St. Francis UGANDA

It is sometime since we sent any news to our website, apart from what we wrote in our newsletter which went out in February 2021, giving you the news of 2020.

Due to covid 19 pandemic out break, the presidential directive came out on 18th March 2020 that all schools and institutions should close as a preventive measure and that all students/ pupils should go home. Like most private schools, ours was not an exception.

Here in St. Francis, it is our practice every morning to start the day together with a mindfulness exercise. The intention is twofold.  Being together as a staff, each morning, creates a good connection at the beginning of each day.  

I was working as a volunteer in Mbarara, Uganda was spent in the Office of the Child Sponsorship Department of St. Francis. every week working with women prisoners and the children they had given birth to during their prison sentence. I also worked one day a week in an orphanage run by a priest of the Archdiocese. I am German and was a member of the sending organization called EIRENE. 

Brother Timothy Lamb OFM gave a training on the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, in the treatment of addiction, to all of us who were interested and in need of this updating.

What a colourful week! From the 25th - 29th of January our sponsored children of different classes entered St. Francis and woke the place up, making it lively and exciting.

It is now four months since I arrived in Uganda and I have already begun to love this beautiful country and its people. My name is Arienne Schulz. I´m the current German volunteer and I´m working with St. Francis since last September.

It’s a bright day as I begin my service at St. Francis Family Helper Programme. I am Sr. Catherine Nyamata from the Daughters of Mary and Joseph Congregation.

This is Mary Moran writing as I need to share some great news with you.  I have been working in and fundraising for St. Francis since its inception in 1984 or 85.

In July of this year, 2014, Vernice Solimar, professor, dean and chair of a department in JFK university, California, gave a two week training in Leadership for Transformation, to the staff of St. Francis Family Helper Programme, the staff of Uganda Martyrs University, Nyamitanga campus and a number of other attendees.

October 2014, Paul Donnelly from Armagh, is overseeing the completion of the first floor with financing from the Nyamitanga Campus of Uganda Martyrs University, under the directorship of Fr. Professor Peter Kanyandago.
Floors are having Terrazzo, windows are being glazed and painting is going on.  We hope to finish the remainder of the building in 2015.

Domagoj and Mary are in Austria staying in Monika’s apartment.
Domagoj came to teach Mary how to edit website as we were having difficulty without a resident web master in Uganda. Now Mary and Domagoj can update the webpage more frequently. Anything you see under the title Learning to use Website is the attempt to learn.  Even if the news is a repetition it is a classroom practice.  

Shinchi Furjimara, Japanese volunteer, from JICA, Japan, administrator of computer laboratory, computer trainer to all our students, is leaving for Japan after years of wonderful service.

He is visited by his project officer from Kampala as he does a handover to the teachers whom he has trained to take over after him. His project officer gave gifts of an avocado tree and a Mango tree, to symbolise the partnership. The day started with breakfast in Mary's kitchen followed by a few ceremonies and the award of a certificate of appreciation from Ichiro Ice Owa.

They say the best things come in threes and WE DID IT! The third floor of the building has been completed.
We are proud, very proud of this achievement, not because of a wish to boast but because we have experienced and witnessed a series of miracles.

Over a year ago, Mary who does not like risk or debt, wanted to put a stop to the building and to having the Irish builders come for further work, as we had not sufficient money and needed time for fundraising.

The purpose of this additional lesson is to produce multi skilled persons who can have more than one chance of getting a job. These computer classes have only been possible because of your support the Ugandan economy.

So far we have trained 80 students in non-formal skills training including the production of school uniforms. One of the techniques we teach is adding value to fabric by using tie and dye techniques.

We trained the staff of a primary school in Mbarara town for one month in Liberation Education, a model of instruction based on the philosophy of Brazilian education philosopher Paulo Freire. This model focuses more on the needs of the students, on the dialogue between student and teacher, on a methodology and language of teaching suitable to the student.