The LRA insurgency in Northern even though long gone, left a developmental gap that still lingers and signs of it remain especially in the low levels of Education amongst the natives. The Postgraduate programme implemented by Windle Trust UK and Windle International Uganda is a programme tailored to alleviate some of these effects in a bid to promote development within the region. Started in 2009 targeting the Northern/Eastern/Karamoja regions of Uganda that was affected by LRA insurgency and refugees, the Programme has supported over 100 Students to pursue Masters’ degree programmes in the UK.
Dr. Jacob Murachi Eric is one of the only two lecturers at Makerere University college ofHealth Science’s Department ofRadiology and Radiotherapy with his level of education, a milestone he credits to the Postgraduate Program Scholarship he got from Windle Trust UK in 2015.
Born from Gulu, Jacob has always
been drawn to matters of health
and since his days in primary and
secondary school he knew he would pursue a career in Medicine. And after pursuing his diploma, he went onto attain a Bachelor’s degree but did not settle, as his eyes remain set on a doctorate. It is due to this zeal and hunger for knowledge that he was always on the lookout for scholarship opportunities to pursue further studies in his career. As good fortune could have it, he was awarded a scholarship to go and pursue a Master of Science in Medical Imaging International at the University of Bradford, UK that he completed in 2016.
Upon completion of his studies Jacob returned to Uganda and went back to his former place of work, Mulago National Referral Hospital, where he was welcomed by the hospital Director and immediately reassigned to his former Department of Radiology. He worked within the department for two years as a Radiologist and was promoted to the role of Lecturer in the department of Radiology at Makerere University College of Health Sciences where he is to date. In his current role, Jacob is very passionate about the impact he is having on the learners and country at large. Since he joined, the college has graduated one lot of Radiologists that he is confident are highly trained given his expertise, and he hopes to continue churning out many more graduates in the field of Imaging which is really lacking in the country.
In his community, in Achwa Village-Gulu District, Jacob is a mentor to many young boys who look up to him. He does not take this lightly and believes that working with these children from a young age will keep them focused and eventually successful. In his words, “Without the scholarship, I do not think I would haveachieved what I have right now and the country would not be benefitting from the services I am able to offer. I am forever grateful to Windle Trust UK and Windle international Uganda for this.” Jacob looks forward to pursuing his doctorate in the same filed so that he can add even more value to his motherland, Uganda.
