Introducing Fall 2018!

Well friends, It’s early September and that means a few things here at the Uganda Studies Program. It’s the beginning of the rainy season in Uganda, so the days are marked by beautiful sunshine in the morning that reminds us we live on the Equator; in the afternoon, clouds gather on the hill behind campus and unleash downpours of warm rain in the early afternoon, usually just after the afternoon classes start. Everything is so green.

Early September also means that the semester is in full swing and there’s a brand new cohort of USP students wandering the bright shops of Mukono, gathering in the dining hall drinking tea, and learning to live with their wonderful Ugandan host families. I’d like to be the first to introduce you to the lovely group of students that are USP Fall 2018.

The USP family is complete with all our students and staff finally here!

I’d like to introduce myself too, Louise Clark, who will be hanging out here on the USP blog all semester and helping to share the stories of this program as they unfold. I’m a USP alumna from Fall 2015 and have returned to Uganda Christian University as a Program Assistant for this academic year along with Jess Mount (USP Fall ’17) and Becky Nairuba (UCU Class of 2016). Together, we live and work alongside USP students to support and help with adjusting to life in Uganda. We also love taking students out for coffee and helping plan the adventures throughout the semester that make up USP. ;)

Jess, Becky and Louise, the FA18 PA Team!

This semester, we have 16 students in our Global Health Emphasis, taking classes like Infectious Disease, Microbiology, and Nutrition and interning all over town at hospitals, rehab centers, and public health organizations. They came a month early to study nutrition before the start of the semester, and are now beginning at their internship sites this week.

Global Health Emphasis students visiting Reach One Touch One Ministries--a Ugandan organization that focuses on holistic elderly care within the community--during the August module.

There are 5 students studying social work this semester, at both the junior and senior level, and are also beginning to spend full days learning about their internship sites and getting to know their coworkers. And last but not least, there are 6 General Studies Emphasis students from all different majors taking African languages, studying in UCU and USP classes, and starting their internships as well. The USP parking lot is a busy hub of excited students leaving for their first times at their internships all over Mukono and the surrounding area! 

General Studies and Social Work students arriving at Entebbe International Airport.

Our first few weeks here have included a week-long road trip to study Rwanda’s history and development, our first week of classes here at Uganda Christian University, and the beginning of Mukono homestays for both our on-campus students and semester-long homestay students. Life has been moving fast here at USP, but we’re finally slowing down into the rhythm of the semester and living into the Luganda phrase mpola mpola. It means “slowly by slowly”; everything will happen in its own time. 

Cheers!

We'll see you next week.

Students being dropped off for semester-long homestays with dear USP host families in Mukono town. Richard and Mama Jovita (above) & Daniel and Rev. Samson & Prescilla Maliisa (below)