Besides investment in the College, the Old Boys have over the years created platforms for communication and socialization through which different innovative ideas have come to tap into the latent potential of the network.
The first-ever gathering of the Old Boys to form an Association was on June 30th 1940, 38 years after the school started. The inaugural meeting was attended by 150 Old Boys, and 3 key objectives were set for the association, namely;
- Band all Old Boys together no matter how far they had scattered
- Foster and promote mutual assistance, both spiritual and temporal
- Establish and link between the old and the present Boys.
An entrance fee of 10/= and annual subscription of 2/= was to be paid by each boy, while Free membership was given to the Namilyango Makerere students. In the same meeting, the Old Boys were called upon to help raise funds to improve the school infrastructure such as expansion of the chapel that was becoming small for the growing population, after several promises from the government of the time hadn’t been fulfilled yet.
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The Association was inactive for a number years, but was revived and became active again towards the Centenary Celebrations in 2002, during which time many Old Boys were brought back to the fore and offered great support to the association.
Post the Centenary celebrations, NACOBA has had many leaders that have sacrificed greatly to mobilise the Old Boys for association and college activities and causes.
NACOBA has indeed seen an increase in the number of Old Boys who sacrifice both their time and money to ensure that the living and learning environment in the college is improved. Infrastructure at the college has been improved, bursary schemes have been established, and community health camps have been organized among many other activities.
The Old Boys have also contributed towards infrastructure improvements at The College, set up a Bursary Fund to support financially less able but bright and disciplined students, and giving back to the community through annual health camps.
The Old Boys play an active role in the governance of the college through the Board of Governors and the PTA.
The Association should be a large family with one mother house to which all should return at least once a year for re-union: a family in which the members should assist one another in the best way they could. Old boys should not be the only beneficiaries of their fellow Old Boys’ kindness.
The Alma Mater should hold a special place in the heart of each boy; and all support should be given to it for the purpose of helping it to exist and to produce more “sons”.— Rev. Father B Doyle,
June 30th, 1940
The aims and objectives of the Association are:
- To unite all Old Boys and instill into them a sense of brotherhood, pride of and belonging to the College;
- To establish and maintain a link as well as a mutual understanding between the Government of Uganda, the Foundation Body, the Board of Governors, the Parents Teachers Association, the Administration and students of the College;
- To enhance the objectives of the Foundation Body of the College with regard to education;
- To encourage Members to observe high ethical and professional standards in their respective professions and occupations as well as encouraging them to carry out their work diligently and efficiently;
- To enable Members to give all possible assistance to one another in spiritual as well as in temporal matters;
- To investigate, consider and find solutions to the needs and requirements of the College;
- To be represented on the Board of Governors and Parents Teachers Association;
- To cultivate a sense of leadership in society;
- To create and maintain an endowment fund to give financial assistance to the Members, their widows, widowers and orphans;
- To carry out any activity which, in the opinion of the Members, will directly or indirectly promote the Association’s objectives.
NACOBA comprises dedicated and charismatic individuals that share the vision, values of the Namilyango community and fraternity.
NACOBA boasts of cross-generational and deep experience working hard to keep our goals alive.
NACOBA PROJECTS
NACOBA has been involved in a number of projects in and out of the college. Infrastructure at the College has been improved, bursary schemes have been established, and community health camps have been organized among many other activities.
The Old Boys play an active role in the governance of the College through the Board of Governors and the PTA and have in the process influenced a policy shift that gives preferential compassionate admission to sons of old students that actively give back to the college.
The Old Boys have also launched a Savings and Credit Cooperative “NACOBA SACCO” which is steadily growing with a long-term objective of growing into a bank, a company called NACOBA Consultants Ltd that seeks to provide professional services using the skill sets within the network.
Visit NACOBA SACCO’s website
Visit NACOBA Consultants’ website
The Association also set up a Health Insurance Scheme for members not on formal insurance with their work places and have also mobilized resources to help out distressed Old Boys. All the above activities and initiatives of the Old Boys have greatly contributed towards continuous improvement the image of the College that had taken a hit in the last few decades due to a number of reasons.