CMS Ireland has been in partnership with the Diocese of Luwero, in central Uganda, for more than 20 years.
The Bishop of the Diocese is Rt. Rev. Evans Mukasa Kisekka and the Diocesan Headquarters are in Luwero Town, which is 64 km north of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It covers an area of 9198 sq. kilometres and is home to a population that is now approaching one million people.
Luwero was once the centre of the tragic instability and civil war that marked the years of the Idi Amin and Milton Obote regimes in Uganda – and the conflict has left a lasting mark on the local community.
Luwero Diocese has 29 Parishes and on average there are 20 churches per Parish – bringing the total number of churches to around 600. There are only about 50 trained clergy in the diocese. Each parish has a few lay readers but the majority of the 600 churches in the diocese are lead by catechists (church teachers) who have no formal training.
Leadership training, health care and evangelism are at the top the diocesan agenda.
Kiwoko Hospital
“We treat, Jesus Heals” has been the motto of Kiwoko Hospital, as it has undertaken it’s mission to provide healthcare to poor people in Luwero, Uganda over the past 20 years. Initially founded as a clinic in 1988 by Dr. Ian Clarke, a CMS Ireland Mission Partner from Bangor, the hospital has flourished into what it is today; a major district referral hospital with some 250 beds and 300 staff. As it’s motto states, Kiwoko believes in and practices holistic healthcare; people are more than just their physical bodies, and healthcare must work towards spiritual healing as well as physical treatment. To achieve this end, the hospital has a varied program of evangelism and discipleship, involving theological training for leaders, village outreaches and church planting.
As the hospital has grown and developed, its emphasis has evolved, though the focus of offering affordable, quality healthcare to those in need has remained constant throughout. In addition to offering treatment at the hospital, Kiwoko also has an extensive program of community health work, encompassing immunisation, HIV/AIDS care, health education and work with water and sanitation.
Training has increased in importance for the hospital, reflected in the construction of a purpose built training centre in 2006, to provide in situ training for medical staff and Ugandan undergraduates. In addition to this, Kiwoko has 2 training schools, producing qualified Enrolled nurses and Laboratory technicians.
CMS Ireland Mission Partners Rory Wilson and Ken and Judith Finch currently work at the hospital.
CHE Project
The CHE project, which stands for ‘Community Health Empowerment’ was set up by Andrew and Joanne Quill, CMS Ireland Mission Partners serving in Luwero Diocese from 2000 until 2006. The programme is still running, now under the direction of Rev. Shem Nsubuga. Covering the diocese of Luwero in Central Uganda CHE aims to provide holisitic community development, focusing on the provision of community medical care, leadership training and discipleship courses. CMS Ireland is currently supporting CHE using funds raised during the 2003 Annual Project, ‘Pulse’.
