Population: 40,853,749
Percent Below Poverty Line: 21.4%
After years of working with Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS) priests and seminarians in India, our partnership with the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales has opened the door to serving the poor in Uganda in 2019.
Population: 40,853,749
Percent Below Poverty Line: 21.4%
After years of working with Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS) priests and seminarians in India, our partnership with the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales has opened the door to serving the poor in Uganda in 2019.
That’s because they have no church structure of their own. Many of these worshippers are elderly and can’t make the trek to the parish church in the next town over, 2.5 miles away.
So every Sunday, Fr. Sunny Mattathil, MSFS, comes to them. He celebrates Mass under the mango tree, and the people pray that one day, they’ll have a church of their own.
The villagers of Kyamwinula made 25,000 bricks by hand so they could build their church. People are very poor here. Most are subsistence farmers with little or nothing to spare. But they came together, made bricks for their church, and got ready to build.
Sadly, before they could cure the bricks, a rainstorm came a washed their work away. The bricks were destroyed.
The sad truth is, the villagers have nothing left to start over with. They have no resources to buy building materials. And they’re running out of time: the rainy season is about to start again. With no church structure to protect them from the elements, the rainy season will put this faith community in danger of losing hope.
In Uganda, the rainy season lasts 8 months out of the year. While there are two “dry” seasons, the country experiences substantial rainfall even during those seasons.
Can you image what it’s like to have Mass outside in the rain? People get soaked, clothes get drenched, and worse yet, the hosts used for communion would dissolve before the priest could even consecrate them.
In short, the rains effectively cut the villagers off from the Sacraments!
When the rains come…
Masses will be canceled.
Catechism classes will be called off.
The faith of 432 of our brothers and sisters in Christ will be in peril!
Kyamwinula is an extremely remote village. The nearest church is only 2.5 miles away, but the terrain is rough and ragged—an impossible journey for villagers in Kyamwinula (most of whom are elderly or very young children) to make. It’s even more dangerous in the rain.
Please, friend, we must do what we can to keep the spark of faith in Kyamwinula from going out.
We need your help.
Fr. Sunny needs your help.
The villagers under the mango tree need your help.
Visit the “How You Can Help” tab right now to help.
Construction is well under way on St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church in Kyamwinula. Despite some delays from the rains, they’ve been able to make awesome progress. Check out the photos below:
The total cost to build a church in Kyamwinula is $39,479.
That may sound like a lot, and it is, but when we all come together, we can accomplish even more.
Ready to be a hero and help save the faith of an entire village? Click the green “Give More” button to donate and help.
