God liberates ‘a girl’ from Kalerwe slum to attain Master Degree in Divinity

December 6, 2018Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and TheologyBishop Tucker School of Theology, Poverty, Slums, Theology, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Lovincer Katana, Uganda Christian University Partners scholarship recipient at 2018 graduation (UgandaPartners Photo)

UPDATE: Since this story was written in October, the subject of the interview has been ordained and currently volunteering with the Uganda Christian University’s Chaplaincy (December 2, 2018).

By Brendah Ndagire

Her family said “no.” But God said “yes.” It wasn’t quite that simple as Lovincer Katana, the oldest of seven children, straddled her dream of being a pastor with the acknowledgement that she wouldn’t make much money to support herself and her family.

Lovincer, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) M.Div’18 graduate, found a role model in her home priest, the now retired Rev. Kisitu Frederick. As a teenager and young woman in her 20s, she remembered how he talked at great lengths about his positive experiences as a student at Bishop Tucker College, which was renamed Uganda Christian University 21 years ago. Now age 28, Lovincer recalled being particularly inspired by the way Rev. Kisitu used to teach and engage the scripture for his congregation at St. Nicholas Church Kalerwe. She wanted those skills and that gift.

With a passion for theology, she knew the obstacles. Being a priest in Uganda does not usually come with financial gains. Most priests have to have another source of income as a teacher or a professor to economically sustain their families. As such and with the cultural expectation for children to support parents and younger siblings, most Ugandan mothers and fathers don’t encourage their children to study theology and take on priestly roles.

Such was especially true for Lovincer. Not only was she the first-born daughter of seven children, but she grew up in one of the harshest environments of Kampala, in the Kalerwe slums. Her parents wanted her to study something that would deliver not just herself but the rest of the family from the economic poverty of their neighborhood. To adhere to the pressure and accept her responsibility, she obtained her first degree in education from one of Uganda’s public universities, Kyambogo University in 2012, with the hope of gaining full-time employment as a secondary school teacher.

Lovincer graduated and got that job, but it was short lived. She worked for a few months as a teacher on the pay-roll at Gayaza High School, a Uganda girls school before being laid off. At the same time, she served at her home church in Kalerwe and was not discouraged as she continued to see God leading her to deeper service.

Lovincer with her fellow M.Div graduates at the graduation ceremony in July 2018 (UgandaPartners Photo)

In May 2015, after a rigorous application process for a three-year Master Program in Divinity, she was thrilled to find out that she was one of the 20 theology students in her class who would be receiving Uganda Christian University Partners financial support towards tuition. In 2018, Lovincer got that degree. Uganda Christian University Partners recently caught up with her to learn about her experiences at the university and where God is leading her. (This interview is edited for clarity.)

Briefly, share with us what has stood out for you as a theology student at UCU?

UCU is a unique university all around. What has stood out for me in the past three years were two days of the week – Tuesday and Thursday. At 12 Noon, students and faculty members would take time to pause whatever they were doing, and come to gather at Nkoyoyo Hall for community worship. I felt a unique sense of belonging in Christ and identity with God that transcended classes, ages, expertise, and our distinct backgrounds. It is our way of paying attention to what God is doing in our lives. And beyond theological classes I took, I really appreciated the foundational class on Worldviews. It exposed me to different perspectives and understanding about how other people perceive the world. It was important for me because often times as people we want to make sure our own worldview is dominant. We make sure we push it onto others without creating room for us to understand why other people think the way they do or why and how they were raised differently. And from there, we are able to understand to share what we believe or how we view the world around us. It is important to primarily understand where the other (person) is coming from so that we can share our perspective of God and the world from an understanding position. Finally I appreciated the practical aspect of our divinity classes, where we were equipped to exercise church ceremonies such as baptism, officiating weddings and so forth.

Lovincer’s Ordination Ceremony at All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero. (UgandaPartners Photo)

Reflecting on your life before and during UCU to your graduation, where do you see God’s role in making this graduation happen?

God has been there for me really from the start. Every time I tell people that it is God who can liberate a girl like me from the slums of Kalerwe…come here at UCU and sit in a class with students with significantly different life experiences. Through Uganda Partners God has paid for my tuition, food, and accommodation at UCU. It was God who made it possible for me to afford to live a comfortable life and have access to all the resources I needed to study at UCU. It is not a day-to-day opportunity that God touches someone’s heart over the oceans to care for the education of an economically poor woman from Kalerwe. Today I celebrate this graduation joy because God in His mercy gave me the opportunity to live out my dream. And that I do not take for granted.

The Uganda Partners scholarship was very meaningful to me in ways I cannot exhaust saying. There were very many people struggling with tuition for an entire semester. We could raise some money for a few of them, and as we thought about our own blessing, we set aside a time on our Monday morning devotion to pray for people in the United States who make it possible for us to have access to tuition and other scholarly needs.

How have you gotten closer to God throughout your studies?

The UCU setting itself makes anyone get closer to God if only they pay attention to their surroundings. Apart from the time set aside for community worship on Tuesdays and Thursdays, UCU has a talking compound. If you are walking around, you notice these scriptures embroidered on almost every building speaking to you. I remember there was a time I felt really discouraged after our Hebrew exam. I was trying so hard to understand Hebrew and when we finished I felt like I did not do enough to get my desired grade. Then, I was walking by the Nursing Building and I don’t remember the scripture entirely but I do remember how meaningful and encouraging it was on that day. It (the scripture) remained my source of encouragement throughout my life at UCU, and it was one of the ways I stayed and/or have gotten closer to God.

Where do you see God taking you now as a Priest?

I know for certain that God is calling me to serve His people in the Church. Right now I do not know where He is leading me as far as a physical location is concerned, but the ministry skills I have acquired from UCU makes me believe that God wants me to share my story and His work in me with others. Every time I share my story with people, they take time to truly understand that someone who grew up in the slum, a place of lack, where I constantly struggled to find food and other basic needs would study at a great university such as UCU and excel in her studies and graduate on time. For many people it is hard to connect the two (i.e., abject poverty with academic excellence). But God in His own way is able to raise all of us in our own slums, and for that I intend to use my story, experiences and skills I have gotten from UCU to encourage lives, be part of someone’s life, and give fully back to the community in any way I can.

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If you are interested in supporting Divinity Students who are struggling with tuition at Uganda Christian University, contact Uganda Partners’ Executive Director Mark Bartels @mtbartels@gmail.com.

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Uganda Refugee Law Project strives for humane treatment and justice

December 1, 2018UCU School of LawLaw, Refugee Law Project, Refugees, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Mugero in his office at the Refugee Law Project (UgandaPartners photo)

By Brendah Ndagire

As of November 2018, precisely 1,181,322 refugees are within the borders of Uganda. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, most of these are from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also come from Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries. Uganda Christian University Law alumnus, Jesse Mugero, works as a legal officer with the Refugee Law Project (RLP), located in the Old Kampala area. He provides legal aid to refugees, asylum seekers and deportees and field training with the State Government’s Office of the Prime Minister. He also engages with non-governmental affiliates such as those associated with international criminal law who fight against sexual violence. Uganda Christian University Partners recently caught up with Mugero to learn more about his work with RLP. This interview follows a series of blogs on UCU graduates who are accompanying refugees in Uganda. The interview is edited for clarity.

Briefly, describe what you do

I work as legal officer with the Refugee Law Project, a Makerere University project started in the 1999 as an outreach project of the School of Law, to examine issues related to justice, conflict, migration and human rights. The Refugee Law Project is not a non-government organization nor a purely a government agency. Even though are we are part of the university, we do most of our work independently. In my role, I provide legal assistance to refugees, asylum seekers from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and few coming from Pakistan and Syria. I also work with people facing deportation and conduct capacity building. I mainly train state employees, such as the Uganda Police Force and the Military, basically sharing with them about international criminal law, because our (armed) forces are the people who for the most part have the first interaction with the refugees in places where they are assigned to keep peace, or at the border. It helps to train and support them to understand who a refugee, or an asylum seeker is, such that they know what to do, and how to protect them once they encounter them.

Explain more what capacity building looks like with RLP.

Depending on the training, it is meant to improve the knowledge of participants in a certain area. For example, we can have a conversation on sexual violence. The common understanding is that sexual violence only affects women, but from our Uganda experience especially in Northern Uganda, which suffered a two-decade war led by the Lord’s Resistance Army, we learned that sexual violence also affects men. Capacity building is then geared towards helping participants to understand the different ways in which this crime (sexual violence) occurs. This would then help them in documentation and collection of sufficient evidence of what has happened for possibly future trials. Capacity building broadens the knowledge base, and improves the ability to counter certain aspects of crimes committed against vulnerable groups. For example, this year, we have trained over 500 soldiers of the UGABAG (Uganda Battle group who go to Somalia), and over 300 members of the police force in the districts of Kitgum, Adjumani, Gulu, Arua, Kiryandongo, Hoima, and Mbarara. We train them about refugee rights, including their freedom from torture, freedom of movement, and right to life as well as how they own property, obtain legal representation, and apply for employment. We also help them understand sexual violence in international law, and torture, and abuse of human rights, which unfortunately is on the rise but people need to understand that it is wrong to commit torture. When people (policemen and army personnel) understand that, hopefully they will be part of the solution.

Article about Jesses’ father who inspired him to work with refugees

Apart from the Office of the Prime Minister, and its refugee department, who else do you partner with?

We partner with other refugee agencies such as the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and other partners in Adjumani District. We basically compliment each other. For example, DRC may refer clients to us for legal assistance, and we do the same in situations where they have more experience supporting refugees. We also partner with Inter-Aid in Kampala, which works with urban refugees, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for protection and resettlement in other countries especially for refugees from Rwanda and Congo who are usually hunted for political reasons here.

How does the legal process of representation look like in your experience?

There are two kinds of legal representation. One of them is helping an asylum seeker, someone who has just come into the country, and wants assistance in obtaining asylum. In Kampala, we help them to go to the Old Kampala Police Station to apply for asylum after which their application will be taken to the refugee eligibility committee which would grant or not grant refugee status. If not granted, they can appeal to the decision to the Refugee Appeals Board.

The other part of legal representation is the traditional one where a refugee can come for support in courts of law in case one of their relatives is legally in trouble. It is important to highlight that our services are free of charge, so we work with refugees because in most cases these are people of a lower economic status, and we help them to, for instance, secure police bond and bail. Sometimes language barrier is a big issue, and sometimes it is understanding what is considered a crime in Uganda and what is not. There may be a conflict of laws. For example, in South Sudan girls are married off when they are 16 years old, and in Uganda that is considered defilement. In this case, it is important to explain to a South Sudanese man that it is both illegal to marry and have sex with a 16-year-old in Uganda.

Why work with RLP?

I have always been inspired by the example of my father. He was a student in China in 1978. A Chinese journalist wrote an article at that time about a black medical student working with Vietnamese refugees in China. That black student was my father. My mother kept the article somewhere in our home, and when I found it, I was particularly inspired by him. I have wanted to be part of and living for a cause that is bigger than myself. And creating an impact that will last for generations to come.

What do you think was the most positive aspect of getting an education at UCU?

The education at UCU helped me to understand that life is one indivisible whole. I learned to integrate my faith into my career interests. When I joined the Honors College , I was exposed to brilliant students who challenged me to grow in different ways. I was challenged to strive for excellence. I also grew in my leadership and found many opportunities to serve within the Honors College and UCU community generally.

What classes stood out for you that currently have a huge impact on your career with RLP?

My best class was the Christian Legal Political Thought. It was very interesting because it helped me to appreciate the wide perspectives of law and justice within a Christian lens. To recognize that as a Christian, we live in a pluralist society/world, that there will always be different opinions on particular policy issues outside of the Christian perspectives and how to respectively engage with them is important.

Where do you see God’s work in the lives of the refugees you are accompanying?

I see God in His being sovereign. When I think about the challenging experiences of refugees, very few (1% of refugees world wide) get an opportunity to be resettled in (economically) rich nations, and it can be a daunting thought for many of them. I see God working in the refugees who are happily living here in Uganda with little/limited economic resources, and becoming very creative with the little they have. For example, many refugees from the Congo have succeeded in the clothing industry. They make their own fabrics, sell them and are able to pay for school fees for their children.

Jesse conducting legal training in Moyo District

What are your most proud moments working with refugees?

On a teenager who allegedly stole a phone: One of the most profound experience working with the refugees has been working with refugee mothers. One time there was a woman whose son had been arrested for allegedly stealing a phone. When the woman came to me, she was both very disappointed and sad for her son. I spoke with her, and gave her some advice such as securing a police bond, and how to cooperate with the police. And I will never forget the smile she had when she came back to me the following week. She was so happy and grateful for her freed son. And she makes these really beautiful African and Congolese fabrics, and she offered that if I ever need any fabric, she would make it for me at a discount.

On a single mother who faced eviction: Another time I felt proud was when I helped to accompany a refugee woman whose husband was killed on the way from DRC. She has six children to raise on her own. She was getting evicted by her landlord who had given her only two days to leave his premises. I intervened and spoke with the landlord and she was later given a one-month grace period to look for a new apartment. Knowing that she had another month with a roof over her family, it gave me satisfaction in ways financial achievements cannot.

On training armed officers: Sometimes when we are training military or police officers on the need to respect human rights and stop the habit of torture, one of the officers said to me, “I am going to implement what you have taught me today because torture is not something I personally want to commit, but I do it because I want to follow directions from our leaders.” It is promising and transformative to hear someone committing to engaging more humanly with the perceived other/enemy.

One of the key messages we put forward is that refugees are human beings just as any other human beings. That forced migrants also have rights, and have entitlements under Uganda’s laws. We also need to emphasize that Uganda has been hosting forced migrants since world II and that this is not something new to our society.

This story is just one of many examples of how Uganda Christian University graduates are making a difference in their country. If you would like to assist a current student or otherwise support the university, contact Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org or go to https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/.

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UCU and Reveal Light Ministry combine efforts to increase refugee awareness

November 28, 2018NewsRefugees, Reveal Light Ministry, Uganda Christian University, UgandaPartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Juan Zamba at UCU fundraiser (UCU Partners photo)

By Brendah Ndagire

Reveal Light Ministry, a Christian organization that works with refugee children, held a concert at Uganda Christian University (UCU) to increase awareness for the education, health care, land, housing and employment struggles for those forced to flee their homelands. This year alone Uganda has received more than one million refugees mainly from conflicted regions of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia, and Eritrea.

The November 24 event organizers, Emmanuel Buyinza, the East African Director at Reveal Light Ministry, and UCU lecturer Mary Chowenhill, also sought to engage UCU students who were once refugees themselves and to raise funds to ease the poverty status of refugee children. Despite government assistance, some children go to bed hungry.

The organization has between 500 and 600 children in Hope Village Mubende district, according to Buyinza. In addition to basic necessities such as food, the Reveal Light Ministry gives “them hope through the word of God,” he said.

Buyinza and his team work with local churches to support refugee children in Uganda and through out East Africa. They have Bible studies, character development (for teenagers), and microcredit programs. Through the church’s support, they were able to get access to approximately 20 acres of land in Mubende where they plan to construct an educational hub for refugees. Currently, more than 500 refugee children in Mubende district are reportedly studying under a tree. They lack permanent school structures for primary grades. With the construction of the education hub for refugees, Reveal Light Ministries hopes to have a primary and secondary school, vocational training services and a health center.

“This is a christian university that needs to champion human rights, including the rights of refugee children to have access to education” said Juan Emmanuela Zamba, a first-year student of Human Rights Peace and Humanitarian Intervention. Even though Juan was raised in Uganda, she identifies with the experiences of refugees.

“My own country of origin, South Sudan, has had many conflicts for many years,” she said. “Uganda has been very good to my people and attending this event is an opportunity for me to give back to my home country, starting from here in Uganda.” UCU Creates opportunities such as these to allow its student to transform their communities from Mukono to Mubende.

For Aceduna Specioza Dorothy, a third-year law student, and a policy analyst at UCU’s Africa Policy Center, this event was a great reminder of her passion for children’s rights in Uganda. Life hasn’t been very kind to Aceduna. Her family was internally displaced during the two decade civil war led by the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda.

“Child labor is widely common in Uganda,” she said. “Since this event is about refugee children, I wanted to be here for them. Uganda needs lawyers who love to serve our society. And I intend to be that pro-bono type of a lawyer for children.”

She continued: “When I heard about the refugee event, I wanted to pray with Reveal Light Ministry and support them in anyway I can because I identify with their story in many ways, including studying under the tree and not having a place we could call home.”

Buyinza mentioned that additional collaboration will occur among UCU, Makerere University and Ndejje University, including with a sports marathon that would take place towards the end of January. All of these events are geared towards raising funds for refugees. He is hoping that a telecommunication company might sponsor these marathons to take place every year.

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Contributions to support UgandaPartners and UCU students, including those with refugee connections, can be made at https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/ or through Mark Bartels, UCU Partners USA Executive Director at Uganda Christian University Partners, P.O. Box 114, Sewickley, PA 15143 USA; 214-343-6422; mtbartels@gmail.com

UCU Partners scholarship awardee straddles aspirations in science and business

November 25, 2018Scholarship, Science and Technologybusiness, Chemistry, Scholarships, Science, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Patty Huston-Holm

On paper, Matende Wilson Paul is a Uganda Christian University (UCU) business student. He has a diploma and is working on a bachelor’s degree.

In his head, “I’m a scientist,” he said. In between studies, Wilson Paul, as he prefers to be called, teaches chemistry at his alma mater, Vision High School, Nakifuma (Mukono District).

It’s a strange combination – one that he admits with uncertainty about where it will take him. For now, however, he has written a chemistry book (the science part) and is selling it (the business part). It’s called “D1-I Must Pass Chemistry.” (The D1 is a protein with many functions and interactions.) His book has been reviewed and verified as accurate and valuable by academic teachers of science and chemistry. As of autumn 2018, he sold 70 copies at 15,000 shillings ($4) each.

“I don’t care about making money,” Wilson Paul, age 22, said. “I just want to help students get through chemistry easier than I did.”

In truth, chemistry came easy for Wilson Paul despite no chemistry teacher or class when he was at Vision High School. He and eight classmates formed a class. They studied without books and lab equipment. Despite their passion and learning, they knew the lack of a formally approved curriculum and deficient experimentation tools would cripple them when applying for entrance into related university programs.

“I have no paper to say what I know,” he said.

And like many students, funding to continue education was a barrier. Born to teenage parents who eventually separated, Wilson Paul was raised by his grandmother, going to primary school behind Mukono’s Colline Hotel.

He “felt like a failure” until he met Mary Chowenhill, a Florida resident living and teaching entrepreneurship at UCU. Together, they started teaching Sunday School in 2013, including one trip to western Uganda’s Masindi village to guide 400 children. They lost touch. Then, two years ago, they reunited with Mary’s proposal that Wilson Paul study business at her sponsorship. It happened through UCU Partners.

“It was like bringing me back from the dead,” Wilson Paul said. “I can’t tell her how much that meant to me or how much she means to me now.”

While Wilson Paul is uncertain about his future after finishing at UCU, he knows he will have one foot in science and one in business.

“I want to do both,” he said. “Mary reminds me that God has a purpose for everything and everybody, including me. I’ll keep searching.”

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If you are interested in supporting students who are making a difference in the communities around Uganda such as UCU Partners Scholarship Recipient Wilson Paul is, contact Uganda Partners’ Director @mtbartels@gmail.com or click on the “Donate” button in the upper right corner of this page.

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From Uganda to Guatemala, God’s love is universal

November 21, 2018NewsDennis Wandera, Guatemala, Impact Ministries, Iowa, Missions, Uganda Christian UniversityPatty Huston-Holm

(Note: The author of this story is a 2011 graduate of Uganda Christian University. For the past two years, he has worked as a business and community relations specialist for Child Care Resource and Referral of Southeast Iowa, USA. He lobbies businesses and state policy makers to create policies that support families and help employees access quality, affordable childcare.)

By Dennis Wandera

It certainly wasn’t the first mission trip I had taken. And, growing up in underdeveloped Uganda, I certainly never imagined myself going on a mission trip to another Third World country – Guatemala, Central America.

When I was a journalism student at Uganda Christian University (UCU) nearly a decade ago, I developed the urge to seize any opportunity to live my faith through service to God and people. Thankfully the campus had many fellowships and a robust spiritual program offered by the Chaplaincy. Throughout my student time, I led four separate student-mission trips to eastern, northern and southwestern Uganda under the Compassion Leadership Development Program.

Many of us (students) had never interfaced with the brokenness, injustices, vulnerability and need for God that hovered among people living in our own country. These experiences shaped our perspectives and desire to be part of the long-term solutions to the challenges that undermine our country. But it also – at least for me, was a formative moment to find my place in God’s global plan through missions in and outside my own culture. I was certainly not aspiring to change the world, but aspired to do something – however little – and to watch the world change me.

Cross-cultural ministry

When an opportunity was presented through my church, Harvest Bible Chapel (Davenport, Iowa), to partner with Impact Ministries, Guatemala for a short-term mission trip of 16 people on October 13-21, I knew God was sending me. This was a country and culture that I knew nothing about. I was prepared to have my mind, opinions and perspectives altered. I was determined to learn and grow through every experience – not to revolutionize the place I was going to.

Cross-cultural ministry experiences can be, and usually are, ones that change us in deep ways. From her fragile past history after Spain colonialists, to the current political establishment, culture, worship, hospitality and food – Guatemala mirrors Uganda in some contexts. Like my Ugandan homeland, more than half of Guatemala’s population is classified as poor. They lack material wealth yet they find joy and cling to hope in Christ through their circumstances.

The sight of Guatemalan kids in villages walking distances to schools and women doing back-breaking work for long hours was a down-memory-lane of my own boyhood struggles growing up in Uganda. These visuals, along with the lack of basic needs like clean water demonstrated that despite the 13,437 kilometers (8,341 miles) separating my native country from Guatemala, this newly visited Central American country and Uganda are a reflection of each other in their public policy system.

Construction and connections

Our team helped construct a classroom block at a local school and donated items to new moms in a local hospital. We played a soccer game, visited local food markets and got hosted in homes for cookouts as a way of cultural immersion. Not many locals spoke English. Nonetheless, we sang, prayed together, laughed at our pitiful Spanish, and worked alongside them. Despite the language barrier, God’s love is universal.

One aspect of the trip unique to me was local reaction to the color of my skin. While Guatemalans generally have darker skin than most American Caucasians, most had never seen a black person except in the movies. I became an attention in some places we went. Three kids in the market kept following me and wanting to touch my hair and skin. Their mom pulled out a phone, asking for a picture of me with her kids. The adults who had seen the Black Panther movie gave me a nickname: Wakanda (location near Tanzania, Africa). I loved it. Eventually everyone on my team from the United States started calling me Wakanda.

Visiting is about scenery and places. But more importantly, it’s about people.

In Guatemala, I made a connection with people in that country as well as those on my team through the joy of their life stories and struggles. This was much less about me making a profound impact in their lives and place, but rather about them (and God) making a profound impact on me and my heart.

Eyes widened to poverty

By exposing my heart while getting my hands dirty in the soil of this country, my eyes were widened to poverty and needs. Beyond poverty statistics are the beautiful souls of kids who sat on my lap. I hope that the impact of this trip stays long after their country dirt is washed off of my feet.

Ultimately I hope that for the first time, or in a deeper way, I come to see that the gospel needed by the not-yet-Christians I encountered while I served in Guatemala is the same gospel that’s needed in my own heart. The people I loved and served there are not merely good people trapped in hard circumstances who need little help. They are fellow sinners, whose sin is no less deep and no less present than my own.

And their deepest need – though it may look drastically different on the surface is no different than mine. The need for a Savior who not only says, “I am willing” but “It is finished,” so that they too can be welcomed home as sons and daughters of the King.

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If you are interested in supporting students who are making a difference in communities around the world such as UCU graduate Dennis Wandera is, click on the “Donate” button on the upper right of this page or contact Uganda Partners’ Executive Director Mark Bartels @mtbartels@gmail.com

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From Grass to Grace: ‘Good Samaritan’ acts help UCU Partners’ recipient give back

November 18, 2018ScholarshipBwindi, Denmark, Poverty, Scholarships, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Sarah Tumuramye, left, with Ivan Atuyambe, a UCU alum who paid for Sarah’s university education (UCU Partners photo)

By Patty Huston-Holm

Ivan Atuyambe has been spat upon, abandoned, beaten and starved. Conversely, the 31-year-old Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate who works out of Tanzania is saved, loved, educated, and determined to give back.

His dream job is Secretary General of the United Nations, or something akin to a high-ranking international civil servant. His goal is to drive transformational leadership and good governance in Africa. Ivan is on his way now as he leads a regional leadership development initiative called the East Africa Youth Leadership Summit (www.youleadsummit.org), which aims to raise a new breed of leaders in East Africa. He also founded the Africa Centre for Integrity and Anti-Corruption. (www.acacia-africa.org)

During a 12-hour drive from Uganda’s central Kampala to western Bwindi, Ivan, who obtained his first of three academic degrees at UCU through a UCU Partners scholarship, told his story of desperation, redemption and inspiration.

Desperation
“I felt worthless, hated, miserable, with tears as the only thing coming from me,” he recalled of his early childhood.

To the best of his recollection, he was age 5 when he watched his mother walk out the door, abandoning marriage and motherhood in frustration from her drunk and abusive husband. Subsequently, the four children – Ivan, a brother and two sisters – became more frequent victims of their father’s anger. Nobody, including their father or his other two wives, wanted Ivan or his siblings.

One of Ivan’s designated caregivers was a woman he called “auntie.” She beat him with a broom and threatened to kill him. Another was a stepmother who resented raising another woman’s child, threatening divorce if the boy was in the house.

“I hatched a plan to kill myself by drowning in a huge river,” Ivan recalled. “I went to the river and went down three times, but came back up in fear.”

The early morning suicide attempt came when Ivan was about age 7. Confused and directionless, he walked away from the riverbanks, thinking that others might see some use in him as a cattle caretaker. He knew if he did that successfully for a year, he could get a heifer or bull of his own. Without food and water and wearing an oversized sweater and no trousers, he walked over the hills of Kabale into Rukungiri. As the day darkened, he was spotted by an Anglican pastor, who took him to his home.

“Nobody wanted to touch me or get near me,” Ivan recalled of that first experience walking into the pastor’s house. “I was dirty, miserable looking, half dressed. They gave me a long coat and mat for sleeping. I laid on it at night and picked it up each morning before everybody woke.”

To stay in the house, he was required to dig potatoes and do other family chores, including cooking and delivering food to children at their schools. Things improved when his abandoned child status got him a primary school scholarship through the African Evangelistic Enterprise. But they got worse as the pastor’s wife grew to believe he was the biological son of the pastor and another woman. The wife and her daughters exhibited anger by withholding food and spitting in his footsteps.

The pastor told Ivan not to despair and to “be patient.”

He was. He continued to carry water, clean and cook for the family while thriving at school. He completed Primary 7 at age 14 before the funding stopped.

Redemption
At age 12, while still in Primary 4, Ivan was saved.

“I didn’t know much about God,” Ivan said. “There was a woman evangelist speaking at a mission from John 15: 4-7 and about doing work in His name, and God being the only reliable father.”

With a less-than-stellar biological father, Ivan found peace in the message that he had a heavenly Father who loved him. He turned his life over to Christ, and joined an older person’s evening fellowship, which fulfilled his new hunger for the Word and for feeling valued amidst ill treatment at home. He also began to lead Bible fellowship at school.

At age 13, Ivan learned his father had died. In 2001, he searched and found his mother. Inflicted with HIV/AIDs from a lifestyle of prostitution, she apologized for abandoning her son and asked for forgiveness. Weeks later, she died.

Shortly thereafter, a United Kingdom couple that met Ivan at a Christian conference, agreed to pay his school fees through much of his secondary education. It was during his first days as a secondary school student that Ivan recalls “the most amazing aspect of his life.” The Rev. Dr. Edward Muhima, then National Team Leader of the African Evangelistic Enterprise, came to the school as a guest preacher. A short time later, Ivan was welcomed into the loving, welcoming family of Muhima, who was then bishop of the North Kigesi Diocese in the Western Uganda District of Rukungiri.

“I shared a room with the son,” Ivan said. “Almost immediately, I was treated equally as one of the children and by the children. Even today, these are my only and closest relatives – parents and brothers and sisters. I love them; they love me. This is my God-given family.”

Through life as a Bishop’s son, he met a couple from Washington, D.C., and a woman from Dallas, Texas. Together, they paid his higher education through Uganda Christian University Partners.

Inspiration
Being angry about mistreatment was never an option for Ivan.

Looking back on his life, he focuses on the caring pastor who picked him up from the street on that day of his suicide attempt; the scholarship sponsors, including UCU Partners that supported Ivan’s bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Management at UCU; and the retired Bishop and his family that Ivan calls his own. He also has been blessed to receive scholarships for two post-graduate degrees from universities in Germany and Austria.

Today, the people and organizations that gave to him have inspired Ivan to give to others. One of his first giving back to UCU and UCU Partners was to sponsor the sister of a friend to get her degree from UCU.

“I thought he was joking at first,” said Sarah Tumuramye, the recipient of Ivan’s scholarship for her UCU Business Administration degree she attained in 2018. In a break from her job as cashier at the Batwa Development Program (Bwindi, Uganda), she said she is “so grateful.”

Ivan has sponsored four girls total – two university graduates (including Sarah), one currently in an undergraduate program and one in primary school. He also supports people living on some land he purchased.

Ivan’s full-time job is as the Regional Training and Development Advisor at the Danish government’s MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation, in Arusha, Tanzania. His work of engaging governments, development NGOs and youth leaders takes him across Africa and to Asia, Europe and Arab regions.

“So many people believed in me and supported me,” Ivan said. “I’m investing in others the way they invested in me. And I know the honor and glory for any blessings go to the Lord.”

Chris Nsanze, left, a dentist, poses with Ivan, who says Chris was one of his role models growing up (UCU Partners Photo)

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If you are interested in supporting students who are making a difference in the communities around Uganda such as UCU Partners Scholarship Recipient Ivan Atuyambe is, contact Uganda Partners’ Director @mtbartels@gmail.com.
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UCU one-person call center opportunity to ‘witness for Christ’

November 15, 2018UCU AlumniAlumni, Call Center, Customer Service, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Patty Huston-Holm

Nestled among a sloping-down building bustling with students seeking financial information, an attached, sloping up classroom and, to the right, the large, open-air worship center is the Uganda Christian University (UCU) call center.

Arthur Balayo Watuulo alone occupies the generally quiet room with white curtains, a desk and two chairs, filing cabinet, computer, calendar and musical keyboard. His is the voice at the end of extension 200 for internal staff, at 0312350800 for Ugandans and at 011-256031350880 for Americans.

Arthur: “Uganda Christian University. Good morning. How may I help you?”

Female caller: “I would like to inquire…” She ran out of Airtel airtime. He tried to call her back, but the message said “caller busy.”

Good customer service
“They are surprised when I call them back,” Arthur, a UCU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, said. “But I try to do that. It’s good customer service.”

Often, Arthur’s voice is the first one that people hear at UCU. Sometimes, especially in the case of international callers, his is the only one they ever hear. Recognizing that people outside of Africa are from different time zones, he provides them his cell number in case they want to call back. He may take calls late into the night.

Since March 31, 2016, Arthur has been the call center. Before that, calls went to the Vice Chancellor’s office. Arthur recalls that first day of walking into his sparsely furnished office on the main/Mukono campus. He got some help to carry in a desk and chair. He got a computer and phone. The small musical keyboard next to the phone today is his – for stress-relief tapping when call center hours go late into the night.

Arthur describes himself as musician (gospel, jazz, blues singer and instrumentalist), communicator (member of UCU Communications and Marketing Department), information technician (program developer and documenter) and Christian. The book, “Confessions of a Happy Christian,” by Zig Ziglar, is on his desk.

Humility, calmness, patience
“Arthur’s personality is a perfect match for his role. He is humble with a very calm demeanor, which suits his position given the different personalities of callers,” said Michael Mubangizi, manager for the Communications and Marketing Department and Arthur’s supervisor.

“People have a negative opinion of a call center,” Arthur said. “I see it as an opportunity to serve and be a witness for Christ.”

The job requires patience, especially when the caller is angry. It requires deep listening, including with a person on the line who is depressed and might need a scripture, a prayer or referral to counseling. It requires organization to track calls and find information for callers. It involves discernment, including figuring out “con artists” and unidentified members of the media looking to trip up somebody to get story information.

“I’ve fallen victim,” Arthur said, recalling a time when being scammed by a caller who said he was looking to award internships to UCU students. “I put him in contact with a friend. She said he wanted money from her for uniforms. This mistake cost my friend 100,000 shillings ($27).”

The center’s most frequent calls go from Arthur to “extensions 880 and 218,” admissions reception and the business program area, respectively. The busiest times are September, when the largest number of undergraduate students are admitted; February/March, when most law program admissions occur and S6 (high school graduation) marks come in; May, when creditor calls are frequent; and graduation weeks, when there are questions about fee deadlines, certificates, locations, dates and times. In 2018, there have been a lot of questions about the new UCU School of Medicine.

Arthur starts each call in English. He responds in English, Luganda, or Lumasaba, depending on the customer language origin. He can generally figure out languages he doesn’t know.

The loneliness of the job fits Arthur’s part-introvert, part-extrovert personality with the extrovert part satisfied when he exits his office to meet some of the callers on the Mukono campus and helps them find locations. He taps into his musician talent by changing his telephone response tones.

“Today, I’m speaking low,” he said. “Commanding my voice makes me a better singer.”

Arthur realizes his job isn’t for everyone. When he’s on leave, he understands that those filling in relish his return.

“You have to be really patient, handle yourself well, not lose your cool,” he said. “I find it rewarding, and a way to serve God.”

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Support to UCU helps pay salaries for staff members and UCU alumus like Arthur. If you are interested in supporting UCU, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners’ Executive Director, at mtbartels@gmail.com. Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.

Regular support key to plans for student activity centre

November 12, 2018UCU AlumniActivity Centre, Alumni, Church of Uganda, Fundraising, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Lhwanzu Kitooke

The Vice Chancellor (VC) of Uganda Christian University (UCU), Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, referenced Mark 12 as he talked about the poor widow who Jesus praised for giving a few coins because it was all she had.

Speaking during the “UCU Alumni Meet” in Namirembe (Archbishop’s Palace Gardens) on Friday, 9 November 2018, he connected this Biblical story to fundraising with his emphasis that “having a standing order as a person on a regular basis of giving out something for charity per month, whatever little you give, is valuable.”

Specifically, the fundraising surrounds a UCU Alumni Association drive to build a student activity centre on the Mukono campus. The project is estimated to cost between $3.5-$4 million (about Sh10b) and is aimed at providing added collaboration space and centralising such services as restaurants, the gymnasium and banks.

The UCU Vice Chancellor was joined in his remarks by the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali Archbishop of Church of Uganda and Chancellor UCU; David Mugawe, Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) of Development and External Relations; and Alira David Pechokisika, UCU Alumni Association President.

“Our goal is to have the building up in October 2022 when UCU celebrates 25 years,” the association president said. “A university is as good as its alumni. Let’s do what we can to make sure UCU grows.”

DVC-DER, David Magawe noted that discussion of the centre started in 2013. Development was delayed by the need for additional classrooms (Noll building) and road and sidewalk construction on the Mukono campus. The start of the new School of Medicine and construction of a new building on the Kampala campus have been other priorities interfering with focus on the centre.

“You make it happen,” he said to roughly 70 alumni at the event. “We need you.”

Dr. Senyonyi said that while he was the USA, people supported UCU and some of them gave little as $5 during the construction of the Hamu Mukasa Library located in the heart of the UCU Mukono campus.

“When I travel all over the continent of Africa, in the USA and UK, I meet people proud of UCU,” he said. “All UCU Alumni should be proud of their University.” He encouraged UCU graduates not to do negative publicity about the University but instead bring ideas on table for proper development.

The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, a Bishop Tucker Theological College graduate, blessed the event and asked those present to “pray, mobilize and give money.”

Martha Kyoshaba, Academic Registrar – Mbarara University of Science and Technology was among alumni embracing old friends at the November 2018 event

Among those representing an estimated 60,000 UCU alumni were:

Okot Emmanuel, a graduate from the Mass Communication class of 2015 who travelled from Juba (South Sudan) – He pledged to be a UCU Ambassador and market UCU as a brand in his home country. He volunteers with 98.6 Eye Radio Juba on the news desk and as an investigative reporter. As one tactic to increase mobilization for the University, Okot encouraged the alumni and friends of UCU to use their job positions and skills to promote UCU. He said: “For example, if you are a radio presenter, just a minute to talk about your University would not hurt. After all you carry the UCU Certificates and Transcripts forever.”
Martha Kyoshaba, Current Academic Registrar Mbarara University of Science and Technology and a UCU pioneer graduate in 2000 – She noted: “All the things I do, I learnt from UCU. Even when I was Vice Guild President, it shaped my leadership skills.”
Tezita Sekeri, former UCU student working with the office of the Prime Minister in Uganda – He advised the UCU Alumni Association to identity all those former students doing well. “They are well-off and they have connections, their involvement in such big projects is a step ahead of us all,” he said.

A highlight of the evening was the auctioning of an artist rendition of the new centre. Those attending donated shillings from 10,000 to 100,000 each in a friendly tent-to-tent competition as part of raising additional funds for the centre.

“When I began doing development, I was told about the value of having strong alumni,” the Vice Chancellor said. He looked around the lawn and added, “Even this small group, you can do something.”

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For more information about how you can help Uganda Christian University as the alumni are, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.

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Equipment Transforms Allan Galpin Health Centre

November 7, 2018Science and Technology, UCU School of MedicineEquipment, Health, Medicine, Uganda Christian UniversityPatty Huston-Holm

View at entrance to UCU (Mukono) Medical Centre

By Alex Taremwa
Inside Allan Galpin Health Centre, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) clinic, sits Akankwatsa Yunia, a third-year Mass Communication student. She has been waiting for just a minute before the doctor calls her to pick up her laboratory tests. She can’t believe it.

“This has taken shorter than expected,” she says with a smile, recalling, “Back then, we used to wait here for over 30 minutes, and we would even be asked to wait longer.”

The new developments have been brought about by acquisition of a first of its kind, GYAN laboratory chemistry analyser. The fully automated, Belgian-made equipment with standard control can test over 20 laboratory samples at a time.

According to Zac Tamale, a laboratory technician at Allan Galpin, this has given a significant boost to the diagnosis of patients due to its revolutionary technology. It also has reduced the number of staff and student referrals the clinic makes to external, “more sophisticated” hospitals. Previously, the university incurred extra costs in referring patients to affiliated hospitals such Namirembe Church of Uganda Hospital, Mengo Hospital.

“With this machine, we can monitor variations in hypertension, blood pressure, cholesterol and fat, bone profiles, blood calcium and iron in the body,” Tamale explains.

Zac Tamale, senior lab technician at Allan Galpin Health Centre, operates the new machine.

In addition to the above list, the machine has the capacity to explore liver, kidney and heart related complications.

According to the World Health Organization’s core medical equipment information, the chemistry analyser can perform tests on whole blood, serum, plasma, or urine to determine concentrations of analytes such as cholesterol, electrolytes, glucose and calcium. This helps diagnose and treat numerous conditions, including diabetes, cancer, HIV, STD, hepatitis, kidney deficiency, fertility and over- and under-active thyroid problems.

This development comes at an opportune moment as UCU opened doors for students in the newly opened medical school in conjunction with Mengo Hospital starting with the September 2018 intake.

The Allan Galpin Director of Health Services, Dr. Geoffrey Mulindwa, said the new acquisition, coupled with the expertise and know-how that the centre currently boasts, will help the community around the university considering that it is the first of its kind in Mukono.

“The clinic now has the capacity to carry out diagnosis on body organs like the liver and kidneys and to help clinicians improve on diagnosis and treatment planning,” he says. According to the statistics since the chemistry analyzer was installed, the number of patients has grown by over 23%, suggesting that public confidence in the clinic named after a missionary has been improved.

Dr. Mulindwa said the chemistry analyser will “improve on timely decision-making to have better outcomes and cut the cost considering that UCU is delving into medical education to integrate faith, service and learning.”

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

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

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

November 4, 2018Science and Technologyengineering, Science, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 1, 2018NewsUganda Christian UniversityPatty Huston-Holm

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

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

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

The Infamous OTT and Mobile Money Tax

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 31, 2018Science and Technologyengineering, Science, UCU Partners, Uganda Christian UniversityPatty Huston-Holm

Okot Francis, laboratory attendant, with liquid limit cone penetrator

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

40 UCU supporters attend appreciation event

October 29, 2018ScholarshipEducation, Fundraising, Uganda Christian UniversityPatty Huston-Holm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peggy Noll inspires Uganda’s next generation of writers

October 26, 2018NewsChildren’s Literature, Literacy, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 22, 2018ScholarshipNeedy Students, Save a Buddy, Scholarships, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Billy Bayo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Also follow our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.

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

October 18, 2018NewsUganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 9, 2018NewsChildren’s Literature, Language, Literacy, Reading, Translation, Uganda, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

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

By Patty-Huston Holm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UCU Student translator, Buryo Emmanuel Noble

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 26, 2018UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawHuman Rights, Law, Restorative Justice, UCU Alumni, Uganda, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Brendah Ndagire

Timothy Kakuru, BFL Program Director (BarefootLaw Photo)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UCU graduates in BarefootLaw seek justice in un-just world

September 19, 2018UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawHuman Rights, Law, Restorative Justice, UCU Alumni, Uganda, Uganda Christian University, UgandaPartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Brendah Ndagire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UCU Launches School of Medicine with foresight, planning, prayer

September 11, 2018UCU School of MedicineDoctors, Health Care, Medical School, Uganda, Uganda Christian University, Uganda PartnersPatty Huston-Holm

By Patty Huston-Holm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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