BLESSED Kugonza is a 13 year-old orphan who touched the heart of Brisbane Marist Father Jack Soulsby during his recent visit to Uganda.
Fr Soulsby, a priest who visits Africa on evangelising missions, was in Hoima, Uganda in May.
About 4500 people came to spend 14 days attending workshops in the morning and crusades in the evening.
Fr Soulsby was being interviewed by a radio journalist when Blessed Kugonza pushed through the crowd and whispered to him.
‘Her face was sad and her voice so soft I had to ask her to speak up and then to enlist the help of the reporter to ascertain her need,’ Fr Soulsby said.
‘She told [me] she was an orphan and wanted [me] to find her a sponsor in Australia.’
Fr Soulsby asked the reporter to help Blessed write a letter, and in the letter she said her parents had died when she was six years old and she needed education and support.
Later, Fr Soulsby received an e-mail that Blessed had been sent home from school because she was unable to pay school fees of US$53.
An anonymous Australian donor has since answered Blessed’s plea and made it possible for her to return to school, but Fr Soulsby received 25 other requests before he left Uganda.
The needs were as basic as water, medicines, funds for nurses and doctors, and accommodation for aged parents.
There were others, including orphans, needing help with school fees, and some seeking help for tertiary and seminary education.
Fr Soulsby estimated the total cost of answering the requests would be A$82,000. In addition, there was a request for help to build an evangelisation centre at Hoima, and that would cost about A$200,000.
Supporting Fr Soulsby’s work and helping him to fulfil the requests made of him in Africa is a small group of volunteers in Brisbane called Break the Shackles.
The group grew from Open Doors 12 months ago, after that organisation had been in operation for three to four years.
Break the Shackles chairman Peter MacPherson said that on his visits Fr Soulsby lifted the people spiritually and gave hope to many, visiting orphans and the victims of AIDS and war.
‘But he doesn’t have the resources to respond to the letters [he receives from Africa] or to provide immediate help,’ Mr MacPherson said.
He said Break the Shackles helped Fr Soulsby discern the most urgent cases and to raise funds, which was always a problem.
The group is appealing for donations, and hopes to encourage parishes, schools or organisations to take on the funding of the education of an orphan or a development project.
It has overseas contacts to ensure the money reaches those in need.
Deputy chairman Ray Siebuhr said Breaking the Shackles had sent $10,000 to $12,000, and had about 100 requests outstanding.
The group has helped people in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and Papua New Guinea.
A little can make a big difference. For example, $30 can buy 90 kg of corn, which is enough to feed 10 families for one month in Ethiopia.
‘We would like to see people come into a partnership arrangement to pay so much a month and even to nominate if they want [the funds] to go to education or development projects or family planning training,’ Mr Siebuhr said.
For more details, to make a donation or to become involved in the work of Breaking the Shackles, phone secretary Joan Flanagan on (07) 3266 7384 or write to 45 Royal St, Virginia, Qld 4014.
