Clare
The Bishop of Fort Portal Catholic Diocese, Rt. Rev. Robert Muhiirwa Akiiki, has encouraged pupils at Nyabubaare Primary School in Butunduuzi Sub-County, Kyenjojo District, to be strategic about their futures urging them to dream meaningfully and seek God’s guidance, with emphasis that anyone can move from nobody to somebody by God’s Grace.
He noted these yesterday at an event to bless and officially hand over four modern classroom blocks, built by s Manos Unidas from Spain through CARITAS Fort Portal, emphasizing the importance of taking full advantage of the new facilities and the support from their teachers to reach their goals. He noted that success often begins in the early years of education.
This being Bishop Muhiirwa’s first visit to the school, he called on parents and teachers to prioritize education in today’s competitive environment, emphasizing the need for sacrifice to ensure their children succeed. He was particular that for one to benefit in education, they must invest in it.
Rev. Fr. Christopher Kankya, the Parish Priest Butunduuzi, echoed the Bishop’s call for improved academic standards to make the school one of the best in the region. Rev. Fr. Simon Alituha, chaplain of schools in Butunduuzi Parish, praised the Diocese for its commitment to enhancing education in remote areas and called for similar support for other schools.
The Bishop expressed surprise that a Catholic-founded institution lacked a patron saint and designated St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the patron saint of Catholic schools, educators, and orphans, to intercede for Nyabubaare Primary.
The school background
Mr. Charles Asiimwe, the headteacher, thanked Bishop Muhiirwa for his significant visit, and the donors, Manos Unidas via CARITAS Fort Portal and promised to make effective use of the new facilities. He decried failure by parents to facilitate teachers who are not on government pay roll attributing it to non stable income of parents who are typically subsistence farmers that rely on seasonal harvests.
Founded as a church school in 1998, Nyabubaare Primary School was taken over by the Ugandan government in 2008. It currently serves over 400 students, including 187 boys and 215 girls, and employs 11 teachers, six of whom are on the government payroll while the remaining five are funded by the Parents Teachers Association (PTA).
