“Because of the USEA, I found purpose again”

Your Excellency, the U.S. Ambassador,
The wonderful and supportive group of the U.S. Embassy – Kampala,
The Outgoing and Incoming Council Members,
Presidents of Exchange Programs,
Regional Cluster Leaders
Fellow Alumni, Friends, and Distinguished Guests —

Good night.

Tonight is not only a handover ceremony. It is a farewell to a season that gave all of us purpose — and a welcome to a higher one forward. It is a chapter closing with gratitude — and a brand new one opening with hope.

I don’t stand earlier than you immediately as an ideal man. I stand earlier than you as a person made higher by the braveness, humility, and brilliance of this alumni neighborhood.

There have been days that got here with nice weight. And then — there have been these days that healed us. I fondly keep in mind days like when I acquired an e-mail from an alumnus whose life modified as a result of of one letter of suggestion from my workplace. Calls from alumni, thanking me after being accepted into applications and tasks supported by one of the USEA members. The handshake from an alum I had by no means met who mentioned, “Because of the USEA, I found purpose again.”

These will not be simply tales. These are testimonies.
Testimonies of what occurs when a community chooses purpose over politics. When we select individuals over place. When we select unity over ego.

The Outgoing Council is grateful and we need to say thanks.

To the U.S. Mission in Uganda, thanks for not simply giving us wings — however educating us how one can fly. To the Public Diplomacy Section led by Ellen Masi — you didn’t simply help applications, you nurtured desires. You didn’t simply attend our occasions. You stood in our nook. Even after we stumbled — you stayed.

The seeds you planted are rising — and they’ll bear fruit for generations.

 

To the Outgoing Council and all Cluster leaders we’ve labored with: You Did More Than Serve.

To the unimaginable outgoing Executive Council and all cluster leaders — please wave as they clap for you….

You will not be simply leaders. You are pathfinders. You confirmed up when it was simpler to not. You sacrificed when nobody was watching. You constructed when the blueprint was nonetheless blurry.

Together, we didn’t simply run applications. We began a motion.
We created Regional Clusters — bringing USEA nearer to the grassroots. Can I see Cluster representatives right here immediately?
We constructed a model — a footprint that now speaks with satisfaction and energy.
We launched the first-ever democratic elections in our community’s historical past.
We wrote our structure.
We didn’t simply introduce USEA — we turned it into an awesome title.

Let the world know — we turned silence into construction. We turned connection into neighborhood. And we turned imaginative and prescient into legacy.

Let us applaud them — not for his or her titles, however for his or her tenacity.

The Road Was Not Easy

Some alternate applications hesitated to hitch us.
We assumed the elections could be clean — they weren’t.
We encountered delays, tensions, and moments the place every little thing felt unsure.

But right here’s what I know:
Every problem was not an indication to cease. It was an indication to develop.
Every delay was not a failure — it was a lesson.

Like a farmer ready for the rain, we realized to put together the floor, plant the seeds, and belief the course of.

To the Incoming Council: I Welcome You to Greatness

To the new Council — welcome to greatness.

Remember three issues as you start:

1. USEA is just not right here to compete with any program. It is the roof below which all U.S. Exchange Programs in Uganda can shine collectively.
2. Bring extra palms on deck. From alumni-led NGOs to grassroots communities — each companion makes the community stronger.
3. Create seen, simple worth. Make alumni proud to belong. Make their journey matter.

Let this be a community that teaches, elevates, and transforms.

And to all alumni — that is the time to indicate up once more. Support the new management. Be their wind. Be their heat. Be their witness.

Let us transfer. Let us evolve. Let us see the full magnificence of what we will turn into — collectively.

My Final Challenge to You

To each alumnus, each Program President, each visitor right here tonight —

Let us not simply cross on workplace keys.
Let us cross on hope.
Let us not simply make a transition.
Let us make historical past.

Let this evening be remembered — not as an finish, however as a renewal of our covenant:
To serve.
To uplift.
To imagine repeatedly — in one another, and in the energy of neighborhood.

As Nelson Mandela mentioned,
 “There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.”

REMEMBER:
 “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”

I tried.
I gave my time.
I gave my power.
And in return — I was modified eternally.

I pray you do the similar and should your life change eternally.

God bless America.
God bless Uganda.
God bless our Alumni Community.
For God and my nation.