First Lady opens the first student leaders' summit

Apr 13, 2019

The inaugural summit attracted a total of 2,364 students from 52 schools from the Buganda region.

Mrs. Museveni addressing the students. PHOTOS: Kennedy Oryema
 
The First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports, Mrs. Janet Museveni on Saturday opened the first summit for secondary schools student leaders in the country.
 
The inaugural summit attracted a total of 2,364 students from 52 schools from the Buganda region.
 
The students were in the company of their teachers, deputy head teachers and head teachers to a two-day summit which was intended to impart life skills to children.
 
Mr. Museveni said it is not enough for one to be brilliant at Mathematics, Physics or history if they are not responsible enough to lead a healthy, moral and ethical life.
 
She added that the youth will not be an asset to the country and community if they end up contracting avoidable diseases or getting pregnant while in school through a reckless lifestyle.
 

 Some of the students at the Kololo grounds

 "Your country needs you alive, healthy, disciplined and responsible," she said.
 
However, she noted that the government is aware of the challenges faced by young people in the country, especially adolescents. 
 
In the first place, she said, adolescence is always a very delicate stage in any person's life and that it is a stage when the youth undergo radical physiological, psychological and emotional changes as they transit from childhood to adulthood.
 
"You experience immense peer pressure, temptations and all kinds of social influences. If not managed well, these can derail your life and destroy your dreams and entire future," she said.
 

 Mrs. Museveni takes a group photo with the teachers that attended the summit 

She added that the summit will be an annual event and that all students across the country will benefit from it every year.
 
Beat Bisangwa, the Executive Director of OAFLA said they chose student leaders first because they already have a platform within their respective school to speak to fellow students.
 
"We hired facilitators, trainers, and councilors to speak to these children on a number of issues including leadership, sexuality, and other social activities. We have trusted them to pass the message to other students," she said.
 

 Students listening to speeches

Daniel Kikuyu, a student at St. Mary's College Kisubi in Wakiso District who spoke on behalf of students said, "The message is very important, we have been equipped with skills on abuses, relationships, and leadership among others. We promise to carry it on to fellow students out there," he said.

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