Meeting a Young Joseph Munyambanza

This piece is a part of The Village: Kyangwali.  

I met Joseph on his first trip to Kampala. In 2008, I was the director of admissions for East Africa at African Leadership Academy. I was in Kampala for admissions interviews.

The admissions process involved getting all shortlisted students together for weekend activities to assess their fit for African Leadership Academy. The students were drawn from schools across Uganda and represented all socio-economic groups and genders.

Joseph, the only young person at the gathering from a refugee background, was very shy. Quiet and humble. Very observant — and there was a lot for him to take in. He was a young man from Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, a refugee camp along Uganda’s western border. Perhaps intimidated by the young Kampalans also there for the same reason, Joseph didn’t speak much at his ALA admission interview. His command of English was still developing. But when he was called upon, he did not hesitate to respond.

It was an indication of things to come.

Joseph blossomed during his time at ALA. Behind his quiet observation and humility was purpose. I soon realized that there was something very special about his work in Kyangwali. He was so intent on paying it forward, telling me, “I was able to succeed and get as far as ALA. I want more young people to come along with me.”

Joseph created opportunity not only for himself, but for others. When his CIYOTA co-founder, Bahati Kanyamanza, expressed a desire to pursue his master’s degree, Joseph finished his studies and swapped places with him, taking on the management of CIYOTA in Kyangwali.

He told Bahati, “Go and study. Let me stay here and focus on building what we started.”

He was also determined that he would be just the first of many youth from Kyangwali to study at African Leadership Academy. At his graduation, Joseph — who called me Mama Ivy — jokingly said to me, “Two of your grandchildren from Kyangwali are coming along to ALA!”

“They are not my grandchildren,” I replied. “They are like you: they are my children!”

His response? “I am your first child. Those who come after me, they are the next generation. Those are your grandkids.”

Among that next generation was Joseph’s younger brother, and many others. ALA would eventually recruit seven students from Kyangwali to its secondary school program, and more than 24 young leaders from the settlement became Mastercard Foundation Scholars.

Joseph and his colleagues built a community in Kyangwali, and he inspired a global community to rally in support of the settlement.

He has given hope to young refugee women and men, who are too often left out of the pursuit of an education. Because of Joseph, many young Kyangwali refugees believe they can create a life for themselves, leave the camp, and, most importantly, come back and transform their community.

The Village: Kyangwali is the story of Joseph Munyambanza and how he came to live in Kyangwali, a refugee settlement in Uganda, how he founded the COBURWAS school, and the impact it has had on Kyangwali.