Christians have been encouraged to be generous and support each other in order to put gospel values in practice. This call was made by Rev. Fr. Vincent Byaruhanga, director of Caritas Kabale Diocese while preaching on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025 in Rushoroza Cathedral. Fr. Byaruhanga said that Caritas aims at helping the less privileged also have basic necessities through charity. He reminded the Christians about preferential option for the poor and encouraged them to be charitable to the neighbor “for I was hungry and you gave me to eat..” (Matthew 25:35). Caritas helps people in modern agronomic practices so that they can have food on the table and money in the pocket to pay school fees for their children among others.
While addressing the Congregation, Rev. Fr. Hillary Muheezangango, the National Director of Caritas Uganda appealed to the Christians and people of good will to contribute some amount of money to to support Caritas activities thereby encouraging local donation to stir household development. This comes at a time when donor funding is dwindling and therefore, mechanisms should be devised in order to continue the work of social services and development. He also noted that it was importing for each Diocese to start up at least one social enterprise to generate them revenue, but also appealed to the Government of Uganda to include Caritas in their planning and resource allocations under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
In his remarks, the Kabale Municipality Member of Parliament, Hon. Dr. Nicholas Thaddeus Kamara said that Africans should realize and appreciate the practice of donating part of what they have for the good of their neighbours. The commended Caritas Uganda for the tremendous works of Charity and social development they have carried out of quite a long time.
I was in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in the US for prayers one day and I saw Christians there giving in their small offerings which in turn is sent to us as donation or charity. Therefore, we too can donate something to improve our standards of living – Hon. Dr. Nicholas Kamara.
The Ndorwa East Member of Parliament, Hon. Wilfred Niwagaba on the other hand raised a critical concern about the drastic decline in passion fruit production in Ndorwa East of Kabale district. He said Ndorwa East, an area which once thrived as passion fruit producers, saw a significant drop in yields after 2012. The villages of Karweru, Kafunjo and Birambo produced at least two big lories of passion fruits weekly, which they supplied to fruit factories in Kampala and had in turn raised household incomes in the area, but all that is no longer in place.
Hon. Niwagaba called on Caritas Uganda and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) to investigate the cause of this decline and find a lasting solution so that the area people can again invest in the business which was once their major source of income. Hon. Niwagaba’s concern comes at a time when Kabale Diocese has established a fruit juice factory at Rushoroza Hill which would be supplied with passion fruits and pineapples from Maziba sub county. Kadio Fruit Drink Factory which was officially commissioned on Sunday, April 13, 2025 is located on Rushoroza and was constructed with funds from Caritas Korea, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands via Technoserve.
In his message, Rt. Rev. Serverus Jjumba, Bishop of Masaka Diocese and President of Caritas Uganda said that life’s journey is not menq to be walked with individualism, but the spirit of journeying together is at the heart of the synodal Church since everyone has something to learn for the other. Hence “Caritas week is a time for the members to listen to the cries of the poor, reflect on the our role as the church and take bold steps towards empowering communities.”
Bishop Jjumba however noted that Caritas’ mission is not just about handouts, but rather restoring the dignity, hope and independence, for Christ himself said “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). He noted that in order to achieve this, long term action need to be taken which includes strengthening collaboration, investing in education and skills, promoting climate-smart agriculture among others.
Speaking as Chief Guest, Hon. Henry Musasizi, State Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Charge of General Duties applauded the Catholic Church in Uganda through Caritas for transforming Ugandans and boosting their household standards. He noted that there is need for the Catholic Church to partner with government to improve livelihood as has been the case in providing social services like heath, education, safe water among others.
He pledged the government’s commitment to working with Caritas Uganda and other development partners to close the gaps that are existing in communities and encouraged Caritas Uganda to position itself abd compete with other NGOs to get the support from the government. Minister Musasizi further reaffirmed that the government has included renovation of St. Theresa Girls School Rushoroza in the National budget for the Financial Year 2025-26 which was being processed by the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Planning.
Bishop Callist Rubaramira in his remarks noted that poverty levels in Kigezi are overwhelmingly increasing mainly caused by land fragmentation, low land fertility and subsistence farming. He said that Kabale Diocese has put efforts on improving people’s livelihood and overcoming poverty through establishment of revenue generating projects at household level, parishes and institutions. He recommended that Caritas fraternity should teach people the culture of family meetings so that they plan together to develop together. Bishop Callist also noted that the established Kadio Fruit Drink factory will create jobs to the population in the region as well as creating local market for the fruits in the region.
At the end of Mass, Bishop Callist Rubaramira handed over the Caritas Candle and the Caritas Cross to Rev. Fr. Denis Ngobi Wazala, the Director of Caritas Jinja Diocese, who will be the hosts of the 16th National Caritas Week in 2026 in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tororo.