AMOS EZRA MAGALA

Born and raised in Uganda, Amos faced difficult hardship early in life as both his biological parents passed away due to HIV/ AIDs. Yet as Amos was welcomed to a new family, he found gratitude and grace. Through Amos’s medical studies, he financially provided for five children from poor backgrounds. His dream is start his own NGO where he provides medical care to the needy people free of charge as well as educating communities about health.

“We Need to Have Stable Medical Systems to Combat Such Crises”

Q: Tell us a few things about your country, and also your life's story!

I live in Uganda, the pearl of Africa, it is a very beautiful country with a lot of natural vegetation and resources. We have a population of approximately around 47 million people. Despite having a beautiful weather and a lot of natural resources, many Ugandans still live poor life. They cannot afford school for their children nor decent medical care. As a result, many people stay ill for too long, and by the time they come to the hospital, it is too late to reverse their situation. 

My life story. I have two paternal half-brothers and three maternal half-brothers. My dad died when I was one year old and my mum died when I was nine years old. Both my parents died due to HIV/AIDs. I was shortly raised by my paternal grandmother, who was very close to my adopted father, Pastor Dongo. When I was adopted, I entered a family where I received many siblings and cousins. My school was paid by Buyamba outreach ministries project that was started by my adopted mother and father. My mother and father introduced us to Christ. My father (Pastor Dongo) sadly died in 2015 due to cancer. My mother and father provided all of the basic needs for over 15 of their biological and adopted children. It was fun having a huge family.

I went through Kindergarten, Primary, Middle and High School. I joined the Medical College for my Certificate in Medical Laboratory techniques and then the Clarke International University from 2016 to 2020 for my degree in Medical Laboratory Science. I am not yet married but God has given me 5 children to cater for in 2016 as I joined University, helping them to buy scholastic materials, and pay their rent in the small house they live in. Although I was a university student, I could still save some money to cater for their basic needs. At least they should have an education and with great hope, it will lead them to a brighter future.

Alongside the Medical College, I have part-time laboratory medical gigs which gave me some of the little money I have on the side. The laboratories have been majoring in COVID-19 testing which has been very crucial as we are one of the only four laboratories accredited to carry out six-hour COVID-10 tests in Uganda before boarding the plane. Also amongst the few laboratories accredited to carry out covid tests, both for routine and travelers. I also worked with JOY medical center since 2015. I also help with testing for sickle cell traits for HIV, Malaria, Typhoid, Tuberculosis, Syphilis. It is a joy waking up every day knowing I can help someone’s life through medical tests. Seeing a patient come with pain and get well after hours or a few days gives me hope and happiness.

Q: How did you experience the global pandemic crisis, did it change your life or/and your views about the world? How?

The global pandemic was a tough one. First of all, it affected my university studies. My university degree was halted by seven months. For work, only the most essential offices like medical centers could operate, as we were on total lockdown. During the time, there were not enough employees to deal with the demand. Although people could fall sick, transportation to medical centers was difficult. During the pandemic’s first fast wave, I worked from Friday from 17:00 HRS through Monday morning at 08:00 HRS simply because transportation was hard. I had a bad personal experience as I lost five people who were close to my family.

COVID-19 changed mostly my view on Africa and Uganda. We need to have stable medical systems to combat such crises. We did our best as a country, but we need to train more scientists to be able to engage in research in case such situations happen again.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently? 

There are many challenges in my com society. Many children lack education due to poverty and many people cannot afford medical care. By the time most people go to the hospital, their situation is worse. Non-communicable diseases, like sickle cell disease, hypertension, and diabetes are on high-rise simply because people are ignorant and sensitization of the communities about such diseases is very low.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them?

Taking care of the five children, and paying their scholastic requirements and three home rents while studying, I needed money to upkeep at school and to pay a certain percentage towards my university tuition. It was really tough, but I overcame it by having two jobs. Eventually, I was able to leave one of the jobs by getting a loan so I could concentrate more on my education. Despite it all, I graduated and got a job. Although the job is not that well-paying, it is paying off my loans gradually.

Q: If you were to ask one thing from our current leaders, what would it be?

To help support my dream of starting a non-government organization (NGO) that will provide medical care to the needy people free of charge and to also create awareness about diseases in schools, and places of worship and how best we can prevent them, because prevention is way cheaper than treatment.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

It encourages me to desire to be great like my mentor, My mentor has particularly given me insight that if I need to impact more people, I need to run a nonprofit or a non-government organisation because it is easier to call on partners and support that way. Mentorship is important because you get to learn from the world’s achievers.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share?  

Life has taught me that although it can often get hard, never give up. It may take lots of willpower, but we should keep pushing and do our best.

At one point in my senior high school, my grades were really bad. My thoughts were if I could manage to get into the medical field. I failed and it seemed like I wasted the 2 years of senior high school. I was humble enough to use my junior high school results to enter college at a very low level of Certificate and then build my medical path back. Therefore, although it gets tough, never give up. Do whatever it takes to achieve your dream.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives!

Buyamba Outreach Ministries has sent thousands of needy and orphaned children to school including myself. They have taken the children through nursery, primary, middle and high school, and eventually university. Today we are making a difference in the lives of others.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are made towards gender equality?

Women face challenges of discrimination, especially in the job sector where more high-profile jobs are “meant” for men. As a result, a lot of women get low self-esteem in Africa as most jobs are for men and they are not able to study much.  

We are addressing these issues, encouraging women and girls to study hard and aim high to make a difference in their lives and others. Two out of the five of the children I support are girls. I believe they will be great women who are going to change the world positively.

Q: Share with us a phrase, a poem or a story that means something to you.

I will share a Bible verse 1 Corinthians 13. All of it. It talks about LOVE. What ever we do should be done out of love. WE LOVE PEOPLE, most folks say I like someone, it’s wrong. WE LOVE PEOPLE. not simply like them.

Q: Share with us a project that you would like to make happen for your country or a cause that you are passionate about.

I love to start an NGO, providing medical care to needy people free of charge as well as sensitizing communities about health. I have been in the lead of three medical outreaches where people came in for free medical care. It was a great joy to see the impact we made. For example, one lady was yet to develop diabetes due to poor lifestyle. We advised her and today she is disease free enjoying time with her family.

Q: Anything else that you may wish to add? 

I want to thank the Global Thinkers Forum for the opportunity to be under someone’s wings to learn. A special thanks to Dr. Ishrat Bano my mentor and Katerina.