Tag: Jesuits

A New Academic Year Has Begun!

Ocer Campion Jesuit College Literature Class

We begin a fresh year of academic study across Uganda as we step into the new. Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu has 600 plus student with one-third on scholarship. St Joseph College, a Franciscan high school in Tororo has 150 students with nearly all students on partial or full scholarship. Most of their parents are farmers struggling to eke out a livelihood. Without your generous support these youth would be growing up without an education. As you know, Catholic education is key to helping children become fully who God desires them to be. Just $50 per month, or $200 per term, or $600 for the year helps ensure one more youth is able to reach his or her dreams. You can make a transformative difference in their lives and that of their families. Collectively we help bring a brighter and more faith filled future to all of Uganda. Will you help one of these students reach their dreams? Donate Today!

For our students in Lira attending public day school there are still many personal requirements that are out of reach for the parents including school uniforms, sturdy shoes, socks, books, paper, pencils, pens and markers, rulers, and lunches. We are seeking $100 per term for these children. Their parents are former abductees whose lives and education was interrupted when they were captured and dragged into the bush and forced to fight for the Lord’s Resistance Army. While the conflict is over 17 years now, the parents have yet to recover–emotionally, educationally, socially, and financially. Through the Young Franciscan (YOUFRA) Centre we are working diligently to help the parents redeem and reclaim their hope and dreams for families and a good future. The Centre offers counseling, spiritual development, and livelihood training for these parents. As well, the Centre staff is working diligently to ensure their children have access to quality education. Could you give something today to help these children have a good future? Could you help right an injustice done to their parents? Donate Today!

Obed & other children at YOUFRA Centre Lira Town

Fr. John Chachu’s Story

Former Head Teacher at Ocer Campion Jesuit College, Fr. John Chachu, passed away on July 22 at 59 years old. His loss was a devastating shock to the OCJC community, as he had been involved with the college for several years, and was well established in the college community. Fr. Chachu was a Jesuit priest originally ordained in Sudan in 1988, later sent to Ocer Campion Jesuit College in 2014. Under his leadership, enrollment at the college had risen from just over 600 students to over 700. 

Fr John Chachu

Upon the news of his death, many in the OCJC community began to raise money to bring his body back to Gulu so he could be buried there. The community truly loved him, so much so that, when news spread that only 20 people could attend his burial due to Covid restrictions, a cause went up to request that his burial be open to the entire community. Parents, students, and teachers alike wanted to be able to attend, and after some discussion, the burial ceremony was opened, and 700 people attended (double the projected 250 mourners). 

Fr. Chachu came from a family of 6 children, and was one of two surviving members; he and one of his sisters. He had been raised in Sudan in a faithful family. In Gulu, he was the only Jesuit priest there that spoke the local language, a skill he was very proud of, noting that he was “very much in this place.” He embraced Gulu as his home, and felt very connected to the community. Likewise, the community loved him. Many students paid homage to Fr. Chachu at his burial, and others sent messages and stories to the school. The students at OCJC truly saw him as family. At his burial, one of his students, Susan Akera, noted “he was a father to many of us who were orphaned.” Another student expressed, “we will miss our father, our parent.” 

In an unreleased interview, Fr. Chachu spoke lovingly about the community. One of his biggest concerns was that many prospective students could not afford to attend OCJC, but even some who could not pay were still welcomed into the program. Fr. Chachu cared deeply for the situation of those children in Gulu, commenting, “they literally have nothing, and as a school now, we cannot… send them away.” According to many in the community, Fr. Chahcu was a stern, disciplinary teacher at OCJC, yet even so, he was loved and widely known to have loved everyone. He kept close contact with the families, even outside of school, and was very encouraging to all of his students. His student Susan Akera described him as “the most forgiving priest I have ever come across. He would quarrel on us and within minutes he would start making jokes to us.” Another student agreed, stating, “He created a social environment that was equal for us all irrespective of who you are.”

The OCJC families and staff will sorely miss Fr. Chachu, and his contributions to the community will not soon be forgotten. Fr. Chahu was known for truly loving his students and for being a well rounded, disciplinary role model to the children at OCJC. It is with great sorrow that the OCJC families and teachers say farewell to Fr. Chachu. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.