Muwonge’s gospel is built not just on scripture, but on STEM labs

For Bishop Arnold Muwonge, the heartbeat of his faith is found not only in quiet prayer but in the noisy, messy grit of daily life. It’s in the dust of a Kampala street, walking alongside a homeless child.

It’s in the steadfast support for someone battling addiction. It’s in the quiet transaction that secures a child’s school fees. This is where his ministry lives.

Over the past twenty years, Muwonge’s work has spanned continents, from Europe to the United States, but his vision has remained unwaveringly fixed on Uganda.

He emerged prominently during the COVID-19 crisis, recognised for mobilizing and distributing tonnes of food and millions in aid. Leveraging this momentum, he has since built bridges with Uganda’s innovation and entertainment sectors, channeling influence and resources toward social good.

His most profound legacy, however, is taking tangible form in Wakiso. The NDE-Network & Kampala Children Centre is more than a charity; it’s a self-sustaining ecosystem of transformation. The campus houses a children’s home, a primary and secondary school, a modern kindergarten, a regional medical centre, and an internationally touring children’s choir.

But Muwonge’s vision deliberately stretches beyond shelter and song. At the core of the campus now sits a cutting-edge STEM and Innovation Centre, where the hum of computers and robots is as common as the sound of children playing. Here, students dive into coding, artificial intelligence, robotics, and electronics.

“This is more than education; it’s empowerment,” Muwonge explains. “To break cycles of poverty, we must equip the next generation to lead, not just follow.”

This hands-on, build-don’t-just-preach approach defines him. When asked why his ministry emphasizes social enterprise over sermons, his answer is quietly revolutionary.

“The gospel is for the poor,” he states plainly. “If you cannot serve and uplift the poor, then who is the gospel for?”

He has coined a term for his calling: the “marketplace Bishop.” His pulpit is the street corner, the classroom, the innovation hub. His scripture is action. His mission is engineered not for pity, but for power, enabling communities to rise from poverty and neglect through tangible opportunity.

In a world where faith and progress are often framed as opposites, Bishop Arnold Muwonge stands as living proof of their potent synergy. He is building a model where compassion codes the future, and where communities don’t just survive, they are built to thrive.