“Young and bursting with ambition, he sees himself trek the distance between Teso and Kampala, determined to only return to his sleepy little Ocelakur Village as an inspirational trendy tie, expensive suit wearing, Mortar Board clad graduate of Development Studies.

He sees himself seated at the back of a trendy 4 X 4, as a big NGO CEO, cruising around, waving at half naked smiling village children, while acknowledging the realities of the vulnerable poor that line up to narrate their challenges.

Reality, instead, delivers him into the bowels of the city, at the gate of a forgettable CBO, saluting his underpaid bosses as a little appreciated watchman, with a bullet-less rifle that would best be appreciated as a cane.

• How do we recognize ourselves in Oluka Robert’s struggles?
• How do we identify with his eventual rise from the ashes to his shylock business?
• What would one understand of this graduate’s choice of occupation outside employment? Was he actually at rock bottom at all?
• What does it take to pursue a dream?
• What happens for you, as a graduate, when your dream slips through your fingers?
• Where is God almighty in all this? Has he forgotten us? Do we forget him as he seems to have forgotten us?”

Asks Mr. Philip Luswata, CPAR Uganda Volunteer Expert Media Consultant, after he interacted with Mr. Robert Oluka, a beneficiary of our CPAR Uganda “Mentoring Young Adults in Uganda into Innovators” against poverty project; and watching Oluka’s introduction video.

Click here to watch video in which Robert Oluka explains the “Life Course Unit.”

We look forward to reading your views on the questions posed above by Mr. Luswata; and your reactions to the video.