Perth woman’s community reeling in rebel’s wake

26 Feb 2014

By The Record

Sister Mary Achayo, the headmistress of Morulem Primary School, Uganda. Life in Morulem has been severely disrupted due to instability caused by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). Below right, Daniel Ongom, 78, a worker at Morulem Mission who earns AUD$11 per month.

Lesley Akora, a Catholic African community leader and a WA inductee into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame wrote the following letter to her fellow Catholics in Perth upon returning from a trip to her home village, late last year.

I am an Australian, originally from Morulem Mission in Uganda. I have lived in Australia since 1991 and am a citizen and mother of three.

I work full-time and volunteer with the African community in Perth. I am the first African woman to be inducted as an Inaugural Member in WA’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011, thanks to Australia.

I visited my birthplace, Morulem, over the Christmas period 2013, and was overcome by the plight of the once vibrant and hardworking people who, due to instability in the area from LRA rebels, and the constant cattle rustling by Karamojong warriors since 1965, are struggling with poverty.

This year, they anticipate terrible famine as the rains failed them and they did not harvest any food.

Morulem Catholic Mission is one of the oldest parishes in Karamoja, which used to be the breadbasket of Karamoja for many years. It was established by the Verona Fathers (missionaries), none of whom have their visas renewed anymore.

Hence, the Church is now run by parish priest Fr Ochero and Ugandan nuns. The parish runs the only health dispensary in the area, which depends on medicines donated by Matany Hospital in Kangole, which is still run by the Verona Missionaries from Italy.

Morulem Parish also runs a primary girls school and a secondary girls school. Even though the Ugandan government offers free primary and secondary education, there are no government schools in Morulem for girls.

The Ugandan Government’s Ministry of Education bought the Morulem Boys School bought the Mission, decades ago, and it is the only government school in the area.

Therefore, the parents have to struggle to find school fees to pay for their children at the two Mission schools, and approximately 50 per cent fail to pay the full school fees each year, which means the school is always running at a loss.

Sister Mary Achayo, the headmistress/principal of Morulem Primary School, asked me to appeal to our parishioners here in Perth for child sponsorship to enable the school(s) to run.

Sr Mary often travels on a Boda Boda, Uganda’s term for hired motorcycles which work like taxies to commute from place to place. The school has no van. The secondary school has just received a donation of a lorry (truck) from the Japanese Embassy.

Catechist Daniel Ongom is 78 years old, disabled since childhood due to polio and has been working at Morulem Mission since 1957 (57 years).

His wage is 30,000 Uganda Shillings per month, which is equivalent to AUD$11.

He is married to Gabriella Oyado and has 12 children, comprising six boys and five girls (one of the girls has since died). He now has 43 grandchildren.

He used to have a bicycle on which he was carried from place to place, in the course of his duties which the Verona Fathers had bought for him, until 2007 when his nephew, a retired priest, bought him his first wheelchair (above, wheelchair) from Nairobi (Kenya).

He reports that he is now too weak to handle this wheelchair that requires kids to push him through potholes and uneven paths.

He talks emotionally about the miracle of getting that wheelchair that made him get some independence, for the first time in his life.

He never believed there was such a thing. A more easily manageable wheelchair more appropriate for his age would be preferable.

Morulem Parish celebrated its 50-year anniversary this year, thanks to the Verona Fathers, Italian missionaries who first established the Church and ran it efficiently until two years ago when their work visas expired.

All development in Morulem was by the Mission. Hence, the schools are in urgent need for support through child sponsorship.

I can give a talk to anyone interested to sponsor a child at Morulem Girls Primary and Secondary Schools or sponsor one of the Year 10 and 12 school leavers for a trade skill.

Please contact me on 0405 931 334, or via email at lesleyakora@hotmail.com.