Uganda

In Uganda, we have started constructing a visionary, new, multi-purpose Eco-Education and Healing Centre in Nyangole parish of the Archdiocese of Tororo, Eastern Uganda. In a region fiercely affected by climate change, where 80% of households depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and face constant food insecurity, there is broad agreement on the need for communities to move from subsistence to sustainable and profitable farming by boosting local agricultural productivity, reducing post-harvest spoilage losses and providing market linkages.

“We must never be afraid to change, if it is needed", taught Mother Anna Dengel to her sisters during her lifetime.  Today, we remain confident that the new MMS Centre for Climate Justice and Healing of People and Planet can drive the process of local change and transformation by preparing congregations, communities and crucially, young people in Uganda, to become the face of ecological change in an increasingly dry and barren land. It will become a hub for vital environmental education.

In a region of environmental degradation, we are starting to unleash the power of people and nature to create thriving communities and ecosystems. On our land in Angorom village, we are setting up an integrated eco-demonstration farm, alongside Uganda’s Permaculture Institute of Research, to train communities in sustainable methods of farming, designed to combat food insecurity through self-sufficiency.

Never has boosting immunity through improved nutrition been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects the poorest households disproportionately.

Medical Mission Sisters are developing a mission in Northern Uganda near Adjumani - specifically,  with refugees, who continue to make long and hazardous journeys to find safety in the settlements.  Fleeing mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), they walk miles and miles on foot. Many refugees arrive exhausted after days walking in the bush and going without food or water.  Many children have lost one or both of their parents.

During the continuing pandemic, we have been springing into action to offer refugees humanitarian assistance, whether:  providing handwashing facilities and encouraging groups of women and young people in host communities and refugee settlements to make liquid soap to generate much-needed income; distributing food to boost household immunity and setting up a demonstration farm to teach refugees organic farming methods; providing support to palliative care patients; or delivering Personal Protective Equipment to Adjumani General Hospital, Nyumazi Covid-19 Treatment Centre and Mungula Health Centre.