When activists consider about how to improve the conditions of life in Africa, they tend to approach the continent’s vast problems in a number of ways. On Wednesday, around 70 students and staff in Usdan heard two experts, Samuel Watulatsu and Kennedy Odede ’12, espouse a relatively similar attitude toward addressing East African poverty—one that stressed self-reliance over outside relief. Although the presenters were generally of the same mind, Odede’s dynamic and deeply personal address provided a stark contrast to Watulatsu’s straightforward PowerPoint-based speech—a difference that highlighted the generation gap between the two.

The event, which was part of the Wesleyan World Wednesdays program, was arranged by Associate Dean for International Student Affairs and Adjunct English Instructor Alice Hadler, as well as Rachel Levenson ’12, who worked with Watulatsu in Uganda.

Watulatsu, 38, created the Foundation for Development of Needy Communities (FDNC) in 1996 the year after he graduated from the University of Makerere in Uganda. Located in the Mbale district of Uganda, the FDNC runs a local health clinic, offers legal resources to inmates, and teaches youth vocational skills such as bricklaying, carpentry and sustainable agriculture. According to Watulatsu, the organization’s goal is to provide impoverished Ugandans with skills that last, as opposed to resources that will quickly dissipate.

“The top-down approach will never work,” he said. “You don’t give the people fish, you tell them how to catch fish.”

In recent years, the FDNC has received support from the American Jewish World Service and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, among others. In his five trips to America, Watulatsu has spoken at the World Bank as well as 21 universities, including George Washington University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Columbia University.

In particular, Watulatsu’s organization has attracted attention for starting the first youth orchestra in East Africa, a brass band band with 173 members. In January 2006, Watulatsu was the first African to win the Brass Band World Award for his work with the FDNC orchestra. Because of the award, Brussells Airlines flew Watulatsu and 22 band members to England for a performance.

In contrast to Watulatsu’s already 12-year-old program, Odede’s organization, Shining Hope for Community (SHOFCO), has only existed since February 2006. Born in Kibera, Kenya, the second largest slum in Africa, Odede carried heavy loads on his head for five years after graduating high school—an experience shared by Watulatsu and many other Africans. Realizing that he could do better things with his life, Odede started a youth soccer team that eventually turned into a broader effort to revitalize the Kiberan community. Odede eventually caught the attention of international observers when the SHOFCO theater troupe was selected to perform at the World Social Forum in Kenya.

In early 2008, Kibera devolved into chaos as it became the center of a conflict that enveloped Kenya. Odede eventually escaped, though he saw his town destroyed and witnessed a number of bloody spectacles.

Odede described this experience in his speech, along with other parts of his life story, emphasizing how unique and important it is that he came to Wesleyan. It was difficult to obtain grants for SHOFCO, he said, without a college degree attached to his name.

Now that he is a student at Wesleyan, Odede said that he is “the happiest guy on campus.” In particular, he said, he appreciates the medical expertise available at the Davison Health Center.

“In Kibera, I didn’t have a doctor—only the rich have doctors—so even if I was sick I would just sleep and rest or use squashed leaves with water, which worked sometimes,” he said. “So even if something small happens to me here—if I am tired—I run to the doctor here and ask them why I am tired. I take full advantage of the health center. I’ve been more than eight times.”

Odede said that Nurse Practitioner Barbara Dedman has gone out of her way to help him with medical issues.

“Nurse Dedman showed my article to a dentist and he said that he’d work for me for free,” he said. “I have nine cavities and the dentist is working on them already.”

Though his speech was more based on personal anecdotes, Odede offered a similar theoretical framework as Watulatsu. In Kibera, Odede realized that his fellow citizens did not know how to apply the condoms that aid workers had distributed amongst them. From then on, he decided that activist organizations needed a better understanding of the actual levels of awareness on the ground.

“I believe that money is not the solution,” he said. “You need to change people’s brains.”

Jessica Posner ’09, who worked in Kibera with Odede and was instrumental in his coming to Wesleyan, felt that seeing both speakers was a lesson in contrasts.

“It was pretty cool to see the contrast between them—Samuel [Watulatsu] was clearly pretty well established and to see Kennedy [Odede], who’s our age, and to see what he’s done was pretty inspirational,” she said. “I think he’s had a comparable impact with much less resources and less formal training.”

Odede hopes to continue helping out his hometown by supporting the Wesleyan School for Girls, a school which educates 46 orphaned girls in a variety of subjects. Although not officially related to Wesleyan, Odede gave the girls’ school its name in honor of the experience and opportunities he has had here. In the coming months, he plans to lobby Wesleyan students and staff to pay for parts of the school’s floor and roof.

At the end of his talk, Odede turned to the photo of Kibera behind him, which included the Wesleyan School for Girls.

“Can you believe Wesleyan is here?” he said, pointing to a barely discernable hut in the background. “People know about you here. Can you believe?”