In conjunction with the Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), Cultural Research Centre promotes heritage education in Secondary Schools to enable students, appreciate their cultural roots, and use the cultural heritage knowledge they acquire, for the building of a harmonious society for a better tomorrow. This partnership is benefitting 12 Secondary Schools in Jinja district where, in each of these 12 Secondary Schools, is established a Cultural Heritage Club.

A language is the vehicle of a people’s culture, and is itself a pertinent component of culture. In an effort to promote and preserve the culture of the Basoga, that is people found in Busoga, and aware that the young generation is a people’s future, Cultural Research Centre decided to take on the development of Lusoga language seriously. And that young people are easily taken up by that which comes from outside, it was important to introduce the teaching of Lusoga in Schools for preservation purposes. This idea was heavily supported by the Government White Paper on Education which recommended the use of “Mother Tongue” in Lower Primary as a medium of instruction. Thus, while the District Local Governments of the districts that make up Busoga at that time were not interested in implementing the policy, (after all Luganda could easily be applied as a local language), Cultural Research Centre took on the challenge. The Centre therefore, spearheaded the implementation of the Mother Tongue Policy here in Busoga by convening a couple of major stakeholders. A Lusoga Language Authority (LULA), an umbrella Association of all groups that were individually striving to develop the Lusoga language, was formed under the patronage of Obwakyabazinga bwa Busoga. A number of schools were piloted in this matter, by initiating the teaching of Lusoga in Primary Schools on a pilot basis from 2000 to 2007.

The Centre also collaborated with Bishop Willis Core Primary Teacher College and Kaliro Primary Teacher College to train teachers who would eventually implement the teaching of Lusoga when the Government would eventually set out to implement the recommendation by the Ssenteza Kajubi Commission on the Uganda Education Review Policy as enshrined in the Government White Paper on Education.

By the time the Ministry of Education and Sports eventually made it mandatory to use Mother Tongue in Lower Primary, come 2008, the region of Busoga was set; thanks to the efforts and foresight of the Cultural Research Centre. Later other stakeholders moved a step further by introducing the teaching of Lusoga at Secondary School level, both at Ordinary and Advanced levels. The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) together with the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), accepted Lusoga as an examinable subject at both O and A levels. This was a great breakthrough, as it has contributed to the uplifting of the academic standards in Busoga, albeit the struggle continues.

A healthy mind, which is capable of thinking critically in an effort to solve problems, needs to be settled in a healthy body and a healthy environment. It is in the promotion of harmony among these, that Cultural Research Centre embarked on researching the herbal medicine world of the Basoga, as well as sensitizing and training herbalists on how to sustainably harvest and use herbal medicines. This not only contributes to the protection of the environment and improving human health conditions in the target communities, but also improves on their savings, given that what would be spend in hospitals and clinics is saved.

The Uganda National Bureau of Statistics Household Survey Reports have overtime implicated Busoga as a region with low literacy, and with a high disease burden. This state of affairs prompted Cultural Research Centre (CRC) to conduct a survey, whose findings showed that indeed a good number of the parts of Busoga were in a sorry state. The analysis of these findings revealed that there was a close link between illiteracy and poverty, since information is power; and that a number of interventions which do not front literacy, were not yielding the desired outcome and ultimately impact. It is common knowledge that illiteracy necessarily hinders access to information, which would empower the grassroots masses so that they can transform themselves.

The above conviction led Cultural Research Centre to design a Functional Adult Literacy Programme which runs for two years and participants are rolled out. Thanks to the donor partners who are supporting this programme as a great intervention. However, due to limited funding, only a couple of villages are reached.

The programme module includes: (1) Reading and writing, (2) Arithmetic, (3) Numeracy, (4) Public Health (Hygiene and Sanitation), (5) Civic education (current affairs, human rights), (6) Improved Agriculture and Animal rearing methods, and (7) the element of saving, borrowing and investing.

Since inception, the Centre has offered Library and Museum services to the general public both local and international at affordable entry fees. The library has a variety of books on several subjects for all level learning. While the museum displays a number of traditional artefacts mainly from Busoga, to educate the young generation about their rich ancestral history and heritage, as well as educating the masses on the need for preserving our heritage from extinction.

The Diocese of Jinja set up Cultural Research Centre, with the purpose of researching, documenting and studying cultural elements that can be employed as a foundation for preaching the gospel and entrenching the people of Busoga into their faith. In a way, to form Christians who are truly Basoga and truly Christian. The process is referred to in the Catholic Church as ‘INCULTURATION’. Consequently, in fulfilment of this mandate, Cultural Research Centre conducted a research on the inter-relationship between Christianity and traditional cultural beliefs.