Beauty and poverty, opportunities and challenges, dreams and needs…Uganda. It is for her children that we work to build a school…and thus to Build Hope in Kids.

Greetings from St. Patrick School and from Uganda.

Our first term that started on Feb 10th ended successfully on April 30th, 2026. The second term will be from May 25 to August 21, with Parents’ Visitation Day on July 4. Please pray that all goes well with my USA visa so I can visit for six weeks starting August 19th. I look forward to seeing many of you and participating in various BHIKU-related events.

Allow me to update you that we have a new head teacher. Her name is Ms. Winnie Tokamanya. She has worked as our Deputy head teacher for 4 years. She replaced Mr. Maxmas Birungi who worked for us for 7 years, who decided to leave at the end of March. The transition has been smooth; all workers and students love the new head teacher.

I am gratified and amazed when I look back on our project. In 2015, while attending graduate school at Illinois State University, I was inspired to start a school in Uganda with the mission to break the cycle of generational poverty. I recognized that education is key to breaking out of the cycle of poverty into which many children are born. During 2016 I started fundraising, acquired 6 acres of land, and engaged others to assist in the project.

By December 2017, a site design was completed, initial funds were raised, I graduated with a PhD in Education, and I returned to Uganda to a “nothing but dirt” parcel of land. Since then, with the help of many supporters, we have built out the school campus with a total of 12 major buildings and sports fields and added several more acres of land. Our enrollment has grown to the current enrollment of 1,076 students, including 726 boarding students.

Our primary school graduates continue to have excellent results on national exams. Last year (2025) nearly all of our P7 graduates were in the top 10% nationwide. These results placed us #1 of all schools in both the Isingiro and greater Mbarara Districts (totaling about 2,000 schools) and #30 of over 17,000 primary schools in the country.

We expanded our student sponsorship program in both numbers and scope. Knowing that a primary school education by itself is insufficient to achieve our mission, we have continued to sponsor “our kids” to go on to high school. We now sponsor a total of 274 students from poorest-of-the-poor families with the opportunity for a top-notch education. The students have demonstrated their commitment through hard work and superior results. Some of our alumni are now attending very powerful high schools in the country.

Thank you all who support this great cause, a dream that has become a reality. I assure you of our continued prayers.

What could be more fun than sharing 18 holes with our Ugandan celebrity golfer Fr. Julius!?! He will be in the central IL area during August and September, and has cleared his calendar for August 13, 2026, beginning at 12 noon. Don’t golf?? No problem!! Adolph "Arnie" Arnold needs lots of volunteer help before and during the event - - our 9th Annual Golf Outing! To register to golf, sponsor a hole, or help out, Call Arnie at 309-264-7221. Click on the link below to see/print the flyer that has more info. (We’re working on some really fun prizes, too!)

BHIK-U Board President John Grillot was in Uganda in late February and early March. He took a “scenic route” to the school. Fr. Julius joined him to check out the Ziwa Rhino &amp; Wildlife Ranch and Murchison Falls (where the Nile River forces its way through a 23 ft. wide gap in the rocks), both in central Uganda. After seeing the sights, they travelled on to the school, where the band and the entire boarding student body provided a grand welcome to their U.S. visitor!

JWG gets a musical welcome

Back of the new bus with an aerial view of BHIK-U campus

Building Hope in Kids - Uganda

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BHIK Newsletter - June 2026

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What a Welcome!