Dr. Charles Barugahare is a Financial Consultant, Author, Real estate developer, Agro-forestry farmer, and a Rotarian. He has written several articles on personal finance and retirement planning. He has authored the “9-Pillars to Exploit Your Potential” and “Navigating the Financial Path-The 30-Day Personal Finance Challenge” available on this website.
As part of the Financial Advisory, he regularly facilitates trainings and workshops on personal finance and retirement planning.
He holds a B.com, MBA, and Doctorate of Business Administration degrees. He is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant; and has attended various financial and management courses.
He has worked and rendered consultation on; as well as practiced financial management for over 25 years while serving as university Secretary and Accounting Officer, and Director of Internal Audit, at Makerere University, the largest Ugandan public University; Chief Internal Auditor at The Aids Support Organisation (TASO), a Non-Governmental Organisation; and in the private sector as Director Retirement Life Hub Limited, agroforestry, and real estate.
For his dedicated service to Makerere University and contribution to the country at large, Dr. Charles Barugahare was awarded a Golden Jubilee Medal by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda in 2018 during Labour Day Celebrations. He has experienced and witnessed financial struggles firsthand. He has not been told; He has seen and felt them himself from childhood and throughout his career. He shares in brief some of the childhood memories and experiences that he believes contributed to his financial improvement.
Childhood Memories and Experiences
1. In 1986, during primary six, their village faced famine due to thunderstorms. Traveling 25 km to an unaffected community, they sought work for food from an old lady. Work was provided in exchange for cassava and sweet potatoes, the old lady demonstrated kindness by feeding them before assigning work. Exhausted but determined, they completed the tasks by 5.00 pm, and she fulfilled her promise by letting them harvest the agreed food. The journey home became challenging due to the heavy load and tiredness, prompting them to store some food at a kind stranger’s house overnight. They returned home at 10.30 pm, exhausted, ate, and slept. He is uncertain whether they showered. The next morning, they went and collected the stored food.
2. While he was in upper primary up to senior four, he was involved in buying and selling sugar canes, pineapples, and paraffin to supplement fees and meet some basic needs. He would walk from Nyakishojwa (home area) in Mitooma District to Nyamayenze Market in Rukungiri District (about 19 km one-way using shortcuts (Panyas) carrying merchandise to sell in the market. He would return home with a jerrican of paraffin to sell from home and make some profit.
3. Despite financial constraints, his late parents, Ponsiano Babigumira and Farazia Batabaruka (may they rest in peace) were very supportive and sacrificed a lot. They emphasized the value of education, believing it would lead to a better life. Grateful for the fulfillment of his parents’ wishes, he reflects on their prudent financial management, where every coin was used purposively. His mother’s advice, “Never Leave Your Pockets Empty, the items you cannot avoid spending on will continue to emerge regularly” left a lasting impact, emphasizing responsible spending on essential items.
4. He fondly recalls Dr. and Mrs. Baryarama’s significant impact on his life. They prevented him from repeating primary 6 by providing a jerrican of paraffin to sell and get fees, marking it as one of his happiest moments.
Additionally, the Baryarama family took care of him after O’level till he finished university. It was during his stay with their family that he kept observing and learning how cautiously and perseveringly Dr. Baryarama managed and utilised the little income he had to look after many people that were under his care. He learned how to prioritise, multi-task, and do some side hustle businesses while staying there. He believes that the journey to change what you are used to requires taking small steps at a time, with consistency, courage, and determination, overtime so long as you are moving in the right direction, there will be change and progress.