PROFILES OF OUR LAY MISSIONARIES

Stephen Burke:  Uganda

I’ve spent almost nine months volunteering with St. Francis now. The time has flown by which is a good sign. St. Francis Family Helper Programme is based in Mbarara in Western Uganda and has three separate projects. They have a child sponsorship programme, a counsellor training institute and a tailoring school. A large new building is currently being built for the counsellor training institute that will ultimately form part of a new Catholic university being built in Mbarara as a number of different educational institutions merge together.

I’ve been working as St. Francis’ accountant. I’ve been trying to put in place better accounting systems. I think I’ve made some progress but hope to do more before I finish up here. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first came out, but I have to say that there’s a lot of good work and honest endeavour in the organisation and I’m just trying to make an additional contribution. Through St. Francis’ different projects, the local community and beyond has been helped since 1984. I regularly meet people who have been helped by St. Francis in some way.

Working with St. Francis in Uganda has also given me the chance to visit other parts of East Africa. I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to go to Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. Burundi is next on the agenda in September!

As part of my work I’ve come into contact with many

different people here. To see the circumstances that many local people have to contend with everyday, where the only support people can rely on is their family and NGO support from organisations such as St. Francis, has given me a greater insight into the benefits we have at home which are often taken for granted. This experience has also reaffirmed in my mind the fact that, while material things without doubt make life more comfortable, they aren’t a source of happiness in themselves.

June 2011

Uganda - Country Profile