Uganda Martyrs University Communication Newsletter

UMU Communication Newsletter 1

Communication NewsletterUganda Martyrs University

UMU-COP Glorified at Commonwealth Universities PR forum

ISSUE 26 SEPTEMBER 2008

By Innocent Erosete Ag. Public Relations OfficerA meeting of the Association of Commonwealth Universities Public Relations Officers Network took place in Durban South Africa. At the Gala Dinner, UMU received Honorable Mention for its Community outreach program. The award in this category was shared by Mbarara University of Sci-ence and Technology and an-other University in Pakistan.

Linking Students Staff, Alumni and friends of UMU

The new UMU Bus

Head of state VisitsDuring the just concluded National agricultural show in Jinja, His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni chose to visit only one stall and that is NABTA. This is Nkozi Agri Business and Training Association, a farmers’ association promoted by two institutions of Uganda Martyrs University Community continue to pg. 3

INSIDE Education History on Nkozi Hill

Bernard Onyango Registry Building nearing Occupancy.

Summer School at UMU

UMU Masaka Teaching Centre Launced

UMU Now a member of the Association of African Unversities

These and Other Stories

“I am sure that if we were to submit our entry today, we would certainly win given the extent to which we have gone with our outreach program.” said the Vice Chancellor.

UMU gets a New BusFor a long time, trans-porting commuting staff at UMU has been a cha l l enge . Two shuttles have been available to turn to Pg3

1,100 students to Graduate on 21st November 2008.Starting 2007, UMU has suddenly doubled the number of gradu-ates from an average of 450 in the previous years to a minimum of 900. This is a good sign of UMU Growth.

Faculty of Humanities and social sciences

UMU Communication Newsletter2

EDITORIALA new Academic year is here 2008/2009. The previous academic year was full of events in the life of UMU. Many projects are now seeing their fruits. For instance the Registry building will soon acquire a certificate of occupancy.

Communication will bring you major accounts of what took place in the life of UMU here at the Main Campus and in circles closer to UMU.

At the beginning of the previous year, UMU ex tended to Masaka w i th a teach ing centre for Undergraduate and Post graduate Programmes and also established a coordination Office for Eastern Uganda located in Mbale. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is commencing this year in Rubaga- Kampala.

The previous academic year also saw doubling in the number of our usual graduands. The University Managed to graduate 945 students, the highest in the history of UMU. We hope that these will join the Alumni Association and make a positive impact on UMU affairs.

There is a growing interest among the alumni to share their experiences and contribute positively to ‘mother’ UMU. One of the proposals is to establish a Michel Lejeune Scholarship in memory of the Founding Vice-Chancellor of UMU.

I hope you will enjoy reading Communi-cation Newsletter and contribute article that will build Uganda Martyrs University

ContributorsAkio Mary, Goreth Atuhaire, Innocent Erosete, Miha, Selected Communications from the Vice Chancellor, Community Outreach Programme

A brief history of Education at Nkozi 1939 – 1993

By Sr. Campbell, Former Principal Nkozi NTC (File Story)The history of education at Nkozi goes back to the 1930s when the white fathers built the church and schools at Nkozi. A Training College for vernacular-speaking teachers was built in 1939, and on the 31st January, a community of white sis-ters arrived to be responsible for the col-lege, then named St Joseph’s Teachers Training College. Sister Anne Maria Ver-beek was appointed as Principal, and she directed the college until 1952. At that time the two-year course was conducted completely in Luganda. This was the small, yet significant beginning of education at Nkozi. The white sisters continued to direct and staff the college and a third year was added in 1950. Sister Noel Chabanal became Principal in 1953 when a forth year was added to the course. The following year, English replaced Luganda as the medi-um of instruction. During this year, sister Rachel Dagenais, who did so much for Primary Religious Education in Uganda in the 60s and 70s joined staff of the col-lege. The white sisters continued to di-rect the college through all these changes which improved considerably the stand-ard of teachers in the country. The Grade 1 (Vernacular) TTC was moved to Bwan-da in 1957, and the Certificates given at Nkozi were Grade 2 from 1960 onwards. What did the college look like at that time? The original buildings consisted of a classroom block (now Michael Hall), part of the present dining-room, three dormi-tory buildings (now the Auditorium), and the building which now houses UMU Li-brary, as well as staff house for TTC and Demonstration school staff. 1n 1961, the white sisters petitioned


Archbishop Kiwanuka to obtain another commu-nity of sisters to staff the college. At that time, they were in charge of Nkozi Hospital and had many other commitments in different parts of Uganda. In July of that year, the Archbishop visited Dublin in Ireland, to attend a mis-sionary Exhibition with his fel-low White Fathers. During his time there, he visited a house of the Sacred Heart Sisters and requested the Provincial superior to give a community of Sis-ters to staff the college at Nkozi. The Archbishop had already heard from Mr. Joseph Ssemugoma of Masaka, about a Train-ing College in Edinburgh which was run by the sacred Heart sisters. Mr. Ssemugo-ma had himself visited the College of Education at Craiglockhert in Scotland, and had suggested that the sisters start an edu-cational establishment for women in Uganda. The

Head of state Visitsfrom pg. 1Outreach Program and Sasakawa Global 2000. During his stay at the stall, UMU’s presence was made prominent by a big logo courtesy of SG 2000. His Excellency probed, and the farmers’ leader explained the University’s develop-ment interaction with the community.

UMU Acquires a Busfrom Pg. 1to transport staff daily to and from Kampala. Indeed it is more than dedicated service to commute to and

from Nkozi daily. According to one of the Commuting staff who pref-ered anonimity, the smaller shuttles were not only in-adequate for timely trans-port, but also uncomfortable and insecure. There is more comfort than the previous shuttles. The bus is Video enabled to entertain travellers. There is adequate space for lug-gage, and Cost saving by using one vehicle. Wherever it goes, the University name will be advertised.Cheers to all for this achievement.

QuoteIf you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.

Now put foundations under them.Henry David Thoreau

Archbishop followed up this sug-gestion and a few weeks after Mr. Ssemugoma left Scotland, he heard that the Sisters were to take over the Training College at Nkozi. I often think of Mr. Se-mugoma looking down on the Nkozi of today, which has be-come Uganda Martyrs Univer-sity, and think his happiness to see that a grandson of his has studied at the University. The sacred heart sisters ar-rived at Nkozi in January 1962, and took over the direction of the college in April of that year. The white Sisters gave the new comers every possible help, and the students themselves were very welcoming, hardworking and good spirited. The College then was still small, only 92 stu-dents, but it expanded rapidly in view of the changes brought by the education Commission set up shortly after independ-ence in 1962. I was asked to be principal shortly after that, which is why my name came to be associated with Nkozi – in-deed Campbell Hall is named after me!The college continued to expand turn to pg 5

The state of Present day ICT Block, Auditorium and Library during the NTC times


“Summer School at UMUBy Akio Mary and Innocent EroseteAll Photos by Jessy KakoozaThe Summer school is a project aimed at adding value to the populace of Uganda especially the youth and senior school leav-ers who stay at home for close to 8 months before joining terti-ary institutions. The project is an initiative of UMU and Fr. Grimes Foundation. Both parties i.e Uganda Martyrs University and Fr. Grimes Foundation will run the programme jointly with the former being the venue for this venture. The major objective is to help participants acquire skills that they would not get from the classroom. The programme includes but not limited to the following activities;a) Village outreach and volun teerism; social responsibilityb) Reading skills and use of the library.c) Appreciation of music dance and drama. d) Home economics.e) Integrated morality and social etiquette. f) Games and sports.g) Prayer techniques and meditation.h) Elocution.i) Conducting meetings.j) Investments/savings.Participants for the June 2008 in take have realized their potential. The students have under-gone training that includes; life skills, communication skills, dance and creativity. All these have given them the confidence to speak in pub-lic, relate easily with others and cre-ate awareness in that they can cope

with life no matter the circumstances.Fr. Grimes believes that the students have the potential to be the best that they can be and this is seen by the way the students have taken onto the activities. One student Luisa for instance stated when asked what

she has learnt from the course that she can now speak in pub-lic. Authoritative figures graced the programme with Key Note addresses. These Included; Mr. Patrick Bitature (Chairperson

Group photo with Hon.. Rebecca Kadaga (Deputy Speaker of Parliament

Dancing Drill led Mr. Jessy Kakooza (Centre)

Group photo with Mrs. Zizinga (Chairperson All Africa Head teachers Association

UMU Communication Newsletter 5Brief History of Education at Nkozifrom pg. 3 rapidly in the years to follow. The new era of independence was an exciting time. But educational expansion meant there was a lot needed in the College. During this time our congregation helped with some much needed building at Nkozi: we built two new classrooms (now the University Shop Premises),and staff hous-es for the demonstration staff and some TTC tu-tors. In 1968, the new and much-needed col-lege chapel was opened by Archbishop Nsubuga. During this ceremony, permission was given that African music and in-struments could be used, and so we sang some of Mr. Kyagambiddwa’s most beautiful music. The Chapel remains today the University Church. During the 70’s Misereor, a donor organi-sation in Germany, agreed to help us expand, and the present halls of resi-dence (Campbel, Martyrs and Mukasa), two class-rooms, a laboratory, and several staff houses were built. The renovation of the Sisters convent was also undertaken at that time. Mrs. J.F Ssali be-came Principal after me, and I would like to pay tribute to her courage and perseverance during the years that followed, years which were some of the most difficult in the College’s history. I was happy to find two of her

Uganda Investments Authority) Hon. Rebecca Kadaga (Deputy Speaker of Parliament), Mrs. Ziz-inga (Head teacher Kitante Hill School) among others. Thanks

to Fr. Grimes Foundation and UMU task force for piloting this projects. Registra-tion for next year is on going. E-mail [email protected] for details.

Summer School Sports Team

A visit to the Crocodile Farm

A moment at the Swimming pool

UMU Communication Newsletter6children students at UMU.More buildings had been projected by Misereor, but the war of 1979 stopped any fur-ther expansion. The College was completely looted during the war and everything had to be built up again. In 1984, the NTC was moved from Kyambogo to Nko-zi which had in the mean time become Grade III College for Primary Teachers. Sadly there was no further building until the Government gave permission for the foundation of a new Univer-sity at Nkozi in 1991. I enjoyed my years work-ing at Nkozi and am happy to find myself back here to rest in my retirement. It is not always easy to be a trail blazer’, but the pioneer students of Uganda Mar-tyrs University have succeeded through their courage and de-termination.

UMU is now a Full Member of the Association of African UniversitiesAt the 65 th meeting of the Executive Board of the As-sociation of African Universi-ties (AAU) held at Akosombo, Ghana from 30 th May, 2008 to 1 st June 2008, Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) was admitted to full membership of AAU. Membership accords UMU many priviledges and op-portunities including , interalia, Participation in (a) staff exchange, (b)African Uni-versity Response to HIV/AIDS, (c) Ford Foundation International Fellowship Pro-gram, (d) Study program on higher education man-agement in Africa etc. etc. Please take time and view AAU web site(www.aau.org) which contains invaluable material and information.

Fashion and PersonalityBy Atuhaire Goreth (IEDS III)

Fashion is a great essence of to-days generation and it provides the latest vogue in our prime con-cern. Our style should lead to an originality of perfection.The designs could be as serious as the times or as charming as they want to be. The principles of fashion design do evolve with the changing tastes of society. For in-

stance, men should know that being well dressed and looking good can never be something thats too much to ask for! They must be keen with style for the day. Also today’s women should know that their fashion is not just about wearing new clothes. Her style should tally with the fash-ion trend and her personality. I have noticed that when choos-ing what to wear we don’t put in mind things like our body frames, and skin tones but however, Body frames, skin tones, comfort levels and personal attitudes most times can be used to determine a wom-ans fashion statement. You have a choice to make, to wear dark colours with light shades. You can preferebly choose sky bluejeans to be accompanied by dull blue or dirty blue tops. Any woman out there should know that small and vertical line prints give a slimmer look however those who are heavily built can opt for another style like Chiffon. If you are a medium struc-tured woman, you should choose beige and fawn colours. With this kind of constitution, you can dress your self in satin. If you are slender, here

is the good news; you can carry off well in all colours. The entire range of beautiful shades will suit you. Sleeve-less, deep cuts and strapped blouses can also be worn. And with skin complexion, a woman with a medium coloured skin complexion can go in for mixed shades of white beige and bronzy golden. A dark skin tone can wrap it up with copper shadesTo a man, fashion is a collec-tion of countless items which when combined make his trend of segments namely apparels, footwear, accesso-ries and jewelery complete. However, while decid-ing on a man’s fashion style, the first and formost one should take care of is how formal the event he is think-ing of will have to be, for in-stance, if you are a man out there and you want to relate your fashion style for a party purpose or special occassion, you need something that can accentuate your personality.for reactions and comments E-mail: [email protected].


Vice Chancellor’s Vision, Focus Areas, Goal and Guiding PrinciplesIn his key note addresses, the Vice-chancellor articulates Vision, Focus areas and guiding principles. communi-cation newsletter brings you extracts of these from his speeches.

‘VISIONI see Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) as a student-centred university, a research intensive university and a university that is uniquely Ugandan in character. I see UMU as an institu-tion that is imbued with Christian values, an insti-tution that is of national and international acclaim and an institution that is responsive to the needs of the Church and people of Uganda. Remember UMU was established to serve God and the People of Uganda.

FOCUS AREASIn selecting my focus areas, I worked on three important premises viz., a) That a university must

not exist in isolation , but must merge with the community and be concerned about the affairs of the community;b) That a university must be owned by the community (Nkozi neighbourhood, the Church and the broad Ugandan Community);c) That a university must not be regarded as an ivory tower.I have subsequently selected five focus areas as follows:-1)Service to the Church with the view to producing lay and religious men and women who will be leaders of to-morrow. This is very much in line with the late Archbishop Kiwanuka’s vision;2) HIV/AIDS. Our aim is not to duplicate what is being done at Mulago (Read Makerere Medical School). Being in a rural area, we should study say the impact of HIV/AIDS on social structures. George Town Uni-versity in Washington DC may partner with us in this regard.3) Peace and Justice. The aim is to establish an International Centre for Peace and Justice based at UMU. Such a centre would perform (Continue to Page 8)

Rotary Club Introduced Rotary is an organisa-tion of business and professional leaders united worldwide,who provide humanitarian service,encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build good will and peace in the world. Rotary is the world’s first service club. The first Rotary club was founded in Chicago,Illinois,USA on 23 February 1905. Currently, there are over 31,000 Rotary Clubs found in virtually every nation in the wolrld. They carry out service projects in their local communities and abroad to address suchcritical issues as poverty, health, hunger,illiteracy and the environment.The Core values of Rotary International are:

1.Service2.Fellowship3.Diversity4.Integrity5.Leadership

UMU Masaka Branch Launched

Rt. Rev. John Baptist Kaggwa,4th Left UMU Vice Chancellor, Fr. Joseph Ssembatya (Right) with other dignitaries after lauchng of the centre (Photo by Irene)

August 9th 2008 saw the official opening of Uganda Martyrs University Masaka branch. The branch started operating in september 2007 at Bwa-la in Masaka Town. UMU courses are taught on evening and weeked basis. They in-clude;- Certificate in CISCO Networking.- Diploma in Computer Science.- Bachelor of Business Administration and Management (Evening)- Master of Arts Development Studies (Weekend Programme).

Fr. Joseph Ssembatya is the centre cordinator . For admissions and reg-istration at the centre he can be contacted on the following numbers.

+256 -772-571293+256 -782-088244.UMU has plans of Open-ing up other teaching centres and campuses in the four exlesiastical provinces of Uganda.

UMU Communication Newsletter8(From pg. 7) three main functions viz. (a) develop an indigenous curriculum for peace and conflict studies, (b) to establish and maintain a resource centre for peace and conflict studies, (c ) to develop a scholar in residence programme where by we hope to invite eminent scholars to UMU. Such scholars will do their reflection and while doing so they will interact with our students who will not only be those registered in our various fields of study but we shall invite law makers (parliamentarians) law enforcement officers (police officers, military officers and prison officers) and civil servants to meet with the eminent scholar and dis-cuss the way forward in achieving lasting peace; not negative peace which is the absence of war, but positive peace which in-cludes social justice.4) Poverty alleviation. This we hope to under-take jointly with the Uni-versity of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA through our Out-reach programme.5) Local management of food resources.

GOALMy goal is:- (1) To make UMU the bench mark for all institu-tions of higher learning not only in Uganda, but in the entire Great Lakes Region, and (2) To make a difference where it counts i.e. in leaders of tomorrow. Remember, without a goal you cannot score!

GUIDING PRINCIPLESIn these and other areas, I am guided by the following principles viz.:-

1) Transparency2) Accountability3) Reliability4) Action based on institutional ethos5) Quality

At UMU there should be no compromise on quality. Quality should be every ones concern and should become a way of doing things. Remember quality is not generic but is specific for details.Remember, a vision without a task is a dream, a task without vision is drudgery , but a vi-sion with a task can change the world. At UMU we have both a vision and a task, and I sincere-ly believe that UMU has a great potential to do good in Uganda and together we can change the world.’

10 e-mail commandmentsThou shalt include a clear and specific subject line.Thou shalt edit any quoted text down to the minimum thou needest.Thou shalt read thine own message thrice before thou sendest it.Thou shalt ponder how thy recipient might react to thy message.Thou shalt check thy spelling and thy grammar.Thou shalt not curse, flame, spam or USE ALL CAPS.Thou shalt not forward any chain letter.Thou shalt not use e-mail for any illegal or unethical purpose.Thou shalt not rely on the privacy of e-mail, especially from work.When in doubt, save thy message overnight and reread it in the light of the dawn.That which thou findest hateful to receive, sendest thou not unto others.


Eucalyptus Gardens Re-openBy Miha the Proprietor

The Gardens of Edirisa or The Phoenix of Nkozi?

Thanks to the genius of Ambrose Kibuuka and the open-mindedness of the Nkozi parish, some wil-derness near the university got a touch of sanity in 2002. Or, to be more pre-cise, in the hard-working hands of Arthur Gyagenda and Ronnie Ssentongo an eucalyptus bush became a pleasant place to be. No other site could offer a combination of a green relaxing environment, a restaurant and a bar, so people smply loved it. Five colourful years fol-lowed, ending with the fire of November 2007.

Just like a phoenix* from the ashes, a new place rose up in August 2008. This time The Gardens is a brain child of a peculiar Slovenian builder, Aljosa Ferk, and a location of Edirisa. Edirisa? Edirisa is a society for promot-ing Africa, creativity, cul-tures and practical skills, born at UMU in 2001, and with Ambrose as is its cofounder. Edirisa is a development organisa-tion that uses business to finance itself, so this is a natural fit.

Edirisa’s people tend to challenge and provoke, so don’t be surprised to see:- a cake/pizza oven and

a BBQ that are not hidden (a total no-no in traditional cul-tures)- a concept that knows no wait-ers (oh my, you’ll need to come to the bar...)- a supermar-ket that also of-fers good books and crafts (who needs those?!)- a music sys-tem that is not too loud (we respect our neighbours)- cheap tented accommoda-tion (in com-fortable beds!)Leave your pre-conceptions at the gate, and allow yourself to be surprised - you are so very welcome!

In addition to the local com-munities, The Gardens of Ed-irisa will be at-tracting young internat ional travellers, art-ists, journal-ists and other guests. For those who are hungry for a place where ideas flow and unusual things are in the mak-

ing, there is only one address: www.ed-irisa.org/gardens.* a unique bird that lived for five or six centuries in the Arabian desert, after this time burning itself on a funeral pyre and rising from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle (from Apple Dictionary)

The Gardens Main entrance

Tented accommodation

Roasting in progress


Dedication of Studies Mass Celebration


ACCROSS1. A hall of residence named after the Nkozi NTC principal (8)2. clubs used to strike the ball in baseball and cricket (4)3. Utterances, as to God, in praise, thanksgiving or confession,(7)4. the second solfa - music (2)5. The initial Faculty at UMU. (4)6. To combine numbers into a sum (3)7. All private sector employees have to contribute to it for their retirement (4)8. Eat past tense (3)9. The only hostel equiped with anciliary services like supermarket and salon (5)10. Be wise Abbr (2)11. United Assurance (2)12. A catholic Highest Institution of learning in Uganda (Abbr) (3)13. A mixture of mist and smoke (4)14. Any plant with such a stem, as sugar cane or sorghum (4)15. University of Dar es salaam (3)16. A new financial institution at UMU (4)

DOWN1.The patron of UMU first name (7)2.UMU’s Postgraduate programme on part time and full time (3) abbr.3. Bringing Teacher Education4. Environmental Sustainability Report5. The sixth solfa (music) (2)6. Initial founder of the concept of a Catholic University in Uganda -first name 8. A blood group (2)10. Be wise (2)12. A christian Union at UMU (5)14. A diploma in the Institute of Ethics and Development Studies (3)15. Students must clear............... before sitting their exams. 16. In the Direction of and reaching (2)17. The last item in most Agenda (3)18. It was named the pearl of Africa (6)

Simple Crossword Puzzle. Prizes to be won for the first 3 winners

Instructions1. Acquire a copy of Communication newletter2. Attempt the Puzzle3. Submit your entry within 2 weeks of the Newsletter Issuing4. Acknowledgement of recept should be done by the PRO.5. If there is more than one winner, a raffle will be made to select winners.6. The first winner will get an UMU plaque7. The PRO reserve the right to adjust rules for the game.

By Innocent Erosete

Uganda Martyrs University Communication Newsletter

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