CONFIDENT: Ayato during an interview at the British Council offices in Kampala

By Stephen Ssenkaaba

HER dream has always been to be a leader. But Mackenzie Ayato had no idea how to develop her leadership skills. After her Primary Leaving Exams in East Kololo Primary School, Ayato spent a year before joining secondary school because her mother could not pay her school fees. She later on went to Kololo SSS.

Through her sporting talent, she joined the British Council’s Dreams and Teams programme when it was introduced in Kololo SSS in 2002. The Dreams and Teams programme is an international initiative aimed at developing young people’s leadership skills through sport and cross cultural interactions.

Ayato, together with other students, underwent training in sports, leadership and organisational skills. After the training, they went back to their schools to share their skills with the youth in their schools and communities.

Just one term after joining the programme, she became assistant sports captain at Kololo Senior Secondary School. She later became class monitor and participated in organising school events.

Today, she is class counsellor and class monitor. She also is the captain of the school cricket and hockey teams as well as Wananci Club, a local hockey club.

Since joining the programme, the 17 year old has been groomed into the kind of leader she has always wanted to be.
“Dreams and Teams project enabled me to improve my leadership skills. My confidence has greatly improved; I’m not afraid to express myself and I’m in a good position to take up any leadership challenges,” Ayato says.

Ayato’s confidence comes right through her steady gaze and easy smile. She talks with firmness, looks you straight in the eye and her words are simple and clear.

Due to her outstanding performance, Ayato represented Uganda at an international dreams and teams conference in Japan. At the conference that took place in May, young people from allover the world met to share their experiences.

Ayato talked about sports in Uganda and the problems faced by women in the male dominated field. She was subsequently chosen to present a paper on how women’s participation in sports can change society.

“The conference opened my eyes to many new things. We learnt a lot about organisational skills, sports, hygiene and team work,” she says.

Ayato’s experiences have begun to bear fruit. Today, she is involved in promoting sports activities in her school and community. She is part of the women’s cricket team. She also is involved in promoting the game at primary school level through training of pupils in schools such as East Kololo Primary School.

Her advice to fellow students is: “Always be vigilant and actively pursue your dreams.”

Suzan Luswata, the British Council programme officer commends Ayato for her exceptional performance.
“She is a good example of what dreams and teams aims to achieve: To empower young people and turn them into future leaders,” she says.

For a young girl, raised by a single mother, in a family of seven, Ayato looks at herself as very lucky to have achieved so much.

Dreams and Teams programme has been running in Uganda for the last two years. It is part of Dreams and Teams Africa, a programme that will partner 200 schools across the continent with schools in the UK. It has so far groomed over 30 young leaders (girls in secondary schools) and benefited thousands of youth and communities through its various activities.