I am Charlotte Awino, from Uganda. I grew up in a society where family is viewed as community rather than the biological relationship. Children were raised by families as well as the entire community. This has yielded a great desire for me to serve people in my society and my nation at large.

Poverty in developing countries is a common phenomenon and my community is not exempt. Often times, the lack of almost all the basics, including knowledge on health takes a toll on the precious lives in my area and neighborhood.

Maternal and childhood deaths and associated diseases are extremely prevalent, yet they affect almost all households. Even the men who toil to raise and support these families have become vulnerable to both diseases and insecurity besides ignorance and other factors.

During my A-Level vacation, just before joining university, I worked as a hospital administrator in Pader district, one of the areas most affected by the 20years of war by the Lord’s Resistance Army (not very far away from current Southern Sudan border). I watched people die from preventable diseases. There were times that we (the hospital staff) had no gloves let alone any sort of medication, even for basic first aid. The state of the health system in my community breaks my heart, but I am determined to do something about it.

Although health is a huge crisis, human rights related issues also need to be addressed. I have had opportunities to speak and participate in Human Rights policy forums at the UN in NY and Geneva. I believe that a lot of positive change can be driven by the UN, but I have a deep conviction that the most enduring changes happen when one person commits to being the change maker in any situation. To that end, I am committed to serving my community, and leading by example.

Ever since I came to Seattle Pacific, I have been encouraged and given hope by so many individuals. leader for Africa has also reinforced the idea that I can achieve and become the change my community needs.

Thanks to Seattle Pacific University, my sponsors, and all of you who continue to support me as I become the change that I want to see in my community.

Gratefully,

Charlotte Awino.

I am Andrew Max Ogwok and I was born in 1985 in Moroto district Karamoja where my parents were stationed for work. Four years later we relocated to Lira and my father has worked there since then as the Officer-In-Charge of Agricultural mechanization, and my mother as a primary school teacher. Lira district, the birth place of Milton Obote the former president of Uganda has had more than its share of armed conflict. In the past 25 years, the region suffered a bloody conflict led by Alice Lakwena’s Holy Spirit Movement, ongoing cattle rustling by armed bands, and more recently the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels led by Joseph Kony. This group is responsible for over 50,000 child kidnappings and over 2 million displaced people in the region.

My family, like all families in the region, has been directly affected by these conflicts, and my education suffered. Luckily, I left the region for school, but when I finished my A-Levels, my family could not afford to pay for my university education. I had to settle for a diploma in Civil Engineering sponsored by the government.

In 1996 the country and the world was shocked to learn that 139 girls had been abducted from their school in a district neighboring mine by the Lord’s Resistance Army. This incident had a profound psychological impact on the region, and for me it birthed a desire to work for the benefit of the most vulnerable in society. I joined an organization, Concerned Children and Youth Association (CCYA) in 2005 as a volunteer, to serve the most vulnerable children and youth who had lost their families because of the war, and many of whom had committed the killings themselves. This opportunity educated me more about the vulnerable people and their communities. After completing my diploma, I was blessed to land an engineering job, but my heart was so drawn to the vulnerable people and their communities, that I decided to give up my engineering career to serve these vulnerable communities full time.

I have the desire to serve, but as I have taken on more and more responsibilities in the organization, I have realized my need for additional education in the areas of community development. Unfortunately as a part time employee/volunteer of the organization, I could not afford to pay for the university training.

I am so grateful to Leaders for Africa for the opportunity they have given me to further my education in Community Development. I am inspired by the CCYA slogan that says “Every child and youth is my brother or sister”. I strongly believe that youth are not the leaders of tomorrow, but leaders for today, and that for change to be effected, I need to be at the forefront. The skills I will gain after 3 years of training will expand my leadership abilities, and allow me to mobilize human and other resources to serve even more vulnerable people and communities. My goal is to serve in the best way possible, and to use my skills and experience to give those less privileged than I the opportunity to develop and succeed.

Thank you for your support along this journey.

Andrew.

I am Kolé Kenneth Arap Wasawas the eldest of 8 children, born and raised in Eastern Uganda (Kapchorwa), about 150 miles from the capital city-Kampala. I have been involved in community service since high school through an organization, Development Companions International which works to equip local Christian leaders to deliver holistic service to their communities.

I am a junior at Seattle Pacific University studying pre-medicine, and a double major in chemistry and philosophy. My aspirations are to work in the Uganda healthcare field, and in particular transforming healthcare.

Today many women in the rural areas like my village go through labor on their own without the help of any medical personnel. This leads to many children, like my sister, to endure lifelong health challenges stemming from labor complications. For many the news is worse; For every 100,000 live births, there are at least 435 maternal deaths. This translates to 6000 deaths annually or 16 deaths daily. Equally high is the under-five and infant mortality rates which stand at 137 and 78 per 1,000 live births respectively. Kapchorwa, the region I was raised in, has a population of 200,000 and a “regional referral” hospital with only 1 doctor!

I am passionate about changing these statistics in Uganda either as a medical doctor or public health advocate.

As a student, I am involved with different organizations bringing services to rural East Africa. I act as a consultant to Life seeds-Oregon, an organization which seeks to educate illiterate women in East Africa. I am also a board member of Development Companions International. I volunteer with Africa Communities Against Malaria (ACAM), an organization that helps with malaria outreaches in Kenya and Tanzania. I also lead a small Darfur advocacy group which works to raise awareness on-campus about the plight of the peoples of Darfur in Sudan. These volunteer and leadership opportunities have given me an opportunity to understand a lot more about the challenges on the African continent, but equally as import, the opportunity to address them.

I am grateful for the support many are providing me to allow me to make a difference in my community.

Thank You!

Kolé Kenneth Arap Wasawas

Sharon Harris

Sharon’s 19 years with Microsoft held multiple roles that focus on readiness for our employees, customers and partners. In Word Marketing she spent time co-developing the Word Users Conferences. She focused on technical readiness for Program Management and User Assistant roles and then managed the field technical readiness program. In her 4 years with Enterprise Services she drove development of frameworks training (MSF/MOF) and creating readiness support guides. The recent 18 months, she’s managed the business strategy and planning for the MSL ILT business, including release of the new distance learning product MODL, and the release of the Courseware Library.