Uganda

The IFP Uganda Alumni Association (IFP-UAA) brings together the recipients of the IFP scholarship who have completed their studies and have returned home to Uganda. The idea for an association was conceived during a regional convening of the IFP Alumni from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in December 2006. This meeting was first of its kind, bringing together enthusiastic alumni who are passionate about their communities. The association was established to assist alumni with the challenges they face upon their return and facilitate their involvement in activities that promote social justice.

The IFP-UAA was formally registered under the laws of Uganda in 2007, with the mission to promote access to social justice in Uganda through research, advocacy, capacity building and good governance, based on moral and ethical values.

The IFP alumni are a vibrant team conscious that they are not alone in fighting social injustice and that they can rely on a larger alumni network as they pursue their goals. The IFP alumni continue to express a deep commitment addressing social injustices and they are well positioned to move into leadership roles previously monopolised by a narrow elite. They appear to be approaching leadership with urgency in different parts of the country.

With the high IFP return rate of over 80 percent, alumni association membership has increased from less than 20 in 2006 to over 50 members in 2008. Another 15 fellows are scheduled to return to Uganda soon on completion of their studies. Other fellows have extended their stay abroad either pursuing further studies or still completing their research.

By 2008, 49 percent of the fellows have studied in the USA, 40 percent in the UK, and the rest in Canada, Australia, Africa and continental Europe. The members have qualified in diverse professions ranging from sciences, arts and humanities. They are committed to being leaders in pursuit of social change in their respective professions. This professional diversity is key to the success of the association as it enables networking and project conceptualization and implementation.  Members work both collectively and individually on different assignments with social justice issues remaining a priority in their various activities.

Snapshot of Alumni Members

The Uganda alumni all have remarkable stories to tell. They represent childhoods scarred by want and prejudice and broken families. Many have survived the horrors of violent conflicts sparked by criminal leadership or tribal disputes. Some grew up with debilitating physical handicaps. All have nevertheless managed - through extraordinary supplies of courage, passion and belief - to overcome these hurdles. Without exception, these men and women finished school, earned university degrees and as young adults, turned to tackle head-on the social injustices so familiar to them.

The alumni association has established a well-equipped and functioning office based at the Association for the Advancement of Higher Education and Development (AHEAD), the international partner for IFP in Uganda.  The office helps returning alumni readjust by assisting with job searches, Internet access and facilitating networking as they prepare to get involved with social justice issues.

The alumni have also all returned to their local communities or to other impoverished regions of the country. The few exceptions have either headed to Kampala to work centrally on development issues, or else are helping in other parts of Africa before moving back home.

The diversity of Uganda’s IFP alumni is impressive. They represent all parts of the country, including those most conflict-ridden and least represented among the traditional elites. As IFP fellows they studied in Europe, North America and Australia, specialising in fields ranging from sanitation, health and agriculture to finance, counseling and international relations. One student, Charles Mulekwa, is completing a doctorate in performing arts, examining war and performance in post-independence Uganda. 

In their approach to furthering social justice, the IFP alumni are similarly diverse. They are working as advisors in nutrition and sanitation, heading community-based service provision for their local governments, building the capacity of health workers, improving the lives of children suffering from HIV-AIDS, advocating for the marginalised, assisting refugee children, counselling students, easing barriers to credit and founding distance-learning programs for primary teachers.

Their next goals are no less varied. Jasinta Achen plans to start a non-governmental organisation to address the needs of mothers and children. Vencia Lwogose and Patrick Abal aspire to enter parliament. Stephen Maunya seeks sustainable peace among pastoral communities. Charles Mulekwa intends to use theatre and film “to demonstrate the power of social justice and its capacity to effect change.” Agnes Nakuya plans to establish a microfinance centre. Martha Nanjobe will focus on women’s empowerment and women prisoners. Rose Nantaba envisages a vocational project for high school dropouts. Godfrey Ofezu will concentrate on environmental management. Richard Ouma intends to establish a secondary school in his home region. Beatrice Okwonga plans to open a counselling centre to help those traumatised by the northern insurgence. Teddy Agwang wants to empower communities to demand better services. Pamela Muduwa hopes to establish a model community justice centre.

Given the perseverance and courage that these individuals have already shown, their goals, and many others, now seem well within reach. Better informed and better linked than when they started, these alumni seem certain to be improving life and  inspiring others in their communities, and beyond, for years to come.

Key activities and achievements

As a new association, the focus was placed on building the capacity of the members to make their skills relevant to their communities. Accordingly, various training workshops have been conducted. These include training in fundraising and advocacy skills, project planning and implementation. The association has established an office, based at AHEAD in Kampala. The office works as the association’s secretariat. A website showcasing the member profiles, association events and updates is under development.

Today, the association is focusing on the implementation plan for their robust 5-year strategic plan (2008-2013), constituting functional governance and management structures, building strategic partnerships at the grassroots and policy levels. The IFP-UAA is now in the process of publishing a manuscript that is based on individual interviews between alumni. The stories reflect each alumnus’s commitment to social change and demonstrate how the fellowship was a turning in point in the process of transformation, self-realization and leadership as individuals and champions of social justice. The alumni plan to launch the book in marginalized areas throughout the country, hoping to inspire other young leaders.