St. Mugagga School, Uganda
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Our Parish Mission: St. Mugagga School, Uganda
School history
St. Mugagga Nkozi Primary School is a boarding and day school located in Uganda that was built in 1937 and has been headed by the Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga. Currently, we are in contact with Brother Frank Mugera. Brother Frank holds the role of head teacher and has a degree in Primary Education.
St. Mugagga is a government aided school under the program of Universal Primary Education. However, they only receive about $450 USD in funds for capital improvements (the state of the school) each year and about $121 USD/student/year, which is exclusively meant to be used for buying scholastic materials. There are not enough funds to feed and clothe the children, uphold refurbishment of the school and living quarters, and solve any problems that the school may experience throughout the year.
Location
St. Mugagga Nkozi Primary School is located in the Mpigi District, Kampala Archdiocese, which is 50 miles southwest of Kampala in the town of Nkozi.
The school is situated in a rural setting-- most families grow crops for self sustenance (subsistence farming), and have little disposable income to contribute toward school renovation projects. The students' families, however, have continued to provide whatever is in their means towards the implementation of renovation projects, including the donation of labor and materials.
Student Life
St. Mugagga has seven classes for boys and girls ages 6 to 16+ from Primary (grade) 1 to Primary (grade) 7. More recently, they added a nursery school for ages 3 to 5 as well. At the time Church of the Blessed Sacrament began supporting St. Mugagga, there were 400 students enrolled. School resumed on August 23rd this year with 700 students from nursery school through Primary 7, 20 teachers, and 5 support staff. This means that there is a 35 to 1 student to teacher ratio. The students have the opportunity to learn the following subjects: math, science, social studies, English, religious education, music, arts and crafts, and local language.
The students at St. Mugagga do not take their education for granted. As a result, they perform extremely well on their exams. In December 2019, zero students in Primary 7 failed their exams, which made them eligible to enter secondary school. In December 2023, all 64 students in Primary 7 passed their leaving exams. This consistency shows the intelligence of the students and the adeptness of their teachers.
Involvement of Blessed Sacrament
Church of the Blessed Sacrament has been involved with St. Mugagga since 2010. Moving forward, we look to continue to send funds in order to keep the mission of the school alive. They are currently struggling to hire and retain teachers due to poor housing conditions. They are estimating about $5,466 USD to build new living quarters. See the below timeline for the specific ways we have been involved with St. Mugagga:
HOW TO GIVE
The ushers bring around donation baskets at every Mass where you have the opportunity to give as you feel called to. We ask that you specifically label your offerings "St. Mugagga" before contributing to the basket if your intent is to give to the school. Another donation option is to login to Faith Direct, which is located under the 'Stewardship' tab on our website. If you are looking for chances to volunteer, we will be having an event in the Spring. The funds raised there will go directly to renovating the teachers' quarters at St. Mugagga. Please contact [email protected] if you want to get involved or have any questions about the school.Brother Frank shares that the staff and students at St. Mugagga are constantly praying for our church and every one of our parishioners. They are grateful for all the support we have given them. While monetary aid is greatly appreciated, they value our support in prayer as well!
