Mountains of the Moon University

Yearbook Vol. 2 (2011)

Mountains of the Moon University School of Business and Management Studies

Main Campus Saaka, Fort Portal Email: [email protected] (Dean of School) Tel.: 0782-689929 Website: www.mmu.ac.ug

The Editors Karugaba Deogratias ([email protected]) is the Administrative Assistant and Exam Coordinator at MMU School of Business and Management Studies

Felix Meier zu Selhausen ([email protected]) is the Research Coordinator at MMU School of Business and Management Studies. He has been seconded by German Development Cooperation (GIZ)

Disclaimer The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Mountains of the Moon University.

FOREWORD FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR

FOREWORD FROM THE DEAN OF SCHOOL

PART I LIFE AT MMU

PART II SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

PART III REGIONAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMICS

PART IV ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE RWENZORI REGION

PART V RWENZORI REGION IN NUMBERS Foreword from the MMU Vice-Chancellor

I have the great pleasure to welcome you to the second volume of the Yearbook of MMU School of Business and Management Studies. This year’s theme Regional and political economics covers wide range of topics that are specific to the Rwenzori region, nationwide, our East Africa neighbourhood and even Sub-Saharan-Africa. The opening section provides a wonderful overview of the activities that took place in the past academic year 2010/2011 and reminds us of our efforts and opportunities. Beyond regional and political economics, this volume across its 17 articles offers insights on a relevant topic in the Rwenzori region – the effects of environmental and climate change on agricultural productivity and consequently food supply, including tea. Thus, this specific focus breathes the vision and mission of our university to reach out to the community by research and teaching specific topics relevant to the community. I am happy to welcome a large number of community business companies to advertise in the Yearbook, which reflects the ambition and excellence of its content. In addition, I am proud to announce that this year’s Yearbook will be out on Graduation Day in September 2011. I would like to warmly appreciate all who have contributed to putting together this annual publication; foremost the 7 authors from the School of Business and Management Studies, 4 authors from other MMU departments and 5 authors from MMU’s partner organizations and other affiliations. I am particularly happy about 2 student contributions this year. By solicitating articles from outside – MMU staff from other departments as well as authors from Mpanga Tea, German Development Institute, the University of Michigan and the NGO ‘One Brick at a Time’ – the School has demonstrated its capacity to network and engage in mutual exploration of topics and issues. A special thank you goes to the editors, Mr. Karugaba Deogratias andMr. Felix Meier zu Selhausen for dedicating time and effort in bringing out the second volume. They have been skillfully guided by Dr. Oliver Schmidt, the Academic Advisor who was seconded to MMU by German Development Cooperation (GIZ). I am looking forward to to engaging with the authors at the School’s first Yearbook seminar ever to be held in October 2011 at Saaka Campus. Continue and Enjoy Reading.

Prof. John Kasenene Mountains of the Moon University

Foreword from the Dean of the School

Dear Reader, It is a great pleasure to present to you herewith the second volume of the Yearbook of the School of Business and Management Studies. The team at our School – 28 staff members with a wide range of experience and qualifications – is proud and honoured to have once more pioneered organisational development of our young university. The articles in this yearbook cover a wide range of highly relevant topics of the well being of our community, Uganda and entire Sub-Saharan Africa. Part I highlights the most important news from the past academic year 2010/2011 and reflects on the importance of academic research for our university as a whole. Furthermore, Part II displays the School’s graduates of 2010/2011, students, courses and staff profiles. Part III ‘Scholarly and research articles’ is dedicated this year to ‘Regional and political economics’, the theme of this years yearbook publication. We analyse the political and economic changes and influences taking place in and around Uganda and therefore treat topics, including the birth of the new nation of South Sudan, tea-production in East Africa, the impact of oil on African oil-exporting countries, as well as national studies on inflation, corruption, female political leadership and the importance of micro-savings for Ugandan SACCOs. Environmental and climate change are one of the most pressing issues in our Rwenzori region. Therefore, regional adaptation strategies and current developments in this area are displayed in Part IV. Part V presents the Rwenzori region in numbers, thus completing the yearbooks’ role as an invaluable resource for teaching and research of colleagues and students alike. Moreover, it avails research insights on East African countries and the communities of the Rwenzori. For future issues of the yearbook, especially on the scholarly and research articles the School hosts an annual Yearbook Seminar where the published papers of the yearbook will be presented. This will contribute to research excellency and scholarship in the School. Finally I am proud to announce that the second volume has been made sustainable also through the advertisements of many committed community partners and business companies. Enjoy Reading.

Andrew Mugenyi Dean of School Business and Management Studies

PART I: LIFE AT MMU

NEWS RESEARCH, COMMUNITY AND THE ARCHIVE: A CASE STUDY AT MMU THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH AT MMU AND THE ARCHIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE NEW DEPUTY-VICE-CHANCELLOR HIV/AIDS AWARENESS AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUS OF MMU STUDENTS BUILDING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION PROCESSES – A CASE STUDY FROM MMU BOOK REVIEW News from the Academic Year 2010/20111

MMU celebrates 3rd Graduation Day On 24th September, MMU celebrated the graduation of 332 students during the university’s third graduation ceremony. The guest of honour was Honourable Adolf Mwesige, the Minister of Local Government. The event was attended by a large number of dignitaries including honourable members of parliament, chairpersons LC5, district councillors and members of the Board of Directors of MMU. Special prizes were awarded to top performing students including Mbabazi Stella from the School of Education, Namara Harriet Bigira from the School of Business and Management Studies and Karungi Mary Gorette from the School of Agricultural Science. Mugisa Tonny from the School of Public Health was awarded the Eagle Air Award for Best Student for 2010. Two members of staff, Mr Kagambe Edmond, then Head of the School of Education and Mr Tebandeke Jerry, Systems Administrator, were given special recognition for their outstanding performance in serving MMU with commitment and innovation.

Ten Year Strategic Plan Presented to Community Stakeholders The draft MMU Ten Year Strategic Plan 2011-2021 was given its first public airing at a community stakeholders meeting held on 29th April at Saaka campus. The 56-page document, which took over two years to develop, sets out a roadmap for the growth and development of the university for next decade. The public hearing, which marked the final stage of the drafting process, was attended by over 40 external stakeholders including members of the local government, Governing Council members, NGO representatives and members of the business and religious communities. In her closing remarks, Women MP elect for Kabarole District Victoria Businge-Rusoke expressed her appreciation for being able to participate in the event, which she said enabled the community to feel that they have a genuine stake in

1 The news section was prepared by Zainab Patience Banura. Ms. Banura is a staff member of MMU’s Planning & Development Unit, among others in charge of publishing the MMU’s bi-annual Newsletter. MMU and its future. As an educationalist who has headed education in district for the past 6 years, she noted the contribution of MMU to the training of teachers which she has observed to have a beneficial impact on uplifting standards. The Ten Year Strategic Plan will now be presented to the Governing Council for final approval before being published. Implementation of the plan is expected to begin at the start of the academic year 2011-2012.

Creating a career guidance service to help students achieve their goals beyond graduation Mindful of the challenges of securing employment in Uganda’s job markets, MMU has begun to develop a careers guidance service for students. Although still in the early stages of development, this service will soon provide MMU students with advice and support in areas such as CV preparation, interview techniques, goal-setting and job-hunting skills and help set them on the right path for successful employment following graduation. Betina Mutsuba, a former accounting staff member involved in developing the service, explains how the service has taken shape: Several external partners have given valuable support and advice in the early stages of the development of this service. In September, Andy Nimmo and Ginny Mair, two career guidance specialists from Liverpool Hope University (LHU), visited MMU along with a group of exchange students from the LHU education department. Andy and Ginny delivered a number of career guidance sessions to staff and students including a presentation during Campus Life Day, which were extremely well received. They also spent time with the newly formed careers team at MMU to give advice and training to help MMU develop its own careers programme. The MMU careers team hopes to continue working with LHU in to the future to further strengthen and develop the careers services at MMU. More on career perspectives in the finance/business sector; see last Yearbook 2010, Vol. 1.

HIV - VCT Day held at Saaka Campus On October 26th 2010 the voluntary HIV testing and counselling (VCT) days took place at Saaka campus under the motto ‘Know your status.’ This service was provided by the JCRC who provided the lab technicians and counsellors. It was funded by GIZ, the German Development Cooperation. Ssenungi Charles Bostoney (BSc Horticulture, Year 3) gives a student’s perspective of the day: Around 200 people, most of them, students and staff members let themselves tested for HIV by giving a blood sample. The results were issued in less than 4 hours. Most of the students were happy with their negative result, thus they promised to continue to take HIV-preventive measures, like the use of a condom! Thanks are to MMU and GIZ for organising such life caring programs. More on HIV/AIDS see Part 3 of this Yearbook.

MMU wins EU grant for Natural Resource Management research MMU has been granted funding from the European Union, as part of a 14-partner multinational consortium, to undertake a study of natural resource management in the Albertine Rift area. The purpose of the AFROMAISON project, which is being led by the Belgian environmental consultancy SORESMA, is to develop tools and models of successful integrated natural resource management techniques that have been tested in different African countries. The case study will focus on ways of providing financial and other incentives to local communities in order to engage them in reforestation of denuded areas. Former Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Semana will be heading the multi-disciplinary project team with support from staff members Moses Muhumuza (School of Education) and Clovis Kabaseke (School of Agriculture). The project commenced in March 2011.

New Guild President elected Mr. Masereka Jamaldin was newly elected Guild President on April 30th, 2011. He is a student of the School of Education and in third year. The race involved three candidates but Masereka was the overall winner. Since his election, Mr. Masereka has so far proved to be a hard working man and cooperative. He has been heavily involved in the recruitment of students and settling them at the campuses and hostels.

MMU fundraising for Kigambo Araali Mountains of the Moon University, the only Community University in Uganda proved to carry its name for real, when on May 1st, 2011 the class of Public Relations went an extra mile in servicing the community by carrying out a Fundraising Drive for Moses Kigambo Araali. Our local artist suffered serious health problems for which he required UGX 72 million to travel for South Africa for his operation. The whole event started with a Charity Walk on April 30th April where students walked through all corners of Fort Portal Municipality soliciting funds. Guest of honour was Fort Portal’s newly elected Woman MP, Mrs. Businge Victoria Rusoke. Others participants included the former DVC of MMU Prof. Semana Arsen, and the newly elected Guild President. A number of local entertainers made the day colourful, in particular Linda Lillian PR Lecturer and up- coming gospel singer who spearheaded the fundraising. A total of UGX 4.2m was collected from the charity walk, gate collections, and students’ contributions, sales of items, guest’s contributions and the pledges.

Launch of Alumni Association We are happy to inform you that MMU Alumni Association has been formed and from this time every graduate of MMU will automatically become a member of this association. We appeal to all alumni to register with the Alumni Office, Ms. Zainab Banura Patience at Saaka. Its mission is: To engage alumni and friends of Mountains of the Moon University in the life, promotion and advancement of the University. Our Motto: Together we can build a stronger MMU. The association aims at creating a network of former MMU students in order to establish and endure their friendships of former study times at MMU. Furthermore, it bears the great potential to keep in touch and learn about job opportunities.

Guest lecture by economic historian Prof. Dr. Jan-Luiten van Zanden MMU was honoured to have Prof. Dr. Jan-Luiten van Zanden from the Dutch Utrecht University, one of the leading economic historian, holding a guest-lecture and a workshop on research methodologies at Saaka Campus on September 16th and 17th, 2011 respectively. His lecturer on ‘What drives economic development?’ was attended and highly appreciated by staff members, business students and public visitors. His workshop on research methodologies focused on the application of the Case Study approach, vital for staff and students. Both events presented the beauty of scientific research to learn from international scholars. The Business School aims to organise regular seminars in order to instil a research and seminar culture at MMU. The first conference of such kind will take place in October 2011, when the contributors will kick-off the first annual Yearbook 2011 Seminar, presenting their research findings and engage into scientific critical discussions.

Strategic Rural Microfinance Review Workshop On July 7th, 2011 a review workshop on the relevance of MMU’s Rural Microfinance (RMF) courses was held at Saaka Campus. The occasion reviewed the content and strategic profile of MMU’s MF courses, namely Certificate and Diploma in RMF and Bachelor in Banking and Development Finance. The Department welcomed 21 participants from Uganda’s microfinance industry and MMU staff. Industry’s participants included the manager of a microfinance deposit-taking institution (MDI), managers from national and regional tier-4- MFIs and various representatives from MF support organisations. During the day the MF and Banking Team presented their achievements in the areas of teaching, research and outreach of the academic year 2010/2011. In particular, the Certificate in RMF was profoundly dissected and partly restructured. The workshop attested MMU’s RMF courses to meet the demands of the Ugandan microfinance industry and highlighted strategic opportunities for the future. The workshop will help MMU to position itself as a leading provider of academic teaching and research in MF and Banking in Uganda. More information under the Department’s homepage: www.mmumf.wordpress.com

School of Business and Management Studies now with three departments August 2011 brought major changes in the strategy and structure of MMU’s School of Business and Management Studies. Former Acting Dean of the School Dean Andrew Mugenyi has become the School’s Dean. Mr. Geoffrey Muzigiti has been promoted to the Head of Department of Banking and Microfinance; Christine Kobugabe has become Head of the Department of Business Management and Mark Kaija is the new Head of Public Administration. The Schools’ new Exam Coordinator is Deogratias Karugaba. Ongoing research at the Banking and Microfinance Department In June and July 2011, the Banking and Microfinance Dpt. conducted its two largest rigorous research projects since its existence. The first one aimed at developing novel gender-balanced products for three larger SACCOs, for which exercise senior lecturers as well as a motivated group of banking and microfinance students pursued field research – collecting data with a questionnaire in three different areas of Uganda (Masaka, Lira and Kabwoe), interviewing around 500 individuals. It was funded by GIZ. For the second research project the aim was to uncover the reasons behind a low savings culture among the local tea out-growers, pickers and tea factory workers of Mpanga Tea (Kabarole and Kyenjojo Districts). Again senior researchers and MMU students went to the tea plantations equipped with a specially designed questionnaire in order to learn about their sources of income, regular household and commercial expenditures, as well as their savings practices. The MF Dpt. aims to design innovative products and improve on existing ones in order to increase Mpanga’s SACCO outreach and improve their financial services to the community, in particular assisting their customers with saving. For more information, see Roger Siima’s article in this Yearbook ‘Tea in the value chain,’ the general manager of Mpanga Tea. Interview with Dr. Edmond Kagambe - the new Deputy-Vice Chancellor

Dr. Edmond Kagambe, congratulations on your promotion to Deputy Vice Chancellor at MMU. You were the one who spearheaded MMU’s Strategic Plan 2021. Which are its core elements? The development of Mountains of the Moon University in the coming ten years (2011-2021) will be guided by three pillars, namely: producing graduates who can be competitive in the employment market, being efficient and effective in operations, and ensuring quality services to the community. In achieving this there are 13 strategic issues planned for in the next ten years. These are: quality of teaching, research, service to the community, human resource development, infrastructure development, student recruitment, programme development, sustainability and financial management, quality management, implementation of decisions, corporate image and university culture, marketing and partnerships, and developing use of ICT.

What role does academic research play in this Strategic Plan? Why is it particularly important for a community university such as MMU? We aim to encourage the growth of academic research through developing research collaborations with external institutions, organising public research seminars and conferences, publishing in refereed journals, and seeking external funding for University research initiatives. As a community university, it is important that academic research will further reflective learning, inform policy makers and managers of innovations, and improve teaching practices in any areas relevant to community development in the Rwenzori region, and beyond.

Where do you see MMU in 5 years in terms of academic research? In the next five years the University will aim at institutionalizing a University-wide research agenda which ensures good coordination of research activities, effective and transparent use of research funds and other resources, and leads to positive outputs for service to the community.

Research, Community and the Archive: A Case Study at Mountains of the Moon University

Jonathan Shaw ([email protected])2 The essential purpose of the university is to generate knowledge. This happens in two ways. First, it occurs through the transmission of extant knowledge. Here existing information in books and the faculty of an institution is passed on to students. The second way knowledge is generated at the university is through the production of new knowledge. This happens as members of the academic community devote themselves to adding new valances and evidence to existing scholarly debates—or establishing new ones all together. All universities recognize the value of the first form of knowledge generation, and most devote the vast majority of their energy to enhancing the quality of knowledge transmission in their institution. Too often this happens at the expense of the second form of knowledge generation: producing new ideas and supporting them through evidence-based research. As any student knows, one of the best ways to learn one’s subject is to write a paper on it. Evaluating existing literature on an area of study and synthesizing major arguments in the field produces hard won background knowledge and brings the student into interaction with the giants of their discipline. Then, if the student is committed to their subject, he or she must go out and try to bring new evidence into the argument by conducting an experiment, finding new sources, or locating unutilized evidence relating to their subject. This is research. This process adds depth, richness and accuracy to the knowledge transmission process. The research-minded scholar brings new, often unheard, voices into existing arguments about their subject, adding to the scope of human knowledge on a given subject. Though it flirts with hyperbole to say so, this production of knowledge does not just edify the scholar personally; it can serve to elevate all of humankind. Research is also, of course, the foundation of knowledge transmission—something must be known to be taught. Theoretical issues about the nature of academic evidence in a post-structuralist age and who is being represented by this evidence are ever germane to this process. Producing knowledge about, for example, Fort Portal happens most effectively when conducted by people who know the language, environment and intricacies of the culture. Resident of the region are highly equipped to engage in this kind of research—entering the university with knowledge it would take an outsider many years to acquire. It also happens, that one of the most innovative and promising archival projects in East Africa is occurring at Mountains of the Moon University. Here we have a confluence of potentialities which might position MMU extremely well to impact regional, and even global, scholarship on East Africa in the years to come. This is true because MMU is a relatively new university, still developing its identity and reputation—it is thus ready to define itself in part as a powerhouse of research in Uganda.

2 Jonathan Shaw is a PhD student from the University of Michigan. During his field research in Uganda he conducted some local historical studies when visiting the archives at Mountains of the Moon University and the National Archives in Entebbe. Second, too little has been written on western Ugandan environment, history, politics, culture and language—there is a need for locally produced knowledge about local realities. Finally, MMU has, as mentioned, one of the most exciting archival projects now occurring in east Africa. All these factors indicate that now is the time for MMU to push its students and faculty into knowledge production, in the hopes of developing a strong, lasting research culture at the university. My own experience confirms the feasibility of this possibility. The African Development Studies Centre is full of fascinating documents—treasures of the local past. Even more importantly, it is stocked with talented and committed archivists who know the collection extremely well, and are willing and able to serve the needs of research-minded individuals. The team at the archive was immediately able to locate and produce documents related to my research interests. They kept up with my research progress and suggested further documents I might be interested in. They were instrumental in helping me locate research assistants and organize the data I was producing. While I may be the one who is writing up the results of my research, each of the archivists deserves tremendous credit for any of my results— research at its best is highly collaborative. The reality is that there is tremendous research already going on at Mountains of the Moon University. Scholars in many fields are asking new and challenging questions about their environment, history, economics, politics, communication and technology. This essay is not an admonition but rather a celebration of this reality. I am suggesting that this research must be recognized, organized and publicized; again, knowledge that is produced must then be transmitted. Scholars around the country, continent and world must know about the kind of projects and ideas scholars and students at Mountains of the Moon University are engaged in. A research culture is anything but tangential to the goals and realities of a rapidly growing university like MMU. It might seem like “one more thing” to think about for busy students, faculty and administrators, but it is actually a crucial nexus for all of a universities values and strengths. Developing and cherishing a research culture will only strengthen every element of MMU’s core strengths and goals. The university is about producing and transmitting knowledge, and only when those two elements of its purpose are in balance will any institution truly thrive. Rwenzori Think Tank Journal

The Rwenzori Think Tank Journal aims to publish up-to-date information on issues pertinent to the Rwenzori region, and serves as the most reliable source of reference on regional issues.

The Rwenzori Think Tank Journal is multidisciplinary, broadly focused, and accepting contributions from many fields of research such as agriculture, microfinance, health, education environment, and gender. Although the journal is broad-based, its high priority is to publish articles that are specific to the Rwenzori region. However, articles presenting issues of national concern and at the same time are of benefit to the Rwenzori region are also welcome and shall be published in themed or special issues. The Journal is hosted by Mountains of the Moon University on behalf and is represent the product of the Rwenzori Think Tank project. The Journal has a board of editorial consultants who have a diverse experience in various disciplines. Its first volume is expected in October 2011. Authors can submit articles at any time of the year to the journal editor/manager at [email protected]. The maiden issue of the journal shall be released and launched in October 2011. For more information contact: Moses Muhumuza Editor/ Manager Rwenzori Think Tank Journal Email: [email protected] Phone: +256392813999 www.mmu.ac.ug for author guidelines

HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual behaviour of MMU students

Eunice Bashabire Barungi ([email protected]) and Oliver Schmidt ([email protected])31. Introduction to HIV/AIDS

In 2009, 33.3 million adults and children lived with HIV - 22.5 million in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) – 68% worldwide. In SSA, 1.8 million adults and children were newly infected and 1.3 million suffered an AIDS-related death in 2009 (Table 1). At the end of 2009 more than 16.6 million children (aged 0-17 years) worldwide had lost one or both parents to the epidemic. In 33 countries, HIV incidence has fallen by more than 25% between 2001 and 2009. Of these countries 22 are in SSA. The largest epidemics in SSA - Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe - have either stabilized or are showing signs of decline (UNAIDS, 2010). In Uganda, the HIV prevalence stabilized between 6.5% and 7% since 2001 (UNAIDS, 2010), however it did not decrease. In Uganda, 1.2 million people live with HIV or in other words, 1 in 36 Ugandans (UNICEF, 2011).

Table 1: Regional HIV/AIDS statistics, 2009

Adults and children Adults and Adult prevalence AIDS-related living with HIV children newly rate (15–49 years) deaths among infected with HIV adults and children Sub-Saharan Africa 22.5m 1.8 5.0 1.3 Total World 33.3m 2.6 0.8 1.8

Source: UNAIDS (2010)

“Delay sexes, know your rights, avoid early pregnancy/marriage, stay in school, in order to prevent HIV and other sexual transmitted diseases” goes the constant message in schools reminding young people about their responsibility to stay healthy. More to that, in 2002, President Museveni directed that sex education be taught even in primary schools and the government produced a curriculum on sex education for primary and secondary school teachers. However, why has the HIV-prevalence rate not yet decreased but remained stable in the past decade? Have the messages not been well packaged to communicate effectively to the young generation? Regardless of the numerous efforts of the ABC campaign (Abstain, Be faithful and Condomize), other education programs and the distribution of information in secondary and primary schools the prevalence rate among the Ugandan youth (15-24 years) lies at 3.6% (UNICEF, 2011).

3 Ms. Bashabire is the Health Officer - Mountains of the Moon University and a lecturer in MMU School of Public Health. Mr. Oliver Schmidt is a staff member of MMU School of Business and Management Studies. Accordingly, adolescence is a critical stage in a person’s life. This is the phase from childhood to adulthood, when major decisions are made about roles in life. Wrong decisions during adolescence will produce adults with poor reproductive health, such as unwanted teenage pregnancy (Box 1), or with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV/AIDS. During adolescence, guidance is very crucial for a sound transformation from child to adult, based on informed choices about their future. As this group of young people encounters challenges of their early sexual life they should be guided by both personal and community roles and responsibilities of sexual behavior/awareness, corporal hygiene and precaution/testing. It is therefore crucial for this cohort of young people to be regularly informed and tested, as it is done at MMU. Thus, this paper presents the findings of 3 surveys on HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual behaviour among MMU students. In addition, two case studies – one general and one from Kenya aim at shedding light on teen pregnancy and HIV (Box 1) as well as educational strategies to reduce teenage pregnancy and subsequently HIV/AIDS (Box 2).

Box 1: Teenage Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS The HIV epidemic is ultimately intertwined with sexual and reproductive health. Mortality data revealed that HIV-related causes contributed to at least 20% of maternal deaths. Hence, countries with high HIV prevalence rates among young women are challenged by high teenage pregnancy rates, and the consequences of unintended pregnancies in terms of unsafe abortion (UNAIDS, 2010). According to the WHO, each year about 16 million women with age of 15–19 around the world give birth, with most living in sub-Saharan Africa. The rate of teen pregnancy highest in the world is found in Ivory Coast, Congo and Zambia, where it’s above 10%. Hence, teen pregnancy is a major public health concern due to the significant impact on the health of the mother, child, and their community. Studies carried out in Kenya by Were (2007), indicate that teenage pregnancy represents both a reproductive health issue and a social economic problem because it leads to increased school drop-outs and therefore a higher dependency on other people. Young women are at risk for sexually transmitted HIV for several reasons which include their biological vulnerability, potential lack of responsibility from their partners, gender inequality in their relationships and likelihood to have sex with older men, the so called “sugar daddies”, who comparably have higher infection rate. This explains why women globally from ages of 15 to 19 are 5 times more likely to be infected than young men in the same cohort. Studies conducted in Fort Portal Municipality by UDHS (2006), indicate that one third of girls aged 15-17 years have had sexual encounters, out of which 35% became pregnant. 2. Findings

This section presents the findings from 3 non-representative, quasi-random surveys of MMU students: One survey of 120 students was taken on MMU’s first voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) day in Oct. 2010. The second survey of 91 1st year-bachelor students was taken in a class of the school of business and management studies, one week after the VCT-day. The third survey of 18 2nd-year-bachelor students was taken in a class of the school of business and management studies in May 2011. However, the weakness of the data is that it is biased towards respondents who are relatively conscious of the issues of HIV/AIDS and sexual promiscuity; whereas those who are not are less likely to participate in the VCT-day or to fill the questionnaire in class. Moreover, the third sample is unsatisfying small, thus its figures are of limited explanatory power. However, we feel that the comparison of the 3 survey brings out a number of interesting insights.

Figure 1: HIV-testing among MMU students

a) 1st-year-students

b) 2nd-year-students

HIV/AIDS-awareness Across both samples, MMU-students indicate high awareness about HIV/AIDS. All 2nd-year students and more than 4 out 5 of the 1st-year-students had ever tested for HIV/AIDS. 1 in 6, 2nd-year students and more than half of the 1st-year students took the opportunity to take part at VCT-days organised by MMU in October 2010 and March 2011 respectively.4 Furthermore, students from the VCT sample pointed out that they received their HIV awareness from MMU, namely through counseling, campus day life and its beneficial environment.

Across both samples, about 3 out of 4 students received information about HIV/AIDS from relatives/friends and from the radio/media. Remarkably, the proportion indicating ‘MMU’ as their source of HIV/AIDS-information is almost twice as high among 1st-year students compared to 2nd-year students (9.1% as compared to 5%). Only one of these students reported to be tested for the first time in his life at MMU’s VCT-day. However, this response indicates that the VCT-days as well as the campus-life-days (which were introduced in the academic year 2010/2011) have a positive effect on students’ self-reflection and health behaviour. This interpretation is supported by an analysis of the reasons given for taking an HIV-test. Among

4 Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) at MMU was funded by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). 1st-years, 13.2% quote concerns about their health, affirming their safeguards against an HIV- infection, and plans for the future and ‘a good life’. Among 2nd-years, only one respondent gives such reasons. The overwhelming majority of both groups gives ‘know my status’ as their reason for HIV- testing; hence affirming that this country-wide message of HIV/AIDS-awareness and prevention campaigning has fallen on fertile ground. Among 2nd-years, blood donation and knowing the blood group are sometimes quoted. Other reasons include accessing treatment early if required, fitting in with friends and marriage. Partner and/or spouse is also an important source of HIV/AIDS-information, noted by 10% to 15% of students (the figure is slightly higher among 2nd years). Twelve percent of 1st-year students reported that they had never tested. In the 2nd-year-sample, all had tested before; but note that it is a very small sample. It is not representative but suffers a self-selection bias given that respondents and attendees are usually those who reflect critically about issues of HIV/AIDS and therefore have a more precautious and responsible sexual behaviour. From the Voluntary and testing sample, 70 out of 120 students tested for the first time ever at the VCT days, while 50 had tested before. Sexual behaviour Most students had their first sexual encounter after the age of 15. Among 1st year respondents, a larger proportion had their 1st sexual encounter between 15 and 19 years than among 2nd year respondents. Striking is the difference for the group that had no sexual encounter at all; it is over one third (or 10.5 %-points) higher for the 1st year respondents than for the 2nd year respondents (Figure 2). This observation is partly explained by the age difference; 2nd year respondents are on average 24 years old, 1st year respondents 21.4 years of age. Moreover, the VCT sample revealed that 20 students had their first sexual contact before the age of 14; 53 students with 15-16; 24 students 17-19 years and 21 students reported to have had their first sexual encounter with 20-24 years. Noticeable, the age of first sexual contact is almost similar to the findings of a study conducted among adolescents in Fort Portal Municipality from 2009.

Figure 2: First sexual contact of 1st and 2nd year students

In the 1st-year student sample, less than half of the respondents are sexually active, measured by their sexual contact within the last 12 months. Many prefer to postpone sexual activity for reasons of faith, prudence or life plans. Among the sexually active students, about 70% had only one sexual partner in the past 12 months. Thirteen percent had more than 2 sexual partners. 20% of the 2nd-year respondents that never had sexual contact before did not offer information about their sexual activity. Out of the remaining 80%, 73.3 %-points are sexually active and 6.7% are sexually inactive. Out of those sexually active, over one third had 1 and more than 2 sexual partners respectively, and below a third had 2 sexual partners in the past 12 months (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Sexual activity (last 12 months) of 1st and 2nd year students

Thus, the two samples indicate that there is a significant difference in sexual activity of 1st and 2nd year students. The older group is more sexually active and more often changes the sexual partner. However, the difference is partly due to the small size of the 2nd-year-sample, which overstates the percentages. Reserving for that statistical effect, there appears to be an increase in sexual activity and moreover promiscuity along MMU-students’ course of study. Whereas a higher proportion (but smaller absolute number) of 2nd-year students indicates to have changed sexual partners in the last 12 months, high risk behavior is found among the 1st- year students: 2 of them are sexually active without having ever tested; one with changing sexual partners. Another sexually active student feels that testing is a waste of time because he or she always insists on condom use. It must be noted that this is a mistaken point of view. Condom use is not a 100%-protection and thus knowing the status from testing is the necessary choice of the responsible person. The VCT sample had a mixture of respondents from all the three years and the picture is not very different from what has been reported above. The majority of the youth had multiple sexual partners within the past 12 months. It is surprising to see more than 8 students of the 20 students who had sexual encounters before 14 years of age had 2 sexual partners in the last 12 months before the survey. 40% of students who had their first sexual encounters before 15-16 had 1 sexual partner in the past 12 months, whereas 64% of the students of age17-19 had more than 2 sexual partners in the last 12 months before the survey. In sum, a large majority of respondents subscribes to moderate, prudent sexual behavior. However, there are a number of misconceptions and an irresponsible minority; which makes moderation and prudence the paramount strategy. Recall also that the respondents of these surveys are likely to be biased, i. e. those with considerate, moderate and prudent sexual priorities are over-represented. If so, the irresponsible minority might be larger than reflected here; which could have devastating effects particularly on the 2nd-year-student population. Health care Preventive health care and personal hygiene seem to be somewhat elusive among MMU students. About half of 1st-year students indicates to ‘regularly eat fresh food’, ‘avoid alcohol/cigarettes’ and to undertake ‘regular physical exercise’. According figures for 2nd- year-students are much lower, between 1 third and 1 quarter of respondents. About 1 third of both 1st- and 2nd-year-students subscribes to ‘regular bathing and brushing teeth’. The 2nd-year-student sample seems to hint at a positive relationship between personal hygiene and sexual activity (both proportion of ‘bathing/brushing teeth’ and proportion of ‘more than one sexual partner’ in the last 12 months are higher than for 1st-year-students). This impression is borne out by a closer analysis of the (larger) 1st-year-sample. Negative personal hygiene and preventive health care are significantly wider spread among those students that are not sexually active. Apparently, sexual activity goes with better care for one’s natural equipment. However, still more than half of the sexually active do not bath or teeth brush regularly. This is almost similar with the VCT sample that had a cross-section of respondents from all the 3 years. It transpires a negative attitude towards personal hygiene especially to students who were sexually inactive 30 out of 120 respondents, they do not regularly attend to their bodies through bathing, tooth brushing and the like, but 90 out of the 120 students had a positive e attitude towards personal hygiene indicating a correlation between hygiene and sexual activity. This might be related to culturally determined attitudes people put on pre- marital sex.

3. Concluding remarks

Although not representative, the survey of three samples of MMU-students – those who voluntarily tested in October 2010, and a randomly chosen class of 1st and 2nd year students respectively – gives interesting and first-time insights into heath care and sexual awareness and behaviors. The findings indicate that overall awareness about HIV/AIDS and sexuality is high, given that students’ sexual activity is mostly prudent and moderate. However, there is a relevant proportion of students who are poorly informed and who behave carelessly, a few even recklessly. Their number is under-estimated in these surveys, and they put themselves, their peers and ultimately MMU at danger.

MMU’s measures in order to increase sexual awareness and promote low-risk behaviours are thus well placed. These measures include voluntary testing and counseling at the university clinic, VCT-days, and campus life days. Hence, the university is well advised to offer these steadily and reliably.

Box 2: Education and HIV/AIDS prevention – evidence from Western Kenya Duflo, Dupas and Kremer (2006) report results from a randomized evaluation comparing three school-based HIV/AIDS interventions in Western Kenya: (1) training teachers in the Kenyan Government's HIV/AIDS-education curriculum; (2) informing schoolgirls the fact that older men, the so called “sugar daddies”, are more likely to be infected with HIV than younger ones; and (3) reducing the cost of education by giving out school-uniforms for free. Their effectiveness was measured by the number of childbearing, associated with unprotected sex.

For this study schoolgirls aged 12 to 14 years, who had never been pregnant, were randomly chosen. After one, three and five years average pregnancy rates among them were 5%, 14 % and 30% respectively. Teen pregnancies are not only undesirable but measure unprotected sex and therefore are a proxy for risky sexual behavior and thus a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Hence childbearing served as a good indicator for measuring the effectiveness of the school-based interventions. First, after one, three, five years, pregnancy rates among girls in schools where teachers had been trained in sex-education were the same than in schools where they were not. Second, the “sugar daddies program” not only promoted protected sex with boys the girls’ own age but reduced pregnancy to 3.7% in comparison to 5.5% in schools that had not received the program. Third, in schools where girls were offered free school uniforms, hence making it less costly for them to stay in school teenage pregnancies fell from 14% to 11% after 1 year. In sum, uniforms reduced fertility by giving girls the ability to stay in school and thus a reason not to become pregnant. However, the authors found that in schools that had both sex-education and the uniform program in place, the sex-education program which basically discouraged extramarital sex and promoted marriage, led the girls on finding a husband (who is likely to be a sugar daddy), off-setting the effect of the free uniform.

Literature

Duflo, E.; P. Dupas; M. Kremer and S. Sinei (2006): „Education and HIV/AIDS Prevention: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Western Kenya,” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4024, Washington D.C. Uganda Districts Information Handbook 2005-2006, Fountain Publishers, Kampala. Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (2006), Kampala, pp. 121-122; 277-278. UNAIDS (2010): Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2010, Geneva. UNICEF (2011), Uganda Statistics, Retrieved August 20, 2011 from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/uganda_statistics.html#76, accessed August 20th 2011 Were, M. (2007): “Determinants of Teenage Pregnancies: The Case of Busia District in Kenya”, Economics & Human Biology, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 322-339. World Health Organization (2010): Adolescent pregnancy: the facts, Geneva, Retrieved July 10, 2011 from: http://www.who.int/making_pregnancy_safer/topics/adolescent_pregnancy/en/index.ht ml Building effective communication processes – a case study from Mountains of the Moon University

Muhenda Charles ([email protected])

1. Towards a definition of communication

According to Davis (2005), “communication is the process by which people construct representations of meaning such that other people can interpret those representations.” The communication process consists of a message being sent and received. The message may be verbal or non-verbal. Effective communication involves a message being sent and received exactly as intended (see Kabito 2011, in Part III of this volume). If the recipient does not understand the meaning of the information conveyed to him, communication has not taken place. An effective communication process is described below in figure one and involves seven key elements. Figure 1: Effective communication process

Source: Learnmanagement2.com

The communication process (Figure 1) is made up of four key components. Those components include encoding, medium of transmission, decoding, and feedback. There are also two other factors in the process, and those two factors are present in the form of the sender and the receiver. The communication process begins with the sender and ends with the receiver. Communicating effectively can either make or break your success. It is through the communication process that the sharing of a common meaning between the sender and the receiver takes place. Individuals that follow the communication process will have the opportunity to become more productive in every aspect of their profession because effective communication leads to understanding. Many of the problems that occur in an organisation are either the direct result of people failing to communicate, which leads to confusion and can cause good plans to fail (Meliones et al, 2008). Therefore there is a requirement to streamline communication process in organisations. An effective communication process is the life blood of any organisation, it can take various forms but all forms involve the transfer of information from one party to the other. “Organisations emerge through communication, are maintained through communication and change through communication” (Charles, 1998). Failure to effectively communicate leads an organisation to operate at sub-optimal level. In any successful organisation, the relationship between the management and its employees is mutual respect. There is need to build team spirit among employees, this can be done through effective communication and this brings about effective operation in form of improved production or quality services, employee motivation, customer satisfaction and business reputation. Effective communication complements managerial effectiveness in organisations and is also a means of achieving organisational objectives. In many young and vibrant organisations like MMU, internal communication typically requires some time, transparent rules and guidance in order live up to its potential regarding an effective communication flow. Because effective employee communication in the workplace doesn’t just happen naturally, it takes practice and a transparent framework of regulations in order to improve internal communication (Amanda, 2010).

2. Findings on meetings and committees as channels of communication in MMU

A so called ‘meeting’ is a formal group activity common in any organisation (Sailesh, 2003). A meeting is practically an organised dialogue in which members actively participate and exchange ideas and views with in order to create a framework for decision-making. Sailesh (2003) argues that meetings should be orderly, the objective should be clearly stated and proceedings should be managed in an appropriate manner guided by certain rules otherwise participants will lose focus. Findings of a study conducted at MMU indicate that general meetings and committee meetings bear tremendous potential and represent vital communication channels for a university if well conducted and organised. In addition, Sailesh (2003) argues that meetings are one of the major channels of communication in a university. The study revealed room for improvement regarding the attendance rate of official meetings and confirmation of attendance. Is there a communication gap, which can be identified? Hence the study revealed shortcomings on both sides of the communication process - the sender (the person that organises a meeting) and the receiver (the person to attend a meeting). There have been misconceptions for example on the sender side, who called for meetings in a short period of time (1-2 days), which did not leave enough time for the participants to prepare sufficiently, did not receive the message in time and were left disillusioned by the lack of implementation of former meeting’s resolutions. On the other hand, the receiver also needs to ensure that to receive such messages in time, for example through daily checking of his/her email account and subsequently confirming attendance or apologising for not attending. In addition the receiver needs to demonstrate rigorous self-motivation to engage in meetings, viewing the opportunities rather than looking at it as a waste of time. In sum, a transparent and regular schedule of meetings with a clear agenda and focus could contribute to regular attendance and higher motivation of participants. Furthermore, the communication of decisions of previous meetings that have been implemented can act as a strong motivation that meetings are means to implement positive changes. Improving the conduct of general meetings at MMU

A number of measures came up on how meetings can be improved in order to make them more effective, these included;  Meetings and general assemblies need to be more regular, e.g. monthly staff meetings in order to inform staff on new developments in the university  Agendas for meetings and issues to be discussed should be sent to all members at least two days before the meeting  There should be professional conduct of meetings such as meetings starting on time, members to confirm their attendance or sending apologies in advance in case of a serious problem and agendas should be strictly followed.  Information calling meetings should be sent in time at least a week earlier and be followed-up via a reminder by phone calls; text messages or e-mail a day before. Committees at MMU A committee is a group of people chosen or appointed to perform a specified service or function within an organisation. On committees, findings highlighted that MMU has fifteen committees in place, which is a good indicator that many communication instruments are already in place. These included; ICT support committee, quality assurance committee, procurement committee, library committee, post graduate advisory committee, students’ disciplinary committee, university welfare committee, admission committee, curriculum development and review committee in addition to the major ones like; academic committee, executive committee, finance committee, research and publication committee, appointments committee, staff development committee, development planning committee, disciplinary committee and honorary degree committee. Subsequently, committees were seen as a major channel of communication in the university, as committees are made up of representatives from the interdisciplinary departments. However committees also revealed some minor weaknesses, in particular regarding attendance and policy enforcement. Furthermore, it was noted that there are three academic staff on over nine committees and other four on over five committees; this creates immense difficulties for them to perform excellent on all occasions. This confirms the finding of information overload as a root cause of failure of members especially administrators to process information, thus making communication ineffective. Secondly, scheduling committee meetings without considering teaching time of academic staff makes them unable to attend meetings. Thirdly, a transparent and regular schedule of meetings with a clear agenda and focus could contribute to more effective (decisions) and efficient (decisions in time) meetings, as well as a higher motivation of participants. Improving the functioning of committees at MMU

The harmonisation committee suggested various measures in order to improve the functioning of MMU committees:  Reduce the number of committees that a member is supposed to sit, so that he/she has the time to really commit to the committee  Transparent member responsibilities need to be allocated  There should be central register of committee activities in the Vice-Chancellors office and regular review of the performance of committees  Reports made by the committees should be responded in time and their suggestions should be respected. However other channels of communication are used and need to be seriously embraced in order to make them function, such as the spreading messages via e-mail which requires a strong culture of checking emails daily. Additionally phone calls and text messages act as direct channels of communication. However, this channel requires that, members’ phone numbers are displayed in all department offices and selected notice boards.

3. Conclusion

Communication creates relationships and is key for the functioning of a large organisation. Every message has its objective. The sender intends whether consciously or unconsciously (see Kabito 2011) to accomplish something by communicating. In organisational contexts, messages typically have a definite objective: to motivate, to inform, to teach, to persuade, to entertain, or to inspire. This definite purpose is, in fact, one of the principal differences between casual conversation and managerial communication. Effective communication in an organisation centres on well-defined objectives that support the organisation's goals and mission. Thus, it is obvious that the effectiveness of communication highly depends on its channel. Finally, the high level of personal contact, effective verbal and nonverbal communication, represents opportunities to actively participate in decision-making in a vibrant community university, like MMU.

Literature

Amanda, M. (2010): “Effective organizational communication,” Retrieved on 18 August, 2011 from: http://amandamakenziebraedynsvecz.suite101.com/effective-organizational- communication-a198603 Charles C. (1998): Strategic Organization Communication, 4th Edition, Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Davis, F. (2005): “Medium as communication process primitive,” Oswogo State University, New York. Kabito, (2011):

Learnmanagement2 (2011), Retrieved August 15, 2011 from: http://www.learnmanagement2.com/ Meliones, A., A. Theodora and E. Prontonotarios (2008): Remote Operations on Post Production Applications, HPCN Europe. Sailesh. S, (2003): Management of public relations and communication, Prentice- Hall, India. Book Review Emilly Asiimwe ([email protected])5

I read the book ‘Micro credit and sustainability of micro-enterprises in Uganda - the Impact of micro-credit on sustainability of small and micro enterprises in Uganda, Kabarole district’, by Moses Mpamizo (2011, 74 pages), which was interesting because;  It discusses how micro credit programs or microfinance institutions (MFIs) reach poor people who may not be able to borrow from banks. Small loans are offered to poor people for self-employment projects to generate income.  It discusses that microfinance services offered help low income people to reduce risks and improve management for sustainability of the business. The reason is that working capital is the most constraint factor by micro-enterprises, both existing and starting up. Borrowing from MFIs helps them to overcome that constraint.  It explains sustainability. Sustainability is the ability of a program to meet all its costs (financial costs like interests due on bank loans, and operating costs such as staff salaries, equipment, supplies). Sustainability is further defined as the ability of a program or project to continuously carry out its activities and service in pursuit of its objectives. Impact is when a micro-entrepreneur makes more profit just because of the micro-credit and not for any other reason, e. g. because she had a better stall in the market. In MMU’s course on rural microfinance I learned that recent studies have used better methods to tackle impact. Banerjee and Duflo (2011) have used such methods to study some of the same points that Mr. Mpamizo’s book explores. Banerjee and Duflo (2011:270) conclude that ‘microcredit […] made small loans at more affordable rates available to millions of poor people.’ Mr. Mpamizo’s book is the publication of his master’s thesis which was accepted by Uganda Martyrs University. I also liked the book because it has really prepared my mind for research activities in the next years of my study, as I move from Certificate to Diploma. Literature Banerjee, A. V. and E. Duflo (2011): Poor Economics – A radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty, New York. Mpamizo, M. (2011): Micro credit and sustainability of micro-enterprises in Uganda, Saarbrücken.

5 Emilly Asiimwe, graduate of MMU’s pioneer class of Certificate in Rural Microfinance (CRMF) and now student of Diploma in Rural Microfinance (DRMF), works in the finance and admin department at RICNET, Fort Portal.