Sister Grace Angelina Aciro, the Superior General of the congregation told stakeholders at the fundraiser that nuns at the convent are living in deplorable conditions as most structures are already dilapidated.
Well-wishers have raised over 1
billion shillings in cash and in-kind towards the construction of a new accommodation facility at the convent for the Little sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu.
The fundraising was conducted on
Tuesday during the 65th birthday celebration of the Operation Wealth
Creation (OWC) Chief Coordinator Gen Caleb Akandwanaho alias Gen Salim Saleh
held in Gulu City.
Gen Saleh who contributed 162
million shillings dedicated his birthday to raising money for the nuns
who had sought support in three major areas refurbishment of their dilapidated
residences, acquisition of three tractors, and establishment of a food storage
facility.
The money raised both in cash and
pledges is part of the 1.62 billion shillings budget the nuns had requested.
Little sisters of Mary Immaculate
is an indigenous congregation of catholic sisters under the Gulu Archdiocese
founded in 1936.
Sister Grace Angelina Aciro, the
Superior General of the congregation told stakeholders at the fundraiser that nuns
at the convent are living in deplorable conditions as most structures are already dilapidated.
She noted that some of the
structures were used in the past by night commuters for refuge during the
height of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel insurgency in the Acholi
Sub-region.
According to sister Aciro, the
leadership of the nuns have struggled to initiate and sustain several projects among
them construction and agriculture due to limited resources and lauded Gen Saleh
and other stakeholders for their donations.
“We have three…
Cue out:…going to improve.”//
Other in-kind donations to the
nuns included a tractor with all its implements, 20 Friesian cows and more
than 4,000 bags of cement.
During the celebration, guest
speakers lauded Gen Saleh for what they described as his consistent interests
in “resolving” conflicts and supporting humanity in Northern Uganda through his
Salim Saleh Foundation for Humanity.
Justice and Constitutional
Affairs Minister Norbert Mao, who coordinated the birthday celebration applauded
Gen Saleh for his contribution to ending the over two-decade war in Northern
Uganda and continued efforts to build harmony.
“Gen has been committed to
conflict resolution, actually he doesn’t resolve the conflict, he just sits
there when the warring parties are quarrelling and the sadness on his face
embarrasses those who are quarrelling and they end up agreeing,” said Mao.
Minister of State for Internal
Affairs Gen David Muhoozi described Gen Saleh as a pacifist who understands
that even war should be a last resort to any unresolved conflict. Gen Muhoozi
praised Saleh for his use of soft power which helped in several situations that
would have required tension.
Gen Saleh in his remarks
appreciated Mao and former Attorney General William Byaruhanga for taking the
lead in ensuring that funds are raised to support the course of rehabilitating sister’s
convent in Gulu City.
“Thanks so much for organizing all
these people so that we can share a birthday with the little sisters and as we
are already here, I think the whole budget is finished. So the little sister’s
congratulations,” said Gen Saleh.
In October 2023, the nuns led by
their Superior General received a total of 386 iron sheets from the office of
the Prime Minister to facilitate the construction of their four-storied residential
accommodation with 40 rooms. There are about 500 nuns under the Little Sisters
of Mary Immaculate at the Gulu Archdiocese.