In Conversation: Dennis Okwera - Model & Activist

Dennis Okwera is a multifaceted London-based model, actor, and philanthropist. He founded the Lumule Foundation, an organisation dedicated to empowering children in Northern Uganda through education. We spoke with Dennis about his inspiring journey from Uganda to London, and his mission to provide children with better educational opportunities and support for their futures.

I think the fashion industry has a huge role in caring for our planet. Instead of just making just what's enough, we tend to make too much. We just need to go back to basics. 

My name is Dennis Okwera. I'm a model, actor, builder and a giver. A lot of people call it philanthropy but I think I just call myself a giver.

I'm the founder of Lumule Foundation which is empowering children through education in Northern Uganda.

I was born in Lumule at a time when a civil war was brewing.

My dad somehow made his way to the UK and decided we needed to leave northern Uganda.

I remember getting to Gatwick and walking off the plane and I was like, “Wow this place is cold!” It was so cold. That was the first thing that struck me and the second thing was I didn't see fear in people's faces.

It was a shock to me. I mean even before I left Uganda, I just knew that I'd be back. Then when I got scouted to be a model, I was like maybe I'll give it a go and it helped me pay for three of my cousins to go to university. They've all graduated and then I told my aunt I want to give back to the community and she's like “Yeah, the war is over. Everybody's back home from the refugee camps.”

The children have no opportunities there. I can help the former child soldiers, which is a lot of them. They're back within the community and they're having children.

The children come to this school. This year we have 765 children in school, seeing the children in classes, just happy and smiling.

It's a slow process, but we're getting there. We're getting there.