By Umar Nsubuga
In November 2012, BRAC Uganda and the Mastercard Foundation embarked on an eight-year journey that would see over 5,000 young Ugandans benefit from a highly prestigious national level secondary scholarship programme.
The scholarship programme was aimed at achieving positive social transformation through providing academically talented youth from economically marginalised backgrounds with access to quality secondary education.
George Matete, the BRAC Uganda country director, says the focus of the Mastercard Foundation scholars programme, like all other BRAC interventions in Uganda, contributes to social-economic empowerment.
The programme has provided financial, social and academic support to 5,445 bright young leaders from vulnerable households and communities.
In addition, they are provided scholastic materials and engaged in leadership training and community giveback programmes.
These young students are the world through their commitment to changing the world around them and improving the lives of others within their communities.
For the last eight years, Matete says the programme, through the partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Sports and other stakeholders, has been enrolling students from vulnerable households, both boys and girls, to join both ordinary and advanced levels of education who have been placed in 108 top-performing schools in the country.
“The scholarship fund has contributed to transforming the lives of thousands of Ugandan youth who might not have had the opportunity to attain education,” Matete adds.
SCHOLARSHIP BENEFICIARIES
For Oliver Mambo, a refugee from South Sudan currently residing in Bidi Bidi camp, attaining secondary education at Namirembe Hillside, one of the top schools in Uganda was a distant dream.
“Being a refugee who left South Sudan in 2016 due to the war that broke out, I decided to join O’level in Uganda that same year. I attained a first grade in Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) 2018 and was lucky to get a BRAC Mastercard scholarship in 2019. Life would have been hard without this scholarship, I thank BRAC and the Mastercard Foundation for the holistic support accorded to all students on the programme, including career guidance, leadership and life skills training which have all brought positive change and hope in our lives. I now pray for another opportunity to pursue my dream of a bachelor’s degree in agriculture development,” Mambo says.
Moses Lotyang’s story is not different from the rest, growing up in a small village in Kotido district, Lotyang never hoped he would ever study in a top performing in Kampala let alone to ever achieve his dream of becoming an engineer.
However, after six years on the Mastercard Foundation scholarship, his story has changed as he has realised his dream of pursuing a career in engineering.
Arising from the shadows of limited funding to pursue university education with exceptional performance at A’ level, 19-year-old Caroline Nayiga from Seeta High School, Green campus is one of the thousands of youth who have benefited from BRAC Uganda’s Mastercard Foundation scholars programme. Having been one of the best students at Seeta High in O’level, Nayiga went on to excel even during her A’level.
“I studied both O and A’levels on the Mastercard Foundation scholarship,” she says.
Meanwhile, Swagatam Chakma, the project manager, scholars programme at BRAC, says the organisation is proud with the achievements that they have registered which have been in line with the programme goals.
“We are satisfied because we have achieved our goal of ensuring social economic transformation in Ugandan communities through enabling young learners in Uganda to complete their secondary education,” Chakma explains.
“These students are the future of this country and that is why, as BRAC and Mastercard Foundation, we are excited about this initiative which has helped 5,445 students,” he adds.
Ismail Mulindwa, the director basic and secondary education at the Ministry of Education and Sports and also chairperson of the scholarship programme selection committee, says there are many things the programme has done that they are proud of.
Firstly, we have added to the crop of first class students and excellent human resources, because our mandate was human capital development, he says.
“Remember, the kind of human resource you have in a country will in many cases determine how the economy of the country performs. Therefore, having many of these young brilliant children going to the best schools has added to the stock of good planners for the country,”he adds.
Mulindwa says the programme has other sub-programmes, where students are oriented in business, community service, leadership and life skills which have contributed greatly to the economy.
Robinah Nsangi, the headteacher at Naalya SS Bweyogerere, attributes the students’ performance to the holistic support and mentorship they have been receiving from BRAC Uganda,
“For the last eight years, most of the top performers at O’level and A’level at our school were students sponsored by BRAC,” she says.
As stakeholders in the programme, we have seen lives change and the difference this scholarship has brought about in the lives of these learners,” Nsangi adds.
Sustainability Through MFABU
The Mastercard Foundation alumni at BRAC Uganda (MFABU) is an organisation of the former scholars/ participants of the Mastercard Foundation scholars’ programme.
The entity that unifies over 5,400 alumni started as an association and later attained the non-profit status.
The programme will leverage on the MFABU platform and structures to realise and continue its goal of transforming lives and communities through the different interventions and works of the Mastercard Foundation alumni at BRAC. The alumni have been trained and supported in undertaking giveback projects, entrepreneurship, fundraising and financial management among others.
Over 2,100 students completed A’level this year through the Mastercard Foundation scholars programme at BRAC, these were inducted on the already existing network of alumni.
Through the Mastercard Foundation scholars programme and BRAC scholarship, Ben Warere with a combination of biology chemistry mathematics/ICT scored 20 points.
Warere says he was able to go to Namilyango College School after Primary Seven with five points.
BRAC has been giving us comprehensive packages, which include fees, learning materials, transport, pocket money, medical insurance, mentoring and leadership training, among others. He is now hopeful of pursuing his dream of medicine and surgery.
Annette Namale, a resident of Nakaseke and a parent of one of the best students, says she was happy about the scholarship and what it has done in her family. “All the six years my daughter has been in secondary school, she has been performing well with the support from BRAC and Mastercard Foundation,” she says.
Impact
The programme has supported 5,445 young men and women to complete secondary education.
Establishment of MFABU (Mastercard Foundation alumni at BRAC Uganda); 5,445 programme alumni are part of MFABU, an alumni network that provides a platform for former beneficiaries to give back to their communities and remain connected.
Over 2,252 have transited to local and international universities and other tertiary institutions. Over 50 programme alumni are already linked to other global international scholarships at Arizona State University, Earth University, Nkwamwe Nkurumah University of Science and Technology, Aseshi University and BRAC University based in Bangladesh, among others.
Over 3% of the programme participants have got jobs.
Supported 272 youth to acquire technical vocational skills training (TVET). These are former programme alumni who were not able to join university directly, they received career guidance, leadership and mentorship sessions and linkage to self-employment in partnership with vocational training institutions and private sector actors.
Set up a digital learning platform for candidate classes to promote learning continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing tablet phones to 93 teacher mentors and 2,125 students.
Reached over 130 districts in Uganda.
All youth on the project were equipped and trained in soft skills, leadership, entrepreneurship and community service.
BRAC Uganda started its operations in Uganda in 2006.
To contribute to the improvement of livelihoods within Uganda’s fast growing population, BRAC Uganda implements multi-sectoral thematic program interventions in health, education and youth empowerment, disability Inclusive- Ultra poor graduation, Financial Inclusion as well as Emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness programme. Geographically, BRAC Uganda has a branch network of 109 offices spread across 113 districts.
About Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation is a Canadian foundation and one of the largest foundations in the world.
The Foundation was created in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. Since its inception, the Foundation has operated independently of the company.
The Foundation’s policies, operations, and programme decisions are determined by its board. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org For more information, please contact us; Email: bracuganda@brac.net Telephone: +256 714 274 201. W: www.brac.net Follow us on: Facebook: @ BRACUG Instagram: brac_ uganda Twitter: brac_uganda
(This article was first published in the New Vision on 29th September, 2021)
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