Nancy  — 2008

Director of ChildrenUP, Charlie Laliberte, first met Nancy in June, 2008 and was impressed with her dedication to education and her resourcefulness. ChildrenUP supported Nancy with living expenses as she completed her university degree.

Nancy lost both parents to AIDS and was raised by her grandmother. In order to make ends meet, they used sledge hammers to break up quarry stones to sell to road crews. Despite attempts to keep her safe, Nancy narrowly escaped abduction twice by the rebel army.

Unable to pay for the last two years of high school, a friend of the family was able to assist financially. Nancy graduated from high school first in her class. She was accepted to Makerere University in Kampala as a work-study grant student in the department of forestry.

Nancy Akumu started her professional career as a Research Assistant with BBC World Service Trust while at Makerere University. Immediately she completed her first degree in BSc. Forestry, she volunteered with Opportunities for Environment Planning (OPEP) Consult Ltd- Kampala and later became an Environment Officer in that same consultancy firm. She worked in partnership for various local and international consultancy firms in Uganda including COWI Ltd, VSHydro Ltd, Uganda Investment Authority (UAI), Green Label Services (GLS), Uganda Coffee Processing Industry (UGACOF), among others. She received an environmental training opportunity as a Young Environmental Trainee with WWF (World Wide Fund for nature)-Uganda Country Office for a period of eight months i.e. from June 2012-F February 2013.

In 2014 Nancy completed her master’s degree coursework in Environment and Natural Resources Management. While pursuing her master degree, she worked as a part-time teaching Assistant for three Semesters at the School of Forestry, Environment and Geographical Sciences, Makaerere University.   Later in the same year, she started working for Amatheon Agri, a German funded Large-Scale Agricultural Company in Nwoya District, Northern Uganda. She held the position of Corporate Social Responsibility. After two years of dedicated work, she was promoted to a position of Manager Sustainable Development. She has been working with the rural communities ensuring that the company empowers the communities economically and socially. She is specially monitors and evaluates the company’s activities to ensure that the investment does not impact negatively on the environment and the surrounding communities. She has been working with rural communities to fight climate change through promoting tree and fruit tree planting. Nancy continues to give back to the community by supporting the primary and secondary educations of her relatives and other needy children She also speaks at the ChildrenUP annual meeting held in Gulu when her schedule allows.

We are very proud of her accomplishments. Her entrepreneurial skills and her knowledge serve her well as she makes her way in a difficult economy with a priority to assist her family and others.