President Museveni, Alupo boost Mary's House construction in Jinja

President Yoweri Museveni has boosted the fundraising drive for the construction of the sh3.5b Mary’s House, which is being spearheaded by the Busoga Diocese Mothers Union in Jinja district.

The President's contribution of sh30m  was delivered by Vice-President Jessica Alupo during a ceremony to celebrate St Mary's Day at the diocesan headquarters in Bugembe, Jinja city.

Last year, Museveni contributed sh80m towards the same cause.

St Mary’s House is expected to be a skills development centre to impart knowledge and marketable skills for the socio-economic transformation of all.

It is also expected to have vocational training facilities, offices, a chapel, a canteen, conference halls, guest rooms, a restaurant and others costing sh3.5b.

Some members of the mother's union

The day began with a service led by Busoga Diocese Bishop the Rt. Rev. Samson Naimanhye under the theme: United for service and growth.

Clergy lauded

Alupo wished the mothers and all the people of Busoga the best of opportunity for social development, Family Life and worship of the Almighty God through  St Mary's House whose construction she was supporting.

She was pleased with the clergy in Busoga for emphasizing development in their preaching and working hard to change the mindsets of the people.

"Your messages provide the relevance of God's Word, but significantly they also ask the people to develop their social skills, especially to build strong families and be useful citizens in their localities," Alupo said.

"This is what makes religion relevant to mankind and it should be encouraged. The NRM does not believe in dividing the people along religious lines. Religion is supposed to be a unifying force. That is why the Government is committed to providing services to every Ugandan irrespective of their religion," she added.

Poverty alleviation efforts

Alupo said the Government is working towards enabling every Ugandan to come out of poverty.

She added that the Parish Development Model (PDM) programme is the renewed Government's effort to enable Ugandans to attain middle-income status by enhancing household Incomes. She encouraged the people to embrace the programme.

She noted that Busoga is one of the seven sub-regions that have featured as the regions with very poverty levels of all regions in Uganda and urged the people to work hard to fight poverty among households.

Alupo encouraged the people to use the PDM to ask for accountability, to question the application of public resources and to benefit from what is available for our individual and group development.

Zeal to serve the Lord

She commended the leadership and members of the Mothers' Union of Busoga Diocese for their zeal to serve the Lord and their commitment to mobilise the women to build strong families and marriages.

She added that the campaign of building St Mary's House is an effort of several years and she was glad it is coming to bear fruit under the NRM government.

"We thank God for this achievement. Indeed, through this effort, as current leaders of the Mothers' Union, you are privileged to be leaving behind a legacy and testimony to the future generations," Alupo said.

She appealed to the members of the Mothers' Union of Busoga Diocese to support the struggle of defeating poverty by being PDM ambassadors.

She additionally, commended Mothers' Union Busoga Diocese for showing transparency and accountability for the contribution of  sh80m given by President Museveni.

She contributed sh30m in total towards the construction of Mary's House, Busoga Diocese and also pledged continuous support towards this noble work.

First Deputy Premier and Minister for East African Affairs Rebecca Kadaga congratulated the mothers' union and contributed sh5m  towards the construction of St Mary's House.

Rt. Rev. Bishop Naimanhye asked the congregation to respect African values by resisting and preaching against sexual immorality.