This is intended for people who would like to know more about Story. Reach me through WhatsApp: +256781549250 or email me: [email protected] and Visit: https://africaup.org
Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, I have created Up With Africa, a refugee-led organisation based in Uganda to support fellow young refugees.
“I have been living in Uganda since 2012, when I was forced to flee my country of origin due to war and insecurity. I had only completed high school and felt hopeless when I first arrived in Uganda, leaving all my properties behind and finding myself where nobody could speak my language - Swahili, Lingala or French.
In addition to the language barrier, I began facing other challenges like lack of food and medicine. No one gave me an orientation for survival. I understood that: “You might survive persecution, but be well prepared for more challenges.” However, I had a positive mind and hoped to achieve a goal in my life.
I strongly believe that there is always something that can connect you to other people for positive purposes. It was on the soccer field that I found a Ugandan man who could speak a little Swahili. After two weeks on the soccer team, I was introduced to the Church of Congolese, which provided English lessons to refugees. This was how I started to learn English and there it was all about “verb To Be” (I am and I am not), that was all to learn. In the same church class, other students informed us about an organization teaching basic computer skills, but people had to pay to access the lessons - unfortunately I couldn’t make even a dollar to go for the computer training then look for small jobs.
A few months ago that was in 2013, through our connections from the soccer team, my friend and I met a man who was driving across East Africa countries. This man needed somebody who could take care of his properties while he had been traveling. It was an opportunity for us to spend at least a healthy night at his place. We started staying with him and saving little money that he used to give us (50,000 Ugandan Shilling, approximately USD $15) to buy food when he had to travel. We could eat the same and cheaper food the entire week (sweet potatoes or Cassava) to be able to save a little money to pay for the next computer class. After three weeks, we had saved the 80,000 UGX needed for the lessons.
I and my friend went in the ICT class and completed three months in basic computer class, where I began volunteering as an ICT Trainer. That organisation was called Pan African Development, Education, and Advocacy Programme (PADEAP). I became a teacher to other people who fled their countries of origin due to insecurity. Since that time in 2013, I have worked with refugees from many countries, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, as an ICT trainer.
In 2016, I opened “Forus Initiative”, now my class teaching from a church too, to support 16 refugee children who could not speak or write English and that was a barrier of not enrolling them in formal education. I tried to help them in the way I could, by organizing English, Math and Science lessons with the same topics taught in normal school. This was my first biggest impact that I feel proud of up to now, because all of them had been enrolled in normal schools and they performed well. I always feel happy whenever I interact with them and their parents in the way that the parents say in Swahili: “Batoto yako bale” meaning “Here are your children”
Watch a lesson: https://fb.watch/ruKqejuJtA/
Through my involvement in Refugee Reproductive Health Research with the University of Toronto, the Refugee Economy Study with the University of Oxford through Young Africans for Integral Development (YARID) Uganda, I have continuously found motivation and energy to work hard in supporting myself and other young refugees.
After benefitting from the JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) Advanced Computer Training scholarship at Netlabs/Makerere University and completing the MIT ReACT (Emerging Talent) Computer and Data Science, I have been empowered with advanced technology skills to work remotely. With my passion of supporting refugee accessing quality education, I have created an Organisation named Up With Africa (UWA)