Charity Nankunda determined to become LDC's first female Guild President

As many of my colleagues prefer to call me, I am a God-fearing, principled, passionate, people-person, jolly, 25-year-old Ugandan girl currently pursuing law at the Law Development Center.

I am a natural-born leader. I have always been right from primary all-through secondary, university and now LDC.

I am inspired to serve in a leadership position because it's one way to touch lives, and becoming LDC's first female guild president is another opportunity to serve.

I am also very passionate about people, understanding their pain and passion and finding ways to either solve or support them. This has become my life story as I always leverage my interpersonal skills to connect with people on a deeper level and make their environment more comfortable.

Have you had any past leadership positions that inspired you to stand for Guild President at LDC?

Yes, I have. I believe God blessed me with the gift of leadership very early in my life.

Right from primary in Rukingiri Universal Primary School where I was a class monitress and later became an education minister.

At the Ordinary level, I moved to Bweranyangi Girls' Senior Secondary School, where I served as the vice-president Debate Club and Cleanliness and Environment prefect.

At the Advanced level, I was also the vice-president Debate Club at Uganda Martyrs Namugongo.

Bachelor's degree in Law, I served my for 4 years. I also served as Woman Rukingiri University Students Association

How do you plan to ensure full representation of the LDC students?

First, I am a student at the Law Development Center, and living the life of a law student gives me a great understanding of the people I would like an opportunity to serve.

I am a visionary leader who believes there is always a solution to every challenge.

My team and I observed that most students at LDC are no longer working because of their busy learning schedules. Coupled with the costly learning lifestyle of buying acts, case studies among some students have no source of income. This is why I would like to implement the much-needed Tuition Fund Policy. The Tuition Fund Policy aims to support my fellow students with tuition challenges by aiding and paying for tuition balances to allow them to sit for exams.

The policy is geared towards inclusive and equitable quality education as a committee will be set up to ensure all applicants are well vetted and issued this tuition support. I will also lobby and pitch for financial support from financially able students and non-profit organizations. The over-ranking goal is to create a Tuition Fund policy that will live on even after I have left LDC. The Tuition Fund Policy will advocate for the government loan scheme to help students with loans while at LDC.

Furthermore, I understand that students are only a part of the LDC eco-system which is why I would also like to work with our Firm leaders who aid our learning at the Law Development Center. Once elected, I would support our 27 and more Firm leaders with communication tools (gadgets) to help them execute their roles smoothly and seamlessly.

To achieve my manifesto Comfort for Excellence, I plan to work with existing systems, processes and stakeholders to achieve what I call LDC experience connection points, e.g. increasing the number of sockets around the campus, providing blinders in lecturer rooms to ensure clear projection of work during presentations and an out and on-campus security lights to help combat the robbing vice. These contribute to one's wholesome learning experience.

I would also like to advocate for psycho-social support, in essence, having counsellors to help students address their mental health challenges like stress and suicide.

What would you like to be remembered for?

As one who aided and enabled her community to achieve set dreams. As the first female LDC Guild-President who paved the way and challenged more women to take up leadership positions, one who gave LDC a female touch.

Above all, I would like our 2022 cohort to be remembered as the cohort that left a mark through the Tuition Fund Policy, which played a meaningful role in the lives of their brothers and sisters who joined the system after we left.