As COVID-19 continues to spread in Uganda, academic institutions are increasing their efforts related to health and safety of staff and students. At Uganda Christian University (UCU), the management has put in place several tight measures to ensure that members of the community strictly observe coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These include washing hands with the help of tippy-taps placed in different locations (gates, classroom blocks, residence halls, etc.). No person is allowed to access the University before washing or sanitizing their hands. Meanwhile students without facemasks are not allowed into the examination rooms and during community worship. In these pictures, Samuel Tatambuka, a University Communications Assistant, shows how measures are in place at UCU.
Security personnel takes body temperature of a UCU staff before letting her into the University premises.A University staff member washes her hands at the Bishop Tucker Gate before entering the University.Mass Communication students of UCU sitting at a distance from one another during their examinations in Nkoyoyo Hall on December 28.A University chapel warden takes the temperature of students before allowing them to access community worship in Nkoyoyo Hall.
BEFORE KNOWING CHRIST In the morning hour of about 8:45 a.m. on March 2 of the year of our Lord 1992, my mum gave birth to me. Like any other baby, I cried at my first arrival into the world, which was going to be my home for some years as the Lord so wished. My mum later told me that I was born during an insurgency – various Ugandan civil wars.
Though, what was worse than my country’s rebellion against government is the fact that I was borne into non-Christian family. This meant that my life and growth were somewhat controlled by the traditional ancestral deities. For example, when I was a four-year-old, I fell sick and my parents consulted a traditional healer, who said that “the god wanted my name to be changed from Okot Walter Onen to Ocen Walter Onen.” This practice of listening to witch doctors was inherited from our great-great ancestors and continued until 2005, when Jesus Christ interrupted this evil chain – starting with me and then with all my family by 2014.
KNOWING CHRIST On May 5, 2005, I welcomed Jesus Christ into my life. The burdens accruing from my countless sins had suffocated me and sincerely speaking, “I was dead pretending to be alive.” So, when a preacher quoted Matthew 11:28 (Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.), I realized my vulnerabilities and the need to accept the free mercy of God to redeem me from my state of hopelessness.
I could say much more about this wonderful day, but let me turn your attention to what happened after I got saved.Immediately, I felt my heart lightened, and my fears of guilt disappeared. In fact, the spirit of God filled me and I began going to church, sharing with brethren through fellowship and Bible study.
I began to question where God was leading me. What was my purpose? What does He exactly want me do? Why did He create us in his image instead of animals, trees, mountains and other non-human creations? Why does He cherish us so much to the extent of giving us His only Son? These questions shaped my thinking and ignited my quest for a philosophical understanding of the church’s doctrines. It was also one of the key reasons that compelled me to pursue a degree in Theology and Divinity at Uganda Christian University.
AT UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (2016-2019) At UCU, I met distinguished scholars, especially from the faculty of Bishop Tucker School of Theology and Divinity who encouraged me to wrestle with new theories and concepts about Christianity and its mission in the world. For example, Rev. Can. Prof. Byaruhanga Christopher challenged us to think outside the box and avoid the temptation of spiritualizing Jesus’ proclamation in Luke 4:16-18, but apply it to fight multidimensional poverty, injustices and the all forms of ungodliness in our vocational context.
According to him, “a pastor is the fifth gospel” meaning that people will always look up to you for the meaning of righteousness. Another professor, Rt. Rev. Prof. Alfred Olwa, who was our dean then, also would reinforce the message that the centre of Christianity is shifting from the global north to the global south. The theologians in the global south, including Africa, should be more prepared than ever to shape the discussion revolving around the orthodoxy of the unchanging gospel truth in the dynamic world.
I wondered how we might do this if most of the biblical scholarship is still being done in the western world. The urgency of theologians in the south to participate in sharing the Word became more apparent.
AT EASTERN COLLEGE AUSTRALIA (2019-CURRENT) In 2019, the words of the “Amazing Grace” hymn became ever more real.I received my degree from UCU on July 5 that year.Just the day before, I learned that I had been awarded a scholarship to pursue a Master in Transformational Development at Eastern College Australia. What a blessing! In fact, I felt like God’s exhortation to prosper us had just visited my door. Glory be to him, our rock and our redeemer.
In November 2020, my post-graduate studies are deconstructing, reconstructing and restructuring the worldview I had built from UCU. Indeed, it has created a platform for me to amalgamate both theology and development in one single unit of “integral mission.”
CHRIST IN EDUCATION The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges throughout the world, including in Uganda and specifically with education.A shift to on-line learning has been difficult for many.
Despite obstacles, I encourage current students of Uganda Christian University to appreciate the fact that a university education produces thinkers who can derive solutions for the mantra of prevailing problems in our communities. Individuals with university degrees are best positioned to creatively engage in rigorous research and innovation.
Scholars will play a key role in unleashing the United Nations sustainable development goals for 2030, the vision 2063 of the African Union, the vision 2040 of the republic of Uganda, and/or the vision of their own communities, or their own vision. At that, this is only possible if we permit Jesus Christ to reign in our lives, thoughts, words and actions.
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The Rev. Ocen Walter Onen is a UCU Bishop Tucker School of Theology and Divinity alum who is pursuing a Master in Transformational Development from Eastern College Australia.
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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
Olum Douglas, far right, with his family shortly after being reunited after his escape from the Lords Resistance Army
By Patty Huston-Holm
With large snowflakes descending on my car windshield from a spot in a Columbus, Ohio, medical center parking lot, I read about my friend, Olum Douglas, and how at age 11, he was captured by an African terrorist group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In December 2020, Douglas, now age 34, is a first-time author of“The Captive: My 240 days with the LRA rebels.”
Author Olum Douglas in photo taken by the Gulu Support Children Organization after his return and rehabilitation.
The stories of abduction, murder and sex slavery of 30,000 children since the LRA’s start in 1987 are many. I know something about the LRA and three other main African-based terrorist groups – Al-Shabab, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram. The main difference with this story, which is published in e-version and paperback on Amazon and is every bit as compelling as the other stories, is that I know Douglas personally. And I know every word of his story about his time as a child soldier is true.
I ate chicken and vegetables with his wife and children, ages 4 and 7, at their humble home in the village of Mukono, Uganda. I’ve mentored him as a journalist, reading and editing his stories about life at Uganda Christian University (UCU), where I have consulted and taught since 2012. Douglas, who is now pursuing his post-graduate degree in the Faculty of Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, has been a freelance contributor for the UCU Partners organization, based in Pennsylvania, for more than a year. We have shared laughter, political opinions and frustrations with life. On occasion, we agree to disagree.
Author Olum Douglas today
I knew Douglas was working on his book before we met. On pieces of paper since 2011, he remembered and wrote while, in his words, “tears endlessly flowed out, dripping down.” As he shared some of his draft manuscript, my first question was always about how he would feel being known for the indignities he suffered.Did he want to keep remembering that horrible time over and over again as an author?
“Yes,” he repeated. He is on a mission to bring attention and elevate change about civil rights violations – not just his own but those of others.
So it was in the darkness on April 4, 1998, that the LRA kicked open the door to where Olum Douglas slept in Gulu, Uganda, and brutally forced him and other children to become followers.I had been to Gulu as recent as January 2020. I knew the area was surrounded by dense bush.
As the snow pounded on my car, waiting on my husband who had a medical appointment inside in mid-December, I thought about the heat of Gulu – 7, 400 miles away – as well as the terrain as I turned the pages of Douglas’ book.I knew that Gulu was 468 kilometers (291 miles) away from what is now called South Sudan. Some say that Joseph Kony, the ringleader of the LRA, hides out in that region just across the Ugandan border still today.
Without my frame of reference, however, I saw how my author friend enabled even the most naïve about East Africa and terrorism to visualize and agonize with the LRA’s kidnapped boys and girls. With captivating detail, Olum Douglas allows the reader to see him as a boy, hungry and wearing rain-drenched clothes, walking with bleeding, blistered bare feet and carrying on his small back the heavy supplies stolen from huts. He feared death for faltering. He was beaten, sometimes to the point of losing his eyesight, when he slowed the train of rebels and child recruits.
The LRA brainwashing starts on page 17 as the terrorist rebels convince their abductees that they will help with a mission to save the Acholi people from Uganda President Yoweri Museveni’s alleged plan to wipe them out. To do this, the LRA must kill and steal from people and abduct more children. Those too weak or trying to escape from this mission as called by“the Lord” will be killed.
Throughout the book’s 120 pages of 240 days in captivity, Douglas describes how he and the other children, mostly boys, are slapped, beaten, forced to sleep in the rain and deprived of food to reinforce their submission. The two most heart-wrenching parts of the story are how Douglas witnessed the decapitation of two girls and how he participated in killing a 40-year-old man.
“If only I had a choice, I would have saved a life,” he writes in Chapter Five before describing how he and other boys were forced to bash a man’s head with logs until, under orders, the head “completely disappears into the soil.”They did. It did.
I finished the book on that snowy December Ohio afternoon.Two days later, I interviewed Douglas via Zoom. My first question was about his feelings about being party to that brutal murder.
“It was survival,” he said. “I knew many of the children captive with me, but I didn’t know the man. If I could find his family today, I would ask for forgiveness.”
My second question was about Kony.
“I never met him,” Douglas said. “He’s in his 60s now, I believe, and still alive, probably living in the Central African Republic.”
My third question was about anger.By his own admission in the book’s conclusion that follows the account of his escape (that I won’t give away), Douglas got into fights with other children.
“When I get annoyed, I don’t hit people anymore,” he said. “I just get quiet.”
In that Zoom discussion on a Saturday morning (for me in Ohio) and afternoon(eight hours later for Douglas in Uganda), my new author friend shared that he didn’t write the book just for himself. He wrote it to be the voice for those captive at his side and unable to escape and to encourage speaking out and attention to all injustices today.
“When the sun comes out, and the plant has germinated, there is nowhere to run,” he said.“There is much education and many stories to be told.”
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
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has handed over Christmas hampers worth sh42m ($11,455.5) to 630 staff members – both those with reduced salaries and no salaries to lessen the financial impact of COVID-19 restrictions. The lockdown that started in March included government orders to close the country’s academic institutions, affecting the flow of revenue for universities, including UCU, which has relied on student tuition to operate. This has meant no payment to most staff and lessened payment to a reduced number of staff since May 2020. Incoming Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi charged a seven-member team to raise funds to assist. Prof. Mushengyezi said the team managed to collect enough money to allow each staff member to receive a holiday package worth 80,000 shillings or $21 American. For five days, beginning Dec. 10, the hampers of sugar, beans, maize flour, tea, soap, wheat flour and salt were distributed. (Photos and information provided by UCU student, Ivan Isebeni)
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David Mugawe, DVC of Finance and Administration, hands over a Christmas package to a staff member.
Elizabeth Kukunda Bacwayo, left, Dean of the UCU School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies, helps with the hamper distribution to a staff member.
In the midst of the first-ever virtual graduation ceremony of Uganda Christian University (UCU) on December 18, 2020, there was hope.
One of the First Class students permitted to attend the December graduation in person
The hope was in the 1,810 students – most of them not physically present – getting diplomas and degrees and in the announcement of infrastructural development projects to be implemented, starting in 2021. On this Friday and from the Mukono campus, there was optimism about the institution’s outlook and boosting its revenue.
UCU Vice-Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, unveiled the projects, which are part of a fundraising drive started in late September, during the 21st graduation ceremony as the university enters its 23rd year.
“The first project, which will potentially unlock $10 million worth of infrastructure development, involves construction of a shopping Centre, a three-star hotel, and four blocks of residential halls for 1,000 rooms on the main campus,” Mushengyezi said.
The second project involves the beautification and infrastructure improvement intended to make UCU Main Campus one of the most attractive in East Africa. In 2015, Christianuniverstiesonline.org ranked UCU as among the 50 most beautiful Christian campuses globally.
Mushengyezi said that the University Council has already approved a portion of the projects, which will be implemented in collaboration with private sector partners.
The infrastructure project at the Mukono/main campus includes improvements to the Bishop Tucker Gate; a business centre with a food court; a parking lot; a students’ digital lounge and UCU Information Center. UCU also will construct walkways; install solar lights on the roads within and outside the University; and connect digital screens in buildings for real-time display of time e-tables and e-notices.
The Vice-Chancellor said that UCU also has embarked on a fundraising drive for the construction of the Ordinands Apartment for ordinands and clergy who study at UCU.
Mushengyezi thanked the UCU Chancellor and Church of Uganda Archbishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, for his support for projects and appealed to friends of Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology to provide added assistance.
“All dioceses, organizations and individuals will be listed on a Hall of Fame in the building when it’s completed,” he said. “This will be our priority project for UCU Sunday over the next few years. We thank churches and individuals that have donated funds, and we look forward to contributions from the dioceses from UCU Sunday collections.”
He revealed that Prof. Stephen Noll, the first UCU Vice-Chancellor, had offered to buy a new clock for Bishop Tucker Building and that procurement is also ongoing.
Mushengyezi later took the guests through some of the achievements the different faculties at UCU have posted in the recent past. They included:
$17,335 grant Bishop Tucker School received via Overseas Council Australia to refurbish the department of theology at Mbale University College Campus;
School of Dentistry donation (mobilized by the USA-based UCU Partners) worth thousands of dollars through Midmark Corporation in form of dental equipment that included dental suits/chairs; and
UCU School of Business skills development facility grant through the Private Sector Foundation funded by the World Bank to pioneer a birding course that will strengthen the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism program.
The 1,810 students graduating with diplomas and degrees on Friday came from disciplines that include: Theology; Social Work and Social Administration; Public Administration and Management; Law; Environment and Disaster Management; Education; and Development Studies and Public Administration.
The ceremony started with the commissioning service for graduands graced by Archbishop Kaziimba at 10 a.m. Only 80 students, selected for their high academic standing, attended the event physically while others followed it on UCU digital platforms that streamed live. A total of 42 students garnered first class degrees in different disciplines, but with the Faculty of Social Sciences posting the biggest number at 24.
Kaziimba asked the graduands to emulate Jesus on servant leadership. He said: “With servant leadership, there is no need to ask for a seat because we are called not to sit and be served, but to stand and serve others.”
Regarding the forthcoming general elections in Uganda, the Archbishop urged the graduands to exercise Christian influence.
“This is a very important civil duty and I encourage each one of you to vote, and to encourage your peers to also vote,” he said. “As graduates, you have been equipped to think and to analyze issues. Please apply those skills in deciding whom you will vote for. It’s your generation that will help Uganda move to another level in its national development, one that moves peacefully beyond tribalism and overcomes corruption.”
The Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, who was the guest of honor at the ceremony, urged graduands to remain calm during the ongoing campaign period, to love their country and to honor peoples’ political convictions.
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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.
Renewable energy partners pose at early 2020 meeting in Tanzania
By Godfrey Sempungu
Associate Dean, Faculty of Business and Administration
Many a man who has walked on the African soil has tasted its unlimited endowment of God-given resources – the sun, wind and water, to mention a few. In Africa, it is said that nature warmly smiles down on every soul almost every day. The continent is laden with an abundance of mildly tapped renewable energy and business-creating opportunities. Bubbling within this unearthed investment potential are many young adults who for one reason or another have not focused on the abilities within their reach. Youth who both finished school and didn’t are under utilized.
The Swahili origin of DALILA means delicate and gentle. In 2020 and connected to Uganda Christian University (UCU), it refers to the Development of Academic Curricula on Sustainable Energies and Green Economy in Africa. It’s a capacity-building project funded by the Education, Audio-Visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Union. The main objective is to establish six new courses on “Renewable Technologies” and “Green Business creation and development” in two universities in Tanzania and two in Uganda.
The article’s author, Godfrey Sempungu, at left, in Zanzibar
UCU and three other African universities – Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) and Tanzania’s University of Dodoma (UDOM) and State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) – are engaged in the venture. Partners outside Africa are Sapienza University of Rome in Italy; the University of Cadiz in Spain and professional agencies such as Sahara ventures in Tanzania, Asud in Italy and a renewable energy organization called INOMA Renovables in Spain.
Despite the COVID-19 education restrictions, the three-year project is moving ahead with expected completion by January of 2023. The current, first year has involved planning for delivery that would hopefully include both in-person and virtual programming, pending approval by the National Council for Higher Education.
The 99,993,700 Euros ($117.8 million American) grant is targeted specifically to fill gaps through higher education in developing countries like Uganda. The multi-disciplinary approach and collaborative synergy of experts with the DALILA project focuses on transferring of theory and contemporary practical skills and experiences to renewable energy entrepreneurial opportunities for youth.
The six university consortium Euro grant includes an equipment purchase provision that will enable green energy laboratories to be established at UCU, four students (includes one doctoral student doing research related to green business and/or renewable energy technology) to be chosen for one-month European internships and training of facilitators in Europe. In the green labs, students and faculty shall work on traditional and novel solutions for both renewable energy and entrepreneurial ventures.
The ultimate goal is increasing Ugandan capacity to harness renewable energy. Other results include filling a critical skills gap, enhancing capacity as academic staff who are participating collaboratively in the development and delivery of the modules, building a new network for collaboration with global partners, improved collaboration with renewable energy stakeholders, increased applied research in renewable energy, and multidisciplinary links between industry and academia.
At UCU, the early benefit is an interdisciplinary partnership between the faculties in engineering and business. This collaboration includes the creation of new postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Business and Renewable Energy Technologies. The courses leading to this credential will involve on-line learning and practical green lab sessions.
While Uganda relies heavily on renewable energy for supply of her energy needs at a macro level, the same energy remains underexploited at a micro level. The cost of the national hydroelectric power grid is prohibitive to small, medium and starting businesses. To these, the sun, wind and micro system hydro endowments remain virgin territory. The two-faculty collaboration through DALILA is expected to continue building in the areas of research connected to renewable energy to further fill this gap.
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
UCU Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi inspects some of the merchandise produced by students under the Faculty of Business and Administration during the recent launch of the Business Incubation Centre. (Courtesy Photo)
By John Semakula
Uganda Christian University (UCU) will in May 2021 rollout a new post-graduate diploma in Sustainable Business and Renewable Energy.
According to the UCU Faculty of Business and Administration, the course sponsored by DALILA was cleared by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) in August.
DALILA is a capacity-building project funded by the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency of the European Union.
DALILA stands for Development, Academic Curricula on Sustainable Africa-Project.
The Associate Dean of the UCU Faculty of Business and Administration, Godfrey Sempungu, revealed that six new courses on “Renewable Technologies and Green Business Creation and Development” have been designed for the new program in line with the sponsorship agreement.
The courses are: Energy and Sustainable Development; Renewable Energy Technologies and Decentralization of Electricity; Energy Efficiency and Storage Application; Business and Financial Models of Renewable Energy; Renewable Energy Financing and Modeling; and Renewable Energy Enterprise Management Support to Business and Enterprise.
Sempungu said the program will offer renewable energy startup and entrepreneurship opportunities to UCU graduate students, alumni, staff, community and other key stakeholders such as those in the Church of Uganda Dioceses of Mukono and Kampala.
The program is a product of a sh5bn (Euro 1,123,790 or $1.3 million American) grant, which the Faculty won recently as part of an international nine-partner consortium.
A similar project is also implemented in four other universities in Uganda and Tanzania. The other three are Uganda Martyrs University, the State University of Zanzibar and University of Dodoma.
Sempungu said the post-graduate diploma will be taught for two semesters and that students will be expected to take classes both online and face-to-face on campus.
He said: “The courses are intended to facilitate students’ transition to work and to promote the use of innovative business technologies. Green university laboratories will provide vocational training for renewable energy and adaptation of technologies to local context plus boosting students employability.”
According to the Faculty, the program will be facilitated by lecturers from UCU and other partner institutions in Spain and Italy and that the best four students will have a chance to travel and conduct their internship in European companies for a month.
The other partner higher education institutions are the University of Cadiz in Spain and Sapienza University of Rome – both providing expertise to inform the project.
According to the terms of the grant, UCU also shall furnish a renewable energy laboratory for training of students in the recent trends in the field and to allow them many hours of practice under the guidance of experts.
To avail stakeholders with the necessary information about the project, the UCU Faculty of Business and Administration, in conjunction with its implementing partner the Faculty of Engineering, held an online DALILA Information Day on December 10.
Speaking during the event, the Faculty’s Dean Dr. Martin Lwanga said the project is helping to fulfill UCU’s mission of sending out job creators – not seekers – to the market.
“This is an exciting time,” he said. “Over 100 proposals were submitted from all over the world and UCU emerged among the winners.”
In his remarks, the deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Kitayimbwa, said the program was well thought out because it supports Uganda’s development goals under Vision 2040. The National Vision is intended to transform Uganda from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years through strengthening fundamental infrastructure, including energy.
Kitayimbwa noted that the four main components of the program – partnership, practical based education, emphasis on environmental sustainability, and renewable energy – make the program unique and outstanding. “We therefore need to raise more awareness about the program because we need more people on board when we finally roll it out,” he said.
Dr. Miria Anguyo from the UCU Faculty of Engineering said the post-graduate diploma will be able to produce graduates who will provide solutions in renewable energy.
Meanwhile, Prof. Cipri Katiuscia, the project’s international coordinator from Italy, said she was glad to be part of the project that seeks to create employment opportunities for Africa’s young people and particularly in the green economy sector.
“We need to give support to the young people in Africa who support their countries’ young economies,” she said.
Marianna Stori, a member from one of the partner organizations of DALILA, took the members through the dangers of climate change in Africa and globally including flooding, landslides, heat waves, loss of biodiversity and desertification and urged participants to embrace the new measures to contain climate change.
This is one of the grants the UCU Faculty of Business and Administration has won lately in a bid to boost its academic training for students. The Faculty also recently won a sh230m (51,700.4 Eur or $62,611 American) grant to develop a short course in promoting bird tourism. The course will be incorporated in Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism.
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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
The Archbishop of the Provincial Church of Uganda, Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, hands over a copy of the holy Bible to Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa during his ordination at All Saints Cathedral on Sunday, December 6, 2020.
By Douglas Olum
Atop the Nakasero Hill in Kampala, on a clear December 6, 2020, Sunday morning, sweet melodies from a Christian hymn song ring through the open doors and windows of a towering, red-tile-roofed, cream painted building, into the trees, houses and the open sky of the neighborhood. Men, women and a few children were trickling into the All Saints Cathedral premises, to praise and worship God as life returns to Ugandan Churches after six months of the COVID-19 induced closure.
Inside, 13 men and three women were set to be ordained into Christian ministry for the Anglican Church; two of them as deacons and 14 as priests. Among them was the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs, Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa. He was being ordained into priesthood. According to the Anglican Church of Uganda, priests are called to be servants and shepherds to proclaim God’s word.
Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa with his family shortly after his ordination.
With his hand raised up high, Dr. Kitayimbwa, the father of three and husband to Rev. Lydia Nsali Kitayimbwa, was singing and praising the Lord; his face lit with joy. Right behind him was his wife, equally full of joy.
“Seeing him join this great ministry really keeps me excited, and I know that not even the sky is the limit,” Mrs. Kitayimbwa said after the service, “I know God has a lot in store for us so we just pray that He humbles us and we remain under his Mighty hand that He may use us to the glory of His name.” She said having her husband join the Christian ministry was both a great spiritual support to her and a sign that the presence of God rests in their home, where their ministry starts.
As the service commenced, Kitayimbwa said that he felt a very heavy weight over his shoulders, presumably signifying the weight of the task ahead of him. But with God’s guidance, he believed he would weather the test of time and bear fruits.
“My major role now is that of a priest because when you are called to come close to God to be with God in His vineyard to work with Him, it is a blessing,” Dr. Kitayimbwa said, “Whether I am at UCU or outside UCU, this call on my life is to serve God’s people, and I will do it diligently.”
Asked what impact he thinks his ordination would have on his service at the university, Dr. Kitayimbwa said, “I am going to freely share the word of God even as I do my role as the DVC at UCU. I am going to try and follow Christ as I imitate Him in order to draw more people to the Kingdom of God. In whichever situation, I will ask myself what would Christ have done? And I think that is what is going to be my motto going forward.”
Dr. Kitayimbwa holds a PhD in Computational Biology, and he is a senior lecturer in mathematics. He was first ordained as deacon in 2019, the same year he was appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UCU.
Dr. Kitayimbwa said his calling to be a priest started a long time ago but it took him time to realize that he was being called. And now, whatever achievement he attained in his past life, he counts it but loss, like Paul says in Philippians 3:8-10 (8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.)
The Dec. 6 ordination service was presided over by the Kampala Diocese bishop who also doubles as the Archbishop of the Provincial Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu.
The Archbishop reminded the new priests that their answer to the calling was a life-time commitment for God’s glory and strengthening of His Kingdom. He noted that they would only be able to maintain the call by praying, believing and relying on the strength of God and his grace given in the Word, and not their individual strengths.
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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. Also, follow us on FaceBook and Instagram.
(The election for the 2020-2021 top Student Guild president at the Uganda Christian University Mukono (main) campus occurred virtually in November. Campaigns were conducted through social media. Of 8,086 possible voters, 1,959 students cast ballots using their phones and computers. This is an interview with the new guild president, Agaba Kenneth Amponda, age 24, and studying in the Faculty of Law.)
By Winnie Laker
What is your family background? I am a Mukiga from Kabaale district (Western Uganda), born and raised from the Ihanga trading center under Bubaale sub-county. I am the second born in a family of seven children, and my parents are Jackson Bitama and Jackline Akankwasa Kibingo.
What is your educational background? I attended my primary level in Kabaale Universal Nursery and Primary School. I then joined Mbarara High School for three years and completed my Ordinary-level from Standard High Zana. I later went to Gombe secondary School for my Advanced level. Currently, I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in law at Uganda Christian University (UCU).
Kenneth Amponda, the current Guild President, with Timothy Kadaga, the former Guild President
Apart from your current position as guild president, what other leadership roles have you played? My leadership list is quite long, but allow me to brief you on a few of them. In my primary six, I was elected sports prefect, and this was a stepping stone to my servanthood. I then became a class coordinator in Mbarara High School, the chairperson of school council in Gombe Secondary School, a residential assistant for two years in UCU, and I am the treasurer of Kigezi Community fellowship (a students’ fellowship group in UCU).
What has been your inspiration in serving as a leader? First and foremost, I am proud to say the holy word of God has been my inspiration from day one. And although I did not mention it earlier, I have always served in church up until now, being a member of Mustard Seed Choir. It is because of this acquaintance with the Bible that I learnt how to handle and solve different kinds of problems within my environment, and in the end I realized that many have appreciated my decisions making role.
What nudged you to be guild president?
Of course I knew my capabilities, but that alone couldn’t push me to stand as a University’s guild. During my services as a residential assistant, I was consistent in addressing the students’ problems, especially during consultation meetings with the administration. I always made sure most of the complaints were addressed to suit my brothers in the halls of residence, and it is these very students that pushed me to this position as their guild president today. Because they loved how I served in a lower position, they saw it best if the entire student’s body gained from my leadership.
How did you campaign within the campus COVID-19 guidelines? I put everyone’s health first. I have a foundation called AMPONDA CARES, which I opened up way back, but activated it during the lockdown in March. Ever since its activation, it has been distributing food, masks, and some financial help where necessary to especially students. So when it came to campaigns, both the foundation and my campaign team, decided to distribute over 2,000 masks to the student’s fraternity. And unlike my opponent who had already released his posters, I decided to invest my finances in the manufacturing of masks, which I distributed (carefully and safely) to quite a good number of students.
How do you see your role in the pandemic? Surely, my government has a very big role to play, but allow me to first of all to express appreciation to the University and the outgoing government for introducing e-learning such that no one (especially non finalists) was left behind. Today, we can see the effort these people have put in due to the unprecedented pandemic. We are all studying which is a good thing for everyone. My government will therefore, endeavor to work with mostly the grassroot leaders that is, the residential assistants, class coordinators and members of parliament, who can best explain the issues to be addressed in relationship to students. We will work hand in hand with the administration and I can promise you that, all our services will be under the goal of building a bridge to the new normal.
Where do you see yourself after your term is finalized in 2021? I will humbly respond to you that I did not see myself as a guild president in the first place. Rather, I have always viewed myself in the image of a leader. It is those around me that boosted my popularity to the rest of the student’s fraternity, who later positioned me where I am now. So being a strong Christian believer, I will not predetermine my future. Only God will give me what I deserve after all this.
Away from leadership, are you in a relationship? No, I am neither in a relationship nor am I searching at the moment. All I want is to serve my brothers and sisters at UCU as best as I can.
Any last words you would like to say? I want to thank all the students that entrusted me with their votes. All I can say is that “Amponda will serve you with all his strength and might,” to the end that a bridge to the new normal is built.
(NOTE: On November 25, 2020, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed 11,767 cases of COVID-19 and 106 deaths. This is the story of one of the infected persons who survived.)
By Robby Muhumuza
UCU Senior Teaching Fellow Robby Muhumuza
“Do you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who has Corona?”
The above refrain trending on social media a few months ago sounded funny. My family members and I laughed at it. That laugh now has dried off my lips.
In November 2020, I know scores of people who have been infected by COVID-19. I have a list of those who recently died of COVID-19. Others are on ventilators in critical condition. My wife and I recently became part of the COVID-19 statistics when both of us tested positive for the corona virus.
We didn’t have any of the classic symptoms. Our body temperatures were normal. No coughs, no headaches but slight sore throats. We were prompted to test because we had been in close contact with people who tested positive for COVID-19. There are many places for testing in Kampala with charges ranging from UGX 200,000 to 350,000 UGX ($54 to $94). We opted for Makerere University Hospital, where we were charged UGX 200,000 and got our results the following day.
As soon as the medical officer at Makerere University Hospital saw “Positive “ on our results slips, she adjusted her mask more firmly on her face and told us to keep a minimum of 2 meters (6 feet) from her.
“Mulago Hospital is full. Entebbe Grade B also is full,” she said. “The only place we can have you admitted for 14 days is at the temporary medical facility recently set up at Namboole Stadium.”
“What are the facilities available at Namboole?” I asked.
“Not much really,” she confessed. “We mostly have medical staff who will monitor you regularly and give you treatment if you need it. You will not be allowed any visitors. Your family can bring you stuff but they will have to leave it at the gate. But if you have a place where you can self-isolate, here is a prescription. Go buy the drugs from a pharmacy and take another test after 10 days.”
The prescription consisted of: Azithromycin (antibiotic mostly to treat chest infections), 500 mg (1 tablet per day for 6 days); Zinc 20 mg (1 tablet per day for 5 days); Vitamin C 500 mg (1 tablet twice a day for 5 days).
When I checked with a senior doctor friend of mine, he gave a similar prescription and then added the following: “Don’t be scared. Take a balanced diet. Have enough sleep. Do exercises every day. Drink plenty of water. Sit in the morning sun 15-20 minutes per day.”
After buying the prescriptions, my wife and I went into isolation for the next 10 days.
As we shared our condition with friends via WhatsApp and phone calls, we received more advice on how to reinforce our immunity. We were encouraged to take lots of green tea boiled with fresh-pounded garlic, ginger, lemon or lime and some honey added. We shared with our pastor and some friends for prayers.
Concerned that we could have infected some of our closest contacts, we sent our children, grandchildren, driver and workers at our home for COVID-19 tests. Thanks be to God, they all tested negative.
Full-fledged COVID-19 usually attacks and weakens the lungs. That’s why critically ill COVID-19 patients with breathing difficulties need ventilators (now in short supply in Ugandan hospitals). It’s therefore necessary to monitor the oxygen intake in the blood of COVID-19 patients so that medical personnel can provide the necessary intervention in time. We were advised to buy a battery-operated, hand-held oximeter for measuring the pulse and the amount of oxygen in the blood. We sent for one from First Pharmacy at 95,000 UGX (about $25). My wife and I followed the recommended regimen religiously to the dot. Thanks be to God that we had not developed any serious symptoms of COVID-19.
We eagerly counted each day looking forward to the 10th day to carry out another COVID-19 test. Day 10 came and the swab was taken from our nostrils. I have taken many tests and exams in my life. Waiting for results of a COVID-19 test is nerve-wrecking.
The following day, the email from the Ministry of Health Uganda Virus Research Institute Lab Manager came on my phone. My fingers were shaking and sweating as I opened the email. “ NEGATIVE” was stamped in green on the result slip for both my wife and me. We shouted in excitement and hugged each other. It was as if a death sentence had been lifted from our necks.
We wondered if the first test was accurate. We wondered about the treatment as we had no symptoms. We wondered if the expense was worth it. At that, we are grateful as we pray for the families and friends around us who are not so fortunate.
The list of names of people dying of COVID19 in Uganda is increasingly being shared in hushed tones on phones and in-boxes of WhatsApp messages. A number of friends are in-boxing me, telling me that they tested positive for COVID-19, and they are quietly taking medication. Others are telling me about relatives and neighbors who recently died of COVID-19, but nobody wants to talk about it openly because of the fear of stigma.
CONCLUSION: COVID19 is real. We are at the stage where there are many infected people in the community busy transmitting it. Be careful. Avoid mingling in crowds. Go out only if you must. When you are with others who are not your family members, wear a mask, keep a social distance of around 2 meters apart, and wash your hands frequently with water and soap. If you feel symptoms of COVID-19 or one of the people you have been in close contact tests positive, go for a COVID-19 test. If you test positive, that’s not a death sentence. Follow the treatment regimen. You will thank me later.
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Robby Muhumuza is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Uganda Christian University Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication.
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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
uthor Winnie Laker, at right, and workmate recording UACE best students at The New Vision newspaper.
By Winnie Laker
Two weeks before the official lockdown of the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was already sick.
At the beginning of March, I started seeing a temporal defeat of life in my health. Fever, dry cough and general body weakness were the signs and symptoms that I was experiencing. In other words, they were not any different from what we had been hearing about the coronavirus. Could I have contacted COVID-19?
Just as with past times that I had malaria, I didn’t let it hold me down. I continued my internship at The New Vision. My task was registering best performing schools and students after the release of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) information. I was determined not to let health interfere with my career climb and my passion for writing in communications and journalism.
As time progressed, I was sure my illness wasn’t the virus. Still weak, however, I notified my mother who delivered some bad news about my studies at Uganda Christian University.
“After finalizing with your internship, go and register for a dead year,” she said. “Your father and I have lost all means of paying for you this year.”
The author’s mother and nieces visit the soy beans in the garden
On that March 5, 2020, day, the emotion of sadness slipped into my soul, using it as a thorn to prick my heart. I needed a miracle. I wanted my God to rescue me from a full year away from studies. Meanwhile, our return for the Advent semester was pushing closer.
On that day, I vividly remember the high sunlit clouds drifting across a clear blue sky. I sat cross legged, with my head facing the floor. When I stood up to finally get permission from the Editor for my official end of work note, I stumbled on my every footstep. I didn’t have any strength left within me, but I had to talk to the editor on duty, Mrs Hellen Mukibi, about my situation.
Although my decision to end my internship was abrupt, I decided to tell Hellen the whole truth. She provided the around-the-clock emotional support I needed. The friendly exchange of conversation gave me hope.
While at home, I slept more and felt sorry for myself. At that, I began to strategize about what I could do to get back in school. Agriculture, an area I knew little about, emerged as an answer in my country that is rich with crops in many locations. Surely God was somehow involved in keeping my entire class from reporting back to school. I traveled to the village, specifically Gulu (in the North), to work in agriculture production.
When the president announced the official two-week lockdown beginning March 19, 2020, I was in the village doing farming, which I had never done physically my entire life. Farming, particularly small-scale, was a side business I started up in 2018, the year I joined the University. At first, it was due to influence from my siblings, but as time went on I realized it provided for my allowances at school. Nonetheless, I had to expand on the scale this time round, if I really wanted to get back to school.
During the more than seven-month period of lockdown, which included suspension of all classes at UCU, I had an acre of soya beans, one and a half acres of groundnuts and maize and half an acre of simsim. I had clear confirmation that I did not serve a dead God as the education delay was not just on me but on everybody.
The farming life was not easy. It involved weeding and harvesting. I well understood it was easier paying someone to do this job than doing it yourself. But I didn’t have that option. So I would wake up as early as 6:00 a.m. to go to the garden and by the time I am set to rest, I would have forgotten to even switch on my phone for any alerts. My mother and nieces worked hard side by side in the garden. Whether studying or working with my hands, I did not sit and stare. I worked.
At the beginning of October, the soya beans had its market ready for sale after harvesting. My hope was at its peak, being sure of resuming school together with fellows who were also home due to the effect of the pandemic. Moreover, the sale I made from the soya beans was enough to get me started back at school.
Today as I write this article, I am in school (virtually) with my very classmates, with whom I started with in 2018 (in-person studies). And although I have not completed my tuition, I can affirm that the groundnuts, maize and simsim, yet to be harvested by my mother, will be more than enough to pay my tuition. God willing, in October 2021, I will be graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication.
For me, an experience was gained but I also learned a very big lesson. If life lifts a fire of hope and sprinkles water in it, I can always go an extra mile and rekindle it to recover my laughter once more again.
The most important seven minutes during the pitch. PHOTO BY The Innovation Village/Twitter
By Alex Taremwa
The Workshop Uganda is a media start up I conceived in 2017. As a journalist who had written large-firm profiles for some of Uganda’s top newspapers, I noticed that voices from the small business sector where more than 50% of Uganda’s GDP came from were prominently missing in the mainstream.
A selfie of the author, Alex Taremwa, right, with some of his team members at The Innovation Village after the pitch rehearsal.
My idea? Create an online platform that voiced their “hustle” and make it easy for customers to see and buy their products – a noble cause. I interested a few friends to help with the concept. Alas, we were not making much headway despite publishing several profiles, some of which got our clients visibility that yielded multiple deals. With no clear vision, no commitment, no capital, no team, I did what every other unserious entrepreneur would do – give up.
What I didn’t know, however, is that people – very powerful people – had been watching what we and other idea people were doing. When the Nation Media Group (NMG) – the biggest media brand in East and Central Africa launched their inaugural Future of Media competition searching for the “next big idea” that proposes a new business model to save the industry from the pangs of disruption (see my previous article on this topic), I submitted an entry.
According to the Daily Monitor, a subsidiary of NMG, 150 entries were received by the Innovation Village – a local business incubator and The Workshop Uganda (renamed The Digital Workshop) – was among the top 10. In fact, according to exclusive sources, we were number one.
Giving a voice to small- and medium-sized businesses is ever critical in Uganda’s COVID-19 lockdown as, according to an April 2020 survey by the Uganda Economic Policy Research Center, they are less likely than large businesses to survive. When asked about the likelihood of survival during a three-to-six month business suspension, macro/large companies were mostly not phased while roughly 25% of micro, small and medium business owners said they wouldn’t subsist.
Putting in the work Between 2019 when I shelved the idea until when I submitted it as an entry into this competition in 2020, I had subjected it to a lot of scrutiny. Under Prof. Rhonda Breit, a seasoned Australian lawyer and journalism scholar, I worked on The Digital Workshop (changed from The Workshop Uganda) as an Advanced Digital Journalism project at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) of Aga Khan University (AKU), where I am student. During this process, we made the project niche, figured out a business model that suited it and even pitched it to a mock panel from the new Deutsche Welle Akademie-sponsored Innovation Center at AKU in Nairobi, Kenya. I worked on a Lean Canvas, the problem-solution model and put it on a pitch deck.
Long days at the office with the project’s Creative Director, Edward Nimusiima, right.
While at it, I confirmed two things: not only could we scale our project across East Africa, we could also add a third product to it – a Reality TV show. In a Think with Google Podcast last week, I learned that videos dubbed #WithMe (Cook with Me, Workout with Me, Study with Me) had over 4 billion views on YouTube. Not only does such content offer a more personal experience, it is highly inspirational, offers audience value by giving them “news they can use” – a key component of monetization but relatively inexpensive to produce.
Our innovation is three-in-one: an e-Commerce platform, a reality TV show, and a second-hand furniture recycler. We recycle second-hand furniture, record a TV episode while at it and then sell that recycled furniture through an e-commerce App. We are also proposing a $5 weekly subscription for our content.
This model will be interoperable built within a mobile application that also has Web support. We believe this is a solutions journalism project that saves the environment and gives the audience value – the future of media.
Pitching for dummies Standing before a mock panel for marks in Nairobi was much different from standing before a panel of judges with a request of $20,000. This being my first time, I watched a lot of YouTube videos of my favourite human marketer – Steve Jobs – the fallen Apple Inc. CEO.
Before the main pitch, we were invited for a rehearsal at the Innovation Village Hub in Ntinda – a Kampala suburb. At this point, I didn’t even have $20 to get around and yet I need to transport myself and my team to attend both events. I had to think fast. In 2017, I had asked an American friend visiting Uganda Christian University (UCU) where I worked then to be on our Board. Would she loan me $150?
“I’ll give you $200,” the woman (who asked not to be identified) typed. “But it’s not a loan. When you have money, remember this and help somebody else.”
The rehearsal went well. We had been told to fix our pitches in under seven minutes. I hit 7:24 seconds. Not bad for a first timer but if you have watched Shark Tank, not good either. People have squeezed million dollar ideas in under three minutes.
Sleeping at Matooke Republic After that rehearsal, I decided that until I get the pitch in record time, I would not leave my office. I edit an online publication and while everyone was working from due to the COVID-19 guidelines, I slept in the office for four days rehearsing and fine-tuning my pitch. I would call in my team members; Edward Nimusiima, Patience Ndinawe, Nicholas Opolot, Ziyal Amanya, Agatha Muhaise, and Arthur Matsiko to go over details. The cost structures, profit projections, the numbers mostly to make sure the judges don’t catch me flatfooted. I am not a numbers person but I learned more in those four days that I had in all my 18 years in school.
Did we win? No. We didn’t. But when I walked out of the pitch room, someone I later found was very important walked to me and said, “If NMG doesn’t take you on, come to me. I’ll invest in you. But first, get some sleep!”
Alex Taremwa is a journalist, a graduate of UCU and an MA student at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) of The Aga Khan University in Nairobi.
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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.
Rev. Ocen shows one of the houses already at roofing level
By Olum Douglas
On September 14, 2020, Milton Olanya, a retired primary school teacher, and his family were left under the open sky when their grass thatched hut was gutted by fire from an unknown source. All his belongings, including valuable documents and garden harvests for the first season were burnt to ashes.
Like Olanya, thousands of families in northern Uganda have suffered similar losses for decades. The losses are a common occurrence among the majority rural poor who predominantly use grass-thatched huts as their shelters.
But Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate, Rev. Deacon Ocen Walter Onen, has designed a permanent solution to this problem. Through his Tochi Community Transformation Initiative’s “Get out of grass-thatched huts” program, Rev. Ocen has mobilized people around his home village of Palenga in Omoro District. The mobilization calls for villagers to support each other and build modern, two-bedroom houses with iron sheet roofs to save them from such sudden losses.
Under the program, individuals are encouraged to lay bricks, acquire a few other building materials and start up construction with the support of their colleagues. Every month, members of the group make financial contributions, ranging from Uganda shillings of 10,000 ($2.70) to 50,000 ($13.50) to support a member. The money is used to buy cement, building stones, sand, and steel, and also pay the technical labor force.
Rev. Ocen (extreme left) with a group of women at his neighborhood after a prayer meeting in September 2020
They also provide manual labour like fetching water and mixing sand. When the structure reaches roofing level, the Church, through its networks, appeals to well-wishers to make contributions as low as a piece of iron sheet for the member.
As of late September, the 40 people registered for the program were either at the brick laying stage, putting up the wall or already at roofing. At least 33 iron sheets had already been collected for Patrick Onen, 49, whose building has reached the roofing stage.
Rev. Ochen said his target is to have every family in the village living in decent houses in the next five years. He also plans to establish solar energy suppliers for cheaper solar systems that can light the houses.
Alfred Lugeny, 52, said for most of his life, he has been trying to leave grass-thatched huts, but each time he laid bricks, he would be forced to sell them because he could not raise enough money to buy the other construction materials and pay labor force.
“I have been struggling to leave my grass-thatched huts, but I could not,” he said. “Yet grass is becoming increasingly harder to get due to increased human population. Termites also eat them, causing us to keep repairing the huts every year. The coming of this program has therefore given me greater hope of acquiring a good iron-sheet roofed house.”
Apart from the building program, Rev. Ocen moves door-to-door to meet youths and women to encourage them to engage in economically beneficial activities. He also meets groups of women under their Village Saving and Loan associations, to preach the gospel, pray with and encourage them. Besides, he also is setting up a community-funded scholarship program to support needy children through school.
Rev. Ocen says his approach to evangelism is an integral mission, combining the gospel with attendance to community needs.
Grass hut housing
“We cannot keep preaching the gospel to the poor without helping them realize their potential,” Rev. Ocen said, “Like Christ who attended to the needs of the community (John 2:1-11, John 4:46-47, Matthew 14:15-21, Matthew 15:32-39 and Luke 17:11-19), we Christian ministers should also do the same.”
At 27 years, Rev. Ocen was ordained into ministry and posted as a curate at St. Peters Church of Uganda, in the Bobi subcounty in Omoro District on February 23, 2020. His ordination came exactly one month before the COVID-19 lockdown was instituted in Uganda on March 23, banning Church services among other social gatherings.
With his workplace closed, Rev. Ocen decided to continue spreading the gospel while also helping people around him transform their lives.
“I noticed that so many of our people were having dependency syndrome, thinking that they could not help themselves,” Rev. Ocen said, “That is why I decided to bring this Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach, based on the Half-Glass concept with the view that everyone has something to contribute in order for development to be realized.”
Bishop Johnson Gakumba, the Bishop of the diocese of Northern Uganda, under whom Rev. Ocen serves, said the works of Rev. Ocen will not only benefit the Christians, but the diocese as well.
“Poverty has been a great challenge among our Christians. As a result, giving in Church has been very poor,” Bishop Gakumba said, “And him (Rev. Ocen) coming to address that problem is such a blessing that must be supported by all who wish well for the Church.”
Bishop Gakumba said for the short time Rev. Ochen has been in service, the diocese has started benefitting from his creativity through his valuable input towards the development of the five-year Strategic Work Plan of the diocese, a thing that makes him so proud of the young servant of God.
Rev. Ocen said he prides himself so much in his UCU education that opened his eyes to see the world from a new perspective.
Jesuit Stephen Okello, a high school student at Pope Benedict XVI Integrated Schools Palenga, and one of the selected beneficiaries for the scholarship program, said that he feels that God is working miracles in his life through Rev. Ocen.
“I had lost hope in going back to school after my Senior Four, but this program came suddenly to me,” Okello said. “I cannot thank God and Rev. Ochen enough for this lifetime opportunity.”
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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
Teachers worldwide are often underpaid, frequently disrespected, sometimes suppressed and occasionally ignored. This is despite the fact that educating children is one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals with the acknowledgement that 69 million primary and secondary teachers will be needed globally to reach that 2030 target. To date, and according to the latest (2016) school census, Uganda has 261,000 teachers.
Deogratious Nsubuga, a 2018 first class graduate with a bachelor of science degree in education from Uganda Christian University (UCU) is among these. He is an author, writer, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and a headmaster at Agape Christian School, Kyungu. Having started teaching right after his Senior Six exams in 2014, he has grown a passion for improving teacher reputation. He wants to help administrators understand a teacher’s role and struggles.
“These are people who often have no clue what teaching is like, people who have had their education in developed countries and cannot relate with the problems on the ground here,” Nsubuga elaborates.
The appointment as head teacher at Agape Christian School in 2019 brought him closer to forging those relationships and understanding that would, in turn, improve the quality and quantity of students at the school. As of March 2020, the number of students in the school had increased from 135 to 400 in a year’s time. Starting 2020 in high gear and eagerly prepared to mold his students to attain the best grades possible, the COVID-19 lockdown blocked all the school programs and fractured hopes.
Filled with grief and short of words, Nsubuga struggles to describe how demeaning the COVID-19 lockdown since March has been to teachers in Uganda. To have the basics of living, including food in cupboards, teachers have taken hard labor jobs such as digging and washing neighbor’s clothing.
“Some teachers have sold off their clothes and shoes,” Nsubuga said. “You will be surprised to see teachers walk to class ragged and barefooted after the lockdown.”
To curb poverty-related problems related to his school, Nsubuga has exchanged his head teacher role for that of garden and small business employer.
Nsubuga supervises one of his staff members at the school farm
Two teacher assistance examples Cornelius Arkker, for example, is one of the teachers working as a produce manager with a food store business started by Nsubuga. Arkker feels honored to have met and worked with an innovative and developmental person like Nsubuga.
Arkker says Nsubuga has inspired him to improve his character, in terms of being patient, honest, principled and hopeful.
“There is a time I delayed for an appointment with Nsubuga by four hours,” Arkker said. “Being the principled person he is, I thought he would get mad at me, he instead calmly listened to me and everything went on as planned.”
Nsubuga also has mentored teacher, Isaac Kawanda, who is currently managing the Musomesa Education Consultants project. The firm handles all records and sales of academic books published by Nsubuga. Both Nsubuga and Kawanda met as young untrained teachers in 2014/2015.
“Nsubuga always told me that I am a young, energetic man who can do wonders,” Kawanda discloses. “His company has helped me unveil my academic and business potentials. He has made me realize how capable I am.”
Student assistance examples In addition to helping teachers re-tool their skills to survive during the coronavirus lockdown, Nsubuga initiated the use of social media to maintain student interest in education, monitoring streets to guard youth safety and making public address announcements to get communities engaged in nurturing young people.
To reinforce learning, he formed WhatsApp groups to better ensure student access to academic work. However, due to limited technical resources and poor network, some students have been left out. For these students, he plans remedial assistance after the lockdown.
Andrew Baluku, a Senior Two student, commends his teachers for the academic support rendered to him, especially during the COVID restricted environment. According to Baluku, online studying is efficient because he pays maximum attention to his studies. However, he yearns to have more subjects like agriculture and commerce.
“Studying alone gives me more time to learn at my pace and understand some concepts,” Bakulu explains. “I think online studying would be the best, if not for the limited resources to maintain it. Plus, some of my colleagues cannot afford it all.”
Nsubuga also has engaged the community about the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown and how they can adapt and offer their assistance. Through a community radio characterized by a highly raised wooden platform and a speaker with sound covering at least a hundred meters (328 feet) of Kyungu village, Nsubuga encourages local parents to prepare their children for the lockdown experience, particularly the girl child. He has spread a similar gospel via Dunamis radio Uganda.
Nsubuga narrates an incident when he bumped into one of his teenage female students being intimately held by a boy in the evening. Much as Nsubuga was able to rescue her and drop her to her home safely, Nsubuga still wonders about the safety and well-being of girls.
Giving a hand to someone’s growth and development is Nsubuga’s happiness. This is a spirit he developed from the UCU community, where sharing and kindness are virtues.
Previously, Nsubuga possessed a self-centered mindset towards the process of achieving success.
“Before I came to UCU, my principle was, ‘hustle, get in my way, I kick you out and proceed,” Nsubuga said. “However, the UCU Christian environment put in me a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood.”
He is thankful to God that he was able to meet a Christian family (UCU) that groomed him spiritually.
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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
Emmanuel Otim poses for a photo after his interview with UCU Partners.
By Maxy Magella Abenaitwe
Most Ugandan children have been told that holding on to sciences – that is, the traditional, formal curriculum – is the only key to success. Little or no value is attached to talents outside that box or personal passions. Those who create their own chances and platforms to ensure talent growth beyond what is customary are few.
Emmanuel Otim, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) bachelor of arts in education graduate, is among those few. Since 2007, he has identified himself as a comedian – a career path sparked by his love for stage performance.
This, then, is how Otim (known as Ehmah Napoleone and preferring to be known as simply “Ehmah”) made it unfold. Having lived a childhood with various stage opportunities, he fit himself in the already-established university entertainment sessions. Under the brand name, The Filosofaz, he and a bunch of friends broke the mold of the University praise and worship system of entertainment and introduced comedy.
The comedy group grew so popular that students referred to the Saturday evening walks to watch Ehmah and his partner, Catro Johnson, as, “The great trek to Nkoyoyo hall.” The paved route from the Dining hall to Nkoyoyo hall became known informally as Prince Ehmah Road.
For someone who had grown up with no access to television and the Internet, his first comic sessions were presentations solely intended to cheer up students and satisfy his own creative talents. Little did he know this would become a career that would pay his bills.
Several times, friends tapped him saying, “Man! You’re going to be big, you will be a millionaire.” Their encouraging words started to sink in. He began to realize there could be something special about what he had been doing.
Ehmah still remembers Peace Lona, a girl he had met in his S5 class at Makerere high school in 2004. She told him about the successes of Kato Lubwama (comedian turned politician) and Philip Luswata (actor/director best known for “Queen of Katwe”). To further educate himself, Ehmah started attending comedy shows, including those of East African comedians like Philip Luswata and Ebonies.
“Going for these shows shaped my idea that I could actually earn from this,” he reckoned.
In 2009, DSTV held competitions called “Stand Up, Uganda.” He didn’t compete but found family in a union formed by the top 10 winners of the contest. A Ugandan named Omara, who took second place in the competition, called on Ehmah to assist in forming the Crackers’ show that later premiered on National Television (NTV) as Mic Check. Omara and Ehmah had met at UCU.
To Ehmah, his “fully rewarding” world of comedy is the job he “never sought.” It simply evolved.
As of September 2020, Ehmah’s highly ranked comic gigs have taken him to Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan as well as within his native Uganda. In spite of curfew, economic and travel restrictions of the COVID-19 lockdown, Ehmah has maintained his relevance with some earnings through social media fan base management, replacing a desired stage performance schedule.
In August 2020, Ehmah Napoleone’s You Tube channel and social media platforms were trending with more than 2,000 views of “Afande Piano,” an imaginary police spokesperson of the Wakanda Republic. Afande Piano is an exaggerated sarcastic character who mimics the Ugandan police spokesperson who at many occasions has been cited defending police and government for their deeds. In addition to bringing smiles to people’s faces, Ehmah’s aim was to show the public how hard it is to be a spokesperson in a country with a political environment like that of Uganda.
While the Afande Piano character is partially political, Ehmah usually refrains from politics as well as tribal, vulgar and religious content that may negatively impact on society.
At that, for the sake of solidarity, advocacy for the rights of Comedians, growth of the comedian industry and as the spokesperson of The Uganda Comedian Association (TUCA), Ehmah has taken part in political performances with comedians like the Bizonto group that were once arrested over allegations of promoting sectarianism through their comic church-like hymns. For some performers, like Allan (alias Optional Allan) and Joshua Okello (alias Okello Okello), he has both learned and mentored.
Kibuka describes the five-year relationship as a kind, generous, helpful and friendly mentorship. He applauds Ehmah for paving for him the way from the ghetto setting to the urban stage.
“I will never forget the day he recommended me for my first Jazz comedy Uganda performance,” Kibuka recalls. “It was unbelievable, I mingled with big names in the Ugandan comedy industry. That day, I realized my potential.”
Okello, Ehmah’s other mentee credits him for being professional, principled, honest and flexible.
“Ehmah keeps time and will always show up if you have a booking, appointment or performance with him,” Okello said. “This is a rare trait among Ugandan entertainers.”
Okello recalls of a time he invited his mentor to perform on a show he had organized in Soroti. That day it rained, and the show flopped. As the dismayed organiser, worried about how to pay, Ehmah agreed to forego his payment.
Ehmah credits UCU for his humility as this was reinforced there for students and staff. He points his success to the 2006-2009 UCU community that embraced him and offered him his first platform as an amateur comedian.
“By the time I left UCU, I was already a brand,” he noted.
Ehmah is saddened by what he perceives as a decline in creative stage talent emphasis and opportunities at UCU. His cry is for the university to embrace drama and entertainment because it holds a great future in Uganda.
His passion for comedy has helped him overlook some challenges like the negative perception some people have towards entertainers. Most parents dislike comedians around their children because they think artists are not good role models.
“Sometimes it’s hard for people to accept you,” Ehmah said. “Africans have not yet embraced comedy as a profession.”
The writer of this article, Maxy Magella Abenaitwe, is a 2018 graduate of Uganda Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. Before her country’s lockdown, she was an intern for the UCU Standard newspaper.
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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
Members of the UCU student admissions team, including the author of this story (third from left, front row), pose for a photo taken before the COVID-19 restrictions.
By Eleanor Ithungu
According to the United Nations, the COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents. These data, which are part of an August 2020 policy brief, include that 94 percent of the world’s student population has been effected because of institution shutdowns. In low-income countries like Uganda, the impact is 99 percent.
As a Uganda Christian University (UCU) worker in the admissions office over the past five years, I am among those who have had a front-row seat to the enrollment impact. The Mukono campus’ normally noisy reception area near a small office I share with one other staff is silent.
It’s been this way since March 20 when Yoweri Museveni, the president of the republic Uganda, ordered the closure of schools as one step to contain the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, we presumed that the closure would take only 32 days, and we would return to our normal schedules. Such was not the case as roughly one month turned into six.
The majority of universities in Uganda, including UCU, rely on aggressive outreach activities, sending institutional representatives out into communities, secondary schools and literally “scavenging” for students to join institutions. This year, that couldn’t happen because of the country’s lockdown with social distancing measures in place.
Around February, the peak season for the admissions section starts following the release of Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results. In normal years, this is a season of many inquiries by phone and in person with applicants – mostly soon-to-be secondary school graduates – walking in and out of the academics building where admissions is housed.
UCU’s e-learning platform plays a major role in getting the university back on it’s feet.
While the majority of Uganda’s universities have had online platforms that prospective students would utilize to submit applications for admission, most of the institutions would still get the bulk of their students through manual processes whereby students pick up application forms, fill them out, and return them.
This year, our intake season never had a chance to peak. We barely started the 2020-21 year application and admission processes when the government closed institutions, including UCU. The excitement of prospective students walking the campus to see the library, classrooms, housing and exercise track didn’t exist. There were no academic counselors around to help students make decisions based on their scores and career aspirations.
For the past six months, not only were students not permitted on the campus, but they also could not travel to the university. When our travel restrictions were eased, transportation costs accelerated to further negatively impact the pockets of already financially strapped people, and curfews remained in place.
The closure of the schools disrupted UCU’s planned schedules, required staff reductions and caused us to think differently about how to serve current and future students. The admissions section where I work needed to work harder to find a way of reaching out and serving potential applicants. Luckily, the University Management Information System was ready to be used for online applications. Phone calls involved directing interested youth to the website to look at program offerings and download forms.
Another shift from face-to-face to the virtual world has been with pre-entry interviews for admission into the Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and Bachelor of Dental Surgery programs. This time round, we held the interviews virtually instead of in person. We held Zoom interviews and written assessments on our e-learning platform for over 800 applicants for the Bachelor of Laws program. This was successful. We also relied on technology to admit students in different programs like Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration.
With adjustments to online learning, our education system has been able to focus on what is working well rather than what is not working at all. Those of us left on campus work diligently with appreciation for reduced pay as we are loyal to the unique education of a Christian-based higher education institution like UCU.
Together, we pray for our students who didn’t finish exams before the government’s education suspension order in March, and that the on-line examinations go well. We pray for our colleagues who are not working and are in need of food in their cupboards. While missing the embrace and community of believers and learners in person, we give thanks to God that our on-line learning was in place to save students travel time and money that might have been spent for campus housing and enables students to learn and obtain job skills.
UCU may look different when it bounces back, which it will. But what won’t change is the faith-based focus. To God be the glory.
(Eleanor Ithungu is a 2015 graduate of UCU with a bachelor’s degree in Business Computing. While working at UCU, she is pursuing post-graduate studies in Information Technology.)
The UCU Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Kitayimbwa; Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Finance and Administration, Mr. David Mugawe; University Council Chairman Prof. Alfred Olwa; and Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi pose after a recent meeting. (Photo by Sam Tatambuka)
By John Semakula
The government of Uganda has lifted its six-month lockdown on education, allowing schools to reopen on October 15 for candidate classes and for finalists in institutions of higher learning.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni announced the move on Sunday evening (September 20) in his address to the nation about the state of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
By Sunday, Ugandans infected with the coronavirus were 6,827 and only 63 fatalities.
President Museveni noted in his address that the decision to reopen academic institutions that have been closed since March 20 was meant to reduce the possibility of clogging in the education system.
“If we don’t allow the 2020 batch of finalists to move on, what will happen to the batch of 2021?” the President asked, observing that the smaller number of finalists will make it easier to observe social distancing while at school. The figures presented by President Museveni showed that of Uganda’s 15 million learners, there are 1.2 million finalists.
President Museveni also declared the reopening of the International Airport and land borders, which could allow international students to return and complete their studies.
These students, as with all foreigners coming to Uganda, must test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before their arrival. The government also lifted the lockdown in border districts across the country to allow students to travel back to their schools.
The lifting of the lockdown on academic institutions came at the time when Uganda Christian University (UCU) was finalizing its plans to roll out the eLearning training for staff and online distance learning for students.
Earlier this month, UCU conducted online pre-entry exams for law students. UCU Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi noted that this virtual examination was a landmark achievement for the University that wants to strive to be “paperless” and become a leader in distance learning in the country. Mushengyezi and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Kitayimbwa have said the university will roll out online distance learning on October 15, regardless of government lifting of education restrictions.
On the issue of the staff contracts, which were suspended in June, the deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administration, David Mugawe, has said the affected staff will be reinstated on the payroll as soon as the lectures start in October.
In Uganda, private academic institutions mainly rely on students’ tuition fees for their operations. But Assoc. Prof. Mushengyezi has vowed to work with the private sector to grow the University’s revenue.
In May, UCU released the teaching timetable for the final year students who were supposed to be in sessions during the Trinity Semester (May-August), but withheld it after government extended the lockdown on academic institutions. Following the Sept. 20 President announcement, the University must decide if it will revise the same timetable or release a new one.
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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
UCU staff members discuss on-line learning enhancements in the Mukono campus eLearning Centre.
(NOTE: At the time this was written, the Ugandan government agreed to allow medical school students only to return to in-person education. There were unconfirmed rumors that physical delivery could be allowed for all schools by the end of September. If permitted, this could impact the UCU plan as outlined in this story.)
By John Semakula
Uganda Christian University (UCU) students, who missed their end of Easter Semester (January-May) examinations because of the country’s COVID-19 lockdown, have cause to smile. According to the office of the UCU Vice Chancellor, the students can take the Easter Semester examinations from September 15 to October 15, 2020.
“These will be done as take-home examinations, as it is the practice in universities all over the world,” read a statement from the VCs office dated September 4, adding, “Teaching for the Trinity (normally starting in May) and Advent (normally starting in September) semesters will commence on October 15.”
Students enrolled with UCU for the first semester of this calendar year missed their examinations when all the academic institutions in the country were closed on March 20 as part of a government-imposed, country lockdown to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. These students were mostly completed with their studies except for their final semester examinations. At that time, and despite UCU’s readiness to conduct on-line learning and administer take-home exams, the University’s efforts were denied by President Yoweri Museveni on grounds that the process would discriminate against individuals from poor families.
In early September, UCU had that approval, including from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) that conducted an early August inspection. According to a letter dated August 26 and signed by the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Dr. John Senyonyi, after assessing UCU’s capacity to undertake online distance eLearning, the NCHE gave the University a green light to resume teaching virtually.
NCHE also cleared the University’s School of Medicine and the newly named School of Dentistry to continue operations after an inspection by the regulatory body conducted on August 10. Early this year, the NCHE had raised some concerns about the standards of most medical schools in the country, including the medical schools at UCU and Makerere University, and asked the institutions to improve or be denied a chance to offer the courses.
In a letter dated August 28, NCHE’s Executive Director, Prof. Mary J.N. Okwakol, noted that UCU’s medical and dental programs met the requirements for the training of medical doctors and dental surgeons within the East African Community (EAC) as set out in the guidelines.
“Upon qualifications, therefore, the graduates shall be eligible for reciprocal recognition within the EAC partner states,” she wrote. “The University may admit students to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Dentistry programmes, ensuring adherence to the recommended number of students for each programme.”
Dr. Aaron Mushengyezi, UCU’s new vice chancellor, speaks at a press conference.
In his August 26 letter to UCU staff, Dr. Senyonyi commended those who worked hard to ensure that both assessments were successful. He said he was sincerely indebted to them.
The University has since advertised vacancies for first year students who would wish to take those science courses advising them to apply online for the courses.
The new Vice-Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, also confirmed NCHE’s clearance for UCU to continue teaching in a letter to staff dated September 4. He also revealed that the University Senate had as a result of the clearance by NCHE met on September 2 and passed several resolutions to pave way for the University to reopen for online distance eLearning.
Key among the resolutions, which Senate passed, was that the University would hold a virtual graduation – a first for UCU – for those students who will have finished their studies. The ceremony is scheduled for December 18, 2020.
Also important to note is that students who are supposed to be in session for both the Trinity (May-August) and Advent (September- December) semesters will first complete the Trinity Semester. To have access to inexpensive Internet services for online learning and while tuition costs are in discussion, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Dr. John Kitayimbwa, advised students to buy MTN cell phone sim cards to access Internet hotspots.
Anguzu walks out of his office at River Oli Division
By Douglas Olum
Lying in my bed in the Kudrass Hotel in Arua City on the evening of Tuesday, August 4, a sharp female scream pierced through the walls. Even though I did not understand the Lugbara language the woman used, I could tell from the sharp cries that she was in trouble. I rushed to the hotel reception to inquire about the problem.
“I think they are robbing someone,” the young man at the reception said. “There are gangs around here who rob people daily.”
I retreated to my room with a reminder to be cautious wherever I would go around this northwestern Uganda city. Arua is one of the four regional cities created recently in Uganda. It is located 520 kilometers (323.113 miles) Northwest of Kampala, in the West Nile region of Uganda.
Women make and sell popcorn and other snacks along a walk path in Arua City
This incident also reinforced the message delivered hours before in a conversation with Morris Anguzu, a 2018 Uganda Christian University (UCU) Social Work and Social Administration graduate who works in this area. Amidst our discussion, he shared with me his experience of the previous night when he received a 2 a.m. emergency call from a motorcycle rider whose bike was robbed while he was rushing a patient to the Arua Regional Referral Hospital. As the Gombolola Internal Security Organisation (GISO) officer in River Oli Division since 2011, Anguzu’s role places him directly at the centre of handling a complex web of societal problems ranging from domestic violence, child neglect, drug abuse, theft and robberies.
Of the two divisions in Arua City, River Oli has the largest population with approximately 50,700 residents of the estimated 72,400 city population (Uganda Bureau of Statistics Population projection report, 2015-2020). About 80 percent are Muslims. Anguzu said the three greatest challenges in this community are low literacy rate, polygamy and lack of parental guidance. He said most parents spend time looking for money, thereby leaving their children exposed to bad peers who introduce them to stealing, abusing drugs and smuggling goods from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
During the day, the city centre is busy with pedestrians, motorists and cyclists transporting all tribes of goods in and out of the city, crisscrossing everywhere. Sweaty, bare-chest men are seen offloading goods from large trucks, which bring them from Kampala, and sometimes loading them in smaller trucks that buy them from local wholesalers. Along the corridors, walk paths and backstreets, women and children are seen hawking carrots, cassava, ginger, onions, pepper, among other vegetables. In the same areas, others also are seen serving cooked foods, porridge, tea and snacks to the lower class city dwellers and some visitors.
Taking a ride with Anguzu along Lemerijoa road, in the afternoon of Wednesday, August 5, we witnessed a large group of young and older boys, drinking, smoking and chewing the leafy drug called mairungi. Anguzu explained to me that Lemerijoa is regarded as the hub of the gangs that rob people in Arua city on daily basis, and that the gangs are feared by both the community and local council leaders because they threaten them every time an attempt is made to confront or stop them.
Determined to change the narrative, Anguzu is applying various social work skills he acquired from UCU during his studies to help restore peace and security in the city. These skills include counseling and community engagement.
He said UCU equipped him with unique skills that have greatly improved his work results. He holds meetings with parents of boys to figure how they might work together to get the children to drop their bad habits; and speaks with many of the boys in one-on-one meetings. Before the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda, he was more actively engaging elders, religious and local council leaders to derive a sustainable, effective approach through which they could permanently address problems.
While Anguzu’s colleagues are barred from speaking to the media by the terms of their work, others provided praise.
Benard Ezama, a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) rider, said they have more hope in Anguzu than the Uganda Police because he does not demand money from them and normally quickly responds in case of an attack or robbery.
To Jane Aikoru, a shop operator in the city, the increased insecurity in Arua “cannot be solved by arresting and imprisoning the perpetrators because at some point they still return from jail and continue to wreck havoc on people.” Aikoru thinks that Anguzu is the only hope they have because he is unafraid of the boys and he sometimes helps people recover their stolen property from the gangs.
In June this year, and on his way to lunch, Anguzu saw a young boy snatch a phone from a woman and run away with it as the public merely watched. He chased after the 13-year-old boy and recovered the woman’s phone before taking the boy to police.
For many people, the engagement would stop there. No so for Anguzu. Hours later, he went back to police and had a talk with the boy. Together with the Arua Child and Family Protection police department, Anguzu arranged for a meeting with the boy’s family where they resolved to withdraw the case on condition that the boy start working to turn his life around. The family of the minor, whose name is withheld to protect his identity, said their son has since transformed. They say without the intervention of Anguzu, the boy would have a life on the streets. Anguzu says his vision is to make Arua an educated and self-sustaining society that fears God.
“As a born-again Christian I believe my job is a calling from God and I should serve our people wholeheartedly,” he said. “I face rejections from some members of the Muslim community who mistake me to be fighting their belief, especially their practice of polygamy, but I also am motivated further when people appreciate the things I do for them.”
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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
e-Learning compatible with multiple devices that can be accessed by both staff and students. COURTESY PHOTO/UCU Law Society
(NOTE: This article was written before the Uganda National Council for Higher Education gave late August 2020 approval for UCU to offer on-line courses.)
By Alex Taremwa
On Friday, July 3, 2020, my good friend Rebecca Karagwa, a recipient of a generous Uganda Partners scholarship, should have graduated with her Bachelor of Laws from Uganda Christian University (UCU). Only that did not happen. After waiting for online exams in vain, she celebrated anyway. She cut the cake and ate it.
Her official school completion was delayed partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced schools shut but also due to the Ugandan education system technological limbo in 2020. Since the colonial era, classroom instruction in Uganda – even at top government-supported universities like Makerere University (the 8th Best in Africa according to recent rankings) has been a blackboard and chalk affair.
While students in countries like Rwanda begin to interact with computer technology as early as primary school with the help of education tablets that the government freely distributes, it is common for a student in Uganda from a rural area like Kazo to join a university without ever touching a computer.
UCU Students browse online reading material in the UCU Hamu Mukasa Library. COURTESY PHOTO/UCU E-Learning
I write from experience. Before I joined UCU in 2010, the best I knew about a computer was to correctly identify the mouse, keyboard and monitor. It was the first-year, UCU Basic Computing Foundation Course Unit that moved me to computer literacy; I scored 98%. This is true today for many students at Ugandan universities.
While the Ugandan government directed that Information and Computer Technology (ICT) be taught compulsorily at secondary level, most schools in rural areas and some in peri-urban areas have at most eight functional computers to be used by a population of 800 students or even more. At the maximum, each student will have interfaced with the computer for about five full hours in a term. To say that this time is insufficient to create any sort of mastery is an understatement.
Nevertheless, students move on to the universities where some semblance of e-Learning can be felt. Lecturers often send course material on Email and can ably grade assignments through academic systems such as Moodle. But from experience, both students and lecturers confess that the traditional approach where assignments are typed and printed is more “effective” than the modern style because the latter requires an internet connection or a physical presence at the University where one can access free Wi-Fi.
But there is an even bigger reason. Most of the courses taught at universities had not been customized for online delivery. When you visit the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) website to see the listed of accredited online courses for universities, you’re met with an empty list. There is, however, a list of new guidelines that the NCHE is mooting to furnish universities in a bid to support their customization of online programs.
Online programs have to be immersive and interactive to compensate for when the students are not physically present at the university as the case is now. The challenge is that neither the university nor the government can guarantee that students will have access to a computer and stable Internet to support this kind of learning.
Statistically, only 42% of Ugandans are connected to the Internet, according to the Uganda Communications Commission. This represents 19 million of the 45 million Ugandans. If you break this figure further, the biggest concentration of Internet users is in Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, Entebbe, Jinja and other major towns, but most of the rural countryside where the students are during this lockdown is largely uncovered.
To worsen matters, Uganda has the most expensive Internet per megabyte of all the countries in East Africa. It doesn’t help our case that social media platforms like WhatsApp, on which students are currently interacting as they hope for take home exams, also attract a daily tax.
It would have been better and cheaper for the government to lift tax on social media to promote learning via smartphones on Facebook Live and YouTube but instead, the government is settling to buy two radio and television sets for each of the 140,000 villages in the country. While this happens, universities like the United States International University in Africa in Nairobi, Aga Khan University and other ultramodern institutions have already closed their semesters successfully by administering exams online. All the institutions had to do was to use part of the students’ already paid tuition to activate for them data bundles with which to access, write and submit the exams.
Together with an e-Examination system that closed submissions after the permissible three hours, the universities were able to avoid physical access to the premises, keep COVID-19 at bay and still successfully close their academic calendars with minor interruptions.
Selfishly though, the government has refused to allow institutions like Uganda Christian University (UCU) that have the necessary infrastructure to support e-Learning to proceed with their academic calendar, claiming that some students who are in rural areas will not be able to access the learning material – even when the very students petitioned the Speaker of Parliaments seeking permission to sit their exams and move on with their lives.
Uganda has attempted and failed twice to allow finalists to return to their respective institutions of learning to write their examinations. Information from the corridors of power now has it that the government is mooting to force a dead year on students like Karagwa that were hoping to graduate simply because there is no infrastructure to support e-Learning.
As long as COVID-19 is still a global pandemic, education in Uganda will remain on halt and even when schools resume in the near future, e-Learning will remain a far cry until the technological barriers to uptake are addressed.
Alex Taremwa is a journalist, a graduate of UCU and an MA student at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) of The Aga Khan University in Nairobi.
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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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