Gerald Matembu

Gerald Matembu is a multimedia journalist based in Mbale Town, Eastern Uganda. He is a reporter and bureau chief for Next Media Services (NBS Television, Nile Post and Next Radio), a leading media company in Uganda. He has nine years of experience in TV and online reporting.

By this Author

Sr. Mary Olive Masibo and Fr. Dennis Paddy Wandera make their way to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo to honor the 22 Catholic Uganda martyrs who were murdered for refusing to denounce their faith. (GSR photo/Gerald Matembu)

Sisters on annual pilgrimage remember martyrs and pray for Uganda's soul

Sisters on a pilgrimage to honor Ugandan martyrs describe the journey as a way to renew their faith and zeal in the service to the church. They use the event to pray to God to intervene in the challenges the country is facing and to recommit their faith to God.

 

Esther Nangiru, left, and Susan Cherotich are victims of forced marriage who are taking refuge at Kalas Girls Primary School in Amudat, northern Uganda. (Gerald Matembu)

Ugandan boarding school rescues young teen girls from forced marriage

Parents and other elders wanted to sell them into marriage for cows. Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix-Ggogonya stepped in to educate them instead at Kalas Girls Primary School in northern Uganda.

Sr. Caroline Ngatia of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sisters of Eldoret shares breakfast with the street families in Nairobi, Kenya. (Doreen Ajiambo)

In Africa, sisters lead the way to replace orphanages with family care

The goal is as simple as it is complicated to achieve: Shift the care of children from institutions like orphanages to a family or family-like environment.

Sr. Mary Grace Akiror, right, points out some detail while inspecting government projects in western Uganda. (Gerald Matembu)

Q & A with Sr. Mary Grace Akiror, 'the sister you cannot bribe' in Uganda

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni set up a special unit in 2018 to fight corruption, and he hand-picked Sr. Mary Grace Akiror of the Little Sisters of St. Francis to assist him in weeding out graft in development projects.

Sr. Mary Margaret Ajiko, surgeon and member of the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu in Uganda (Gerald Matembu)

Q & A with Sr. Mary Margaret Ajiko, a surgeon saving infants' lives in Uganda

"I never operate on a patient without a prayer." Sr. Mary Margaret Ajiko, a member of the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu, has worked for a decade at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital in eastern Uganda.

Sr. Rose Nelima interacts with students at Mbale School for the Deaf in Uganda. (Gerald Matembu)

Q & A with Sr. Rose Nelima, advocating for deaf students in Uganda

Sr. Rose Nelima, headmistress of Mbale School for the Deaf, has used her career to promote the education of those who are deaf in Uganda, in addition to reshaping the negative social perception of them.