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Kulika Charitable Trust Uganda marks 25 years

By R. Mugisha

Kulika Charitable Trust Uganda is celebrating 25 years of support to poor communities in Uganda through research and scholarships. Kulika is a non-profit making organisation with a mission to support community development.

It was established in 1981 with the aim of alleviating poverty, by a devoted community worker Patricia Brenninkmeyer. She was then operating in Masaka and witnessed an enormous lack of skill enhancement and scarcity of role models who would improve the conditions within the community.

“To achieve this aim, Kulika runs two programmes which are also the focal areas of intervention. They include education programmes and community development. These are national programmes reaching out to many needy persons,” said Elijah Kyamuwendo, the Chief Executive Officer, Kulika Uganda.

In the early 80s, Kulika started by identifying young people from communities with leadership qualities, who were later sent to the UK for post-graduate studies. Kulika, which is luganda for congratulations, was later coined by the relatives of the beneficiaries upon their return.

The Minister of Education Mrs Geraldine Bitamazire (left) and Hans Paulsen,

utl’s Chief Commercial Officer, handing over a cheque of sh4.7m to

Elijah Kyamuwendo, Kulika Uganda’s Chief Executive Officer

These scholarships went to people with disadvantaged backgrounds who after benefiting from their studies would come back home to improve their living conditions. Courses like specialised training in textile and shoe- making were offered.

“Investing in our youth by empowering them with skills and knowledge is one of the best ways to save for the future. This is also beneficial to the youths themselves in the sense that they eliminate the effects of ignorance, disease and poverty. The first lot to leave was a group of farmers that toured Warren Farm in the UK and came back as key farmer trainers,” Kyamuwendo adds.

However, taking the students to the UK became rather expensive, thus emphasis was shifted to working hand-in-hand with the local universities here.

“Here, we started packages like mid-level (diploma courses), under-graduate and post-graduate sponsorship categories,” he recalls. The courses undertaken were relevant to development needs hence science related. These included- medicine, agriculture, engineering and creating of small scale projects.

Other courses included counselling, development studies, disability studies and psychology.
Kyamuwendo stresses that the criteria for selection is still to identify students living in difficult conditions.

The Kulika Charity Fund is open to both male and female students under 36 years. Their partners- Uganda Telecom, Coca Cola and Bank of Africa (formerly Allied Bank), have made major contributions towards improving the lives of the youth.

“Given the growing demands for Kulika Uganda’s programmes, we appreciate more support. We pledge to maintain efficiency and professionalism during our strategic intervention processes as we continue to promote community development initiatives, education programmes and related research,” he urges.

With the increased publicity of the credibility of the organisation’s services among local communities and development agencies, Kulika is being contracted by several agencies to extend its operations elsewhere.

It is managing projects some of which are initiated by the civil and public sector.

Kulika in partnerships

By R. Mugisha

Kulika Charitable Trust Uganda, is one of the organisations involved in community development. However, their budget is high, thus the need for supplementary aid. Well-wishers have been giving Kulika, regular donations, but this is still minimal. The period between 2004-2005 was a milestone for Kulika in realising its objectives.

The partnership with Uganda Telecom in particular was an enormous contribution to the education of the less advantaged students in the country.

“Scientific and technological courses remain the most under-represented both in student enrolment at tertiary institutions and in the job market. Kulika has endeavoured to bridge this gap through the provision of scholarships strategic for both national and individual development. It is with this notion that Uganda Telecom joined Kulika,” explains Hans Paulsen, Uganda Telecom’s Chief Commercial Officer.

In 2005, Uganda Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding in partnership with Kulika to support 56 students to study in local universities of their choice at undergraduate level.

With a sh750m fund, Uganda Telecom sponsorship targets undergraduates studying in Ugandan universities. Paulsen says sponsorship covers tuition, accommodation, meals, field allowances and even some pocket-money.

utl chief commercial officer,Hans Paulsen,

Kulika CEO Elijah Kyamuwendo, former utl MD Aimable Mpore

and Peter Musoke, chairman Kulika at a press conference

that announced the utl-KULIKA fund

Students undertake courses in engineering, agriculture, human and veterinary medicine, food science and technology, science in education, architecture, community psychology, informal technology and development studies.

According to the agreement, Uganda Telecom contributed 75% of the costs while Kulika Charity Fund contributed 25% to the joint fund.

Another stakeholder that has worked with Kulika Uganda, is Bank of Africa (formerly Allied Bank ). The bank scholarships target the special needs persons such as the blind and disabled.

“The bank donated sh2.5m to Kulika Charity Trust to enable it pay fees for about five university students with various handicaps,” says Kwame Ahadzi, the managing director Bank of Africa.

Century Bottling Company, the producers of Coca Cola are likewise cashing in on the opportunity to support the less fortunate. They are offering scholarships for diploma students in vocational and technical courses, an initiative set to empower its beneficiaries with skills to better their lives.

Another scholarship package has also been endorsed to cover those students that sat their Senior six in northern and eastern Uganda.

Kulika has also been offering scholarships in partnership with the foreign commonwealth office, the Leeds University and the Open University in the United Kingdom.

The organisation has also recently got a deal with Manchester University to identify students for the Merit and Equity scholarships for eight students.

The love for children led to Kulika's birth

By R. Mugisha

A young girl’s interest in Africa led to the foundation of Kulika Charitable Trust Uganda 25 years ago. Patricia Brenninkmeyer’s interest began when her piano teacher used to tell her stories about children in Africa who needed help.

“It was not until many years later that I arrived in Uganda – a fully qualified child care officer with very little experience but boundless enthusiasm. I was given an amazingly varied insight into how life was lived in every corner of Uganda,” she explains.

Wherever there were Catholic missions caring for orphans, she made sure the children were well-catered for. The following years broadened her horizons and influenced the direction which Kulika Trust would take.

Patricia Brenninkmeyer (5th left), the founder of

Kulika Charitable Trust Uganda with other officials of the organisation

“I found a job with The Commonwealth Students’ Children Society (CSCS), which worked with students, mostly from West and southern Africa who had brought children with them to the UK, but discovered it was difficult to find accommodation and child care,” she recalls.
Many resorted to fostering their children with English families, unaware of the different expectations of the foster family, the cultural clashes and the confusion it would bring to the children torn between the two families.

“After seven years with CSCS I decided to set up a children’s home to care for students, where parents would stay or take their children home at weekends or for holidays. We also started a small farm to provide eggs, milk and meat for the kitchen and dung for our large vegetable garden.”

This venture and the increasing involvement with conservation projects in the area formed the basis of the sustainable agriculture focus of the Kulika Trust. The home was, however, closed in 1991 but they couldn’t find a buyer for it. Later the farm was turned into a training centre for African farmers.

A small working party was formed consisting of Reverend Merfyn Temple, Mathias Guepin, Brian Evans and herself. The farm was surveyed and deemed very suitable for the project, with Dr Anne Stone as Project Manager and in 1993 the first two trainees arrived from Uganda – Elijah Kyamuwendo and Josephine Kizza. Together, they worked hard to turn the farm into a real training centre and they made sure the syllabus was truly applicable to the Ugandan situation.

Between 1993 and 2000, a total of 40 farmers were trained at Warren Farm. During the first five years they sponsored 42 students from 11 different countries, 27 of them being Ugandans.

“On this occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Kulika Trust, I would like to tell you how proud I am of all that has been achieved. I am very impressed by the developments in the last couple of years and by our success in finding some new partners to help carry the work into the future,” she comments.

Kulika targets science education

By R. Mugisha

Kulika Charitable Trust has a distinctive criteria for selection of the beneficiaries for scholarships. Dominic Oketcho, the education clerk, Kulika Uganda, says advertisements are made in newspapers annually informing the public to apply for scholarships.

“Although it used to be a very quick and strategic system especially between the months of May-July, the scarcity of funds has greatly brought down the numbers. However, with the joint partnerships coming on board lately, it is slowly regaining momentum,” he explains.
Advertisements about the scholarship opportunities at Kulika, are also distributed in the higher institutions of learning. The average number of applicants received per category is 700.

“Staff attached to the education programme go through each and every application and sort them out according to districts of origin, education performance, age, gender, and anything else relevant to the selection process. Post graduate applicants must have got a first class or upper second degree and a two-year work experience,” explains Deo Katende assistant education coordinator.

For the local institutions at post graduate level, the minimum requirements are a second class lower division degree and at least two years experience in a related field while the graduates are required to have good grades at their ‘A’ levels.

The areas of study sponsored are limited to agriculture, engineering, human medicine, veterinary medicine, education, disability studies, architecture, Counselling, environment studies, food science and technology, surveying, finance and vocational studies.

Kulika Uganda also has community development programmes that promote sustainable rural development though training, supporting rural projects and conducting related research. The programme’s main entry point is to support the agricultural sector through promoting sustainable organic agriculture by capacity building at all levels. It also works with targeted communities to identify their development needs.

	A SURE SILVER PATH OF SUCCESS TO A GOLDEN DESTINY
Congratulations to Kulika Charitable Trust upon marking 25 years of supporting education in Uganda After 25 years of Quality Insurance Service Never have we failed TO BE A SURE SHIELD AGAINST ALL INSURABLE RISKS
Head office SURE HOUSE Plot 1 Bombo Road P. O. Box 9393, Kampala Uganda, Tel: 041 435996, 031 2262119 Fax: 041 4343403 Email: swico@swicoug.com swico@infocom.com.ug Jinja Plot 55 Main Street, Madhvani Building P. O. Box 872 Tel: 043 4120384 Fax: 043 20384 Masaka Plot 23/25 Edward Avenue P. O. Box 1440 Tel: 0481 420598             Entebbe Plot 33/35 Kampala Road P. O. Box 318 Tel: 041 4320737 Iganga Plot 59 Main Street P. O. Box 560 Tel: 043 424631 Mbarara Plot 37A Pride House High Street Tel: 0485 420995

	Uganda Catholic Social Training Centre
Congratulatory Message The Board of Governors, Management, Staff and Students of UCSTC, wish to warmly congratulate the Trustees, the Board of Directors, Management and Staff as well as all Associates of Kulika Charitable Trust Uganda, upon celebrating Silver Jubilee.
Uganda Catholic Social Training Centre is committed to offering the following certificate and diploma courses: Social Development; Secretarial Duties and Office Procedures; Fashion, Design and Interior Decoration; Hotel Management, Catering and Tourism; Business Information Systems; Accountancy; Administrative Management; Project Planning and Management; Guidance and Counseling; Logistics and Transport Management. Note: Registration for the August intake 2007 is in progress.           For more information please contact: The Director or Training Coordinator, Uganda Catholic Social Training Centre, P.O.Box 14267, Kampala. Tel: 270054/272182 Fax: 251975 Email: ucstc@infocom.co.ug Physical Address Rubaga Road, Plot 206, Opposite Rubaga Hospital, Near Rubaga Cathedral, Rubaga.