Story by Osuta Yusuf.
Maracha District.
Maracha District officials, politicians and National Patriotism Club Uganda (NPCU) officials have on Saturday 5-October-2024 conducted the first of its kind, joint pass out of young people selected and vetted to undergo patriotism training from all the Secondary Schools in Maracha District.
The joint pass out of the students on Saturday 5-October-2024 was done after they went through one week rigorous training conducted by Patriotism Club and Uganda Police Force.
District Police Commander for Maracha District, SP Joshua Kananura who spearheaded the training acknowledged there were some few weaknesses with the trainees but in days to come, they will be perfect.
Headteacher for Maracha Domestic Secondary School, Mr Amagule Tom challenged the students, government officials and the general public to abide by the norms and values of patriotism in order for us to achieve the Uganda we want.
Based on the patriotism training around Uganda which in most cases is offered mainly using Kiswahili language henceforth greatly affecting those who don’t know the language, the Oleba Seed Secondary School headteacher Mr Oka Romano who also doubles as the Chairperson for ASU appealed to the government to recruit Kiswahili language teachers so that most pupils and learners who are selected for the patriotism program do not lug behind because of language barrier.
With the recent history of strikes and inter-fightings amongst students of Secondary Schools in Maracha District and WestNile region as Well, the Coordinator for Maracha District Patriotism Club Mr Ecega Joseph is optimistic that, the pass out of some of these students is a one step towards achieving peace, love and unity amongst the students and schools.
Maracha District Deputy RDC Koliba Monica Kotevu appealed for wider mobilization and engagement of the students and stakeholders in next year’s training segment so that there can be an Answer and Question session on core values of patriotism.
Guest of Honor at the pass out ceremony, Hajji Ramathan Wulugembe who doubles as the RDC for Maracha District cautioned some of the headteachers in the district for frustrating the patriotism program by misinterpreting it as a campaign gimmick by the ruling NRM government.
While urging opposition members and supporters to abandon politics of hatred and disunity, the guest of honor rallied them to benefit from government programs.
National Patriotism Club Uganda (NPCU) whose core values are to encompass not only understanding of Uganda’s history, culture, and values but also practical skills development and community engagement, is an entity created in 2009 by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni by the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.
