Irundu (Uganda)
[May 2024]

Benedictine Sisters of Grace and Compassion Congregation (Irundu, Jinja, Uganda)

Project 3549: Acquisition of tanks to store water

The Congregation of Grace and Compassion has its origins (1954) in a group of dedicated lay people, which was accepted as a pious union by the Bishop of Southwark in 1959. In 1978 the General Chapter adopted the Rule of St. Benedict and Mother Mary (the first laywoman) became the first Prioress General. The organization was recognized as a Diocesan Congregation by the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton in 1992, and was affiliated with the Benedictine Confederation in 1992. The Congregation comprises 893 sisters. The Congregation has founded houses in England, Africa, India and Sri Lanka. Sisters engage at all levels of education as well as health services, providing inpatient and outpatient care, including HIV programs, regardless of gender, religion, race and status social of people. Social services provided to the population range from caring for orphans, vulnerable and street children, mothers and refugees, especially victims of domestic violence and armed conflict, prisoners and the elderly. The pastoral work of the sisters includes catechetical work, support for parishes and dioceses and the formation of young women in religious life.

In 2003, the Congregation was invited by the Bishop of Jinja to establish a foundation in Irundu, Uganda, to help the parish and local villages. The sisters now run St Benedict’s nursery and primary school and also own a farm.

Since 2009, the sisters have also lived at St. Mary's Convent in Jinja, where they opened a nursery school in 2017 and a guest house in 2021.

Since 2009, the sisters have provided services to orphans at the Saint-Benoît nursery and primary school and the orphanage. These services include, among others, health care, education and agricultural practices. But we faced many financial challenges.

Request

The village of Irundu has a major problem with the supply of drinking water and is insufficient for human consumption and irrigation. Additionally, encroachment on other natural resources like trees for timber, charcoal and firewood for tobacco cultivation has led to deforestation, in turn drying up sources of water.

People are exposed to water-borne diseases in the village due to the consumption of impure water from ponds shared with animals: cholera, bilharzia, dysentery... Malaria is wreaking havoc.

The community has few water sources which are not sufficient for both human and livestock consumption. There are only two pools and two small seasonal springs that are currently dry during this year's dry season (April to October).

The situation at the Saint-Benoît nursery and primary school forces the sisters and schoolchildren to get up at 4 a.m. to go to the village of Bukuma which is 4 km away to fetch drinking water before it is not contaminated by livestock. They are then faced with many challenges such as accidents, injustices and attacks including sexual assaults against women and girls.

According to the study established by the sisters, the purchase of four water storage tanks, with a capacity of 10,000 liters per tank, will help store water for constant use, even during dry seasons. from March to June. The purchase of 10,000 liter water tanks will help provide a source of clean water to the primary school, the orphanage and the community at large. Women and schoolchildren will not have to travel long distances in Pradah in search of sources of drinking water, reducing the risk of exposure to injustice and attacks. This will allow for better hygiene and a reduction in diseases linked to unsafe water.

In addition, the sisters decided to acquire mosquito nets and suitable bedding in order to fight against the endemic spread of malaria which has already caused the death of many children.

Financial assistance requested: 7,885 euros.

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