Okello John

John was selected as a CROSO Scholar in 2019 and was passionate about pursuing a diploma in agriculture. In his application, he stated, “Agriculture being the backbone of Uganda's economy, I want to improve agricultural activities and educate people on different agricultural concepts.” John attended Bukalasa Agricultural College and hopes to become an agricultural consultant and/or farm manager. He graduated in 2022.

Vision for the Future:

Not only does John have a very clear vision for his future, but he also has very specific ideas that he is excited to begin implementing. He recognizes that Uganda’s government is currently contributing a lot of resources in order to improve and begin modernizing agriculture and wants to become involved with that particular movement. John is passionate about agriculture because he recognizes the importance of more people having access to food. 

More on John’s background: 

John is the eldest of seven children. When his father passed away when he was fourteen, his mother did not have sufficient funds to properly provide for the family. John was forced to drop out of school and begin working on the street -- first as a porter for a garage and later resorted to picking up scrap metal and going through the trash in order to find leftover food. When C.R.O. found John, they were able to provide emotional and physical support for John, getting him registered for school and giving him access to food. While John was at school, he was a member of the debate club as the deputy speaker, marketeer in the entrepreneurship school business club, and an active member of the wildlife club. Additionally, John also remained active at C.R.O as a member of the peer educators club and as an employee at the stationery shop.