On some days, Watsemwa Eseri is in the field visiting project sites across Uganda. On others, she is in a studio preparing officials for interviews or drafting speeches. A Master of Arts in Strategic Communications student at the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC), Eseri also serves as a Public Relations Advisor at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a global development organisation working with governments and communities worldwide.
No two days are the same. She might observe agricultural training one morning and coordinate media engagement the next. While her tasks shift, her focus remains constant: connecting development work to the people it serves.
She learned early that this connection is not automatic. During a media visit to East and Northern Uganda, watching journalists interact with local communities taught her that "storytelling goes beyond reporting. It is about human connection."
Moments like this have shaped how she sees her role, but they have also pushed her to grow. Feeling she was running out of cards to play in an evolving landscape, she joined GSMC to understand how the right words build trust, shift behaviour, and respond to challenges. Her career had already shown how easily messages can be misconstrued. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a delayed hospital project in Northern Uganda was framed as “abandonment”by the media before should could provide context. It was a stark lesson: important stories need to be told in a timely manner before other voices take over.
Working across Uganda has also taught her that the messenger matters as much as the words. With over 40 local languages, what makes sense in Kampala may mean something else in a rural district like Bulambuli in eastern Uganda. At GSMC, these experiences have started to come together, deepening her appreciation for listening. She now views communication as a shared space where stories are not just told, but heard.
Eseri has specifically embraced participatory communication, ensuring people help shape the information they receive. She used to see herself as "the veiled communicator," working quietly behind the scenes, but now she feels that veil has been lifted. She is more present, intentional, and aware of her responsibility.
The stories she wants to tell are simple: a farmer in Bulambuli with better yields or a mother in Busoga, a region in southeastern Uganda, with closer health care. By highlighting these narratives, she believes she can do more than inform; she can help communities see themselves not as people waiting for help, but as partners already in motion.
