Missionary describes hardships of children in Uganda

Fransalians representative tells Endicott church audience about poverty and dangers

By Gary DiLallo Contributing writer and photographer

Fr. Thomas Varghese, MSFS, director of the General Mission

school was built.

According to Fr. Thomas, many of the Ugandan children are orphaned and often preyed upon by traffickers and truck drivers traveling through the area. He said he is adamant about protecting the children by building orphanages, schools and churches.

Office

of The

Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (Fransalians), recently visited Our Lady of Good Counsel in Endicott for a brief rest and to thank the parishioners for their support of the Uganda Mission.

Originally from south India, Fr. Thomas came to Tanzania in 1996 as a theology student and after his ordination worked there and Uganda before being sent to Rome, Italy.

The missionary organization, headquartered in Rome, has mission activities in 32 countries with more than 1,500 missionaries. During this mission trip, Fr. Varghese visited his confreres in several provinces in Georgia, Texas, and Michigan, and conducted mission appeals in the Diocese of Lansing, Mich., and the Archdiocese of New York.

Locally, Fr. Thomas spoke with several hundred kindergarten through fifth grade students at Ann G. McGuinness Elementary School in West Corners. He explained the living conditions and school attendance in Uganda.

The young children were impressed with the daily challenges facing the Ugandan children, including walking to school on muddy roads and fetching drinking water. He also explained the poverty and the need to teach small groups of students under shade trees, rather than in classrooms before the new

However, he said it was necessary to arrange medical care and a way to feed the children before he could teach them. Eventually, he built a hostel to keep them safe.

While impressing American children with the hardships of living in Uganda, Fr. Thomas was staggered by how few children we have in a classroom (around 15) compared to 100 in Uganda. He had never before seen a school bus coming to pick up children because most Ugandan children walk to school, no matter the distance.

Life in Uganda was not easy for the priest either. Upon his arrival, Father initially lived in a hut with a dirt floor and no electricity. During his time in Uganda, he became very ill with malaria and was the victim of a robbery.

The Fransalians are working diligently to improve the standard of living of the local population, especially the underprivileged, marginalized and poor orphaned children of Uganda. So far, Fr. Thomas has built three schools in Africa and hopes to go back to Uganda to build yet another one.

Fr. Thomas said he is most grateful for the parish’s financial support and prayers. The contact for the Fransalians in the United States is Fransalian Missionaries, 3887 Rosebud Road, Loganville, Ga. 30052.