Faith

Children in Uganda dream of using their God-given talents with the help of missionaries.

Propagation of the Faith

Friday, June 26, 2026Faith

It was Day Four on my trip to Uganda. Father Sylvester Arinaitwe, AJ, was my driver. During the hours-long trip, we passed sites that have become so very familiar to me -- half-constructed buildings already in use as roadside stores and homes, chickens and goats running freely with the children, banana trees and corn growing together everywhere. The natural beauty belied great poverty.

Father Sylvester is a former Superior General of the Apostles of Jesus, known as the AJs. They are a missionary religious institute founded in Africa in 1968 as a mission-sending organization and are in ministry on every continent except Asia. A typical mission project consists of a school, a health clinic, and, of course, a chapel. On this day, we visited the Queen of the Apostles project in the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero. The complex sits on a local farm and is run by the AJs and their affiliated order, the Evangelizing Sisters of Mary. The children at the school were waiting patiently for our arrival and sat ready to entertain their visitors.

The teacher put them through their paces as they recited their lessons for us; then came the beautiful singing. Their best song carried a message for all children: "Education is the tool I must use; education is the tool I must use; education is the tool I must use . . . Oh-oh-oh-oh education ooh."

One by one, they stepped forward to sing a verse: "I'd like to be a teacher before I die (A teacher! The chorus exclaimed) I'd like to be a teacher before I die . . ." Then a nurse, a doctor, and a pilot stepped forward! The children were learning that God had given each of them talents. They now had dreams and knew that the education provided by missionaries was their key to pursuing them.

But mark the words they sang -- they simply wanted to reach their goals before they die, not when they grow up as our children would. These little ones were already so aware of the fragility of life that they acknowledged it even in their schoolroom songs.

As I handed out holy medals to them, I promised them that the people where I lived, far away in Boston, would not forget them through support of the Pontifical Mission Societies. The assistance we provide will help them to add classrooms, a library, a dining hall, and more to their tiny school.

And who knows? Perhaps one day, that young child will be a pilot and fly all the way to Boston, thanks to the partnership of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Boston and the AJs who gave him the tools to use.

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.