by Fernando Atienza –
There was a time when pupils at the Saint Noa School in the village of Kitangira in southern Uganda sat squeezed together in decaying and leaky classrooms. They occupied the back part of the local church. There they did schoolwork in a building without water supply and basic toilet facilities. A piece of cloth tied to poles served to divide the two classrooms. Torrential rains and searing heat would sometimes disrupt classes. When weather cooperates classes were held under a nearby tree.
In this village rampant poverty and an aging infrastructure have made providing an education more challenging than providing food.
Today, a new school building stands proudly. Named the Saint Noa Nursery and Primary School, it has modern classrooms, a kitchen, latrines, enough desks and books, a teachers quarters and a playground to boot. The roof is solid and the children are settled and happily learning.
Fr. Gerry Kaggwa, pastor of the Church of the Visitation in Middlesex County and the Saint Francis de Sales Church in Mathews County, grew up in Kitangira and attended the old school in the 60s. Learning of the difficult conditions in his school, the combined parishes began a fundraising campaign in August 2017. Within a few months, Fr. Gerry was back in his hometown blessing the site and pouring concrete on the school’s foundation.
The new school opened its doors to children in 2018 and by February 2019, additional classrooms, playground equipment, a security fence and teachers’ quarters were completed and were fully operational.
