Angoda Emmanuel receives the Yoast Care fund for his contribution to the WordPress community

Meet Angoda Emmanuel, a cherished member of the WordPress Community Team! His dedication and valuable contributions to the community are the very reason why Okwanga Oscar nominated him for the Yoast Care fund. Let’s get to know this passionate WordPress enthusiast a bit better.

Nominator Okwanga Oscar: “Angoda Emmanuel is an award-winning ICT teacher using WordPress since 2013 to develop and manage websites. He has trained many people on how to use WordPress free of charge, and I am also among the beneficiaries. Emmanuel is the team leader of the WordPress community in Lira city, Lira WordPress Meetup, which is the first WordPress community in the northern region of Uganda. Lira WordPress Meetup is organizing their first WordCamp this year on the 24th of August.”

Let’s get to know Angoda Emmanuel

That’s quite an introduction, Okwanga! We would love to get to know Angoda even better. That’s why we asked him some questions about his work and his passion for WordPress:

Hi, Angoda! What do you do?

I am a teacher currently working with Lira Town College. I am also the founder of TESITriskelion Education and Skills Initiative, a non-profit that uses ICT to improve education in northern Uganda. I love teaching, especially tech skills, providing career guidance services, and encouraging young people to pursue STEM courses. I also love mentoring young people, and under TESI, we have a mentorship program that has allowed young people to quickly learn advanced tech skills, including WordPress and Robotics.

How do you know about WordPress?

Since the early 2000s, I have been interested in the internet revolution. I learned how to write email addresses and URLs at 16. When I attended university, website development was one of my favorite courses. I mastered the art of using Content Management Systems as early as 2010, and by 2013, I entirely switched to WordPress.

I have found WordPress relatively easy to teach and learn. It has hundreds of thousands of templates and plugins, and above all, it is straightforward to receive support from the community.

Why do you think that you got nominated?

I was nominated because of my pioneering role in starting and steering Lira WordPress Meetup, which eventually led to WordCamp Lira 2024, the first WordCamp in northern Uganda. You see, I have been a very passionate WordPress designer, and I do follow WordPress-related events in Uganda and beyond. I keenly followed WordPress meetups in Jinja, Kampala Entebbe, and Masaka, yet the distance to these events is often prohibitive—over 300 km away. So, I had to work with a few passionate WordPress people, and we started Lira WordPress Meetup. After a year of community engagements and activities, we applied for a WordCamp, which was fortunately granted.

So, I believe the nomination recognizes my many years of work and contribution to the WordPress community in northern Uganda. Now that we have a thriving WordPress community in Lira City and northern Uganda, the next step for me and other WordPress enthusiasts is to build local plugins that meet local demands.

Why WordPress?

For me, WordPress is very user-friendly, and the learning curve is not steep, which makes it ideal for students under 18. As teachers, I believe that we should teach learners how to thrive in the real world, not the book world. In Uganda, there’s a wide gap between what’s taught at school and what happens in industry. Educators like me have to find innovative ways of implementing the curriculum while also skilling young people.

When introducing WordPress to teenagers or undergraduate students, I feel delighted to see their faces brighten up. WordPress makes life so easy. I have used it for activism—highlighting essential issues in education—and for tech mentorship, supporting young people to embrace tech/STEM careers.

Who is your WordPress hero?

I have many godfathers in WordPress, but I will never forget Rogers Mukalele. I have followed his footsteps ever since I became a teacher. Rogers has single-handedly popularised WordCamps in Uganda and WordPress as a CMS of choice for website development. He has inspired many ICT teachers, like myself, to embrace WordPress in the classroom fully.

There’s also Peter Kakoma, who introduced me to the idea of making WordPress plugins in 2016; something I’ve almost achieved. In addition, I will not forget Arthur Kasirye, who, using WordPress, has carved out an admirable career using his WordPress expertise. Moses Sssebuwufu, team leader of WordCamp Masaka, has also been an inspiring figure for the entire WordPress community and me in northern Uganda.

Thank you for this interview, Angoda, and for all of your contributions to the WordPress community! Do you know someone like Angoda Emmanuel who also deserves to be in the spotlight? Go to our Yoast Care page and nominate them right away.