Today, the 20th of June 2024, the old boys, friends, well wishers, sponsors and stakeholders of St. Peter’s College Tororo are converging at Silver Springs Hotel, Bugolobi, Kampala for a maiden fundraising dinner organized by the St. Peter’s College Tororo Old Boys Association (SPECTOBA). The dinner is the first of a series of activities that will be conducted by SPECTOBA over two years to raise funds for major infrastructural refurbishments of the students’ accommodation, classrooms, laboratories, water and sanitation, and sports facilities of St. Peter’s College Tororo, also fondly called Tororo College, aka TC.
As we hold this dinner, its Central Organizing Committee (COC) has published this maiden SPECTOBA Magazine to share with all stakeholders the aspirations of the old boys to support the school administration and governing bodies in completing the recovery to excellence of this eminent college.
The idea of the old boys coming together and lend a hand to the school handlers in reversing the dilapidation of the school’s infrastructure was born at last year’s old boys’ homecoming. This homecoming was heavily attended by alumni of all generations, including distinguished citizens such as retired Bank of Uganda Director, Mr. Apollo Obbo and retired long-serving Headteacher of TC, Mr. James Mbidde.
The homecoming, which included a tour of the dormitories, revealed gross dilapidation of the school infrastructure which compromised the learning and health environment for the students, as major disincentive to attraction and retention of talented students. Shocked at the broken infrastructure, it was unanimous among the old boys that something had to be urgently done to rescue the infrastructure of our proud college. The voices were that it may be easiest to do fundraising along house line, as alumni of Reesink House had demonstrated with some facilities on their legendary dormitory. Indeed, many house-based fundraising initiatives emerged, but yielded mixed results despite enormous enthusiasm. It was apparent that a well coordinated front by SPECTOBA was needed.
St. Peter’s College is blessed with an enormous endowment of distinguished alumni occupying the top echelons of gainful occupation in the country and the world, ranging from public service to scholars, entrepreneurs and politics. When I was elected SPECTOBA president in January this year, my leadership embraced the challenge of tapping into this enormous alumni asset of TC to hasten mobilization of required resources for major infrastructural revamp of the college with great zeal and hope.
I thank the old boys’ fraternity for embracing the fundraising drive and overwhelmingly heeding the organizing committee’s prayers and paying their dinner subscriptions in large numbers. I thank the 4th (current) SPECTOBA Executive Committee for greenlighting the fundraising drive as its priority by taskrolling a comprehensive infrastructure assessment of TC. Special gratitude also goes to the old boys’ team of engineers and sports specialists that conducted the infrastructure assessment to inform capture the damage and resource requirements, and the dinner COC for sacrificing time and money to perform the footwork for the success of this noble adventure.
I am humbled by the immense passion that old boys have shown towards giving back to the recovery of TC. With this momentum by the old boys, I have no doubt in my mind that the college will regain its mojo of academic and sports excellence.
Lastly, I thank Stanbic Bank, Pride Microfinance, Nile Breweries and all other sponsors for partnering with us, and all the dinner patrons for gracing the dinner.
Palma Sub Pondere Crescit.
For God and My Country.
Prof. Palayo Kamba
President, SPECTOBA
