Kadaga urges bishops’ wives to help families

Officiating. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga (left) and Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa of Ankole Diocese arrive at Protea Hotel in Kampala for the fundraising dinner last Thursday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE

What you need to know:

  • Mothers’ Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its main objective is to support monogamous marriage and family life, especially through times of difficulty.
  • In Uganda, Mothers’ Union which was started in 1908 by Ms Weatherhead, the wife of the then head teacher of Budo Junior School, has more than 210,000 members throughout the country.

KAMPALA. The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, has challenged wives of bishops in the country to start projects that promote marriage cohesion which is a cornerstone of community and national stability.

Ms Kadaga was speaking at a fundraising dinner for construction of Ankole Diocese Mothers Union complex at Protea Hotel in Kampala on Thursday.
“I was asking whether there is another big building around the country where to make families, communities and the country stable and certainly this is the biggest. I work with Mothers Unions but many are struggling,” she said, adding that wives of bishops should be role models.

The Speaker said many Mothers Unions she has interacted with in the country are struggling but urged wives of bishops to emulate their colleagues of Ankole Diocese in Mbarara to start income generating projects and assist vulnerable families. According to Ms Alice Mwesigwa, the wife to Bishop Sheldon Mwesigwa of Ankole Diocese, they are putting up a five-storeyed complex in Mbarara to support families headed by single parents, orphans, married and unmarried Christians to offer them skills and counselling services.

“Mothers Union started in England and spread to more than 149 countries to nurture stable families and promote them. This is a huge project for all Christian children of God; boys, girls, single mothers, married and unmarried,” Ms Mwesigwa said.

Bishop Mwesigwa explained the purpose of the building is to generate income for the Church to enable it run programmes to help families.
“This is an income generating project which ensures sustainable income for all those who need assistance. Young people need education, when the church is financially stable, it can carry out its activities,” he said.

He said the entire project is projected to cost Shs5 billion.
The function drew influential personalities from Ankole and other regions who raised Shs101 million in cash and pledges.

About mothers union

Mothers’ Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its main objective is to support monogamous marriage and family life, especially through times of difficulty.

In Uganda, Mothers’ Union which was started in 1908 by Ms Weatherhead, the wife of the then head teacher of Budo Junior School, has more than 210,000 members throughout the country.