By Vanessa Kyalimpa
The desire to enjoy the experience of competition recently led Uganda Christian University (UCU) students to the institution’s sports arena at the main campus in Mukono. The activities, which were planned as team building exercises between students of the UCU main campus and those from Kampala campus, also offered bonding opportunities.
UCU Bachelor of Law graduates who are currently pursuing a Diploma in Legal Practice at Uganda’s Law Development Centre (LDC), as well as students from the School of Medicine in Mengo, Kampala, were among those who took part in the sports gala that saw students compete in football, basketball, athletics, volleyball, netball and chess.
The gala, which was the first of its kind at the university, was organized by the student leaders of the university’s main campus in Mukono.
Sarah Adokorach, the Minister of Sports in the current Guild Government at the main campus, said they saw the gala as one of the ways to competitively get the students fit as they physically engaged and had fun.
“I’ve been mobilizing and coordinating the different activities, and encouraging students to come and participate,” Adokorach said, noting that the idea of the sports gala was a hard sale, since they had never participated in one that brought together students from different UCU campuses. The best performers in the competitions were awarded medals at the end of the event.
“At first, we were skeptical that this would not happen the way we had planned, but we were pleasantly surprised it did, in such a successful way,” Adokorach said, noting that not even the light rain in the morning could dampen the mood of the students.
Since there was a lot of communication and exchange of ideas before, during and after the event, Adokorach says the quick benefit they reaped from the gala was the strengthening of the relationship among the leaders and students from the main campus, the School of Medicine, the Kampala campus and the alums pursuing a Diploma in Legal Practice at the LDC.
UCU Mukono campus students compete against the students of UCU Kampala campus at the basketball court during the sports gala.
Owen Masembe, the Guild President of UCU Kampala Campus, welcomed the idea of the gala, noting that oftentimes, students focus only on studies, forgetting about the physical aspects of their lives.
“Kampala campus does not have the different sports facilities that the main campus has,” Masembe noted. “So, the gala offered an opportunity for the students to showcase their sports abilities.”
The Guild President of the LDC main campus in Kampala, Boss John Bruce, in one of the football games, captained his institution’s team of UCU alums to 2-2 draw, after going down 2-0 by half time. “A sports gala is a place where we come to shed off some weight,” he said.
As a student at UCU, Bruce led the institution’s electoral body as the Guild Electoral Commission chairperson. He oversaw the transition from voting for student leaders at UCU using analogue means to an online voting process, e-voting app, the e-Chagua. The e-chagua helped UCU conduct elections even at a time physical presence of students at universities was still restricted, due to the Covid pandemic.
Daphine Kateme, a student at the UCU School of Medicine, who also attended the gala, said one of the fundamental needs for a person’s well-being is the ability to connect with others, noting that she was impressed the gala achieved just that.
“I made many friends from other campuses, just by talking to people, sharing our experiences and playing volleyball, Kateme said, adding: “I’m happy the gala offered me the opportunity to play volleyball again, after many years.”
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