A small village in Kumi district known to many as Kalapata had its voices heard after it received its first ever private primary school. This milestone was achieved after the son of the soil Mr. Okiror John Stephen received and invested his NSSF benefits in a school.

Mr. John Stephen Okiror, an accountant by profession worked with the Uganda Revenue Authority for 22 years decided to opt for an early retirement at the age of 50years.In 2016, Okirol applied and received Shs100 millions as his NSSF benefits. At that time, he had many ideas running in his mind, some of them coming from relatives and friends. Some of the ideas included fixing benefits for a certain period time, transport business and farming.

 Okirol whose love for education is unmeasurable felt that the right idea was still missing among the options given to him at the moment. He zeroed down on constructing a school in one of the remotest areas in this country, Kalapata, Kumi district. Passion alone was not enough for him to construct a school, the community members after realizing that one of their own had a good plan, they gave him 4 free acres of land.

“For a long time, Arapata village had never had this kind of education services we offering today, it’s very unfortunate that in this 21st century, a pupil of Primary Seven can’t speak a single word in English. What is more alarming is that this pupil is expected to compete with fellows in urban areas who speak English like it’s their first language,” Okiror said with grief on his face.

Kapalata Parents and Primary School officially started in 2018 with 80 students and now the numbers have increased up to 300. Okiror attributes the increase of pupils to the unique teaching standards and providing scholarships to bright but unprivileged pupils from the community. The Nursery section pays Shs50,000 and the Primary section pays Shs60,000-100,000 for tuition which is reasonable for the community.

Beyond providing education, Kalapata Parents and Primary School has gone on to empower the community by giving them contracts to supply food and firewood. According to Mr. Okiror John, this has increased believability of the School among the community members.

Despite being a long-term investment with minimal returns, Kalapata Parents and Primary School has managed to register success stories. These include; improvement in performance of pupils, employment opportunities especially for the teaching and non-teaching staff.

“Kalapata being one of the most affected areas during the insurgency instigated by the Lords’ Resistance Army under the command of the war lord Joseph Kony, challenges are still outcompeting the successes but this has not taken away the hope of the community,” Okiror explained

Kalapata is a village of hardworking people and all the future plans of the school such as constructing dormitory and a staffroom are going to be achieved in the targeted period of time.

Okiror who was surprised to be called by the Fund to participate in the beneficiaries’ campaign dubbed NSSF Friends with Benefits, first hesitated but after sometime of consultations, he was convinced to take part in the competition. Okiror believes that his story is worth telling because he is the only born of the village who has ever worked and made such an investment that helps to improve the literacy levels of the community members.

A very optimistic Okiror believes that he will win the ultimate prize money and he plans to use the same to construct a dormitory and a school library. He believes that this will improve the welfare of the pupils and increase recruitment especially those that come from distant places.

Mr. Okiror calls on everyone either in formal or informal employment to opt for saving with NSSF because it’s the only organization one can trust with his/her future. He continued to applaud the fund for their quick response in the process of accessing the benefits.

To vote for Mr. Okiror John Stephen in the NSSF Friends with Benefits competition, dial *254# or go to www.nssfug.org.

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Generations ago, Africa and Australia were world’s apart in many ways and business connections between these terrific two territories were very limited.

But Aussies and Africans actually have plenty in common – both boast diverse cultures, rich natural resources and unique fauna and flora.

And thanks to technology developing at breakneck speed, doing business across borders is easier now than it’s ever been before.

So if you’re thinking of dipping your investment toes into the waters in Aus, there are plenty of opportunities on offer, but you’ll need to plan properly to make any factfinding trip worthwhile.

But if you’ve never been there before, you might not know a kangaroo’s pouch from a koala’s claw, so where do you start?

Right here – these five tips for doing business Down Under in 2020 will provide perfect peace of mind and propel your plans.

1. Attend Africa Down Under

If you’re interested in investing in minerals, Western Australia is definitely worth a closer look. So attending the Africa Down Under Conference in Perth between 2-4 September will raise your awareness of the opportunities available in the Aussie mining and energy sector and let you mingle with potential collaborators.

And whether you’re a geologist, health and safety expert or explosives ace, your skills and expertise could be very sought-after indeed.

2. Secure Your Business Visa

Before planning too far ahead, please bear in mind that since the purpose of your visit to Australia is business-related, you’ll need to secure the relevant visa from authorities before booking any flights, accommodation and events tickets.

Depending on the nature of your prospective business Down Under, you’ll either need a Business Talent or Business Innovation and Investment Visa – find out more at business.gov.au.

3. Find cheap flights

You’ll want to save as much cash as possible on your international flights to and from Australia and on any internal flights to various conferences, meetings and networking events.

So browse kayak.com.au for early bird deals on domestic Aussie flights and check out Shyscanner.net for top value international flights – this way, you’ll have more to splash out on relaxation and entertainment during your sojourn.

4. Hire a car

Australia is a vast territory, so if you’ve arranged coast to coast meetings, as discussed, you’ll need to arrange internal flights.

However, if you’re based in a charming city like Sydney or Melbourne for a week or more, hiring a care can be a comfy and convenient way to meet contacts and enjoy everything the country has to offer – consult vroomvroomvroom.com.au for the best deals on corporate car hire.

5. Airport parking

With your hire care fuelled up and ready to ferry you from one high powered meeting to another, you won’t want to get your power-suit crumpled by travelling to air hubs via cramped public transport.

So find Australian airport parking at Looking4.com and feel cool, calm and collected for your trans-Australian business trips.

So ends our list! But please share your own Africa to Australia business tips in the comments section.

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