UCC Secretariat mobilized former students who went through the organization both within and outside thecountry. A zoom meeting was later organized to have initial interaction with each other and members of the secretariat. Seven members attended and really appreciated the initiative. The discussion was mainly about introduction of each other, communicating and understanding the purpose of the meeting, reactions and the way forward. More meetings were recommended to have further engagements between members.
One member called Alex now based in South Africa was extremely happy for giving him a chance to talk again with his long-time buddies whom he had taken long without hearing from. He expressed that this was over due and encouraged UCC secretariat to go ahead with the initiative. Mastula commonly known as Mercy, was also very overwhelmed to be on the zoom meeting. She informed members that currently she is involved in the youth project that promotes the girl child in one of the slums of Jacqueline Nanyondo, Pascal Nahwera, Ariho Michael, Gabriel Mulwana, Mercy Nakandi, and Sserubbo Andrew
Richard, like any other child with early childhood misfortunes and enduring experience, has his character and behaviors partially defined by these hardships. He lost his addictive father who battled with drugs and alcohol for a prolonged period. His father rarely considered education as an investment nor a tool for social change. He never took him to school, but rather frequently told him to go organizations which have money to waste like paying school fees for children.
When the father died, he stayed with the mother with whom he confined his troubles. His mother didn’t have a job to cater for the wellbeing of the family and their survival was mainly through begging. Despite all these short comings, Richard’s life has evolved to a new creature full of energy, aspirations and optimism. Richard resolved to run away to the streets with anticipation that life is better and promising.
He joined gangs which engaged in every kind of misbehaviors for purposes of survival. On several occasions, he faced the hostility and roughness of the authorities for engaging in activities commonly known as antisocial. However, unlike his peers, he socialized well with adults that worked in the informal sector where
their depot was situated.
These people welcomed him through giving him errands and other kind of works which helped him to survive. Kampala. They support them with sanitary towels, hold self-motivation sessions, provide skills training and many others. Gabriel, was also super delighted saying that this was over due though he thought about it long before. He thanked UCC for the initiative. Andrew, showed happiness to hear again from his long-time friends, he assured them that he will ensure that he continues to engage UCC management to fully support the initiative since he is now placed at UCC secretariat at the moment. Viola, welcome alumnae and encouraged them to keep sharing. Fred, the Director of UCC welcomed everyone for sharing and sparing time to attend.
During the mobilization process, a WhatsApp group was set up and managed by Viola, UCC social worker and Andrew, an old student now providing technical support in ICT department at UCC. 25 alumnae have already been enlisted on the group, 2 in South Africa, and 23 in Uganda. More are being identified and will soon be put on the list. The purpose of this initiative is to form an active Alumni association which aims to achieve the following objectives; be a platform to discuss and share issues of self-development, continuity of UCC scholarship programme, develop and maintain an updated list of former beneficiaries and their associated engagements, act as a forum for exchange of ideas on academic, cultural and social issues of the day by organizing and coordinating reunion activities, encourage, foster and promote close relations among the alumni themselves, and to assist and support the efforts of UCC in obtaining funds for development.
In order to achieve these objectives, members will contribute to the annual programme which will reflect timelines, persons responsible and the various activities that will be conducted by the association. The document will be shared with our partners MEM based in Belgium to solicit for their guidance and counsel. Going forward, UCC will ensure that MEM participates in zoom meetings whenever it is convenient for them. UCC secretariat will share updates as events unfold through its newsletter.