The U.S. Exchange Alumni Network (USEA) and Rotary District 9213 hosted a Partnership Breakfast at Four Points by Sheraton Kampala to unveil a national initiative to establish Community Resource Centers across Uganda’s five regions: Central, Eastern, Northern, Western, and West Nile.
“Human capital development through resource centres is a good idea. We need resource centres for research, skills training, and innovation. Education is the greatest asset to a child.” – Kampala Lord Mayor Elect, Balimwezo Ronald Nsubuga.
“In the past, I did spend a lot of time at the U.S. resource centre to get information about study opportunities abroad. Today, things are online. But we need resource centres to provide resources digitally and physically. Let us do this to help the next generation.” – District Governor G. Kitakule, USEA Rotary Partnership Breakfast
The breakfast brought together leaders from the private sector, diplomatic missions, development partners, Rotary leadership, and civil society to mobilize partnerships for sustainable, community-driven development across Uganda. “This year, at Rotary, we are uniting for good. We are demonstrating this today by convening together to put up resource centres modelled after U.S. resource centres.” – District Governor, G. Kitakule, USEA Rotary Partnership Breakfast
“Public libraries are limited in Uganda. We identified a need in different regions of our Ugandan communities. It is a challenge of education, employment, and youth development. This is a gap we want to close with the establishment of USEA community library and resource centers across Uganda.” – USEA Alumni President, Owomugisha Blessing Immaculate.
“This USEA project is great because of the collaborative effort around it. In the modern age, we have a new set of complex problems. We need to rely on partnerships, new ways of innovating, and technology to do old things better and more effectively. Gatherings remind us that we can do much more together than alone.” – Mikael (Mika) Cleverley, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Kampala
Each USEA Community Resource Center will serve as a hub for holistic development, offering a comprehensive range of services including digital literacy and ICT skills training, entrepreneurship and vocational skilling, sports, education and literacy support, and youth mentorship and leadership development. In addition to these learning and empowerment programs, the centers will foster community engagement through organized sports and recreation, while also supporting public health by providing basic community health services through on-site village clinics.
The establishment of five fully operational USEA Community Resource Centers will directly impact over one million vulnerable Ugandans annually, particularly youth, women, and community leaders. The project aligns with Rotary’s areas of focus: economic empowerment, disease prevention, education, and community development.
