Lessening the gap in Uganda

In the city of Gulu in northern Uganda, across the street from a prison, sits an enclosed compound that hundreds of women and children call home. Saint Monica’s Girls Tailoring Centre, also known as Sister Rosemary’s compound, houses a medical center, daycare, school and convent. 
 
Every day, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe and her community of more than 300 sisters, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Congregation, devote themselves to creating a better life for refugees in Uganda and South Sudan.
 
For more than 15 years, the compound has been a safe haven for victims of war violence, kidnapping and sex slavery suffered at the hands of Joseph Kony and his militia, the Lord’s Resistance Army.
 
Emily Hale, a 2019 graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, traveled to Gulu in May with fellow students through Leadership Central at UCO. A graduate of Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School and Saint John Nepomuk Catholic School, Hale was no stranger to Sister Rosemary’s work.
 
“Of course, being Catholic, I knew who she was so it was really cool to get to go on this trip,” she said.
 
Hale and the group of more than 20 students spent each day of the two-week trip working on the compound cleaning and making repairs.
 
“School was starting the Monday after we left, so we moved out some trash and painted the playground area at the school,” she explained.
 
In addition, the group sanded and painted gates, doors, windows and handrails at the school building.
 
Through the support of the Catholic community, Hale was able to fund her trip to Uganda as well as provide financial support to benefit Sister Rosemary’s mission. Students from Saint John Nepomuk held a school-wide fundraiser the month prior to Hale’s trip. More than $2,000 was raised through student donations during a week-long “penny war.”
 
Denise Heard, a teacher at Saint John Nepomuk, coordinated the effort.
 
“Because of Emily’s connection with Saint John, we decided to make this a service project for our students, a way to help others through her,” she explained. 
 
A former teacher of Hale’s, Heard was excited for the opportunity to show students how their generosity directly impacted others in need.
 
“I was so thrilled to hear about her service trip,” Heard said. “This is a full circle story, a Saint John graduate going on to do great things with the help she received from our students.” 
 
In addition to donations, students also collected pop tabs to send with Hale to donate to the Sewing Hope Orphan Village in Atiak, another compound run by Sister Rosemary and the congregation. Hale and her group made the hour-long trip to Atiak to visit the village’s new school building, which was constructed with bricks made by UCO students who visited Uganda the previous year.
 
“It is so cool to see, the bricks that students made last year became the building that stands today,” she said.
 
While in Atiak, the group constructed more bricks to be used for the upcoming projects at the orphanage.
 
Aside from the service aspect of the trip, Hale expressed how meaningful the connections were that she made with the women she met on the compound.
 
“We made friends, we talked, we even played cards with these women. I just love what Sister Rosemary has done to lessen the gap for them!”  
 
Sally Linhart is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.