When Mastercard Foundation Scholar at EARTH University, Esau Higenyi, Class of 2026, speaks about his home district of Butaleja, Eastern Uganda, he speaks with passion. Esau understands his region’s challenges well. He is in his second year of studies to become an agricultural engineer, but he is already working to help the people of his community.
As a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at Gombe Secondary School, Esau had already been active in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni circles before EARTH, and it was from one of these connections that he first heard about the University. “I was living with my grandmother when I finished high school, but she wasn’t able to help me financially with further studies. But I was motivated to continue my education. I began working for an organization called Tayinu Limited. It was through that network that I first heard about EARTH. I thought this is how I can make a difference in my community. At first, I wanted to become a doctor to change the lives of many, but now I feel that through agriculture I can do greater things.”
When Esau finished high school, he began demonstrating his dedication to tackling his region’s challenges. As National Secretary of The Ability Youth Initiative Uganda/Tayinu Limited, he gained experience working with a group of young people with a vision of increasing access to finance and education for young Ugandans, working with youth on career and skills development. With other colleagues, he started another organization to help young people realize they have options other than early marriage or low-wage work.
The group started raising pigs and fish to make money to do their work. But raising those funds was a challenge. He watched as many of his former classmates had to turn to low-wage jobs such as bricklayers and ‘’boda bodas’’ (motorcycle taxis) to survive and help their families. “Out of all the classmates I studied with in Primary 7, only four of us are still studying today.” Esau is grateful for where he is currently, and he feels EARTH is the springboard from which he will make a change in his home.
Esau comes from a rice-growing region of small-scale farmers. The people produce a lot of rice, he says, but they are very poor. Esau outlined three major problems in the area: poverty, poor education, and early marriages. The challenges with food security are many.
“We produce rice in large quantities, but people sell it at very low prices to middlemen. Growing rice is a lot of work, but people aren’t evaluating the effort they are putting into the work. They are making just enough to survive. I’m starting a project to work with the crop. I’m raising funds to begin the project from here, to start a model farm where we can teach others. There are many ways I feel we can help. I want to eventually help people in my area brand the rice to export it, to add value to it, so people can gain from their efforts. The farmers are gaining so very little out of it.”
Esau has been investigating methods to produce something useful from the rice husks. “In my region, they burn the husks of the rice. It’s terrible for the environment. They don’t realize this. I want to create a machine that can turn this product into biochar to produce something useful. We have a chimney here at the University. I am testing how we can burn without producing smoke. The biochar has carbon, it’s nutritious, and we can produce something to benefit the farmers.”
Another issue Esau feels must be addressed is the prevalence of subsistence farming. Most people produce food only for their own consumption. Or, if they sell the produce, they sell it as raw materials. No one is adding value to what they make. “We don’t know how to improve our production level. There are no high-level agricultural practices in place. In 2017 there was a drought, and almost all the rice was destroyed. There was hunger for months. People had to wait for the rain to return. We were surviving on porridge, and child malnutrition has become a real problem.”
Esau has faced many challenges in his life, but he has persevered, much like the people of his community. Now he envisions one day obtaining a master’s degree and returning to his country to make real change. “I’ve already learned so many things at EARTH to put into practice. I know I can’t just figure out my own life and forget my people. I want to go back and feel proud of where I come from.”
We do not doubt that Esau will continue to change the world by making a deep impact on his community.