shouting.

“People were not buying until he reached an old woman,” Amanya said. “She told him that people are not buying your mangoes because you are not giving them the reason to buy. Sit down, pick a mango, cut and begin eating. People will come and ask you how sweet the mangoes are, then you will ask them: Do you want one? Bring money, and they will buy. That way, the boy managed to sell all his mangoes.”

New guild president, seated, with his brother who traveled to Mukono to issue congratulations (UCU Partners photo)

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

UCU Students, Public Officials Air Opinions on OTT, Mobile Money Taxes

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By Billy Bayo
Uganda’s Over the Top Tax (OTT) on the country’s social media and Mobile Money taxes were the main topics for the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Law Society 2018 symposium.


Held at Nkoyoyo Hall on the UCU main campus in Mukono, on 31 October 2018, roughly 100 students listened and debated the economic and freedom injustices of the new taxes. OTT, which costs UGX 200 a day, and the Mobile Money tax were implemented in July of this year.

The annual symposium topic was “The choice of taxing OTT (Over the Top Tax) and mobile money services as a tool of widening Uganda’s tax base.” Joining students in the discussion were thinkers, policy makers, and journalists.

The Infamous OTT and Mobile Money Tax

Hon. Nobert Mao, the Democratic Party (DP) President

Hon. Nobert Mao, the Democratic Party (DP) President, who was tasked to discuss the role of citizens said, “If you want to encourage innovation, internet should be free. The social media tax is about undermining collective citizenship not collecting money. The tax is also anti-young people because it is the young generation that is so much on these social media platforms. I hope the next government which is coming soon will reverse that decision immediately.”

Nicholas Opiyo, a Human Rights Attorney attached to Chapter Four Uganda, agreed that shutting down social media is “an attempt by state to shield from scrutiny and also cartel the free flow of information and it is associated with state violence.” He added his belief that taxes should be levied for progressive purposes with hopes that “the court will declare the tax unlawful and nullifies it.”

Ian Mutiibwa, an advocate at Signum Advocates said, “The taxing of social media and the tax on mobile money is wrong even if it’s only 0.5 percent. It is taking us backwards. These taxes will kill people because we shall go backwards. The principle of double taxation is that the same income should not be taxed twice from the same person. However, the mobile money tax is absolutely against that principle.”

Raymond Mujuni, a journalist with NBS Television said the multinational companies providing those services should be taxed instead of double taxing the citizens.

An intellectually charged Raymond further said he is totally against the OTT and Mobile Money taxes.

“These taxes must go, I totally disagree with them and I am ready to challenge it. Without economic freedom, there is no freedom for any black man. Those who have taxed us into oblivion, there must be accountability,” he said.

Simon Peter M. Kinobe, the President of Uganda Law Society (ULS) agreed that the state has an obligation to collect taxes.  However, he took issue with what the taxes are used for, arguing that the impact of both taxes needed to be researched before being passed.

“The state has an obligation to collect tax. The big question is what our taxes are being used for?” he asked.

Other issues discussed at the annual forum included tribalism and political inclusion of the youth in decision-making.

UCU Covers Ground in Science Education Thanks to Uganda Partner’s Equipment

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Okot Francis, laboratory attendant, with liquid limit cone penetrator

By Alex Taremwa
Uganda Christian University (UCU) started out as a theological college. Slowly, the university transformed into one of the predominant arts and humanities’ institutions of higher learning in Uganda and produced the best lawyers, journalists, business leaders, teachers and social workers.

Over time, however, a vision was born to integrate the Christian spiritual values into sciences to better meet the needs of the country and as such, a Faculty of Science and Technology (FOST) was created with two departments – Civil and Environmental Engineering and Agriculture and Biological Sciences. These are housed in a new storied building in the Technology Park area of the UCU Mukono campus.

The need then was to build state-of-the-art laboratories and equip them to the standard that would allow students to create groundbreaking discoveries to improve the community, the graduates’ career opportunities and the university’s brand.

Making science real
Hellenah Dushime, a third-year student of Food Science and Technology says that ever since the Chemistry and Biology Labs were fitted with equipment from UCU Partners, her studies took a new twist.

“Before we were always told in theory what the equipment was and how it worked,” she said. “With the equipment, I can now do my practical assignments here and learn firsthand how things are done. This is what I call science. You can’t teach it like history.”

Her most used equipment are the deep freezer, where her samples are safely stored, and the analytical balance donated by contributors to UCU Partners.

Reaching beyond students
Okot Francis, the laboratory attendant since 2015, has noticed a great increase in the use of the equipment. He says that besides the students who are now a permanent fixture in the labs, the external community users such as researchers doing independent experiments have expressed interest in using the laboratories.

He believes if the university could secure accreditation for the labs from the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) certifying that they were of great standard and quality, the equipment could earn the university money that would in turn help in purchase of laboratory supplies, paying for routine servicing among others.

“I can comfortably say that UCU Partners has given our department a huge boost,” he says. “If you look at what the students have been able to do practically, you see great value. Some are already making bread jam, mayonnaise, waste purification; it is simply amazing.”

Okot says student instruction has significantly improved and so have skills and application to the local community. The university has made it mandatory for students to use their class groups (four students) to work on a project that solves a problem in the local village of Mukono.

“They have done water harvesting – a model that the university is currently using – waste management, crop clinics among other projects,” he says. “And even as they graduate, we are more certain of sending out all around graduates with great skills to create jobs.”

Equipment peaking interest
The relevance to learning and real-world application that the new equipment provides has not only increased enrollment in science programs but has enhanced partnerships with humanitarian organizations. World Vision, for example, uses the equipment to test the quality of water in boreholes and streams in the communities.

A student model demonstrating proper land use at home for gardening and rain water harvesting for rural homes

Going forward, Okot says the science laboratories will be further divided off so students can have dedicated spaces to work under controlled environments for better results.

“We shall partition the labs so that students in dairy production, micro-biology, and biotechnology can have more dedicated spaces to work with the equipment best suited for them. This also will improve the safety of the equipment,” he adds.

Rodgers Tayebwa, a lecturer in the Civil Engineering department says that his students have been more involved since they received the turbidimeter –equipment for measuring the cloudiness of water.

His students use the new liquid cone penetrators to determine the moisture content at which clay soils pass from a plastic to liquid state and to determine the undrained shear strength necessary for the longevity of civil structures such as roads, bridges and buildings.

In the laboratory, you can see the toil of students. The specimens are carefully placed in the room temperature spaces, some still under study labeled with tags “Do not touch,” and others already out being recorded.

Students at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels use the four laboratories. Tayebwa notes that strict standard operating procedures for equipment use were designed to ensure safety of both the students and the equipment.

Rodgers Tayebwa, UCU Civil Engineering lecturer, with new portable equipment

Portable laboratory
“This equipment is expensive. We can’t just let it be used without precaution. It is basically a portable laboratory that a student carries to the field and does the tests on the spot,” he explains.

Like Okot, he acknowledges that the faculty still needs more equipment especially for new courses such as Food Science and Technology, Nutrition and Dairy Technology. There is hope and prayer that this, too, will be forthcoming.

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For more information about how you can help support equipment to make a difference in UCU education, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

Also, follow UCU Partners on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

John and Christine Kiganda, long-time UCU supporters, pose at an October Friends of UCU event with Justice James Manage Ogoola, left standing, and UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor/Development and External Relations, David Mugawe.

40 UCU supporters attend appreciation event

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John and Christine Kiganda, long-time UCU supporters, pose at an October Friends of UCU event with Justice James Manage Ogoola, left standing, and UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor/Development and External Relations, David Mugawe.
John and Christine Kiganda, long-time UCU supporters, pose at an October Friends of UCU event with Justice James Manage Ogoola, left standing, and UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor/Development and External Relations, David Mugawe.

Christine Kiganda’s grandfather was on the staff at Bishop Tucker Theological College in the 1920s. That’s part of the reason that she contributes to Uganda Christian University.  A bigger reason, however, for both her and her husband, John, is in his words:

“Somebody helped us.  We should do the same.”

Those people, according to Christine, who obtained some of her education in the United States, “didn’t know me.”  Likewise, she commented while writing a 500,000-shilling ($133) check to UCU on October 25, she and students she helps at UCU today will likely never know each other.

The Kigandas are strong advocates of learning, including education for the deaf. They were among 40 mostly Ugandans who attended a “Friends of UCU” appreciation event in the Mukono campus Principal’s Hall. Christine and John operate an energy business called Battery Plus Limited in Kampala. They donate in spite of the fact that none of their three biological children went to UCU.

“The best giving is regular giving,” the Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, UCU Vice Chancellor, told the Oct. 25 participants.

The Vice Chancellor and David Mugawe, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Development and External Relations, outlined the financial needs, including the new School of Medicine and plans for a new UCU Kampala campus. Margaret Kiwanuka, UCU Development Officer, echoed appreciation to donors, distributed notebook gifts and announced the formation of a Friends of UCU WhatsApp group.

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Friends of UCU can contribute monthly or annually. Information about how to contribute through UCU Partners, located in the USA, can be obtained from Mark Bartels at mtbartels@gmail.com.  Information about contributions directly to UCU can be obtained by contacting Margaret Kiwanuka at mkiwanuka@ucu.ac.ug or 0794770842.

Peggy Noll inspires Uganda’s next generation of writers

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Mrs. Peggy Noll
Mrs. Peggy Noll

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UCU “Save a Buddy” campaign gives hope to needy students

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By Billy Bayo

The African culture is one of the most generous societies in the world. It attaches a lot of meaning to generosity because it is a product of a social consciousness with which Africans proudly identify, guarded by the principle of communalism.

At Uganda Christian University (UCU), an example of how this generosity is the student-driven initiative called Save a Buddy. The program is aimed at helping needy students who are unable to clear tuition and successfully sit for their semester examinations. Students contribute to help their less-fortunate peers through collections of money at the campus entrance gates, serving food in the dining hall to students, and car wash fundraising.

These activities are carried out in each of the three (January, May, and September) semesters at UCU. The current September (advent) semester Save a Buddy program runs from 15th – 26th October 2018.

Recipient Expectations and Appreciation
Through the Financial Aid office, those chosen to receive Save a Buddy funds have their accounts credited with money in exchange for work two hours a day for the semester.

One such recipient is Trinity Ochen, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration from UCU this Friday, October 26. Ochen was meeting his financial obligations until his supporter, an older brother named Daniel Odinga, was critically injured in a bomb blast from a building in Myanmar.

“Tuition was more challenging,” Ochen said.  “Whenever the tuition deadline was due, I would beg from friends. Because of Save a Buddy, I didn’t have to do that during my last semester.”

Another student, Justine Nanyanzi, echoed appreciation for tuition assistance.

“I was working for my sponsor, but instead of paying me, she was paying my tuition,” said Justine, a year two student pursuing a Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics Management. “However, things changed when her hotel building was taken, and I lost my job. She sold beds and mattresses and paid my tuition for the first year second semester. Then, my sponsor lost her father, and things became more difficult.”

Justine was considering suicide before the financial aid arrived.  She is grateful.

A third student, Ivan Muteesasira, was “saved” from worry about where he would find food to eat. With financial assistance, he is able to better concentrate on his studies related to Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Student loan option under exploration
According to Mr. Walter Washika, a financial aid officer at UCU, the fundamental objective of the financial office is to coordinate different scholarship programs that benefit students.

“Besides giving hope to the students, there is mentorship,” Washika said. “I am happy people worldwide are contributing towards this noble cause.”

With the growing need for financial support in the university, the financial aid office is undertaking steps to launch a student loan scheme to ease the hardship and help more students attain their education.

“We should have a student loan option soon so that our needy students can borrow and repay the money later,” Washika disclosed.

Other Scholarships at UCU
Apart from Save a buddy, UCU has a number of scholarships.  These include:

Biological scholarships.  These benefit children of full-time staff at UCU. This is given to the students until they complete their program of study.

Sports scholarships. This is mainly awarded to exceptionally good sports students. Most of these students take part in playing games for the university.

Theological Scholarship. The university gets two students from each diocese across the country under this scholarship.

Needs-based scholarships. Needy students work throughout the semester to get money accredited to their account commensurate to the amount of work done.

Merit-based awards. This award is based on academic performance of students. It targets best performing students who are unable to pay tuition at the university.

Designated scholarships. This scholarship occurs from the outside community through partnerships, including from UCU Partners.

“I am now performing very well because I do not have sleepless nights any more,” said Muteesasira.  “There is food for me at the university as opposed to the past.”

Nanyanzi’s disappointment was turned around by the UCU financial aid office that “have helped me carry on. UCU is the best place and has moulded me spiritually. I thank God I joined UCU.”

“There is a lot of commitment from the lecturers towards teaching the students, giving students the best platform and knowledge,” Ochen said. “I am happy for the opportunity to study at UCU.”

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If you are interested in supporting Uganda scholarships, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners’ Executive Director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.

World View impact on Marriage to be addressed at 2018 Uganda Christian University Public Lecture

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The Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll, former Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University, will headline the University’s 2018 Public Lecturer Program at 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 24, at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel. His topic is “Secularism on the March: The Abolition of Marriage and Family.”

The guest of honor will be Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza of the Ugandan Supreme Court.

Prof. Noll will explain the fundamentally opposed worldviews of religions, which see God as Creator of the world, and atheistic secularism, which claims that there is nothing that is absolutely true, good or beautiful. These worldviews, he claims, have profound effects on how a society values marriage.

For most religions, marriage and family are ordained by God. The Bible sees it this way, as Jesus says: “From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Atheistic secularism, on the other hand, sees “sexuality” as an end in itself, leading to short-term “hook-ups” and cohabitation, and easy divorce.

When the secularist worldview dominates a society, Prof. Noll argues, marriage loses its stabilizing role, and women and children are the greatest losers.

After returning to the United States in 2010, Rev. Noll was appointed Chairman of the “Task Force on Marriage, the Family and the Single Life” of the Anglican Church in North America.

He also has been a leader at the Global Anglican Future Conferences over the past decade. The “Gafcon” movement has opposed the same secularizing trends in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Last June, 2,000 Anglicans, including all the Ugandan bishops and their wives, met in Jerusalem and stated: “For some time our Communion has been under threat from leaders who deny the Lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture.”

Prof. Noll will be accompanied by his wife Peggy, who served with him in Mukono from 2000-2010. He will be the Guest of Honor at the UCU Graduation on Friday, 26 October. The Nolls reside in Pennsylvania, USA.

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

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

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

By Patty-Huston Holm

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

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

Cornelius Wambi Gulere, senior lecturer in literature, at Uganda Christian University (UCU)
Cornelius Wambi Gulere

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UCU Student translator, Buryo Emmanuel Noble
UCU Student translator, Buryo Emmanuel Noble

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

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

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

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

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

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

Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.

(BarefootLaw Photo)

UCU graduates in BarefootLaw seek justice in un-just world (Part II of II)

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By Brendah Ndagire

Timothy Kakuru, BFL Program Director (BarefootLaw Photo)
Timothy Kakuru, BFL Program Director (BarefootLaw Photo)

This second of two segments follows last week’s story of how UCU Law graduates are making a difference in the lives of Ugandans with the non-profit BarefootLaw (BFL) organization. This week features an interview with BarefootLaw’s Program Director, Timothy Kakuru,  to understand why BFL is doing the type of legal work across Ugandan communities. This interview is edited for clarification purposes.

What attracted you to Uganda Christian University Law School?
When I applied for the law program at UCU, it had a very good reputation among legal practitioners in Uganda. Before I came to UCU, all I knew about (studying) law is that you were in the program to graduate and make money. That I would become a lawyer, go to court, (argue a specific case) and get money – to somehow become rich. After I got to UCU, I learned that they were other ways to use my law degree. Primarily, UCU School of Law put a Christian aspect to legal practice, which changed the dynamics (of practice) for many of us (law students and graduates). I know many UCU graduates who are working within the non-profit field, because for the most part, the law program at UCU was about service, doing work for the greater good of the community, than serving to gain some sort of financial gain. Most other law schools in Uganda teach law in (the lens) of justice, but in UCU, it was not only through (the perspective of) justice but also in terms of Christian ethics.

How is the Christian ethic approach different?
Justice is what is right, according to the law. The difference lies in how a crime is prosecuted. For example, if someone burns your house, justice for you would be in terms of (monetary) compensation. To put a Christian aspect to that example, then one seeks to understand why the other person burnt your house, and seek to reconcile the two parties. The big gap is that often time in the legal system, there is no element of reconciliation, where as at UCU we were taught to try to reconcile the two parties by looking at the whys and the hows of a specific wrong action, and then solve the issue amicably.

How did BarefootLaw evolve?
The BarefootLaw was incorporated in 2013 as non-profit legal agency.  The idea of BarefootLaw came from Gerald Abila in 2012 who begun a Facebook Page to share legal information. I met him at Law Development Centre in 2013 and he shared the idea with me, I liked it and agreed to join him and slowly the team grew from there. The grand idea was to make justice available to people through giving them legal information. The crux of it was that if people knew their rights, then they would be able to enforce them. They would not really need legal representation because they would be able to avoid (potential) conflicts. For example, if that businessman knew that defilement was a crime, he would avoid having relationships with young girls. Many people are not aware that certain actions are legal offenses. The idea was to provide as much legal information that people would know that they would avoid engaging in crimes.

Left to right, Isaac, Timothy and Gerald, Co-founders of Barefoot Law. (BarefootLaw Photo)
Left to right, Isaac, Timothy and Gerald, Co-founders of Barefoot Law. (BarefootLaw Photo)

What did the implementation process of the idea look like?
We thought using technology would be our best strategy. Gerald (CEO) had already opened up a FaceBook page and I came on board to partner in writing content and publishing. Later, we came up with the an idea of doing sms, small call centers, website platforms and other mechanisms including community outreach and legal training with people in rural communities. We thought this would be our way of empowering people with legal information so that they may be able to avoid crime, or know what to do in case of a criminal offense.

But why BarefootLaw as a non profit legal agency and not as a profit-making law firm?
I had worked with the Uganda Law Council during my time at LDC, and had witnessed how many people had been taken advantage of. The Uganda Law Council disciplines lawyers. There were cases where lawyers were accused of taking someone’s property such as land, and in other cases a son of an elderly man working with corrupt lawyers to take away his father’s land. I thought I was already in a toxic law field. There were backlog of cases dating to 1994, and just so many unethical issues that was disillusioning, and I was not ready to jump into such a legal (justice) system.

I had always wanted to do something more meaningful and impactful to the ordinary person with my law degree. BarefootLaw to me was an opportunity for us to have every individual be ‘their own lawyer’ – we thought if people knew just enough information about law or human rights, they would be able to know if, for instance, you are entitled to bail once you have been arrested and detained for more than 48 hours. BarefootLaw is about making sure that ordinary people are empowered by understanding their human rights.

How do you reach out to people?
We have a very big social media presence. We have over 200,000 Facebook followers on our platforms, and in that sense most people do come to us for legal help. We do have community outreaches in some Districts, such as Soroti, Arua, Apach, Lira, and we try to get as many people as possible. We have an SMS and call center platform where most people can reach us. In a day, we can get about 50 cases. Some days are more others days less. Some cases are serious, others are not.

What has stood out for you working with BFL?
Most of the lawyers who work with us at BFL are from UCU. They are UCU graduates. And this shows that we are attracting young lawyers to do things differently within the Uganda legal system. As you may know, money drives most people, including in Uganda. And at BFL we try to challenge that by providing our services at a free cost in most cases. The admirable thing about BFL is that people who work with us are aware that they are not doing it primarily for the money.

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Stories such as Timothy’s and the experiences of the people they have walked with to seek free legal support, are the reason why Uganda Partners supports law students so that they may have access to empowering and Christ centered education – a type of education that is making a huge difference in their communities. If you are interested in supporting students who are making a difference in the communities around Uganda such as Timothy Kakuru and the UCU graduates team at BarefootLaw, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners’ Executive Director, at  mtbartels@gmail.com. Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.

Timothy and BFL colleagues in Belgium receiving the 2017 King Baudouin African Development Prize.

UCU graduates in BarefootLaw seek justice in un-just world

UCU Alumni, UCU School of Law, , , , , ,


By Brendah Ndagire

Timothy and BFL colleagues in Belgium receiving the 2017 King Baudouin African Development Prize.
Timothy and BFL colleagues in Belgium receiving the 2017 King Baudouin African Development Prize. (BarefootLaw Photo)

 “What,” an anxious young man began, “does punishment for defilement mean?”

It was 2014. James (not his actual name) hopelessly asked the question to lawyers at BarefootLaw (BFL), a nonprofit legal organization founded in the Ntinda, greater Kampala area, Uganda.

The lawyers responded: “The maximum punishment for defilement is life in prison, and if it is aggravated defilement, someone may be subjected to capital punishment.”

The BFL legal team then received a message from James detailing what happened to his 12-year-old sister in Eastern Uganda’s Lganga District. A powerful businessman was accused of sexual abuse/defilement of the young girl. The man was caught in the act and taken to the police, but the offender negotiated with the police and was let go. He had paid the child’s mother some compensation to get the mother to drop the charges.

But the older brother couldn’t forget. He knew that his younger sister had been raped and deserved more than a monetary payoff by the perpetrator and a brush off by police. Despite the mother’s refusal to press on past her compensation and no help from Ugandan legal prosecutors, James reached out to BFL to reopen and proceed with the case.

According to BFL lawyers, no one should be able to compensate his way out of a rape/defilement charge. BFL took on the case of James and his sister. Two years later, there was a conviction of three year’s imprisonment for the perpetrator. Not enough, but some vindication.

“The news of the conviction made our year,” said UCU Law graduate Timothy Kakuru. “It made us realize that no matter how hopeless the case may be we have to keep encouraging the person we are helping to get justice.”

Timothy Kakuru leads a workshop with BFL beneficiaries. (BarefootLaw Photo)
Timothy Kakuru leads a workshop with BFL beneficiaries. (BarefootLaw Photo)

Stories like James’ are part of many successful stories Timothy’s BFL  creates every year. Timothy shared another story of a young woman who was working in a security company. She was sexually harassed by one of her male bosses. Many times she had reported the abuse but nothing happened to the culprits. In Uganda, oftentimes when the victims of sexual violence report such abuses they are met with such accusations as: “You invited it… it was your fault…the way you were dressed.” The victims of sexual violence are often blamed for what has happened to them.

Another young woman, working in the IT department of an organisation got a video recording of her being harassed by security officials. She hoped she could use the video to sue the company, but the company decided to fire her and tried to get her arrested for stealing their company video.  By the time she came to BFL for justice, she was very terrified because officials were threatening her.

Barefoot Law guided her to notify her employers of her intention to sue, detailing all the laws broken by her bosses at the security company, and listing out how much (money) she could ask for in terms of compensation. The lawsuit according to Timothy,  would have included sexual abuse, wrongful termination, and  mental suffering/health. The letter got into the hands of the Human Resource Manager and later in the hands of the director of the company. To protect its image, after receiving a letter from her,  a week later, the company m informed her that it would compensate her.

“In the end, she decided not to go ahead with the lawsuit because it was going to be a very long and tiring process, and she was happy with the decent financial compensation received. This helped to restore her dignity,” said Timothy.

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COMING UP: Next week, UCU Partners will share more of an interview with BarefootLaw co-founder Timothy Kakuru.  Included will be more details how Barefoot Law got started and how more lives have been transformed by this non-profit organization.

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If you are interested in supporting students who are making a difference in the communities around Uganda such as Timothy Kakuru and the UCU graduates’ team at Barefoot Law, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners’ Executive Director, at mtbartels@gmail.com. Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.

“I was sick and you visited me…truly I tell you whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:36-40

UCU Launches School of Medicine with foresight, planning, prayer

UCU School of Medicine, , , , ,


By Patty Huston-Holm

“I was sick and you visited me…truly I tell you whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:36-40
“I was sick and you visited me…truly I tell you whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:36-40

This, according to Dr. Ned Kanyesigye, sums up not only the reason that Uganda Christian University (UCU) started a medical school, but also what makes UCU unique in doing it.

That Uganda needs more doctors is without question. The World Health Organization reports 1 doctor per 13,000 Ugandans compared to the 1 per 400 citizens in the United States. To churn out these doctors, Uganda needs more medical schools.  What gives UCU an edge in producing medical practitioners is not only institutional oversight for knowledge and skill, but also the moral and ethical ties to Christianity.

“We know the need,” said Dr. Ned, Dean of the UCU School of Medicine (SoM). “But we’re about quality and not quantity. Our country’s infant mortality rate is high and our life expectancy is low.”

The first 60 students – 50 in medicine and 10 in dentistry and more than half female – started classes in the UCU School of Medicine in early September of 2018 with hopes to graduate in 2022. The selection process was painstaking as five credentialed professionals wove through 500 applicants with impeccable high school transcripts. That number was reduced to 150 who were scrutinized for reading habits, writing and overall communication ability, science expertise, faith, and knowledge of current affairs.

Criteria without wealth consideration
“Whether they had money was low on the criteria,” said Edward Kanyesigye, who is known as Dr. Ned. “I was poor and overcame it.  But clearly they must pay fees or be forced to drop out. ”

The first class of 60 includes bright, energetic young people from all parts of Uganda with a few from African countries of Eritrea, Nigeria, South Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. They study and live within a hospital complex in Mengo, a hillside community 1.5 miles from the heart of Uganda’s capital city of Kampala and near an archway leading to the King of Buganda palace. They learn from lecturers and books and through practicums at the Mengo hospital.

“We got them exposed to cadavers right away,” Dr. Ned commented. “We prepared them in advance, and all were engaged.”

“Who got the idea for a medical school?” Dr. Ned pondered the question out loud.  In the midst of the planning and a year before the opening, he sat behind his office desk in the UCU Mukono campus Academic Building. “I can’t say it was me. There was collective thought. The Province of the Church of Uganda was talking about it for years. Based on successful health-related programs here at UCU, it was a natural progression.”

In July of 2014, a team of UCU faculty and other Province of Church of Uganda stakeholders (including Mengo Hospital management) met to discuss medical service gaps in Uganda. Seated around a table at Silver Springs Hotel near Kampala, around 30 people looked at data verifying the need beyond Uganda’s already existing 10 medical schools, discussed what a quality health professionals training might look like and examined possible facility and personnel requirements.

Instrumental to the startup was Dr. Miriam Gesa Mutabazi, a senior medical doctor (obstetrician gynecologist by training) and now executive director of the Save the Mothers program at UCU. She assisted with the new school on a consultancy basis to coordinate the day-to-day process of “growing the medical school project.” She was influential in putting together the curriculum and convening meetings of the medical school’s working group on the project.

Adding dentistry and medicine was a natural outgrowth of UCU health-related programs that evolved in the institution’s 21-year history.  In the months before the UCU School of Medicine official launch on September 14, 2018, the UCU Department of Health Sciences became the School of Medicine, folding in the already existing programs of nursing, public health, and Save the Mothers health administration with the new medicine and dentistry tracks.

“Nobody said ‘medical school’ right away,” Dr. Ned. “But most of us, including the Vice Chancellor (Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi), knew that was why we were there at that meeting four years ago.  In the end, it was unanimous.”

Dr. Ned, center, with some of the first students for the new medical school
Dr. Ned, center, with some of the first students for the new medical school

UCU-Mengo Hospital collaborative
The Mengo Hospital and UCU collaboration was a given with UCU’s quality standing among East African universities, UCU’s nearby Kampala campus and Mengo’s reputation as Uganda’s oldest hospital and its modernization in the 121 years since its inception. In addition to acknowledging the need, both partners already had shared values of ethics, holistic practices, compassion and “witness of Jesus Christ.” A medical school supports the UCU strategic plan to increase science programs and its design to enhance evidenced-based practice and research. The programing also aligns with the Uganda’s goal to expand science-related careers.

As with any new project, there were bumps in the road, Dr. Ned recalled. The start date was later than the original plan due to the approval process of the National Council of Higher Education. Under God’s plan that “in all things God works for the good of those of love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28),” however, Dr. Ned pointed out that the delay translated into a higher quality program. The added time allowed more study about staffing, facilities, curriculum, student applications, tuition, governance and overall design.

Data-driven initiative
Data was a main driver.  More than half of Uganda’s citizens have no access to public health facilities, and 62% of health care posts are unfilled. Women and their babies are dying during the birth process. Respiratory and blood pressure issues are increasing alongside HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, malaria and diabetes.

In addition to foundational programs required of all UCU students and renovated space, the start of the program includes:

  • Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry curriculum guided by full-time lecturers and part-time teachers;
  • Old Testament Bible Study;
  • Clinical specialists (pediatrics, medicine, surgery, gynecology); and
  • Hands-on skill training to compliment video, textbook and lecture content.

Subsequent years could enable allowing some students to opt out of courses based on their high qualifications, including experience; conducting internships and practicums at various locations; and attaining degrees beyond the initial two (medicine, dentistry) to those in pharmacy, biomedical laboratory science and nursing science.

“We continue to be besieged by calls and emails from potential students wanting in,” Dr. Ned said. “Medicine is a highly competitive field. We want applicants who are ready to apply social responsibility, empathy, integrity, individual and team skills and problem solving and to engage in lifelong learning.”

Among outcomes required for the UCU School of Medicine graduates is wellness. They need to practice and teach disease prevention and cure and describe and prescribe for illnesses and injuries.

Need for student sponsorship
That the first class of UCU School of Medicine is up to the tasks is without question. The biggest hurdle is money for staffing, equipment and students.  Tuition is $4,100 a year (includes room and board) for each of the five years. Sponsors are needed. In addition to full support:

  • Every gift of $150 will provide library materials for one student.
  • 25 donors giving $50/month will buy the physiology simulator.
  • $500 scholarships will help offset the costs for students since most Ugandans live on $2 per day.
  • 4 donors giving $2,500 will help the School obtain the anatomy software needed this year.

“While we spent time in both prayer and study for this to happen, clearly we need support,” the dean said.

For Dr. Ned, this new venture is just one of many in his career that has taken him throughout Uganda and in various medical-related leader and teacher positions that include practicum related to patient care, tobacco control and the fight against HIV/AIDS, among others. He is finding the possibilities exciting not because of any personal legacy but because of ability impact positive change.

“We are in the business of mankind so wherever the need is, we hope we can help meet it,” he said.

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More information about the Uganda Christian University School of Medicine can be obtained at https://www.ugandapartners.org/priority-projects or http://ucu.ac.ug/component/k2/item/25-ucu-to-launch-her-medical-school.

Support from the United States can be addressed to Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org or https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/ To support the UCU School of Medicine from Uganda, send mobile money on 0772 770852 (Uganda Christian University) or email development@ucu.ac.ug.

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Patty Huston-Holm of Ohio in the USA is a visiting UCU faculty member, working on various writing projects and serving as the volunteer communications director with the UCU Partners NGO that is based in Pennsylvania, United States. 

UCU Graduate Anna Betu at her job in Kyaka II Settlement, Kyegegwa District

UCU graduate work to ‘undo violence’ for ‘peaceful co-existence’ in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement

Scholarship, UCU Alumni, , , , ,


By Brendah Ndagire

UCU Graduate Anna Betu at her job in Kyaka II Settlement, Kyegegwa District
2018 UCU Graduate Anna Betu at her job in Kyaka II Settlement, Kyegegwa District (Western Uganda)

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

Anna Betu, a 2018 Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate and a recipient of the UCU Partners Sponsorship program, is wasting no time in doing what the late South African leader practiced and believed. Before July, when she attained her prestigious First Class Degree (a 4.5 of 5.0 Grade-Point Average) in Bachelors of Arts in Governance and International Relations, she was already working. She was employed as a Protection Assistant by the  Danish Refugee Council, accompanying predominantly Congolese and Burundian refugees resettled in Kyaka II Settlement, Kyegegwa District (Western Uganda).

There are about 25.4 million refugees of ethnic cleansing, civil war and genocide worldwide, according the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 2018 report. Just days before Anna Betu’s UCU graduation, this interview was conducted at the Kyaka settlement which supports more than 70,000 refugees from the Republics of Burundi and the Congo.

What inspired you to pursue the Governance and International Relations Program at Uganda Christian University (UCU)?
Anna Betu, a 2018 Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate and a recipient of the UCU Partners Sponsor programI first wanted to study Procurement and Logistics but when I looked at the educational trends in Uganda, there were very many people who had (studied) procurement and logistics. In addition to getting an education that would lead to a job, I wanted to try out something different. Since my childhood, I have been fascinated by politics, governance and leadership. When I went to UCU, and saw that they had a program in Governance and International Relations, this seemed a good fit. I have always wanted to be a leader, and I felt like this program would be something that would help understand how to lead our own people and how different countries relate with each other.

How has your education at UCU prepared you for your vocation at the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) Uganda?
The Governance and International Relations Program is only (available) at UCU. I am the first UCU graduate to work (with DRC). I had classes on refugees, international law, peace-building, communication, public and international relations. My all-round education has enabled me to implement here most of the things I studied. Refugee conditions are an international relations issue. Because of what I learned at UCU, I am equipped with the expertise (to understand ) how we engage with particular (refugee) cases. I see that some governments are not standing up to what has been ratified within the international laws concerning refugees and their protection. When I look at the current conflict in the Congo and the rest of the world, I understand their root causes because that’s something we studied extensively throughout our program. As a result of the classes I took on international law and relations, I am the only person that assists our organization’s lawyer to ensure that the legal issues of refugees are settled.

As a beneficiary of the UCU Partners Scholarship, how was the scholarship helpful to you?
After eight years of being out of school due to financial difficulties, most universities did not look at me as a credible candidate for their programs. What I am giving back to the community is very little compared to what UCU Uganda Partners has invested in me.

The financial support I received from Uganda Partners is now benefiting 70,000 people here at Kyaka II Settlement.

Because a few individuals gave (money) towards my education, I am able to be in this position to give support to vulnerable people in settlement communities. The Uganda Partners’ scholarship has given me hope and inspired me to look beyond a Bachelor’s degree. I would love to have a Masters or even a PHD and become a Consultant on immigrants and refugees in Uganda and in Africa at large. This UCU Partners’ scholarship has laid a wonderful foundation. I am very empowered and very hopeful about my future, my children’s future, and the futures of refugees.

Anna (third from right) and Faith Atim, Refugee Reception Center Assistant, with the cooks at the refugee reception center, Kyaka II
Anna (third from right) and Faith Atim, Refugee Reception Center Assistant, with the cooks at the refugee reception center, Kyaka II

Tell us about your experience accompanying refugees in Kyaka II Settlement community?
I had my internship here. My performance as a student laid the groundwork for me to be a full-time DRC employee even before I graduated from UCU. I wanted to come back and they wanted me to come back. During my internship, I developed relationships with my clients that are building even more now. But as a full-time employee, I am more accountable to refugees. It is important to evaluate my success by looking at the progress and happiness of my clients. Some of my clients come to me when they are very sad, and after interacting with them, and solving their problems, I see them smiling. My success is then fulfilled by their smiles, and happy faces. Obviously, every context has its own challenges. Each refugee has his/her struggles. War affects women, children, and men differently. Some people come out of (the war areas) traumatized, disabled, unaccompanied, and my job is to walk with them in their healing journey. I pray for their healing, and every morning in my devotion, I set aside a time to pray for refugees and our staff who accompany them.

While Uganda has had an open-door policy towards refugees, other countries have closed their doors to migrants. Amidst this and other challenges faced by refugees here and beyond, what keeps you committed to the work you are doing at the Kyaka II refugee community with DRC Uganda?
The innocence of the people I work with keeps me committed to the work I am doing. They are victims of violence. I understand that I work with victims of violence and together as a (DRC) community, we are committed to find a plan that would make their lives better. I may be a drop in the ocean that is working against the daily structures that cause violence, but the truth is I am working from the bottom up approach to undo violence to educate young people and adults in the settlement on the impact of violence, what they can do to solve violence, and learn about peaceful coexistence.

Finally, what is your advice to current UCU students?
Understand your God-given purpose. We are occupying a very globalized space. Take time to identify your space and operate from that space to transform your community. And identify a problem in your community and be part of solving it. Finally, be passionate about something you are doing and love it.

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For more information about how you can sponsor a student who might make a difference as Anna is, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

Also, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

UCU’s Africa Policy Centre Joins Fight to End Child Sacrifice in Uganda

News, , , , ,


By Alex Taremwa

On the sidelines of the Hope Event organized by Kyampisi Childcare Ministries at the Kampala Serena Hotel is Joseph Nkunda, a 54-year-old pastoralist in the rural district of Nakasongola along the Kampala-Gulu highway.

Nkunda narrates that after two of his children – Canaan, 10, and Sylvia Nkunda, 7, returned from school in 2009, he asked them to look after the cows as he went to buy food from the market.  After the father left, a man the children didn’t know approached them with a sharpened machete and claimed that the cows had destroyed his garden. The children denied the claim, but the man overpowered them.

Joseph Nkunda, left, with his son, a child sacrifice survivor
Joseph Nkunda, left, with his son, a child sacrifice survivor, talks about how his son survived and his daughter was brutally murdered by a witch doctor.

“He commanded them to walk ahead of him so he could go and show them the garden that the cows had allegedly destroyed and since he had the machete, they could not object,” Nkunda continued.

When they got to a shrub, he motioned the children to sit on the ground. The boy refused, but the accuser grabbed him by the neck and his sister by the hands.

“He cut the boys neck from behind and the boy fell flat, lifeless, unconscious and bleeding profusely. He left him for dead and then cut the girl into several pieces, drained her blood, took her heart and her genitals,” the father recounted both privately at an August 24, 2018, cocktail reception for about 75 people and later that night in front of 1,000 parents, children, Ugandan officials and non-profit representatives from Uganda, Australia and the United States.

Because the boy was unconscious, the witchdoctor thought he was dead. But he wasn’t. Upon his return, Joseph Nkunda could not believe his eyes to find his children – ones he left alive and well an hour ago – lying lifeless in the jungle. He fainted.

Fast forward, the boy survived, and the witchdoctor was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Nkunda believes the sentence could have been tougher and more lives saved had there been stricter laws in Uganda against child sacrifice and trafficking.

“Most cultures and traditions in Uganda still believe in appeasing the ‘gods’ with blood sacrifice of mostly children for they are considered pure and holy,” William Kasoba, a children’s activist, said.

Kasoba claimed that in Uganda, two of every 10 children are classified as targeted for child sacrifice. He added that some sacrifices are condoned by parents for material gain and that the business of witchcraft under the guise of “traditional healers, herbalists” is thriving.

Peter Sewakiryanga, left, executive director of the KCM organization
Peter Sewakiryanga, left, executive director of the KCM organization serving as the primary sponsor of the child sacrifice awareness event in Kampala, and Karen Lewis, Australia, holding a baby she is hoping to adopt, offered their voices about child protection. While not a victim of witch doctors, the baby falls in the category of “vulnerable” because he was one of two twin boys tossed out age two weeks by a mother who called them “snakes.”

This is where Uganda Christian University (UCU)’s think-tank Africa Policy Centre (APC) comes in. A study conducted by the Centre has been shared by the Parliamentary Committee on Children’s Welfare demanding for tougher legislation on child sacrifice.

“Prosecutors currently rely on the Penal Code Act, the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, and a series of legislation designed to enforce constitutional provisions on the right to life, personal liberty and freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The relevant parts of Ugandan law shows how inadequate it is to address child sacrifice,” Dr. Dickson Kanakulya, a Senior Researcher at the APC, said.

Kanakulya agrees with Justice Margaret Mutoni that the current law is too lenient for criminals who kidnap children with the intention to kill them but somehow the children survive. Parents who have lost their children to the vice call for even tougher and more extreme sentences – like the death penalty.

“The perpetrators are charged with manslaughter or kidnapping and are given lighter sentences that do not send out a clearer message that the practice is unacceptable and condemned,” he added.

In their legislation proposal, the APC calls for a unified missing persons database and the implementation of uniform procedures in investigation, training for law enforcement, and minimum standards of investigative excellence. APC also demands that the new legislation should name an NGO (or a network of NGOs) that will deal with all aspects of victim care.

Gloria Dandridge, left, and Chelsea Mack, are affiliated with the Christian law faculty of Regent University, Virginia.
Gloria Dandridge, left, and Chelsea Mack, are affiliated with the Christian law faculty of Regent University, Virginia. They have been working with the Uganda public prosecutions office to shut down witch doctor shrines and impose harsh penalties on perpetrators of child sacrifice.

Regents University in Virginia, a collaborative partner with UCU and the APC, was recognized for its program of bringing new attorneys to help wage the child sacrifice fight through the Uganda Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Also applauded for efforts were World Vision; the Ugandan Ministry of Gender and Justice; Operation Underground Railroad, a USA-based anti-trafficking organization; and Droplets in a Stream, an Australia charity focused on helping vulnerable children in Kenya and Uganda.

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To obtain a copy of APC’s analysis of the child sacrifice issue or to learn more about UCU’s APC, contact Dr. Dickson Kanakulya, APC Senior Researcher at tdkana@gmail.com.

The Traveling Sweater

UCU Alumni, , , ,


By Patty Huston-Holm

It was 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 Celsius) when I saw Rose this morning (August 16, 2018). She wore a smile and a mostly-black sweater. In Uganda, such weather is cold. My arms were bare.  In Ohio, temperatures like this are refreshing.

Sitting with me at the Uganda Christian University Touch of Class canteen, she apologized for the sweater – a man’s sweater, she admitted, and one she bought used from her brother’s shop. I encouraged her to see the garment’s beauty. And I asked her to keep it close to her over the next four months.

You see, my young friend Rose will on Friday (August 18, 2018) take her first-ever plane ride to her first-ever trip to the United States. Her emotions are mixed. She is honored – the only African chosen for a semester of writing courses at The Kings College in New York City. She is anxious. While the college is Christian, she will be living in the liberal community of Greenwich Village. She feels guilty knowing how much the scholarship she got could buy for her family, friends and village.

While holding her hands and praying with her today, I reminded her that God gives us gifts like these, that she is a gift, and that others she meets in New York City will surely see her that way.

I met Rose when teaching journalism with Professor Angella Napakol last year at Uganda Christian University. Right before I left, I matched up Rose and two other students for a one-week internship in northern Uganda with two professors (Diane Ross, Pegi Lobb) from Otterbein University (Westerville, Ohio). Like many, they enjoyed her eagerness to learn and help others.  If that wouldn’t seal the deal for wanting to hang around with Rose, her deep dimples on both sides of her cheek do.

This morning as Rose removed the sweater in embarrassment and clutched it in her hands, I insisted she pack it in the small green suitcase I gave her.  I told her the story about the “traveling pants.” I suggested she write about her traveling sweater. I hope she reads this and that she does.

God speed, my young friend.

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For more information about how you can sponsor a student who might make a difference as Rose is, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.   Also, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

UCU Graduate Mark Muzira Supports Refugees with Mental Health Issues Over Four Years

UCU Alumni, , , , ,


By Brendah Ndagire

Celebrating World Refugee Day in Itambabiniga Settlement

In recent years, Uganda has been ranked by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as the most favorable country for refugees from neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and South Sudan. Once refugees are resettled in Uganda, they are given many opportunities. These include access to land, employment, starting small- and medium-sized businesses, and quality education. All of these are necessary for helping refugees to integrate in different communities across Uganda and to take care of their families. It creates an opportunity for them to live a dignified life—a life that is different from their counterparts left behind in conflicting communities.

This month, Uganda Christian University Partners is highlighting the experiences of some Uganda Christian University (UCU) alumni who are accompanying Burundian and Congolese refugees in distinct roles at Kyaka II settlement community. Mark Muzira is a UCU alumni who graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Social Administration. He has been working with refugees for over four years with the past two years as a Psychosocial Counselor with the  American Refugee Committee (ARC). Before joining ARC, he was working with an urban refugee program in Kampala, at a refugee resettlement organization called Inter-Aid Uganda. (This interview has been edited for clarity.)

Mark Muzira on World Refugee Day

What inspired you to study at Uganda Christian University?

I was motivated to join Uganda Christian University because of the quality of education that was guaranteed there. The UCU motto, “a center of excellence in the heart of Africa,” inspired very many secondary school (high school) graduates, including myself, to attend the institution. But it is not just their quality education; it also was their identity with Christian values of servant leadership. The three-to-four years I spent at UCU, my professors equipped me with soft and hard core skills needed to thrive in my current work within the non-government development field.

What are some of your experiences since graduating from UCU?

For a while I volunteered with different non-government organizations in Kampala. I was really interested in working with urban youth. I did some online job searching and that’s where I found Inter-Aid Uganda. While I was there, I worked as a Youth Liaison in their urban refugee program, mentoring teenagers and leading their peer-to-peer program. It was with Inter-Aid that  I found my passion in working with refugees resettled in Uganda. I am currently based in Kyaka II settlement community. I think the time I spent studying at UCU equipped me with certain Christian values, such as treating people from different cultural backgrounds with respect, on top of being a great role model in communities where we are working and living. I owe a lot to UCU for making me a leader, and planting in me seeds of excellence in ways I interact with refugees here.

How did you hear about American Refugee Committee?

While working with Inter-Aid Uganda, we had a partnership with ARC in working in the Urban Refugee Program. During my spare time, I would do research on ARC, and I found that the refugee work they were doing was both complex and interesting. Later, I found out that they needed a psychosocial counselor. I applied for the job, and I got it.

How many refugees are you working with?

With the refugee influx we are experiencing in Kyaka II settlement, we are currently receiving new refugees every week. We are having over 60,000 refugees coming in every day. And the fact that the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on-going, we expect more and more refugees will be entering the border of Uganda and eventually to Kyaka II settlement.

Share with us about your work with ARC.  How is it different from other Implementing Partners (IPs) in Kyaka II Settlement?

My role is to identify refugees who may need mental health and counseling support, and refer clients who may need extra help to an expert in therapy. There are many non-profit organizations working to implement different refugee resettlement activities in the area. However, each organization is mandated by the UNHCR to implement a specific project. In that respect, ARC’s mandate is to provide mental health and psychosocial support to refugees resettled in Kyaka II and neighboring communities. ARC also implements youth activities geared towards enhancing mental health including sports such as football, and competitions in music, dance and drama (MDD). This makes mental health and awareness our main focus and contribution to the wider wholistic approach to rehabilitating and reintegrating refugees.

Other partners, such as the Danish Refugee Council, implement Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects and education. Still others implement livelihood related projects such as agriculture. We do this in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Office of the Prime Minister.

Refugee women presenting a song during World Refugee Day

What has been your highlight working with refugees in Kyaka II for the last two years?

The resilience and positive attitude of refugees towards their future. Refugees experience very difficult challenges.

Many (refugees) are not aware that they are struggling with the trauma arising from the daily witness and experience of armed violence.

Additionally, they struggle integrating into the community, finding a job and building a new life here. Because they engage in different community integration  processes, they eventually emerge from being unemployed to employed, to leaders in their own communities, to business owners, and to musical artists.

Finally, Nelson Mandela once that, “education is a powerful tool that can be used to transform the world.” How do you translate those words in your life at UCU and now with ARC?

Education has definitely been a wonderful tool to have in my life. If it were not for the good quality education I received from the UCU, I would not be able to work with a respectful organization such as ARC. My education has created for me a foundation to be where I am and be able to give back to the refugee communities. The classes (such as counseling, gender, and research methodologies) I took during my time at UCU are now fundamental to my work here with ARC and the wider community.

For more information about how you can sponsor a student who might make a difference as Mark Muzira is, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.