Written by MARTHA LEAH NANGALAMA

Most of my Ugandan followers over the last decade or so are used to me bombarding them with information. Most hate reading but every once in a while, out of 1,000 people, a few read and then tell me why KNOWLEDGE is Power.

You must know that in Uganda, information is restricted. Therefore, while we have 35 million youths looking for jobs or scholarships, the information restriction prevents millions from finding opportunities.

Below is a message a friend in Uganda sent me today. He is one of the people I have been mentoring over the years. ALWAYS MENTOR YOUTHS. Youths are future leaders and could use any help from someone older, someone with more life skills. Advice. Just talking. Guidance. I hope you will also consider mentoring younger people than you. You have many things to share with African youths. If not even for only about education, you can help guide them to find opportunities. Thanks. You have an obligation to contribute to your community via any means possible. I choose to teach, educate and inform. MLN

== BELOW is feedback from Uganda ==

There’s another trick that I learnt from you that I once tried and it worked out.

In June 2019, when I had just finished my undergraduate studies, awaiting graduation, I was stuck on whether to go back to the village or look for a job around. I sat on my bed and recalled how you told us that you’d send emails with your CV to different companies and how a few always responded.

On one morning, I woke up, sat on my bed, got to the website of the Uganda Manufacturers Association-UMA (An umbrella association that brings together different industrialists and manufacturing companies in Uganda). Upon accessing their website, there was a long list of hundreds of companies in manufacturing, with their addresses, location details, products, fax, mobile, emails and websites.

It’s from that website that I sent emails with my CV to several companies, (like 100-150) and honestly speaking, around 10-15 responded through email or phone call inviting me for a physical show up at their companies with offers and was even spoilt for choice.

Albeit the challenges faced including little pay and poor employee welfare, your trick worked for me and I was able to get a short term job in one of those manufacturing companies and sustain myself with basic needs for some few months until I graduated.

Through your continued guidance, exposure and information, less than a year after graduation, after the first lockdown, I decided to look for a stable and permanent paying job, for which I got.

What I still can’t forget to tell you, is that some information we get exposed to in the groups is very helpful. For instance, most interviews in Uganda have sections of questions to do with technical knowledge in relation to the job and general knowledge as well. So, when I went to do a certain interview in some organization, on the general knowledge part, with the world being in a global pandemic, we were asked to mention at least 4 types/versions/models of COVID 19 vaccines, and these I had always read about their development in the WhatsApp groups, posted by you. I mentioned the first one, Sputnik, then Sinovac, then Pfizer et al.
Surprisingly, upon mentioning the second one, all the interview panelists were in awe and shocked, in disbelief, staring at me because I mentioned their countries of origin along with. I was told that, out of the four, all my competitors had managed to mention either one, Astra zeneca, even with difficulty or none, a reason for their shock. I went on to become the best in that interview though I later turned down the offer because I had found a better option.

But this is simply to express my gratitude to you, some of us may be quiet in the groups, but at least we read, listen and learn a lot from you and we’ve been able to benefit a lot from your vast knowledge and experience.
Thanks so much.

===

MARTHA LEAH NANGALAMA can be contacted via email and WhatsApp (all VOIP, social media)

mlnangalama@gmail.com

+15068716371

Linkedin: https://ift.tt/2QbhmbJ



source https://perilofafrica.com/2022/01/uganda-information-knowledge-is-power.html