comm-UNITY!

Generosity spreads like wildfire. What comes naturally to us is partnering with one another, working together, and displaying a great deal of compassion and generosity. Our genetic forefathers lived for hundreds of thousands of years because they learnt to collaborate and help one another. They prospered because they cared when someone was hurt and supported one another. We are here today because they discovered that being generous was the greatest way for a species to flourish.

In this episode, Edwin Nuwagaba Babimpa reminds us that a giving heart is one that is deeply rooted in community and faith. He highlights how Kabale rotary club members consistently bring to the table their distinct particular qualifications bestowed by God to serve the community, multiplying generosity.

Being present is a powerful expression of support for generosity and gratitude. In this episode, Winfred reminds us that being fully present becomes a gift to ourselves and others we touch in our life. According to an old Chinese wisdom saying, when we are genuinely present, we 'give life to life' when we give. We may be touched when we give of ourselves, time, and treasure to others, and in touching and being touched, we progress towards less reactive, more responsive, fresh, and intimate forms of being and generosity.

In Winfred's instance, the support of family members went a long way in allowing her to start and continue the road of generosity with Rotary Club Kampala. She details how Rotary is a family away from one's first family — A Family of Generous Givers! And how Openness, Diversity, and Inclusiveness are crucial when it comes to ageless giving in Kampala Rotary Club (The Arch).

In this episode, Prossy Arima takes us on yet another journey of giving reaching the right people, making the impossible possible, and how Rotary Club Arua is changing lives via education, economic empowerment, and nutrition projects through local initiatives. Arima continues by emphasizing the need of trust in the success of collective generosity. It leads to increased trust in trusted persons or organizations, as well as a readiness to act on such trust. The ultimate goal of philanthropy is to catalyze action, trust is an important pre-condition.

As we begin Season 8 of our Comm-UNITY!  podcast series, we'll be looking at yet another exceptional group of individuals; ‘Rotary People of Action’. They will help us in better understanding Rotary's generous giving culture and their varied community efforts. In Episode 1, we were honored to have Mr. Charles Odaga, The President of Rotary Club Kampala South, share with us how, every day, members of Rotary Club Kampala South are pouring their passion, integrity, and intelligence into completing projects that have a lasting impact, how they persevere, take action, and deliver real lasting solutions and change amongst those they serve. When Rotarians give its the collective that makes the difference!

Welcome to Season 8 of the CivSource Africa Comm-UNITY! podcast series. The past couple of years have seen us experience shared crises most notably through the COVID-19 pandemic reinforcing our awareness that we are all connected and that our actions have a profound impact on our neighbors, our community, our nation and our world.

This season, we have the opportunity to profile members from an exemplary organization that embodies philanthropy at its core. Rotary International has for over 100 years now served various communities around the world through the giving of its members and boasts a membership of 1.2 million people. For over 60 years. This ethos has been functional in Uganda and seen the transformation of several communities receiving access to water, proper sanitation and hygiene, basic health care and education.

During Season 8, we shall hear from members of Rotary clubs in Uganda as they share their giving story as individuals, as club members and as members of this 110-year-old giving movement. Join us to hear inspirational stories about Ugandans’ contributions to Rotary’s role in eradicating polio from the face of the earth, about the Rotary Uganda Gift of Life program that enabled open heart surgeries for children, about a Rotary Cancer ward at Nsambya Hospital that provides world class specialized care to cancer patients, the Rotary Uganda Blood Bank at Mengo hospital and so many other amazing works, all emanating from the giving hearts of Ugandans and other Rotarians across the world.

So, join us on this odyssey as we learn, share and grow and demystify philanthropy as seen through the hearts of Rotarians in Uganda.

In 2021 Open Spaces (a youth development organisation in Uganda), led by founder Wakibu Bunya, hosted a philanthropy symposium with the aim of amplifying stories of young people giving with the hopes of inspiring other young people.

Wakibu Bunya joins us in this episode and shares with us from experience that the idea that young people don't/can't give is a stereotype we need to break. In a country where the youth make up the majority of the population they need to be empowered and motivated to give, and this is part of the work that Open Spaces is doing. 

In the same way that there are many ways to show generosity, we see through the eyes of our guest this episode that that there are also many different areas of our community that can benefit from philanthropy in different ways. Caroline Owashaba is team leader and co-founder at Action for Youth Development Uganda and she shares with us various initiatives that she has mobilized and led teams in, relating to health, education, climate change and women’s health.

Sophie Carol Wayne, an unapologetic queer feminist and human rights defender is our guest on this episode. As founder of Queer Women Leaders Uganda she shares with us some of the work she is doing within her community and the values she seeks to uphold as a leader advocating for generosity and unity across leadership structures. 

Leadership is not just about the initiatives you start, but the grace that you extend to the teams that you lead and the communities you serve. It involves qualities of humility, empathy and kindness, especially when it comes to the sensitive work of giving back. Joanah Atukunda, Founder of Uplift Slum Africa And CEO at The League of Young Professionals Uganda reminds us of this as we discuss some of the initiatives that both organisations are engaged in.

Mutoni Winnie Jessica's (Team Leader - Archiving: Motor Vehicle Registration) are dipped in humour and wisdom. In this episode we are drawn to the importance of building community with the people we lead and do life with, as a means to encouraging and cultivating a culture of generosity. Communion with one another helps us understand each other's needs and perspectives, allowing us to care for and give to each other in intentional ways.