ACT Uganda Blog

In Uganda, following education in Primary (US = grades 1 - 7) and at least some Secondary (US = grades 8 - 13), young people often choose to go to a vocational schools to learn a trade. This is a practical path for them to be able to make a living in the future. There are all sorts of vocational schools: some medical related, mechanic/garage work, tailoring, hair styling, cobbler, etc. Because the ACT children have been supported through school, the commitment to their success carries into vocational school as well.  Judith Tukahirwe, the ACT HONORS and HEAL Manager, was our very first Maverick Leadership Scholar ( learn more )and we subsequently hired her upon her graduation! She got her education in Nursing, specifically mid-wifery. Here are her words regarding the vocational students: "Thank you all for the love of our HONOR scholars ( learn more ). We appreciate it. Last week, our dear Director (Generous Turinawe) had a visit to our partner vocational schools. Generous inspect...

ACT has a program called the Maverick Leadership Scholarship. It is awarded to those who the Committee feels can truly become a leader with further education. They apply, are interviewed, and when selected receive a full-ride scholarship for the program that they choose.  Here is Isaac's story! I am called Ainembabazi Isaac, born in Rwamurindwa Village in SW Uganda. I am 26 years old. I have a Bachelor of Environmental Science that was conferred to me on 28th May, 2021 at Kabale University. Since Nov 2021, I am an Environmental Officer of Zhonghao Overseas Construction Engineering Company Limited. I am working on a water supply and sanitation project under the Ministry of Water and Environment with funding from World Bank. I attribute my professional career and leadership achievements to ACT who granted me a Maverick Leadership Scholarship in 2017. This life-changing, fully funded leadership scholarship allowed me to join the University for three academic years - something seemingl...

We continued to struggle with our impounded van. In the morning we pulled off the road so Christopher could talk with the traffic police. Every truck or van that went by had to pull over to "kintukidogo" (give me something small, and let your hand come out and rub the thumb and first two fingers together).  We again asked our friend, Norman, to help us. Generous worked on the situation all day. However, it was fruitless. Christopher has to stay behind for the entire weekend because the inspector "Left for the weekend". It is distressing how this has hurt our dear friends and we are very sad about it. Everyone around us was supporting and loving. Guma hired a driver for us tomorrow and we expect to meet him yet this evening. We are sad to leave but happy to return to the USA. In the morning we all traveled to MHS so Christopher had the freedom to leave us and try to figure out how to get his van back. We asked our ACT staff to find their way up to Muko High School so...

Greeting you all! Continuing to use Reverend Joshua's car today, the saga goes on! In spite of efforts to get Christopher's van back we have not been successful. Christopher believes we may be able to get it back before we leave on Saturday for the airport, however, Guma has assured us we can rent another vehicle in case it is necessary. Sue spent her morning working with the sewers to finish the new gorilla pattern. A cute gorilla emerged! Several of the sewers brought babies on their backs so the Centre was live with the sounds of little voices. A very young sewer! Her name is Choice. Sue with the sewers - see the gorilla in Phoebe's hand! Karen spent the morning with Keneth observing a music class. They were learning about Bach and Handel and the Baroque period of music so Karen was able to play for them from Bach's first violin concerto and Handel's Sonata VI. The students have to memorize a lot of  information for their testing this fall. Dave worked in the off...

It is 9:32 pm. We have just finished our dinner after a day full of rain and very cold temperatures! We are so very weary that we beg off writing a long blog tonight. We want you to know we are past COVID, but still dealing with Christopher's van being impounded for no reason. We hope that tomorrow the Boda Boda accident will be resolved. This has been very, very hard for us because the Boda Boda driver caused the accident - in fact, if Christopher had now swerved off the road, he and his passenger would most certainly be dead. We would have hit head on. But partly because Muzungus (white people) were sitting in the van, Christopher was blamed for the accident and must pay for all the medical bills of the injured man (compound fracture of the leg). Of course, we will pay this for him (likely $150 - $200 USD). It is so very wrong and so very corrupt which is everyday in this country. Getting over the outrage has been really hard. Chess for Success was kicked-off today and it was a H...

 We're back! The team, freshly recovered from Covid, set out for Muko High School around 9 am. Staff at the school worked as a team to continue checking students in with ⅓ term's tuition, 12 kg beans, and a ream of paper. An exam was given to students but they were not allowed to participate if they had not paid according to policy. Dave spent real quality time with Rev Philip, our Head Teacher, talking about finances and scholarships. Both are extremely excited about the potential at MHS in talent, scholarship, and budget.  Karen spent her time with Keneth our MUSIC teacher. What a blessed relief it is to be together in person. The understanding is so much more immediate than Zoom. We are very lucky to have Keneth as our teacher. Dave and Karen met with approximately 80 Honor Scholars in the MHS Chapel along with Rev. Philip and Judith. All four of us spoke to the children as parents would advise their own. If you would like to be a part of sending an academically inclined st...

Day 4 for me (Sue). Tomorrow is the required quarantine time with another 5 days of masking. I am still not 100% - mostly fatigue still. No more fever or aches and little congestion at this point. Karen is about where I was 2 days ago - solidly in bed all day. Dave's symptoms seem a bit more mild than Karen and I had. He and I actually went outside to have some supper outside by ourselves and talked.  Barbara got home safely to Chicago flying through Brussels on United. Dick and Diana however, had a trip from hell. They flew from Uganda to Nairobi, Kenya. Their flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam was cancelled because the pilot got sick. They put them up in Nairobi for the night. The next day they got on a flight to Amsterdam knowing they would not make the flight from Amsterdam to the US. Another night in Amsterdam. We think they might be getting home soon as I am writing this! And hopefully, COVID-free! Dave worked on ACT stuff on his computer most of today - more than I could do ev...