Ugandan University Fund for Rural Changemakers

Only a tiny percentage of village-based children in Uganda ever have a chance to study at university and this has meant that rural areas mostly have too few educated people to have the means to develop their communities.  Of those that study, many end up in Kampala and are lost to their home areas, leaving rural areas unable to benefit from the land they have and continuing to live life on a day to day basis.  This project aims to change that, empowering young changemakers in Agago, Pader and Omoro district to complete their further education and then be kickstarted into developing their own developmental projects.

Improving lives in rural areas helps reduce a range of challenging issues.  For example:

a) Reduced teenage pregnancies, as girls are less pressured to leave school early

b) More income to support children's education in families, through building the economy in village areas

c) Reduced need to move to the cities or even to other countries where life is perceived as being better

d) Violence reduced, as clan leaders can see other options to solve disputes

e) Improved equality for women, as more girls move into leadership positions

f) Greater rights for children, as leaders give children more of a voice

CYEN is a UK charity that supports Chrysalis Uganda to train teenagers to become changemakers.  Recently Chrysalis won the Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award for its work in Uganda and we are seeking support for its latest group of graduates, as they move into university.  Four of these graduates have chosen Law as their course, as they believe strongly in human rights and they are following two from previous graduates, who are still training.  Four others have chosen other subjects, such as HR, Microfinance and Teaching.  Chrysalis believes that all young people should have an opportunity to reach their potential and in 2021 started a school to give high calibre education to those living in remote areas and this group is the first to finish their A levels.  As part of learning they each have to deliver a social project while at secondary school and this orientates them towards helping others.  

These young people have specialist skills and a mindset to be a changemaker that they have developed while working with Chrysalis Uganda, the rurally-based organisation that also runs the internationally-renowned Chrysalis Secondary School in Omoro District in Northern Uganda, which the young people also attended.

Chrysalis is setting up this ongoing fund, with a view to ensuring that children from rural areas that wish to be community activists and have the ability to study at a higher level, have that chance.  In time the fund will also help them instigate their own social projects, designed by them to develop their own local communities, though immediately, we need to raise at least £1000 to ensure our first group of students can attend university.

Here are the students we are working with and their backgrounds:

BENJAMIN OLARA (19)

Ben is a young man with a vision to work with young people and has chosen to train as a teacher.   One of the best A level graduates in Northern Uganda, he wants to inspire more young activists and create awareness about the problems and solutions for global warming.   Born into a large family, he needs support for his university tuition.

 GENESIS AGENORWOT (21)

Genesis has grown up in an area where girls rarely reach their potential and many drop out of school and become married at a very early age.  She has supporting girls with an empowerment project designed to help them build confidence and discover their potential.  Now she needs support herself, as she heads towards university, to study Human Resources.

FRANCIS OGEN (20)

 Francis has had a challenging childhood, moving from location to location, but now stays in one of Uganda’s most remote districts, Pader.  He has a passion for working with young people and has spent much of his spare time teaching children to read and helping them feel they are connected to the rest of the world.  Francis is now taking HR at university and needs a sponsor.

SIONE OTIM (21)

Sione has always had entrepreneurial flair and has often been able to cater for his own needs.   He’s very versatile, turning his hand to ICT, art, publishing and many other areas.  He has chosen a course in Microfinance at university, which suits his skills, but he has also been writing a book about climate change and has a passion for raising awareness amongst the rural population.

MARY AMITO (20)

Mary wants study Law at Gulu University and has proved herself time and again to be an ethical young woman.  She is passionate about climate change and wildlife and spend much of her time planting trees and observing and documenting local animals.  She has a vision of having a large orchard on her land and to teach other local children how to utilise their land most effectively.   She chose Law because of her steely sense of what is right and to be able to support people being taken advantage of by others.

Innocent Rubangakene (21)

Innocent has grown within the Butterfly Project from someone who has had ideas to a person who delivers on those ideas.  As his life crumbled around him while in secondary, he got up and delivered an amazing brick project, employing local youth to assist him during a holiday period.   However, he is not simply an entrepreneur, but also has empathy for others in his home area.  He chose to study Law at University because of the corruption around him and the need to develop his home community, which has remained static for so long.

SUZAN LAGUM (19)

Suzan has always had a passion to do what’s right and despite challenges in her life has been able to surmount them, continuing to do what she is passionate about – the empowerment of girls and rural children as a whole, to avert the chance of early marriage to help children reach their potential.  Most recently Suzan has had her own radio programme, where she has been able to reach out to local children.  In her home area of Pader, she has also been made an advocate for youth and been supported to visit schools to talk to children.   She chose Law, as she believes it will empower her to do her work.

INNOCENT AKERA (19)

Innocent has always been a brilliant boy, ethical, great attention to detail, able to express himself in written form and interested in everything that has been in front of him, while mastering the challenges of living in a very beautiful but very remote area of Uganda.  Most recently he has been developing a biogas project at the Chrysalis Secondary School and learning how to rear chickens profitably.  However, he is an excellent problem-solver and chose Law for his university course, as he believed it most closely fitted his future career ambitions.

Fees are estimated at between £1000 and £1200 per annum for these students, but we have raised so far about £3400 for their tuition for their first term.  We invite any interested in seeing rural areas develop and prosper in Uganda to support this venture.