A gift for life: One Ugandan Priest wrote: ' I am so grateful to the Sisters and their benefactors for creating this loving school where I am able to entrust my niece, Bridget. Her father died when she was a baby and then her mother when she was four, leaving three girls. It is my responsibility to help them but because of my pastoral duties I had little funds and time to do this. You have lifted this heavy burden from my heart. Bridget will certainly grow up well under your supportive care. May God bless you all'

The school population has expanded to 135 young girls for 2004. The RSCJ leadership and teachers are hard at work laying a strong Sacred Heart foundation guided by the educational wisdom of Janet Erkskine Stuart, RSCJ: ` All the systems converge on this- to give personal worth to each child, worth of character, strength of principle, anchorage in faith.' Imagine the benefit to family, village and country when these girls become young women, confident in themselves, skilled in what they can accomplish and ready to serve their communities empowered by the Sacred Heart spirit of love, faith, and dedication.

Thanks to the financial help of the Sacred Heart family around the world there is no debt on the first school building. We have broken ground on the multipurpose unit which will provide needed space for the kitchen, food processing area, student and staff dining rooms, as well as a large gathering space for all-school activities. Anticipated completion date is January 2005. Donations have reached the 3/4 level.

We have secured several major Foundation Grants for startup funds for school equipment, a school car, furnishings, educational materials. We are looking for Corporations to collaborate with us by providing a means to transport donated goods, donation of construction materials, solar energy equipment, or other project financing. If you have ideas feel free to contact me by e-mail.

Learning about the struggles of Uganda as well as the beauty of this culture and the resilient character of the people has expanded the minds and hearts of our Sacred Heart students worldwide. With generosity and enthusiasm these students have taken the lead in providing scholarship support for the poor girls who want to attend our new school. Many of these student groups have already committed to continue their scholarship support for 2005 school year. We anticipate the need for about 75 scholarships for 2005.

Looking ahead our next construction projects are staff residences that are needed for both the Sisters and the other women teaching at the school. There are no houses for rent in this poor rural area of Uganda and the room space the RSCJ presently use as their community space must be returned to classroom use very soon. To date $20,000 has been secured from kind donors including individual Alumnae/i and Sacred Heart Associations in Canada, England, Malta, Mexico, Ireland, Netherlands, Uruguay, and the USA.

Expanding our school farm is another wonderful project. At present, the students have small class gardens where they grow twelve types of fruits, many green foods and help in the school banana, sweet potatoes & cassava plantations. Expansion plans include increasing the crop section, adding poultry, a few cows, and a piggery. The farm itself is the practicum site for the student's agricultural classes. The food produced will be used at the school helping to keep costs down.

Thank you to all of you for your interest, prayer, and support. May you find peace and joy in knowing that your generous care is helping to build a better world through the education of our young girl at Sacred Heart Primary School, Uganda

With deep gratitude,
Irene Cullen, RSCJ

Email: icullen@rscj.org

PS. Those wishing to make a donation are invited to go through the RSCJ Bursar of your country for the transfer of any funds. In addition, it is very helpful if you inform me directly of the contribution amount and donor information. This will allow me to send you a proper thank you in the name of the Uganda-Kenya Province and put your name on my mailing list for future updates.