In 2005, a visiting missionary spoke to the St. Fabian Catholic Church congregation in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Paul and Nancy Berrigan were struck by the terrible poverty of the people of Chelekura, extremely impressed by dynamic Msgr. John Kauta’s description of the good that might be done there and encouraged by how far the American dollar could go. Understanding that the root cause of poverty is lack of education, they pledged to build a small

Our donors deserve to see confirmation of our efforts. Here are some of John Paul School’s most recent outcomes and remember . . . they occurred DESPITE almost a year’s disruption in learning. Bernard FungoMeet Bernard Fungo, recent “graduate” of JPSS. Bernard scored highest in the Pallisa District with 6 passes on the recent national exams. His score enables him to pick the university of his choice. Bernard has already selected his university and is

We are proud to announce that JPSS moved up more than 200 places in its national ranking among Ugandan secondary schools.    We stand fourth in the Pallisa District, 874 out of 2094 nationally and 1022 as the best performing science school in the country.   Administrator Fr. John Chrysostom and Headmaster Moses Bwayo offer valid reasons why the school is ranked so highly and enjoys such a great reputation.  Fr. John: “The Ugandan Education system is

Making a difference requires understanding the current situation. The Ugandan education system is challenging at best – adversely affected by the poverty it seeks to assuage. Consider this account – a story of two students within the Ugandan education system. Damba was born in a rural area of Uganda; his home was a thatched roof hut with no electricity or running water. His parents worked in the field – as he did from childhood on.

Once again, we will be holding our annual Charity Wine Tasting at the chic Silver Spoon Ristorante in Rochester, Michigan. For your enjoyment, five premier wines will be paired with a like number of gourmet tastings. Please join us on Thursday, October 7th! To reserve tickets for this wonderful event, please click here: Reserve Tickets Unable to come but you’d like to make a donation?: Donate Now

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in or donated to our first annual virtual 5K – benefiting the students and teachers at John Paul Secondary School in Uganda! The 5K week was a huge success: we had 175 participants from all around the world, we received tons of great photos of people walking, running, rolling for the kids and we earned over $22,500 which will help tremendously with the efforts in the months

How do you regain an entire year of learning lost to closed schools with no capability for long-distance or virtual learning? It’s a challenge! The Ugandan government has put in place a three-year educational plan that will ultimately get students back into a regular school schedule by 2024. This plan utilizes shorter terms, fewer holidays and use of normal exam time for intensified studies. The new education schedule looks like this: School YearFirst TermSecond TermThird

When you register to help us Bridge the Gap, you pledge to run, walk or bike a 5K (3.1 miles) sometime during the week of June 5-11. You have the freedom to choose your method of movement, your own route and your own timing, all while being a part of something special. Everyone registered by May 15th will receive a custom Friends of John Paul School race shirt, race bib, water bottle, earbuds and a

In talking to Francis Akol, it is clear that he is passionate about computer technology and its importance to his students. “In the 21st century, computer technology is applicable in all aspects of society – education, business, health, etc.  It is important that JPSS students, like other African students, become computer literate to meet the life-after-school challenges that preside in this era of computer technology dominance.” Francis intended to pursue a career in business, but

The generous outpouring from donors during our annual Holiday Campaign is welcoming students back to a greatly enhanced Computer Lab . . . with more improvements to come.  But first . . . a recap. We are grateful to report that donor contributions from Giving Tuesday and our annual Holiday Mailing campaigns net John Paul Secondary School $142,531, an 87 % increase over four years.  A review of the campaigns from 2017 through 2020 indicates