Written by Nick Lipari, CROSO Intern Fall 2022

Hello CROSO community! My name is Nick and I have been interning with CROSO for the majority of my fall semester. I am a senior attending the University of Dayton pursuing my bachelor’s degree in communication management with a minor in marketing. I have truly enjoyed my time with the organization and learning more about how nonprofits operate behind the scenes. Getting to virtually meet some of the scholars was also a pretty cool experience for me. I was excited to be able to virtually meet and interview CROSO’s first and only Ugandan employee, Richard Mutambuli. Everyone at CROSO is extremely grateful to have him on board for our scholars in Uganda. My goal is to introduce Richard to the CROSO community and give some background information to let everyone get to know him better.

Professional spotlight-

Richard Mutambuli started as CROSO’s new Program Coordinator in September 2022.

Richard has a background in education that aligns with CROSO’s vision perfectly. From 2002-2017 he was working at Child Restoration Outreach (CROSO’s partner organization in Uganda) supporting children that had been living on the streets and taking them back into schooling. Richard has known about CROSO since it first started in 2007 and continues to have long-standing relationships with many of CROSO’s scholars and graduates. The past 5 years he has monitored and evaluated at an organization called Spotlight on Africa Uganda foundation whose mission included supporting poorer communities to access quality education, economic empowerment, health services and good hygiene. His character has always had a spotlight for supporting African communities.

Richard meeting with new CROSO Scholar, Priscillah, at her school in Jinja.

Personality-

Richard meeting with current scholar, Simon, at his school in Kampala.

Richard’s favorite part about working for CROSO is connecting face to face with the scholars. The scholars have made him aware that they have been more comfortable sharing personal information and whatever is on their mind with him because he can relate to them and their community. They appreciate it more when they get to talk to someone in person rather than on a zoom call. Richard says he’s been enjoying getting to know the scholars and learning their personalities and hopes the scholars continue to choose to connect with him. Outside of CROSO, Richard enjoys hiking the surrounding areas and visiting local parks in Mbale. On top of those activities, his freetime also includes playing the most popular sport in the world, football.

Plans with CROSO-

Richard is eager to help CROSO grow to where they want to be. He believes reaching a higher level will require connecting with a wider community. While Richard was not a part of the team that put together CROSO’s 5 year strategic plan earlier this year, he has had a chance to thoroughly review the documents and is excited to do what he can to help push the organization in the right direction and strive. His short term goal is to begin growing CROSO’s network in Uganda, establish a functional office in Uganda, work on organizing all of the work and harmonizing CROSO’s website. His long term goal is to expand CROSO’s network in Uganda, expand the visibility of CROSO and the number of scholars CROSO can support.

Meet Richard Mutambuli, CROSO's new Program Coordinator!