Ronald Ochoo Interview
Please tell us about yourself?
It’s quite hard to tell people about yourself when what they expected is not what they are going hear. Well to begin with, my name is Ronald Ochoo I was born and raised in the Northern part of Uganda in the District of Lira. I am the first born in a family of five and the only boy. I am a Fourth year student, oh I have just completed my exams for the end of semester of third year so I am a fourth year student of Law at Uganda Christian University, in Uganda. I am also in the guild government (student leadership) as the Clerk to Parliament of the student guild 2013.
I have a passion and God given gift to impact people’s life, care for people and make people to realise their potential at their fullest in every area of life. I am a young, talented, creative, innovative, team player, dynamic, and fast growing individual who has great passion for his country and Africa at large. I love affecting people’s lives positively and always ready to learn and explore new things. I am a persistent person with result driven approach to achieving tasks and objectives, adaptable to change with a track record of juggling multiple concurrent projects. I have the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously in fast paced and dynamic environment. I am a proactive person with a strong focus on success.
I have been involved in human rights activism, children rights, Anti-corruption, Women rights, intercultural dialogue, Climate change and environmental impact, social entrepreneurship and youth work in general.
- I am in many organisations and causes, I am an international Online Human rights activist with Amnesty International-UK since 2010,
- I am the Uganda National Coordinator of the International Youth Environmental Photo Competition (IYEPC) since July 2012, this has been a forum to get the youth world-wide get involved in combating the dangerous activities that leave the environment destroyed for good thus a cause of the climate change damage.
- I am the Youth Advisor for the Youth Health and Rights Coalition (YHRC)-USA since August 2012, this has seen me advise on the PEPFAR project that was enrolled last year and this year.
- At the beginning of this year I was appointed the East African Regional Head for the Simua Project Africa that was started by Tom and Gilbert two Global Change Makers from Kenya and France. I have been pivotal to this project with the website advise the contents to be put on the web, the articles and photos. Simua Project aim is to bring the good image of Africa that the world has neglected and chosen to focus on the negatives instead. We write articles, poems and the photos that depict the true African epitome and the Love for mother Africa.
- I am also the Commonwealth Youth Correspondent for Uganda since 2012 and this has seen me exercise my writing skills through writing about the concerns in the community and the country at large, those affecting both the youths and the citizens.
- I have just established another project in the ICT department focusing on computer applications that will be of help to the youth and the community in the long run, this will tackle climate change effects and accommodation allocation in campuses within East Africa for starters, job availability this already has a Facebook page, and more are to come soon.
What is the name of the community outreach project you are involved in? And what is it all about?
At the moment I am involved in a number of projects; But I will talk about the one I started which is Testimony Uganda, this was a prayer group we started at school but we chose to use it as a wheel to reach many lives and we have been a blessing to the lives of kids in the various children’s Homes we have had opportunity to visit and inspires us to see them happy. Testimony Uganda is basically a community based organisation started by me and some other friends, Gideon, James, Allan and Akram. This project focuses on helping the needy children and youths thus we help those picked from the streets and taken to some of the reformatory homes in the central region (as per now) of the country, such as Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Home for the Youth. Under this project some other projects have developed such as La Grande that deals with cloth printing and now we have set up the ICT department that deals with making computer applications that can be used by the communities and the youth majorly as the focus.
I am also involved in a mentorship project that I and a friend started to mentor leaders that will bring Africa to the glory we would want to see, this project is still in its early stages in the University (Uganda Christian University) where we identify potential leaders and offer them mentorship from ourselves and also those leaders who have made an impact in the community, we do a lot of reading to keep up to date. And from this project we have been able to form the first World Economic Forum-Global Shapers Community, Kampala-Hub with the succeeding curator (head of the Hub) being one of our own members of the mentorship programme.
When did it start? What motivated you to start this project?
This project started in 2009 November where we stared by mobilising resources from amongst us and later form our parents, friends and well-wishers. It got fully operational in January 2010, after we had gotten our long holiday before University.
I for one was motivated by the love of being a blessing in other’s lives and this saw the team members joining me in the cause. This love grew further and I was able to further it in other sectors of my life and projects that has mentored some of the youths with skills in cloth printing and graphics works, and charity activities.
What is the purpose this project?
The purpose of the project is to bring hope to the hopeless youths and children in this nation. This will go not only to offer them the help but rather getting them involved in the projects so that they own and be a part of the project. This will also help the youth realise the potential in them and use a better platform to let that potential be supported and expanded.
What do you want to achieve with project?
I want to see a transformed Uganda with the youth taking the lead in helping one another and others to build themselves and be who they are meant to be. I want to see the youth being at the centre of development in Uganda both economically, socially, spiritually and politically because the policies are set up by the politicians that affect every sector of the economy.
How one can get involved in the project?
For now you have to just like our page Testimony Uganda, though a subsequent page is to be opened and our website is under construction so it will be online soon. You can also check out Kyamuwendo Children’s Home (www.anotherlifeinternational.org ) where we are ambassadors. One can also donate to the cause, be a social activist for the project’s activities. Send e-mails to: [email protected] for further information. Our official website will up soon as the old one was pull down and we are designing a new one, so I advise us to take heart.
What were some of the challenges you faced as a young person starting your own project?
The challenges that were bitterly faced were discouragement that you can’t do it, so even your own friends get to discourage you in the long run and sometimes even your parents fail to understand what you are doing. Financial constraint to limited human resource and the Human resource bites further the issue of commitment keeps drifting as those who don’t share the same vision as you would always find a way of discouraging you. Another challenge has been balancing the projects and studies, this becomes tricky when projects are to be worked on within a given time frame and you have to attend your lectures within that period sometimes they are unexpected so you have to think hard and fast.
How has the journey being like so far?
I can gladly say I am still on track, though it’s been a tough one with serious difficult decisions to take and sometimes being forced to take them independently and bear the consequences. It’s has also been full of learning you know, from the mistakes you make and the hardships that come along the way.
How has the community benefited from the project?
The community has benefited from the project from one way to another, in that we have been able to pay for a family their accommodation (monthly rent), sent one of their children to school, we have provide basics to children’s Home’s like Kyamuwendo Children’s Home, Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre. Some of the Testimony Uganda (TUG) members carrying out painting at Kyamuwendo Children’s Home
The ICT department also does website building for free for NGO’s with the youth in mind, and at the moment we have been able to offer career guidance to some of the children in these Homes and Reform centres.
With the land that one of the Children’s Home (Kyamuwendo Children’s Home) has acquired in Luweero, we plan to build a school that will be affordable to the community, a hospital and a bigger Children’s Home for them. We are on negotiation terms with some international company to provide the construction service for these amenities for the community.
What has been some of your biggest achievements yet?
- As a project, the biggest achievement was getting recognised and supported by the then Commissioner of Youth and Children’s affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development of Uganda, retired Com. Willie Otim when we wanted the list of the Home’s and even moral support and guidance.
- The project has also achieved in providing for the needs of these children even with limited resources, it has supported its activities through.
- The project has been recognized by some of the youths who are very much willing to support us and this has impacted in their lives and their belief in Africa, to have the potential to support herself with resources within.
- Personally, I have been awarded Gold standard Award by the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, of which this project was part of the activities I chose to carry as part of the programme.
- I was also selected through the programme to participate in the Commonwealth Youth Programme from the Secretariat, in the inaugural Discovering Young Leaders Programme 2012, where I excelled and I was the first Ugandan University student to participate in the programme and one of the first 33 in the world to complete the course successfully within the time frame given.
- Through this project, many upcoming youth projects and organisations have been able to seek my good counsel in light of work with the youth, which has been always a pleasure to be a part of for instance Youth Health and Rights Coalition-USA (A combination of 23 youth organizations around the USA), Simua Project-Africa, International Environmental Youth Programme, and now Global Shapers Kampala-Hub.
- Being appointed to manage the mentorship programme within my University and also to guide on the roll out programme by the Leadership Club. This has also put me in a position of being the in charge of the Mentor-Shape project of the World Economic Forum-Global Shapers Community-Kampala Hub which is to roll out upon its Launch in September this year.
What do you think are some of the challenges facing African youth today?
Well one obvious problem facing the African youth today is unemployment and underemployment, this is either self-created or educationally created due to the low quality of the students graduating. But to deal with the root cause, sometimes it’s the attitude, or could I say the poor work attitude the youth have got in that every graduate expects to work in an office which is technically hard to come by.
Another problem facing the youth today is the lack of motivation from the elders, or should I say the government. How many African states have put into practice what was discussed in the 2006 African Union summit on youth affairs, only 26 out of all these states have ratified it in their statutes (Laws) and implementation is wanting in all these states. So it’s until the governments start to realise that it’s not about sacks of money or dishing out money but rather let the youth show the state what they can do, and from there let the state step up and put it on another bigger platform. The lack of motivation is not only being faced from the government side even the communities in which the youths live in don’t motivate, they are the same people discouraging these young souls struggling to survive. The policies on youth activities are also so rigid they need revision and the youths should be a part of this not just imposing them on the youths it does not help at all. Take a look at some of these countries that are operating the Youth Fund, how many youths have benefitted or do they even have the records? So it’s until some of these governments get serious the Youth challenges will keep on prevailing.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
In five years’ time I will be a consultant on youth work, running my project on a bigger platform and involving more of the youths in the project, I will be an investor, job creator. My organisation will be fully fledged around East African region, helping the youths realise their dreams and potential within them.
I will be working in my law firm helping out with legal matters, and a motivational speaker to the youths moulding the youths be what God has wanted them to be, and seeing Africa being the continent God wants it to be. I want to see the African Dream project unfolded to its success across Africa.
What would you like to change about Africa today
The attitude of the Africans, from the young to the aged. We need serious attitude change if we are to realise the African dream. People in Africa still believe we can’t do without donations which is wrong. We can, we only need to dare it and see, God has given us the potential far beyond what we know it’s the God in us who knows not the world to determine what we can’t and can. I believe with a change of attitude Africa is bound to prosper beyond what the world had positioned it to be. The attitude should be worked upon from birth, because with a positive attitude you realise positive changes upon your life.
The youth too need to be creative not only wait upon the government to do everything for you. It’s time the youth create the jobs and not be created jobs for.
The policies that are to affect the youths should involve the youth rather than imposing them on the youth, this will enable better realisation of the purpose of the policy and not have it haphazardly implemented.
I believe in Africa being better and that’s what I want to see reflected in every African’s life be it a youth, child or an old person.
What advice do you have for young people who want to start their own project?
It’s the fear in us that make us weak, but when you start the world will start to wonder how you made it. I advise them to start with what they have, get a dedicated team truth is there are people who will put money first before output you have got to deal with such don’t get off the track keep on track. It’s in you to make the change you want to see in the world so believe you can, even the tough times that will come don’t last face your fears and conquer it.
How can other youth connect with you?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ronnie_Ross_O
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ronnieross.onyango
Blog: http://ronnieross.blogspot.com/?view=classic
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=105180239&trk=tab_pro
You can e-mail me on: [email protected]
Call me on: +256-782-039047
+256-701-039047
