Our Students Publish L.E.A.D Magazine

The goal of this magazine is to give you a chance to learn about Uganda through stories, poems, and opinions written by the students of L.E.A.D Uganda. To read it, click on the link below.

L.E.A.D Magazine – Student produced web magazine

Uganda, Uganda, Uganda

A Poem by Jaggwe Edward

Uganda, Uganda, Uganda
Full of dark skinned people
The cradle land of early man
The source of different food
stuffs, i.e. sweet potatoes,
coffee beans, banana, etc.
Oh Uganda

Uganda, Uganda, Uganda
Full of abundant sunshine
and reliable rainfall
favorable for human settlement
Oh Uganda

Uganda, Uganda, Uganda
Famous for adventure
Full of wonderful wildlife
The source of nature’s most
powerful animal protecting Ugandans.
Oh Uganda

Uganda, Uganda, Uganda
The home of intelligent, knowledgeable,
and talented people
Full of hard working laborers
Determined change makers
The home of good hope.
Oh Uganda

The Life of a Student

by Wasswa Charles Setala

Look at her!

She has no father, no mother.

Oh look at a student.
She wakes up early,
Prays to God
Goes to the garden to look for food,
Collects firewood,
Goes to the well.
Fetches water

Comes back.
Washes home utensils.
Mops the house.
Sweeps the compound.
Sometimes slashes it.
Oh what a harsh situation
she e goes through.

After all that she runs to school.
It is a long distance.
She reaches school late.
She is tired and sweating.
The teacher beats her in class (for being late).

Oh God let teachers and
parents spare some time
for students

She waits for lunch time.
You see her.
She is smart with her torn uniform,
while begging for her lunch.

But, she wants to study.
She is ready to study even if she is sick.

I Will Always Love You Because You Also Loved Me

by Michael Kasule

My dream is to be a doctor. This dream is my light of the future.

I want to be a doctor because of my dear friend, my dad. I love my dad. He was a great father. He made me happy all the time. He used to come for us at school every day in a nice car.

But now it’s no more. He died of AIDS.

That’s the main reason I want to be a doctor.

Other reasons are:
(1) get myself a nice job,
(2) help the sick and the needy, and
(3 )to join the struggle against AIDS.

I will fight AIDS until I die.

The Story of My Life

by Kibalama Joseph

Once upon a time I was living with my mother. She did not have any money to look after me, so when I was 5-years-old, she took me to the village to my grandmother. I lived with her for four years. I liked living with my grandmother because she loved me.  But my grandmother was very old and she died.

My grandfather came for me and took me to stay with him in town (Kampala). He looked after me and another grandmother. But in 2000 she died. That made me very sad. I stayed living with my grandfather but he doesn’t have enough money to look after me. I had to get a small job to earn money to buy what I needed.

I was only going to school some of the time. I missed two years of school because my grandfather did not have school fees. Even when I went to school, I had problems like this. I went to school without taking breakfast. At school I didn’t have money to eat at break. I was in pain from hunger, so it was hard to listen to the teacher. When I come back from school I did not find any food to eat, so I must take people’s rubbish and dump it to get money for food and clothes and to buy what I need for myself.

But one day God made a miracle for me and sent Uncle Steve to help me with my problems. Today I am happy because I go to school. Concern for the Future pays my school fees and gives me what I need. They buy me clothes, shoes, and many other things.

In my future, I want to be an engineer because an engineer is a person who gets enough money to buy what he needs.

But my last word is, I want to thank my father, Mr. Steve. I am very, very happy because I go to school.  May God bless you for helping kids.

That is the end of my story. May God bless you for reading it.

My Lifestyle

by Bukenya Aloysious

It was a bad day for me when my father died.  He left us (me, my mum plus my brothers and sisters) in a bad situation.

After the burial, we had to stay home so we could help our mum doing work at home like digging, cooking, and also fetching (water), plus looking after the domestic animals and birds.  Although there were a lot of friends where we could stay, we couldn’t because we had to help our mum.

I really thank our mum who didn’t give up.  She encouraged us to study very hard and to work hard, as well as, being well disciplined.

Our mother could pay our school fees in primary by selling the bananas (matooke) that she had planted.  After I graduated from Primary 7, my mother continued to sell matooke with the help of my sister, so they could pay my school fees in the secondary section.  Oh what good luck!

There came our beloved sponsor known as Stephen Shames who came to our village asking us questions about our life, our studies, and other things.  Then our beloved sponsor — LEAD Uganda — decided to pay my school fees.  Not only that but they also provided us with food to eat at home, clothes, and other needs.  As I was at a school with low standards, they decided to take me to a good school known as St. Henry’s College Kitouvu, in Masaka district.

I am really very glad. My beloved sponsor made me enjoy my life and I thank you for encouraging me.  Long live Uncle Steve. Long live LEAD Uganda. May God bless you and at the same time, my mother, who taught me the value of being well disciplined.