From Uganda to Toronto: Naturinda Emmanuel’s Journey of Perseverance and Hope

This is the impact story of Naturinda Emmanuel (Emma), a three-time Mastercard Foundation Scholar who is working towards innovating complex healthcare ecosystems. Below Emma shares the story of his journey and his goals for the future.

I was born and raised in Uganda into conditions that seemed to limit my dreams and aspirations—a life characterized by limited opportunities, financial barriers, and sometimes a feeling of near hopelessness. I always wanted to become a medical doctor and a leader, with the goal of returning to my community and applying my skills and expertise to change the system and improve health care for my people.

My passion for health care has a deep emotional attachment. I lost my mother to what I believe were inefficiencies in our healthcare system; the rural-urban divide in health delivery has made health care access almost impossible for many people in my community. To this day, I still believe that if we had a stronger healthcare system in Uganda, my mother might still be alive. Additionally, even at a young age, I lost some of my friends to vaccine-preventable diseases – something that my generation should not be enduring. These losses instilled in me the desire and resolve to improve health care access for underserved communities, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, disabled, women, and children in remote areas.

My aspirations might have seemed far-fetched for someone of my socioeconomic background, but as it is with God, He works in mysterious ways, often through the hearts of others.

I was fortunate to have individuals who believed in my potential even when circumstances seemed stacked against me.

From elementary school to ordinary-level education. I studied through academic bursaries awarded to academically talented students. In 2015, a pivotal figure in my life, my biology teacher, Muluga George, recognized my leadership potential and academic talent. He introduced me to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at BRAC Uganda. This was a fully funded scholarship awarded to secondary school students with academic talent and leadership potential, but facing financial barriers that hindered their ability to fully realize their potential. Through this scholarship, I had access to a top-tier high school education in Uganda. Leveraging the mentorship and transformative leadership training this opportunity afforded me, I excelled academically and honed my leadership skills, including serving as the Academic Minister at St. Julian High School Gayaza. In this role, I supported struggling students and worked closely with the school administration to foster an academically thriving environment for a student population of over 2,500.

My academic and leadership achievements did not go unnoticed, and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at BRAC Uganda awarded me an opportunity for my first cross-border travel experience to Accra, Ghana, in 2017 to attend the Baobab Summit and meet other emerging young African leaders from different program partners. While at this summit, I met Ruth, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar from Kenya who was studying computer science at Ashesi University. Our conversations opened yet another door: the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, which later funded my undergraduate studies in 2018.

This scholarship became a bridge to both academic and personal growth. As a first-generation university student studying outside my home country, I not only focused on my academic pursuits but also learned to adapt, face challenges, and embrace diversity. I explored local Ghanaian culture, from learning the common language (Twi) to enjoying culinary delights like banku with groundnut soup. This cross-cultural experience, coupled with the hands-on education I received at KNUST’s Department of Medical Diagnostics, has helped shape me into the published researcher, author, entrepreneur, scientist, and advocate for equitable health care that I am today, with three peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals.

My undergraduate journey was not without its challenges. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was a particularly tough period, both emotionally and academically. Nevertheless, I found solace in research, conducting a study that developed a cost-effective, climate-friendly RNA extraction kit for low-resource laboratories in low- and middle-income countries. Our work was published in a high-impact journal, and I was proud of my small contribution to the scientific community. This project was one of the most fulfilling moments of my early scientific career, and I remain grateful to my mentor, Dr. Samuel Asamoah Sakyi, for his unwavering support.

But my story doesn’t stop at academic pursuits. While at KNUST, I was eating chicken and rice almost every day at mealtimes. Back home, poultry is very expensive; it’s something families eat on feast days and celebrations. So, I decided to try and see if we could make chicken more affordable in Uganda. I co-founded Nugget Poultry, a social venture addressing the affordability of poultry products in rural communities of Western Uganda. The venture later won the prestigious Social Venture Challenge award from the Resolution Project at the Baobab Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. Leveraging this experience as an award-winning entrepreneur, I have since gone on to train over 500 young entrepreneurs across Africa through the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship on Entrepreneurship at Queen’s University, where I now serve as a program coach.

My entrepreneurship journey has been driven by the desire to use business as a force for social good, helping others in my community break free from poverty and create sustainable futures. Poverty is one of the key social determinants of health, and this journey is another addition to my lifelong pursuit of healthcare equity and access.

After completing my undergraduate studies in Ghana, I returned to Uganda to volunteer at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. While there, I noticed the challenges posed by paper-based health records. These cause delays in laboratory results and dispatch, difficulties in retrieving patient history for proper diagnosis and treatment of patients, and frustration and burnout among healthcare workers. Such inefficiencies fueled my ambition to apply for a Master’s in Health Informatics at the University of Toronto, with the aim that the skills and knowledge I acquire from this world-class institution will equip me with the expertise to address these challenges.

Naturinda Emmanuel at University of Toronto campus

My studies at the University of Toronto are supported by a third Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship. This opportunity offers me a fresh, global perspective and a chance to develop my leadership potential even more. I am eager to learn from esteemed faculty members such as Karim Keshavjee and Abbas Zavar, whose groundbreaking work and accomplishments resonate deeply with the transformative healthcare solutions I aspire to implement back home. Their expertise in Health Informatics and system optimization perfectly aligns with my vision of using technology to bridge healthcare gaps in underserved communities. I look forward to not only gaining invaluable knowledge and skills from their mentorship but also engaging in cross-disciplinary collaboration with other scholars at this world-class institution. This will sharpen my ability to innovate within complex healthcare ecosystems.

Armed with these experiences, I am determined to return to Africa and lead initiatives that will reshape our healthcare landscape, ensuring equitable access and innovative health care solutions for all. My journey at the University of Toronto represents not just personal growth but a pivotal moment in my broader mission to create lasting, systemic change in Africa’s healthcare infrastructure—a dedication that has driven my career aspirations since childhood.

To all young people out there: never let your background diminish your dreams.

I grew up in an environment that seemed to stifle ambition, but I held on to the belief that education would be my path to a better future. With hard work, focus, passion, and faith, I have gone from a young boy in rural Uganda to a healthcare professional, entrepreneur, and mentor. Opportunities like the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program can open doors you never thought possible. I urge you to apply; this could be the opportunity that will catalyze your potential and give you a platform to make a contribution to your community and the world at large.

Learn More About the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program