St. Henry's College Kitovu - For Greater Horizons

10 Ways to Gain Work Experience Faster While Still in School

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:09:00 +0000

You can still choose the right path to success. It is never too late.

If you are a student at University or at a vocational college, these are helpful tips that will help you gain the valuable experience very much mentioned in job adverts before you complete school. After a long period of interacting with industry leaders in your field, many of these will know you as a person and will be more than willing to give you a job or recommend you for a lucrative opportunity somewhere else.

So do not give up. If you start today, you will be working on your 'interpersonal', 'team work' and 'able to work under minimum supervision' skills very much mentioned on many curriculum vitae (CVs).

Uganda Linux User Group. This a group anyone can join. You should join this group if you are an Information Technology (IT) student or if you looking to enjoy a career in IT. This is where you meet online/offline people both prospective employers, IT experts and free IT career guidance advice. Join the mailinglist here.

i-Network mailinglist. Discussions on Information and Communication Technologies topics by experts in and out of Uganda. Anyone is free to join. Participate and contribute to relevant topics. Your contributions and willingness to help others will help you gain industry experts as friends who can easily recommend you for any job.

To participate in ICT and development discussions, subscribe to our mailing list by sending an email to admin@i-network.or.ug admin@i-network.or.ug

Mobile Monday Kampala (Momokla). This is a group of professionals in Uganda's telecommunication, academia, media and ICT sectors. It is part of a global network of mobile industry professionals and startups in 100 cities around the world know as Mobile Monday. This is a forum where you will interact with employers from the big telecom companies: MTN, Orange, Warid, UTL. It is free to join and make friends with your industry leaders.

Online Groups such as Google Groups and Yahoo Groups. Search for groups in your field of study and ask to join them. There are groups on anything you are studying. This way, you get free knowledge and insights in your field while contributing about the experiences in your study. These are also often very good sources of where to get the information for your assignments.

Use and search social media websites such as facebook, linkedin, twitter. These are the industry leaders in networking and sharing information on the Internet at the moment. Join and use them. Search for like-minded individuals for your particular field of study and make friends with them.

Join students groups at your School and participate in the events. This is very important because these will be future industry leaders in your field. For instance, join the school wildlife club, if this is your interest and if you want to work with animals in future. Through this pool of students interested in wildlife, you may find your future job or colleagues. It is often very nice to apply for a job at a big cooperation where the appointing officer (or human resource) is your former class or schoolmate.

After you leave school, keep in touch with the others by joining the school alumni mailinglist , like Shack list and participate constructively. Often they post jobs, social events, school reunion events, scholarships. Since you are helping others, these same people will be helpful during your times of need.

facebook page

Shack group

Volunteering. Consider working part time for a non-profit organization (NGO), school or company during the evenings after school or during holidays. You will gain lots of skills, industry experts as friends, recommendations and opportunities. By the time you are done with your degree, you may have an equal measure or more of working experience. In most cases, you will already have a high paying job already waiting for you too. Many young people do not understand what this is but this is the best way to gain working experience while still at school.

Keep a blog of opinions about your career field. There are several free services you can use to start a blog for free: blogger, wordpress, tumblr. For instance, if you are journalist, write your own opinions about the stories making headlines in the country, most especially the controversial ones.

Do not loose contacts already gained. Make sure to check up on the people you made friends with (or contacts) occasionally. Remember to send a "happy birthday", write a short "hello" email or send a gift once in a while. Do not wait until you need the help of somebody you met 2 years ago, that you start to remind them about you. Make it easy for them to remember you by your name and not after a long explanation of about 5 minutes about how you met them.

Finally, the world moves around who you know and how people remember you. The more people you know in and outside Uganda, the easier it will be for you to move around from one country to another. It is now known as business networking. The more good you are at it, the quicker some doors will be opened for you.

To your success!

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Send Free SMS using GMail to Mobile Phones

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:46:00 +0000

GMail free SMS to mobile phone

You have always wondered on how to send out numerous free SMS to family and friends telling them about an upcoming wedding meeting, last funeral rites or the next family gathering? Wonder no more! Google has made sending free SMS to mobile phones in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania free using Gmail.

All you need is a Gmail address and the telephone number of the person you would like to send SMS to. That is all it takes!

How do you do this?? Well, here is a very comprehensive article with screen-shots that shows you how to do this. Click here to find out how to use Gmail to send a free SMS to a mobile phone number in Uganda, Kenya or Tanzania.

Free online IT Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:44:00 +0000

Ever wanted to study at Google, check out the Google Code university

There are lots of courses; from programming, web security, Android (Google's new phone) to Google's API & tools. Enjoy

St. Henry's Day Program, 11th July 2010

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 07:03:00 +0000

The program layout of St. Henry's day activities at SHACK, as submitted by Bro. Francis Brian - Headteacher, can be downloaded at the Shack yahoo group page. You need to be a member of the group to download anything. For anyone attending the event, key moments are listed here:

Arrival: 09.00 (Please do not arrive earlier than this, no mbokya for OBs!!)
Mass: 10.00 (Be there to thank God in our nice chapel, Mass will end fast don't worry!)
Speeches: 12.00 (you want to get your kid into SHACK, don't miss this!!)
Interaction & food: 13.30 (networking, dating, kubonga, encereal, mubbe.... this is the moment!)
Entertainment: 15.00 (students sing, OBs play kikame, bakko, TT... etc)

Missing & need to be fixed on the program:

OBs Vs Students match - this soccer match has always been the highlight of every St. Henry's day celebration.
OBs play kikame, TT, bakko, tennis, volley...
visitation for the young lads...

Oooh it is a long time.. i do not remember what else needs to be on the program. As long as it is a fun, just fix it there. Hopefully, we will have the time for it all.

See you sunday!

11th July 2010 is St. Henry's Day @SHACK

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:31:00 +0000

St. Henry's day is a very big day at St. Henry's College, Kitovu (SHACK). Everyone who goes through this great college, undergoes a "pavlov kind of training" that excites the taste-bugs. While at the college, this means eating lots of special food (rice, matooke, meat, chicken, vegs...)

For the Alumni, it is about that time to return to the great college for:

1. Networking - this is key. Reconnecting with friends & making new ones.
2. Contributing to fundraising efforts to improve the great college
3. Career guidance - Inspire & encourage the young Kitovu boys
4. Shack Games - playing Kikame (soccer), handball, basketball, volley, TT etc
5. A visit to Nyendo & Bujja - always a great place for lots of great food, waragi, fun... etc

photo from bc.ca

Therefore, do not miss this Sunday 11th July, 2010 to travel with the whole group to SHACK & celebrate St. Henry's day.

For OBs in Kampala:
Meeting point: Pope Paul Memorial Centre - Kabuusu
Time: 7.00 am
Journey starts: 7.30am
Transport fee: UGX. 20,000/= (incl. return)

Call Walugembe David to book your seat: +256 712 311789.

See you at the great college on the 11th July. We hope to enjoy the finals of the 2010 FIFA World cup in SA on big screen together.

Ooh those slangs we used @shule!

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:16:00 +0000

Please feel free to add to the following list of the words that we used alot while @SHACK

1. Encereal (rice)
2. Kikame (after class soccer game)
3. Embokya (morning porridge)
4. Parado (cubicle with double decker & locker)
5. Olukafe (coffee)
6. Omube (plate)
7. Obu-cooks (bakulula girls)

list goes on.. go on & add what slang you remember

:-)

SHACK Re-union Party @Livingstone Hall, MUK

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:43:00 +0000

Saturday 5th was a great day! It was the St. Henry's College Kitovu, bull roasting reunion party that was held in the spacious Livingstone hall, MUK campus grounds.

Arrival was 2pm. I have to confess that I can in 2 hours later, 4pm but still a sizeable crowd of OBs was all over the place already chatting, laughing and networking with each other. Most had not seen or met each other since the college days!

To pick a quote behind the David Walugembe who was over-seeing the organization of the Alumni:

Why should you miss a free event where you only have to show up at Livingstone Hall, Makerere, have muchomo, share jokes including "eminazi" and drink one for maama joe, another for mubazzi and may be the last one for the greencave!!

By the way your biggest assets in life are none other than your contacts!! Imagine how flat life becomes when you are in need of a service and the service provider is someone who is known to you courtesy of being a Kitovian??? Okitegera???

In a nutshell, that was what the event was all about and that is exactly what happened!

Drinks of all sizes & colour - waragi, belos and sodas for the still nappy-sucking OBs were also in the house. We had a new-comer "spear" taking shots of whoever appeared to please him which he later sold off for a couple of bucks. I will put up shots of any of the events when they finally come out.

We had a number of updates from the people behind the Centenary projects fund-raising and from Bro. Headmaster about the state of our great college.

Here is what is coming up:
St. Henry's Day Celebrations are slated for Sunday 11^th July 2010. (Spare that date for yet another re-union this time in Masaka).

And...

A SHACK centenary fund-raising charity walk is coming up soon stay tuned for details. Continue pledging and fulfilling your pledges please.

Contributing to SHACK Development projects

To successfully contribute towards the SHACK Centenary Projects, issue a bank order of say 30,000/= 50,000/= or 100,000/= every month and by the time you realise, this small contribution will have accumulated into a substantial amount over time!

Alternatively, here is the SHACK bank information to send your contribution:

Account No. 3010610015
Account Title: ST. HENRY'S COLLEGE KITOVU ANNIVERSARY
Bank: CENTENARY BANK
Branch: ENTEBBE RD BRANCH
SWIFT CODE: CERBUGKA

Hoping to meet again at the next reunion next month! Keep the SHACK flaming burning by contributing to making the great mother college greater!

For Greater Horizons

Top Ten Free SMS Websites to Uganda Mobile Phones

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:54:00 +0000

Hi folks, just like olden days, you would want to save up on the airtime that has recently become so precious. You wouldn't want to waste, say 2 hund'nd on an sms message, which amount could be several calls in the night if you hooked on mtn zone. Now, that we truly east african, you also need to send frequent sms to friends in KE (Kenya), TZ (Tanzania), RWA (Rwanda) & BU (Burundi) ;)

In no particular order, please find the popular free SMS sites:

1. Imaginative - These are most popular guys, 7197, being the sms code in Uganda for all news regarding Primeir league, politics, food, forex. Their site is great and you do not need to register to send your message. SMS from this site gets to the recepient much of the time. No registration to send sms required.

2. K-Open Solutions - We pray hope they remain open to providing free sms forever. They got a chat client like the one on this site where you can chat with your friend. Both of you just load the same website on your computers and start chatting. No need to have either yahoo messenger installed on your computer to chat with your friend. No registration to send sms required.

3. Socnet Solutions - Formerly a website where you did not have to register to send SMS, now Socnet, is not free anymore. Registration is by filling in your phone number and a password gets sent to you via sms. The problem is having to fill it in for every sms that you sent out. Registration to send sms required.

4. Campus Linker - these guys have a nice website. They vending services ranging from ringtons, to wallpapers. They are Kampala's new breed of computer students creating their business online. I like their website and the idea is great. No registration to send sms required.

5. SMS Media - The SMS window is so squeezed, on your right side of the screen above the ringtons and if you not too careful, you could easily miss it. Feed in the number of the recepient and enter your sms. No registration required.

6. Campuser.net - Most popularly known free sms site to Makerere university students. You do need to have an account. A free account is available and all your contacts phone numbers are kept in your account and will always be available whenever you log in. Send sms to every mobile phone company in Uganda: MTN, UTL, Warid and Zain. Registration required to send sms.

7. Surf Uganda - for job seekers but with a free sms window on the right side of your screen, a little below. Send free sms to MTN and UTL mobiles. No registration required to send sms.

8. eacraze sms - These guys send sms to most of the MTN family mobiles. From the 0773, 0782, 0772, to UTL mobiles. Sms to pals out in either KE or TZ is also possible. Just feed the the numbers at their respective country codes. For Ke (+254) and TZ (+255). No registration required to send sms.

9. MTN Uganda Website - You need to be an MTN subscriber to send free sms from their website. Enter your phone number to receive your password. Registration required to send free sms to only MTN subscribers.

10. Web2SMS Zain - You need to have a Zain subscriber number to setup an account to receive a password. Once finished with setting up an account, login on your left where it says "existing users" to send free SMS to Zain Subscribers only. Registration required to send free sms.

***UPDATE: Send FREE SMS to MTN, AIRTEL, Orange, Warid phones on the RuralICT website, www.ruralict.com, Enter your phone number in the format: 07.. It is now the only website where you can send free SMS without registration. Enjoy while it lasts :-)

Most senior Ugandan officer in US Army - Frank Bisase

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:42:00 +0000

This interview which appeared in Sunday Monitor, 10th Aug 2008, of the highest ranking Ugandan in the United States army, an OB of St. Henry's College Kitovu - Masaka. I hope it inspires the young ones back at the College and the alumni as well. The interview was conducted by Solomon Muyita of the Monitor publications.

Lieutenant Commander Frank Bisase, who is probably the most senior Ugandan officer in the United States military, was in the country last month, his second visit since he joined the forces in 1985. He spoke to Monitor’s SOLOMON MUYITA about his intentions to retire and return to build his motherland.

Who is Frank Bisase?
I was born to Ephraim and Florence Bisase on December 31, 1951. I went to Nakivubo Settlement School and St. Henry’s Academic College Kitovu - Masaka, after which I graduated from Makerere University. I was very politically active as a young man and would write political news articles and speak at rallies – I do not think Amin’s men liked it, because they attacked me a couple of times. My father decided that it was better for me to leave, like most others who had fled the country. I went to Gambia, where I taught art for three years before going to the New York Graduate School, where I got a masters degree in Fine Art. I worked as a teacher there for a while, then decided to join the armed forces of the United States in April 1985.

<= Lieutenant Commander Bisase with his mother on his most recent visit to Uganda.

Which political group did you belong to? I wasn’t really into groups, but I have a very strong political background in terms of family. My uncle, Dr E.S. Lumu, was Uganda’s first Minister of Health, and he played a major role in the independence of this country. He belonged to Kabaka Yeka and joined the UPC when he became a minister. He is one of the five ministers who were arrested by President Obote.

How did you end up in the US Forces?
You can join the US Forces in different ways, as long as you are a legally permanent resident of the US – you do not have to be a citizen. Initially I was part of an organization of Ugandan political activists in New York City that used to mobilize and send supplies to support President Museveni and the (NRA) liberators back then in the bush. We would meet at my small apartment with friends like Perez Kamunanwire, who is now Uganda’s Ambassador to the US. Others probably got killed here. I seriously considered joining the liberation war, but I decided to go to the recruiters in the US to get better training. I signed a contract and figured maybe I would be trained and then come here and help but before the end of my contract, Museveni took over and was very successful. So I just continued with my life over there.

Could you tell us about your experience and ranking?
Like any other army, you start at the lowest level and grow through the ranks. Promotions in the Armed Forces overseas are not as fast as here. You go through the ranks and are tested as you fight battles. There are various competitions that you go through to get promoted. You get transferred here and there and get involved in so many engagements. I’ve been involved in three or four major engagements so far in East Timor, the first and the second war in Iraq, and some minor skirmishes of the sort. My current rank is Lieutenant Commander (Lieutenant Colonel here).

How would you compare with your counterparts here in terms of skills?
I don’t think the opportunities and training that people get here are as advanced as what we get. We’ve got advanced technology; I’m privy to different ways of gathering intelligence that people here do not have. I do not really know what experience the people here have, but I think I’m in a better position to do certain things. Over the years I’ve played different roles. Some are intelligence, some are simply administrative, and others are just leadership. Right now I’ve been so disengaged in that because I’m getting ready to retire - I’ve been playing some administrative roles.

You want to quit?
I think I want to retire. I’ll retire probably next year when I make 24 years of service in 2009. I could get more promoted now than before but I’ve decided that it is time for me to go. I’m a single father; my children are 17 years old (twins) and they definitely need my attention. They will be at university next year, so they need my guidance.

Tell us about your role in Iraq
I went to Desert Storm after the war had started. I was deployed there for about six months, and our job then was to search and rescue. I was in helicopters and if somebody (American soldiers) got shot down I would go and rescue such an individual and bring them back. I was also involved in the transfer of troops from one area to another or sending aid.

Do you choose what you want to do?
The Pentagon gives orders to you and you just do that job, depending on your rank, specialty and training. My superiors recognized the skills I had in terms of leadership and they assigned me tasks and promotions because I was educated, had an age advantage, and my African background gave me various values and endurance. Most American people do not have the stamina that we have, so I was happy to have those things. Those are the qualities I thought I could bring to our military or even the government here, given a chance...I could provide some help in terms of guidance, leadership or military tasking; I can gladly do that.

Would you serve in the UPDF when you retire?
Well, sure, if there is some role to play. I would purely do it on the basis of help and use my experience to help develop this nation. The US government has spent a lot of money on me in terms of training and experience gained over the years. I think the US government would gladly hire me back in a different role, but I think the government here would benefit more from my experience. My general view of African militaries is that they work hard, but probably not as smart as they hope to work. I think there are ways that we can teach UPDF ways of working smarter, not harder. The problem in Africa and several third-world countries is that we have politicized the military. We’ve tended to regard African militaries as political entities serving a given regime, and there is always a loss when one regime goes and you start from ground zero to develop a new army. I dream of a time when we will have a neutral army, simply given the responsibility of defending that particular country; it would be much bigger, better, well equipped, and well experienced, because it would not have any lineage to anybody. An army composed of all the tribes of Uganda to take care of the country as a country, not as a tribe or political party or anything like that, would be ideal.

What specific role would you be interested in playing in Uganda?
I have dealt mostly with helicopter aviation, military planning in terms of wars, and I have done a lot of leadership roles – I do not know what their needs are! Usually some roles are so much inter-twined in their political roles...with very little regard to the constitution. Like I understand the head of the police here is an army officer. I have no idea how that was married.

You find this strange?
You do not normally find those things in the western democracies; people usually go up the ladder. To become a head of police, you really have to be very solid in terms of that area. Normally the police deal with civil disobedience, for example how to quell disarray and matters like that, but a general fights a war – that’s what he knows. Putting a general into the police is just like using a sledge hammer to hit a small nail.

Do you have a political ambition?
I hate partisan politics. But I’d like to use my experience to help develop our country. I have done urban and regional planning over the years. I went through Kampala and saw how terrible the infrastructure is. The city is (still) based on the 1950s model. I could advise on how to do certain things better. I don’t think we should have another war in this country because we have spilled a lot of Ugandan blood. We should learn to work together…Deep down, I think everybody wants a stable Uganda.

What is your take on the political situation in the country today?
I’m disappointed to see people a bit more divided. I think people have become less tolerant of the central government – at least here in the south; I don’t know about the north. They’ve become less trustful of government, and I can see that some people are on edge. And it goes back to having those enclaves of people that belong to certain groups or tribes – tribalism has always been a very divisive element in our society, and if we can get away from that, the better off we will be. Things started going down because of Obote. I have no qualms about telling anybody that I dislike Obote because he disrupted this country. Amin came as a product of Obote’s disregard and what followed was just a mess. So we give a lot of credit to President Museveni for having come in and rescued the country at that time. Obviously, no one is perfect, and that is why there must be fine-tuning every so often. An American President cannot rule for more than eight years, no matter how good they are. Having term limits in place is so good because I do not think one person can have the best ideas for 20 or 30 years. People loved Museveni when he came in – I think they are less tolerant of him now. People are more driven by passion now than they were before, so that is very disappointing. It is a much more divided country today than it was the last time I came here.

What would you tell President Museveni if you met him today?
First of all, I would thank him for having had the courage to come in and having brought about some calm and normalcy. I would remind him about the history this country has gone through, like political turmoils, and perhaps caution him about not repeating that kind of thing. And I would tell him that we really treasure his leadership, but we could use his experience in a different role. I would caution President Museveni about some of his close associates because they might be giving him a bad name. He is a very good man, but not all his confidants have good intentions. I would also tell the president to talk to the Americans and ask them to come and put their military bases here. Liberia is doing that. Allow them to come in and build a very big base, say in the north, because that gives us a chance to get some of the things we need to get here quickly. What that does for Uganda is, it creates development. Anywhere America goes, development follows.

Do you have contacts of the president or his people?
Not at all! If anybody does, let me know. My friend Perez, who I think is President Museveni’s cousin, is an ambassador – I’m sure he’s a busy man.

Is there anything else you would like to say?
Obviously I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to come here. I also consider Uganda as my home. It is a very beautiful and well endowed country; even after all it has gone through. Uganda has so many resources. We are very educated people and we should use this opportunity to advance ourselves. I personally would like to come back and play a role in the development of this country, given a chance. There is also a corruption disease that we need to get rid of, but Ugandans should just love and work with each other, not fight or kill one another.

If you got any story of St. Henry's Kitovu high flying old boys, please forward it to the alumni and we will document it right here.

Walugembe's take on St. Henry's 13th July '08 celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:30:00 +0000

This is a version of St. Henry's College Kitovu, 13th July '08, celebrations as witnessed by Walugembe David. For your info, 13th July of every year, is a day to celebrate St. Henry the Patron saint of the college. Enjoy it all below;

The celebrations commenced with the laying of the foundation stone for the new computer lab in front of the Brother’s Residence (former Old Chapel). This was followed by Mass during which some students were confirmed. We arrived at about this time of the service. Members actively took part in the remaining bits of the service. We listened to some speeches at the end of the Mass. From the Chapel we headed for the Old Boys Meeting in the Library extension. While taking a quick count through the forms, we had about 130 Old Boys attending the Old Boys meeting. However the total number of Old Boys that attended this year’s St. Henry’s celebrations was approximately 200 Old Boys.

Among the highlights of the Old Boys meeting was the fact that we are slowly but surely achieving our aim of bridging the generation gap. Thanks to the efforts of the Kitovu Alumni Network Taskforce. We had representatives from the 1939 -1944 generation through to the 2002-2007 generation. Colleagues managed to identify with several potential employers and employees during the introductions/networking opportunities session. Others managed to identify with mentors and coaches as well.

Another key highlight was the introduction of the entire Alumni Community to the 100 years of SHACK’s existence hence the Centenary Jubilee Celebrations in 2022. (Vision 2022). Members were implored to start thinking and visualizing the Centenary Celebrations. The major emphasis is “How” do we “the Alumni” want to celebrate the 100 years of St. Henry's Academic College Kitovu (SHACK). A select committee chaired by Mr. Peter Ssamula Kiwanuka and Mr. Fred Otunnu was constituted to coordinate the official launching of the 100 years of SHACK.

Several projects such as the construction of the Multipurpose Hall, tarmacking of the paths within the College, Construction of the HSC Block, Dormitories and renovation of the existing building such as the chapel, Gutter Dormitories and many others are lined up awaiting the support of none other than we the Old Boys. So please let us synergize, strategize and plan on how we can all contribute towards this cause.

It is only 14 years to go! A proposal for the Kitovu Alumni Reunion Dinner sometime in December 2008 was also tabled and will be subjected to further debate during our next quarterly meeting in September 2008. At the end of the meeting we headed for lunch and later a soccer/basketball/handball matches whose results I may not wish to announce via this forum.

I thank you once again for supporting the cause of revamping the Kitovu Alumni Network.

Special thanks to all the old boys (OBs) who managed to make to St. Henry's College Kitovu - Masaka, Uganda - East Africa. Thank you for representing the rest of us who could not make it.

Thank you David for this beautiful account of events. A link complete with a web gallery of the pictures of the celebrations will be available soon on this blog.

Watch this space :-)

St. Henry's College Kitovu Day Celebrations - 13th July 2008

noreply@blogger.com (John Kibuuka) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:03:00 +0000

This is an account of events at the just concluded St. Henry's College Kitovu - Masaka as reported by Lino Owor Ogora

To start at the very beginning;

Following mobilization that took place mainly on the internet, all the Alumni who had confirmed or not confirmed their willingness to travel together to the college gathered at Pope Paul Memorial on the morning of the D day. Scheduled time for departure was 7:00 am, but as usual we ended up departing at about 8:15 African time. I hope we can improve this next time. Rumour has it that the on the previous evening several Kitovians had attended a Kasiki of a colleague (i forget his name) and therefore many were still nursing hungovers and could not make it.

As we waited for the other members to gather, a very enterprising Walugembe William took the opportunity to "kusubuza" Alumni Polo T - Shirts (now I advise any of you out there who have not got these T - Shirts to get them coz they are worth the money. They go for only 25K) while an equally enterprising Owen also took the opportunity to "Kubanja" whoever had not paid the fare yet. Other OBs and OGs took the opportunity greet each other and catch up after years of not seeing each other. Many people expressed disappointment with the low turn up of OGs though.

Finally we set when we felt we had waited long enough. But trust the ever sharp and die hard Kitovians never to give, which led to us having to park at a Petrol station to wait for two Kitovians who chased after us on Bodabodas as though their lives depended on it. The wait was worth it because they eventually added to the number of OGs which as I mentioned above was already dismal.

We then set off for Masaka, and I tell you the journey down there was one of the most interesting and memorable parts of the whole episode. That is when I realized that the spirit of "Solida" has never waned. throughout the journey we were entertained by the likes of Owen, Leo Kivumbi, Walugembe, etc etc and we never once dozed. OBs took time to talk briefly about what their professions were and to hand around business cards. But trust abatovu to abandon listening when we reached Lukaya and rush for the windows to stock up on "gonja" and "kikoko". A poor Owen was abandoned in the middle of a speech and the last I heard he was pleading "... banage muwulilize...."

From Lukaya we travelled on but excitement mounted when we were making the final acsent to the college. It was just exciting to see the great gates of SHACK, and the three statues of schoolboys beckoning to us, then finally the lush green grasses of the football pitches we all know so well. Guess the first person we saw on the chapel steps!! It was Brother Luwaga. Many guys recalled how he used to wake us up for mass. Then we saw Mr. Lwanga Kasozi who used to boast that his wife was "the dictionary" of Kitovu. Other people who came to welcome us included Mr. Obina aka Obinex - great physician. Well after the excitement had died down we joined in the mass which was already more than halfway (naye batovu are good bomalists when it comes to mass).

When the mass came to an end, there were the usual speeches from a number of persons whom I shall not mention here - you all know how interesting speeches are and how they keep you awake and alert. The next interesting stage of our visit was a meeting of all old boys in the Library extension. There was self introduction on an individual basis by the over 200 OBs present. Trust me there were guys who received standing ovations 'coz of the period in which they were at SHACK. There were guys who had been there as early as 1939. You all recall Mr. Kibirige Herman - he is now the deputy University secretary for Mutesa Royal University in Masaka - he also received a standing ovation.

The issues agreed upon in this meeting were of critical importance and this is where I urge all OBs to join hands. The major issue was the centenary celebrations which will take place in 2022. All Old boys have an obligation to bring on board the various Alumni who number over 7000.

After the meeting we went in for "Kimere" in the old DH. There was "ensilio" matoke, meat, name it all. We had time to interact some more and meet techers who taught us. Finally, we all marched to the fields to have game against the school football team.

In a nutshell we were "WALLOPED" by those boys in almost everything that took place. They made an easy work of the "KiKame" which they played as though they were in a training session in soccer. Nobody actually remembers the scoreline but I will leave the footballers who played to comment here and tell us the truth of what went on. I hear the goals against us were in double figures. In basketball we were also beaten although trust me it was not as bad as the soccer. The scoreline was 78 - 68 when I last saw the score board. Perhaps this was thanx to the presence two Sprite 2001 finalists - Frederick Alga and Myself and other very fit young men under the coachship of Kibuuka Vianey. Am not sure what transpired in handball.

Well the above is just a lesson that next time we need to go out there in full force and hammer these boys.

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