In 2008 the Sisters of Notre Dame began offering nursery school for impoverished children between the ages of three and six as part of the sisters’ mission in Buseesa, Uganda. Nursery school is so valuable in Buseesa because children there receive little educational preparation at home. These children often live in mud huts with simple openings in the walls for air, usually with a thatched roof and sometimes with galvanized tin. There is no electricity to allow them to study at night. They are fed whatever their parents can cultivate on their small plot of land, if they have one. Many of our nursery school students are fed their first meal of the day at school.
Since 2008 hundreds of children have received loving care and patient instruction from sisters and dedicated lay teachers. Today 100 children are enrolled at the nursery school. It includes three classes, which are all taught in the two-room basement of our former convent building.
In 2015 we set out to raise $125,000 to build a new nursery school on the same property to accommodate for the growth of this program. The design features a free-standing building with three classrooms, office space, and an outdoor gathering area for assemblies, a play area with a swing set, pit latrines, and an outdoor kitchen.
Several generous donors have already contributed to the project, bringing our total raised to $107,000. One of those special donors is the congregation at Saint Julie Billiart Church in Newbury Park, California. Saint Julie’s raised an astounding $21,000 in support of the nursery school. We broke ground on the building in the fall of 2015.
Above are a few photos of the nursery school’s construction. Primer is being applied to all of the buildings at this time. The photos are of the kitchen, the administrative wing and the classroom block. There is also a front gate standing at the entrance to the school. Still to come are electricity and solar panels, and the water tanks and furniture.
The Sisters of Notre Dame would like to extend thanks to all who have contributed to this project. We ask for your continued prayers for its successful completion!
“I very personally see your spiritual and monetary contributions at work in the Uganda mission. None of this would have been possible without you! Thank you, thank you! Webale muno!”
– Sister Mary Colette Theobald, Uganda Missionary
To learn more about the mission in Uganda or to make a donation, visit our website.
In the Hands of the Potter 