Worcester priest visits CRS projects in Uganda

By Father Donato Infante III

“Father, please bless my workshop,” asked a young woman named Dorothy. She ran a shop on the main street in Kyenjojo, where she and her sister, Sharon, sold dresses and handbags. I bought a bag for my niece for her birthday, thinking the story behind it would be special.  (My sister has since suggested I save it for Christmas, so don’t tell my niece if you see her!)
Uganda is a beautiful country with a rich culture, diverse flora and fauna, and engaging people. As the Most Rev. Acquirino Francis Kibira, Bishop of Kasese, said to us, “Looking at my country, do you think my people should be poor?  No.”  Yet despite these natural advantages, Uganda continues to face serious challenges from civil war, a devastating HIV and AIDS epidemic, and poverty. More than one-third of the people there live on less than $2 per day.
What I witnessed in Dorothy’s shop was the resilience that characterizes the human spirit — she and her family were no longer merely surviving but moving forward and making progress.
During my journey in Uganda, I met many more people like her.
It was an unexpected trip to Uganda.  Every year, Catholic Relief Services hosts a series of trips for donors — called Journeys of Hope — to the countries around the world where they strive to ensure human dignity among the poorest of the poor. Three weeks prior, I received an email requesting my presence in Uganda. “We realize this is terribly short notice,” wrote Mikaele Sansone, Manager of Clergy Outreach & Delegations, from Catholic Relief Services. However, the two members of the clergy who were supposed to go to Uganda had to cancel, and the donors wanted someone to celebrate daily Mass. With little time to prepare, I doubted I’d be able to go. However, then I spoke with Father Hugo Cano, who directs the Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies with me at the Diocese of Worcester. “If you want to go, go. We can make it work,” he said. With a little re-scheduling and some gracious help from brother-priests who were willing to cover a few Masses for me, I went.
Uganda is a temporary home to millions of refugees — it is one of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world. On our trip, we visited Kiryandongo and Kyangwali Refugee Settlements, where CRS is building shelter for vulnerable families and constructing schools. This work is part of their global strategy to ensure that all people survive and thrive in the face of disasters.
Guided by the belief that refugees should live with dignity, the Ugandan government has constructed temporary settlements — areas of open land divided into plots — where families can build mud huts and small farms. CRS supports these efforts by providing tools and materials for shelter and meeting basic needs like ensuring that families have proper latrines.
Because the refugees intend to return home, most structures in these settlements are only meant to last, at most, 20 years. Often, when asked, “When did you come here?” people will respond with, “Which time?” The situation in South Sudan has fluctuated in such a way that refugees return home for several years only to flee again.
In Kyagnwali, we visited a school for refugee children. There were nine indoor classrooms and five outdoor classrooms. More than 350 students had shown up that day, ready to learn. They were happy to have visitors, and some asked me for biscuits or something to drink. I wondered how many were absent. The indoor classrooms were the same size as what I remember my elementary school classrooms being, but due to the enrollment, students sat on the floor. Outside, they were studying the Trinity and the Holy Family. I asked what happens in the event of rain and was told that books and papers would get wet and the chalkboards would get erased, so when it rains, class ends for the day. CRS is building nine new classrooms soon and hopefully, if funding is secured, nine more after that.
What I’ve written here covers just two of the five days I spent touring Uganda. I could recount so many more stories — visiting a vanilla farm in Rwimi, attending Mass at Caritas Hoima, and meeting local clergy at the Uganda Episcopal Conference. What becomes clear to me through it all, are the great blessings we have received in the United States and the great work CRS does on behalf of the Church by serving those in need around the world.
    
– Father Infante is a Global Fellow with CRS and director of the diocesan Office for Vocations.  CRS photo by Rebekah Lemke