In response to a 1997 national initiative to raise the standard of girls’ education, the Canossian Sisters are assisting with the renovation of a local girls’ dormitory. The aim of the project is to increase enrolment and improve the living condition of students in Lweza Village, near Kampala, Uganda.

Currently, one of the school buildings is being used as the girls’ dormitory. A sheet metal roof in disrepair, pavement in need of resurfacing and unstable beams comprise ‘home’ to 50 students. In addition, there are no proper hygienic facilities or a place for trash disposal, forcing the boarders to adapt to what’s available.

There are 700 students enrolled in the Bishop Sisto Mazzoldi Secondary School; about 30% are needy students, including Sudanese refugees and a few students from Kenya. The Brothers of St. Martin De Porres, who founded the school in 1993, lack the means to improve the girls’ living situation. They called upon the Canossian Sisters, who have been carrying out their missionary work for many years in the Lweza Parish, for assistance.

In collaboration with the Brothers, the Sisters are planning to renovate the girls’ dormitory, install a water system in the dormitory, put up conducive toilets and bathing rooms, construct a small incinerator, and prepare a netball field from cement for recreational purposes. The Sisters will both finance and supervise the project.

This simple but effective project is meant to meet the requirements of a healthy environment for the growth and the enhancement of these girls, who have already overcome so much.