FacebookTwitterInstagramPinterest

O&P-Uganda restores hope to new graduate

Two months after graduating from Gulu University in 2016, two iron bar hitmen turned Francis Odong’s life upside down.

As he sought his dream job in a bank or research firm with his bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Economics, Francis joined the boda boda business to make ends meet. On the fateful night, two robbers disguised as clients beckoned him to transport them to a place outside of Gulu town.

After about 2 kilometers into their journey, the ‘clients’ asked Francis to stop and hit his head with a blunt object severally, till he lost consciousness. His motorcycle, which was their target, is yet to be found.

In December 2015, iron bar hitmen ravaged Gulu Town, (which is fast recovering from the brunt of two decades of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war so much that in just one week, they assaulted at least 17 people. The attacks persisted until 2017, resulting in the killing of a municipality leader, the injuring of a Gulu High Court official; forcing the then Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kale Kayihura to intervene.

Many died in such attacks.

Survivors nursed grave injuries for months.

For Francis, spending a month in hospital was depressing, but not more

Technovation Ambassador Determined to Recruit more Girls to Develop Apps

For women and girls in Uganda, a dream career in computing is still incredibly challenging. Despite its extraordinary rise over the last five decades, and the country’s ever increasing reliance on technology, women and girls still constitute the lowest percentage of the workforce in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers.

The dismal percentage of women in the field of STEM is explained by a number of barriers that smother their ideas right from childhood.

The notion that computing can only be handled by the male gender is deeply ingrained in Ugandan society. Consequently, the few girls who aspire to join the computing world first ponder if they haven’t been overrating themselves, and hesitate to geek.

“During initial mentoring in Technovation, girls took so long to finally share their idea. And when they did I wondered why they were afraid to express it,” said Sabrina Atwiine.

A student ambassador for Technovation in Uganda, Sabrina hopes to change the status quo by recruiting more girls in Uganda to join Technovation when she returns from the international Technovation Pitch event in August in California.

“I want to contribute in changing the misconception that girls can’t handle anything scientific.”

The cultural and systemic barriers to STEM fields has led to

Uganda – Holiday Robotics Training Sept 2016

Above are the photos from the Holiday Robotics Training held in September 2016. Below is Ntananga Phyllis blog post (from Tech Women Uganda) describing the training.

In early September 2016, I got another opportunity to mentor a group of young people from Gulu in Mobile application development during the Holiday Robotics Training organized by Oysters & Pearls – Uganda at their Gulu town premises. Running for two weeks, this training covered areas like Video Game Design, Robotics and Electronics, Minecraft and Mobile Applications Development. Unlike the January camp, this training was not residential and participants attended from Monday to Saturday between 8AM to 5PM. 

A day before the official start of the training, mentors made preparations and arranged the different equipment to be used. It had been 7 months since I was last in Gulu and I couldn’t help but notice in awe the progress Oysters and Pearls had made in regards to their Maker Space – all thanks to Sandra Washburn for her love, dedication and motivation in equipping tech-savvy young people with technological skills to aid them become the change makers this nation needs.

The Maker Space is perfectly set up with all the requirements that anyone with a dream of changing the world

Teaching STEM in Uganda, an indelible memory

August 14, 2013

I recently returned from an enlightening excursion to Uganda. I spent 3 wonderfully filled weeks in Gulu, a city 6 hours north of the capital, Kampala. My purpose for the trip was to teach STEM and Leadership to girls enrolled at Gulu High school, the second oldest school in the entire country. What made my trip even more significant was the connection this institution shares with ours: Both are celebrating a centennial of impacting lives through service. What an honor to have participated in dual centennial celebrations. I tell you, turning 100 never looked so good!

As an educator, I am passionate about the work I do to impart knowledge on the lives of future generations. More than just “teach”, I aim to inspire them to be bold, take charge, make decisions, and more importantly, impact society to advance us all. I carried that same spirit with me to Uganda, and connected instantly with my students. My classes consisted of 25 energetic, and eager-to-learn young women who were on the verge of a new journey. I say ‘new’ in the sense that they are aware of a global need for change, but struggled to find a way to bring the importance and significance of their role

We would be very grateful to you for your donation to Oysters & Pearls to support our ongoing educational programs for the students in Gulu, Uganda
Go to Top