bosco organisation profile

P.O. Box 200, Gulu, Northern UgandaEast Africawww.boscouganda.com

Organisation Profile

General Information

BOSCO Uganda is located at the Catechist Training Centre, Bardege Division, Gulu District.

BOSCO Uganda was established in 2006 under the umbrella of Gulu Archdiocese in Northern Uganda, with a mission to

“provide innovative Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions using a collaborative and Internet approach to foster socio-economic development and peace building in rural communities in Northern Uganda”.

BOSCO Uganda is a registered NGO under the trusteeship of the Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu in Northern Uganda (B9410051328-N)

Organisational Structure

P.O. Box 200, Gulu, Northern Uganda, East Africa Phone: +256 (0) 77 2613517E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.boscouganda.com


The project management

Appointed by the Bishops on recommendation of Board of Directors: Informs Board of all events and affairs of BOSCO, Takes minutes of Board Meetings, Chairs all meetings of administration staff, Assists Financial Administrator in preparing of budget and financial reports, and Oversees day-to-day running activities.

The Board of Management

Board of Directors – BOSCO Uganda: Oversee direction and overlook organization, Inform the Archbishop through it chain on key issues, Appointed by Archbishop (Chair/Assistant), Appraise the Executive Director, Coordinators, Project Administrators

Advisory Board/Consultant Partners - BOSCO USA: Responsible for Capacity building, Vetting of technology, Public Relations, Fundraising in US

BOSCO Uganda’s Track Record

Though not limited to, the following are some of BOSCO Uganda’s accomplishments:-

a) Installation of Rural Computer/Internet: -

BOSCO has got 25 sites including schools, community and institutional sites:-

3 Community sites: - Pagak Youth Center, Pabo Youth Desk, Coope Community Site

10 School sites: - Lacor Primary School; St Mary's College Lacor; National Teachers College (NTC) Unyama; Pabo

Comprehensive Secondary School Site; Sacred Heart Minor Seminary-Lacor; and Pabo Secondary School, Pabo Primary

School, Pagak Primary School, Ocer Campion Jesuit College, Pope John Paul Laliya Secondary School.

11 Institutional sites: Catechist Training Center Guest House; Radio Maria Site and Gulu Tower site-Gulu; Agustino House-

Lacor Hospital; Women and Children First Organization (WACFO) CBO office; Caritas NGO office; Archbishop's

Office/Residence; Pabo Sacred Heart Sisters Residence; Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) Office – Ganal; Justice and

Peace Commission (JPC) office – Gulu; Holy Rosary Parish Convent Gulu Nursery School; and St Jude Orphanage (Boarding

School)-Gulu

All components of the network are designed for low-power consumption, using 12 V Direct Current (DC) powered from a

battery system that is either charged from the power grid where possible, or by solar panels. The equipment were tested under

extreme environmental conditions of the area, including extraordinary heavy rain as well as dry and dusty heat. The use of low

power components cuts the prices of the otherwise rather expensive solar equipment.

b) Trainings and development of content: - After over two years of improving the system and conducting trainings for in and out of

school beneficiaries, the system has been effective in helping the rural population in their social and economical development.

For instance rural communities have daily access to newspapers through internet; and media such as pictures, audios and

videos are enjoying the highest popularity among the rural population. The web gallery that is running on BOSCO internal

network already contains over 120 pictures, the majority (75%) of which are uploaded by the communities themselves. Other

facilities provided by the BOSCO web include: Forums, Wikispaces, and other content like a web2.0 training manual.P.O. Box 200, Gulu, Northern Uganda, East Africa Phone: +256 (0) 77 2613517

E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.boscouganda.com


Aware that introducing such advanced technology in rural areas is an ongoing challenge and cannot be done without frequent

adjustments to the needs of the communities, BOSCO has been constantly evaluating the impact of the pilot phase through regular

visits to the target areas as well as holding group discussions and interviews with the beneficiaries. The lessons learnt serve as a

basis for a culturally sensitive and successful second deployment.

Our successful beginning has also been recognized locally and internationally:

Breaking Borders Award: Breaking Borders Award Ceremony at Santiago, Chile -- May 6-7 2010: BOSCO Uganda won a

prestigious BREAKING BORDERS AWARD http://www.breakingborders.de/ in recognition of its excellent work in technology

and the promotion of free on-line expression. The Breaking Boarders Award was a prize created by Google and Global Voices

and supported by Thomson Reuters. The prestigious award, valued at $10,000, recognized BOSCO's excellent work in the

promotion of on-line free expression in the technology category.

Africa Rural Connect: BOSCO Uganda was one of Africa Rural Connect two Round Winners for the 2010 Competition winning

seed funding of $1,000 to go towards the project. The project idea also featured in Africa Rural Connect press mentions. The

criteria of selection were based on originality, creativity, practicality, scalability, likelihood of success, sustainability, and impact

on individuals.

Honorary Mention: http://www.aec.at/prix_history_en.php?year=2010#honorarymention2010

Participation in 2010 African Union Summit: In partnership with UNICEF, Rural Youth (from BOSCO ICT sites) participated in

the Africa Youth Forum (African Union Summit) on-line discussions (Speak Africa & Connecting Classrooms) prior to the 2010

African Youth Forum and African Union Summit under the theme “Maternal and Child health and Development in Africa”. This

is still on-going as follow-up by BOSCO Uganda.

Number and type of employees

Five Local Staff (Nationals)

Fr. Joseph Okumu, Executive Director (MA and PhD in Anthropology, BA [Philosophy and Theology], Dip. Education).

Stella Akiteng, Project Coordinator (MA. Communication, BA [Arts]-Communication Skills & English Language Studies).

Alfred Kilama, Technical Manager (Dip. Computer Science; and BSc. Information & Communication Technology). Jacob Oketayot, Technical Assistant (Dip. Computer Science) Sr. Betty Grace Atim, Finance Administrator and Accountant (Post Graduate Dip. Financial Management;

undergraduate Diploma and BA in Sciences & Praxis of Human Development; post-graduate Diploma in Conflict Management and Peace Building; post-graduate Certificate in Public Administration).

One Consultant (Technical Advisor) through partner (Horizont3000)

Peter Frühwirth, Technical Advisor. Electronic Technician by profession; Certifications (Various IT related Trainings (MS Office, DTP, ACAD, Programming, SAP, µCIM ERP System…]; Business Manager for Applied


http://www.aec.at/prix_history_en.php?year=2010#honorarymention2010

http://www.breakingborders.de/


Informatics); Field (Electronic industries, Steel building and sheet metal processing, Electric utility & Software industries); Work experience (Work preparation for electronic Equipment and Measuring Instruments, Managing and supporting ERP Systems, Professional Support for Archiving and Messaging Systems, IT manager and managing technical director)

Support Staff (volunteers)

These are users/beneficiaries. At least five Volunteers in each of the 13 school and community sites participating in the BOSCO Programme through site management, content development, Training etc.
