Ugandan scholar finds support through community in Australia

Elijah Mushabe is a scholar from Uganda who recently completed his Masters in Environmental Law at the University of Melbourne. Motivated by his desire to broaden his knowledge through world class institutions in Australia, Elijah applied for his Australia Award to learn more about sustainable public infrastructure.

According to Elijah: “The infrastructure sector is one of the biggest contributors to the accumulation of greenhouse gases and natural resource depletion. I was keen to understand how to embed sustainable approaches in design and implementation of public private partnerships projects through a Master of Environmental Law”.

Despite Elijah’s enthusiasm towards studying in Australia, he knew that transitioning to life in a new country, and studying abroad was going to be a challenge. Elijah turned to community-based activities to help him adjust. Heh notes that volunteering at St. Alban’s Church was pivotal to helping him integrate quickly into life in a new city:  “The church community enabled me to exercise my faith with similar people in another country. This gave me the first support group of people who have things in common with me,” he says.

Beyond staying connected to his faith, integrating into the community through volunteering gave Elijah a sense of belonging in his community. Church became a second home for Elijah outside of his studies as he regularly met new friends over dinner and trivia nights.

“The local church was like a small family and everybody knew everybody! We always meet for morning tea and chit chat after church. Everyone was eager to know who I was and where I was from. The people were far too kind, and they asked how best they could help me as I settled in Australia. One church member offered me a bicycle to use for my stay and another one offered me their spare van which I equally used for my stay, he added.

Elijah also worked part-time at his local IGA supermarket providing him with an unexpected opportunity to gain experience of how to run and manage a business. He comments: “As a lawyer and public servant, I had never been keen enough to learn about business as I thought it was not for me. An opportunity to serve at IGA has equipped me with skills and inspiration to run my own business in Uganda soon.”

Maintaining part time worked ensured that he was never bored during semester breaks as had something to occupy his time. Through this job he also formed connections with frequent customers providing him opportunities to socialise which prevented him from ever feeling lonely despite being miles away from home.

Now that Elijah is back in Uganda, he intends to use the knowledge gained in his role as a legal and policy officer to promote early intervention by designing tools and guidelines to embed sustainability, climate mitigation, and adaption approaches in public infrastructure design and implementation. He believes this is more cost effective, especially when combined with capacity building initiatives like interactive webinars and knowledge bases storing tools for sustainability action.

Elijah’s advice for anyone studying in Australia is: “Make the best of your stay. It’s not just about academic achievement; it is a whole life experience. Explore it. Get out of your cradle, go out there in the community. You will find fun, friends, and opportunities to serve and connect.”