Leaving footprints on the sands of time

Martin Muganzi. Courtesy photo

What you need to know:

PROMISING. Martin Muganzi, a Biomedical lab scientist, capitalises on his communication skills to empower youth. He told Mathias Wandera about his journey.

In today’s global sphere, there are many people who think about change. Then, there are those who create it. Martin Muganzi belongs to the latter. Like any other 26-year-old, Muganzi is energetic and talking hard. His words are well-thought out, keeping his message of positive change intact. Muganzi is the executive director of Youth at Work Initiative (YAWI), an organisation he founded in 2012. It is through this platform that he has continued to impact the lives of many youths.

“I started YAWI to empower the so many unemployed youth in this country. I had noticed that many young people had the zeal to start up business but many of them just lacked the necessary skills, connections and motivation,” Muganzi reveals.

He set out to create an organisation that would be a hub for knowledge sharing and skill building, one where youth would learn, motivate and support each other. “It was about putting like-minded young people under one umbrella. Instead of staying scattered, we could come together to learn and inspire each other. That is the kind of platform YAWI has become.”

Creating impact
Through the Youth At Work Initiative, Muganzi runs a number of programmes, most notably the All-Star Mentoring Academy that runs every last half of the year, from June to December. The academy brings on board renowned business minds to mentor and inspire young aspiring entrepreneurs by creating a close mentor-mentee relationship that runs for six months.
“In the past, people have held one-day mentoring conferences. But you cannot mentor someone in a day. So, we decided to form a programme where experienced and older professionals who are kind enough to volunteer as mentors come on board to guide our youth for six months,” Muganzi highlights. The All-Star Mentoring Academy always kicks off with a launch in June, where mentors and mentees meet. Six youth are attached to one mentor who guides them on various business aspects for the next month, communicating and sharing ideas regularly through phone, social media and physical training sessions. “For different weeks they share different ideas, ranging from business idealisation, branding, registration and many subsequent business aspects. Aside from the academy, we also run the YAWI social entrepreneurship programme.”

This is an incubation programme where youth are trained in skills such as making of liquid soap and making bags by recycling different materials which they sell for money. In addition, they run an annual children’s public health soccer camp in partnership with the University of Southern California, Ray Football Club in US, Edgar Youth Programme and Twezimbe Development Foundation. “The soccer camp runs for a week and aside from developing of talent, we have child health experts that educate the young ones on hygiene and emotional health and fitness.”

A burning love for service
A graduate of Biomedical Laboratory Science from Makerere University, Muganzi did not take long to realise that his life’s purpose would not be fulfilled within the walls of a science laboratory. He branched off soon after to venture into entrepreneurship and social work.
“I even lectured Microbiology Development at Kampala International University before crossing over. Don’t get me wrong, I love the laboratory but I have always wanted to serve other people and be in a space where I can ably bring my ideas to life. I realised I would not do this in the laboratory,” Muganzi narrates.

His love for leadership and selfless service is something he partly attributes to his background. Having lost his father at two years, Muganzi’s childhood was not rosy. His mother had to work tirelessly to support the family, and Muganzi being the elder sibling, the responsibility of having to take care of his younger siblings weighed down on him early in life. “So I’m used to responsibility. It has always been my job to take care of those around me, to lead and guide them. I think that goes a long way into explaining why I have dedicated my life to this kind of support, leadership and guidance initiative. I love to serve. It is my responsibility.”

Beside the passion Muganzi has for his kind of service, his most pronounced leadership quality is good communication. Public speech is his strength, and the stage his playing field. When you attend the events where he speaks, one cannot help but commit his speech to memory, a gift he values.
“Public speaking opens doors and can take you places. I have been invited to MC at important gatherings. Soon I will be travelling to Nairobi, to host an entrepreneurship programme organised by Stanford University Institute of Innovation. I take on such roles as a result of my gift of public speaking,” he shares.

A YALI Fellow
Muganzi’s works have not only taken him to host important events in Nairobi, following his YAWI success, he got the opportunity to be a part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship in the US under President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative that brings together identified prolific young leaders from across the continent to be trained and equipped into better change makers.
He attended the six-week training in the US in 2014 and he continued with a six-month internship training under the Peace Corps youth sector.
“It is my internship here in Uganda that perhaps left the greatest impact. I meet two of my greatest mentors, Phylicia Martel of Peace Corps and later on Mark Meassick of Usaid. I learnt a lot from them and like I always say, everyone needs a mentor,” he says.
Following his training, Muganzi incorporated the Calabash Camp programme under the YAWI umbrella, teaching youth to make bags and recently starting up Haven Homes; a professional house-help and domestic care service that helps domestic workers to find jobs and also protects their rights.
Muganzi has been serving as the Secretary General of YALI-Uganda, an alumni body for the young leaders in Uganda, where together with the others have been able to reach out and impact over 2,000 youth in a year. On a personal level, Muganzi has directly impacted over 500 youth.

beneficiary

“I joined YAWI last year and got the opportunity to be one of the youths engaged in the organisation’s mentorship programme. We learnt business aspects and how to run social programmes in society. Today with a friend, I’m running a campaign under my own organisation dubbed “Not for sale” aimed at creating awareness about human trafficking and modern day slavery. I’m also running a communal solar energy campaign where I sell affordable solar lamps in villages. Martin Muganzi is my role model.” Ambrose Shinta,27, YAWI beneficiary