Scholarship beneficiaries laud Monitor’s generosity
Catherine Namara Misango (C) with her parents Mr Ibrahim Misango and Ms Shirley Misango at Monitor head offices in Namuwongo, Kampala on February 3, 2015. Namara scored Aggregates 8. PHOTO/JOSEPH KIGGUNDU
What you need to know:
- The programme supported three boys and three girls from each region, and they received school fees for the full duration of their Ordinary Level studies in schools of their choice.
Beneficiaries of Monitor Publications Ltd (MPL) scholarships have praised the company for generously supporting bright students from needy backgrounds, helping make their dreams come true.
MPL is a subsidiary of Nation Media Group–Uganda (NMG-U). Since the programme began in 1992, many beneficiaries have graduated with degrees in fields such as law, journalism, medicine, engineering, administration, and accountancy, among others.
Mr Emma Masumbuko, the first recipient of MPL’s academic corporate social responsibility (CSR) award, said after completing his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) at Lugazi East Primary School in 1992, his family couldn’t afford to pay for secondary school.
MPL stepped in, which he added changed his life. “I met Mr Wafula Oguttu (then managing director and editor-in-chief of the Monitor newspaper), Mr Charles Onyango Obbo (editor) and Mr James Sserugo, then business director, who agreed to pay for my costly six-year secondary boarding school fees,” he said during a thanksgiving ceremony organised by the beneficiaries of the sponsorship programme in Buvunya Village, Buikwe District at the weekend.
“They were later joined by the late Ms Tecla Kinalwa, then State House comptroller, who recommended me for the prestigious State House scholarship at Makerere University for a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication,” he adds Mr Masumbuko said the thanksgiving ceremony was organised to launch the Monitor Publications Mentorship and Excellence Award Scheme Beneficiaries Association.
He said the members of the association would work together to raise funds and support needy students. MPL’s founding managing director, Mr Wafula Oguttu, said he was inspired to start the scholarship programme because of his personal experience.
“My father died when he was still young, and I remained under the care of my stay–at–home mother, who could not afford to raise my secondary school fees. It wasn't until some Good Samaritans intervened that I joined Bukedi College Kachonga.
Madhvani Group of Companies is one of the establishments that enabled me to walk my academic journey to the top,” the former legislator and Leader of Opposition in Parliament, said He added that he came to know about Mr Masumbuko through a nurse from Uganda Tea Corporation in Lugazi Municipality who had visited the Monitor offices to advertise her products.
“After the nurse shared with me the story of a brilliant boy who had excelled in Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), but failed to proceed to secondary level, I recalled my personal experience and promised that the Monitor will support him,” he said.
He urged all those who benefited from MPL’s support to use part of their resources to help other needy students.
He gave an example of Mr Ronald Kalungi, a tax lawyer based in the United States, whom he found on the streets of Kampala, offered a scholarship, and who later went on to study at Harvard University and graduated.
“If you can help, please do so without expecting anything in return. The true joy of helping lies in seeing the person you supported stand on their own and go on to help others. I am personally proud and happy because Emma has faithfully fulfilled what was hoped of him—he has given back to the community,” Mr Oguttu said.
As a way of showing appreciation for MPL’s support in his education, Mr Masumbuko started Monitor Junior School in Buvunya Village in 2016, partly to help needy learners.
“In this school, we are educating some vulnerable pupils in my area,” he said.
The Lugazi Municipality principal education officer, Mr Edwin Musoke, said Monitor Junior School has helped to complement the government's efforts to provide education to all.
Rev Fr Ignatius Kayita of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Kayunga District, who led the Thanksgiving Mass, thanked people who show appreciation for the help given to them.
“Jesus Christ healed 10 lepers, but only one who was a Samaritan returned to thank him,” he said.
Fr Kayita said Uganda Martyrs Secondary School in Kayunga has a good working relationship with NMG-U because the school taught a student who was sponsored by the company for six years.
“This is the reason I had to travel over 100 kilometres from Kayunga to Lugazi together with over 50 students to come and be part of this thanksgiving ceremony,” he said.
The Buikwe District Woman MP, Ms Diana Mutansingwa, through her personal assistant, Ms Esther Awori, thanked NMG-U for promoting the welfare of her constituents.
“The minister is aware of various students in her constituency who have benefited from Monitor Publications Mentorship and Excellence Award Scheme and promises to partner with Nation Media (NMG-UG) to further other programmes that benefit the community,” she said.
Background
In February 2010, MPL gave four-year bursaries to top pupils who performed well in the Primary Leaving Examinations. A total of 24 pupils were selected from the four regions of Uganda.
The programme supported three boys and three girls from each region, and they received school fees for the full duration of their Ordinary Level studies in schools of their choice.
While speaking at the event, the then MPL Managing Director, Dr Gitahi Githingi, encouraged the beneficiaries to be good ambassadors for the company in their communities. “We want you to be the brand of reference,” he said.
