Faruku Kibaba grew up in Uganda, in the Kasese district a community where aggression, tribalism, corruption, and social economic injustices are part of the daily routines. He witnessed different acts of violence, child abuse, and social injustices against women, children, and youth including inter-tribble conflicts. These experiences of hostility and injustice in his community led him to work with various initiatives to avert the crisis that has spanned for decades. These situations have affected youth since they are always at the frontline of all conflicts. As the old African adage goes, "The elders declare war, and the Youth fight." This is worsened due to the high unemployment levels in the region. The Rotaract and Rotary Clubs of Kasese provided him an opportunity to be part of an international diplomatic path to solve local and national level conflicts and realization of peace and stability in his country Uganda. Faruku Kibaba participated in Pillars of Peace training and mentorship workshops in Uganda by the Institute of Economics and Peace together with the International Peace and Security Institute where he acquired skills in positive peacebuilding, mediation, and reconciliation. Faruku started the Great Lakes Peace Center to use his knowledge and skills acquired from the mentorships and Rotary International experience to help, serve, and resolve conflicts, foster goodwill and build peace in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Faruku's Bid to pursue peacebuilding and society empowerment as a career made it imperative for him to start the organization to achieve this long-term aspiration. Professionally, Faruku holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Makerere University and a Master's degree in Peacebuilding and Reconciliation from Winchester University, UK. Currently a PhD Fellow in Ottawa, Canada. Faruku has been part of different international Peace summits including Youth empowerment conferences from around Africa such as the PeaceJam Conference in Accra Ghana, the Youthconekt Africa summit in Kigali Rwanda, the SDGs and Climate Change Youth Summit for Africa in Kampala Uganda, the PanAfrican Humanitarian and Awards summit in Dar es Salam Tanzania, several Rotary conferences around Africa, SDGs Award Ceremony in Bonn, Germany, and PeaceJam Conference in UK.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love humanity and the spirit of service in me remains the highest. Supporting travelers has been my thing for half of my life I am constantly involved in travel.

Because my first experience was being hosted by a beautiful family in Bonn, I try my best to make my home available even sometimes when I am away as long as the surfer is okay with it.

Interests

Networks that build a global understanding and business.
Volunteering and community service
Peace building and conflict resolution

• backpacking
• peacebuilding

Music, Movies, and Books

African Music.
Money Heist.
Better Call Saul

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was President of the Rotaract Club of Kasese, I lead a group of 18 youth in fundraising for and constructing a pit latrine at a local primary school. Previous to our initiative, the school only had one latrine, which was under poor condition and was shared between all school staff and over 700 students. This made for poor sanitary conditions and increased susceptibility to diseases such as cholera. After building the latrine, there were increased sanitary conditions and decreased susceptibility to disease.

I have also founded a Rotary Club in my community with an aim of involving more youth in service work in my community. The club was chartered by Rotary International in June 2020.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach my hosts several Ugandan languages, including: Kiswahili, Lhukonzo and Luganda. I can also teach my hosts how to cook local Ugandan dishes!

What I Can Share with Hosts

My language teaching,
A little of what I do at home
Home made souvenirs

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Germany, Uganda, United Kingdom