Through the Uganda Studies Program (USP) at Uganda Christian University (UCU), American students spend the fall or spring semester studying alongside Ugandans and other students from the African continent and beyond. The program involves classes, internships, and living with Ugandan families or peers while providing opportunities for students to authentically engage people, culture, and contemporary realities in Uganda in ways that challenge them to be active participants in Christ’s claim on all aspects of life. 

Students of Uganda Christian University recently returned to the Advent Semester. Pauline Luba caught up with a few of them to find out how they spend their holidays.

Since the Global5K (blame it on Covid) hasn’t been an annual event (having been held 6 times in the last 9 years), here is my brief “origin” story of the Global5K that was my first Uganda Partners contribution when our family moved from the Uganda Christian University (UCU),  Mukono campus, back to the United States.

As the Advent semester of 2023 began, Uganda Christian University welcomed the enthusiastic footfall of students among the colourful rustle of leaves. As new and familiar faces converged on campus, united by goals and dreams, excitement permeated the air. Accommodation finds a home within the Sabiti, Nsimbabi, and PDR Halls of Residence, providing comfort and a sense of belonging to first-year students. The university began another chapter of shared learning with the promise of knowledge and growth, where halls echoed with laughter, friendships were formed, and the future’s canvas awaited the strokes of these bright brains.

Freddie Mercury “A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It’s a theatrical event. I have fun with my clothes onstage; it’s not a concert you’re seeing, it’s a fashion show.” The Uganda Christian University (UCU), department of Visual Arts and Design, organised a fashion concert led by students who displayed their artistic creation through clothes along the runway in Nkoyoiyo Hall. Yasiri J. Kasango and Andrew Bugembe captured some moments.

Art, according to Thomas Merton, allows us to both find and lose ourselves. Fine art is a valuable approach to appreciate our community and our life. Students from the Ecole Francaise Internationale de Kampala were hosted by the Uganda Christian University (UCU) department of visual arts and design, which is part of the faculty of engineering, design, and technology.