In a 2003 speech, Nelson Mandela is quoted to have said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” and so is also belief at E-zone School of Computing.
Started as simple secretarial bureau with community internet services, we gradually evolved into a community school offering training in essential digital skills to the underserved in Uganda as a way of making them job ready in an era where computer skills are increasingly a requirement. Hundreds of teenagers have gone through my guidance, from their first touch of a mouse to comfortable use of computer at their respective places of work.
WordPress Into the Mix
For some time now, E-zone School has had a short web design course where students are taken through HTML, CSS, JavaScript and finally introduced to WordPress. Part of their course includes attending, speaking and volunteering at WordCamps. They are also required to showcase or compete at similar events like we did at WordPress in Education Showcase in Masaka and the Uganda Website Projects Competition.
In April 2026, I was privileged to attend and speak at WordCamp Asia, and as we walked around the sponsor booths with Moses Cursor, we bumped into Maciej Pilarski, a community wrangler at Automattic with a focus on education initiatives. A casual conversation about the WordPress community in Uganda led to a discussion about the several education initiatives and that’s when Cursor suggested the need to have Campus Credits at E-zone School.
With the key person in the picture, this was another chance to expose our students to the wider world of WordPress – to give them a picture beyond what I always gave them.
About WordPress Credits
Announced in 2025, WordPress Credits is a program that connects higher education students with the global open-source community offering real-world experience with mentorship to help students fulfil academic requirements while contributing directly to WordPress.
Depending on the time that the students at a particular institution have, institutions can choose between 2 formats – the shorter 50-hour format or the full 150-hour program
At the end of either track, participating students present their work, complete a feedback form, and receive a certificate.
Introducing Our First Cohort
This September, we are privileged to have our first cohort who will be attending the 50-hour program. The first cohort are Gertrude Nicole Nabisere, Debrah Nawaguma, Dorothy Nanyonjo, Florence Namyalo and Kizito Ssekasanvu. This lot will be mentored by experienced and passionate community members in Patrick Lumumba, Jesse Mwangi and Moses Cursor. With wide exposure in the WordPress ecosystem gained from a string of events and other volunteer roles in the WordPress project, these mentors, whose experience spans beyond Africa are a perfect fit for this extra volunteer role.
What this Means for Us
Among the several initiatives, E-zone School mostly serves the less privileged by offering basic digital literacy and preparing them for self-reliance. This has given hope to hundreds of out of school youth, and fresh graduates by providing them with the necessary skills and exposure required in the world of work. This means that our students are able to start their own small businesses or get employed and therefore able to support themselves and their immediate families.
An extra layer of exposure like this offered by the WordPress project through the several volunteers means more opportunities and a wider view of what is possible with WordPress. These beneficiaries are the very ones that E-zone School depends on to support future cohorts of students who may also need these skills.
Other WordPress in Education Initiatives
Apart from the WordPress Credits program which we are pleased to be part of, The WordPress open-source community runs three other global initiatives to support student learning, open-source contribution, and on-campus communities.
WordPress Campus Connect: This project brings hands-on, free workshops (covering website building, SEO, themes, and plugins) directly to universities and schools. At the time of writing this, I am privileged to volunteer alongside Moses Cursor, Kenneth Kipyek and Joseph Mwogezi on the WordPress Campus Connect East and Central Uganda series where we are visiting 26 schools and universities over 3 month period.
WordPress Student Clubs: The purpose of this project is to empower students with faculty sponsors to start year-round, on-campus WordPress groups for peer learning and local meetups. Similar to the normal meet-up style of the WordPress project, these are uniquely institution based engagements.
WordPress Hosting for Students: The latest from WordPress.com, this one offers to students the full power of WordPress, without the technical hassles of managing infrastructure. Students can tinker in a real-world WordPress environment, build an online portfolio or store, or write articles in a professional-level tool with access to plugins, themes, advanced tools, and a free .blog or .art domain name.
