Turn Namugongo into Africa's Mecca!

Sep 11, 2014

Sometime towards the end of last year, I received four friends from America visiting Uganda for a few weeks. They decided to visit some of the tourist attractions they had heard about.


trueBy Isaiah Rwanyekiro

Sometime towards the end of last year, I received four friends from America visiting Uganda for a few weeks. During their last week, they were in Kampala and decided to visit some of the tourist attractions they had heard about.

Two of these attractions happened to be the Baha’i Temple, the only one in Africa; as well as the Uganda Martyrs Shrine at Namugongo. Later on that evening, we met for coffee and I asked them about their experiences. One of them, said, “You know to be sincere, I was very disappointed with what I saw today at Namugongo. I have visited many religious sites and shrines, and even some Basilicas, but Namugongo is not what I expected to see.
 
In Rome or France, you visit a religious site where only one martyr lies and even before you set foot there, you will feel the presence of Holy Spirit and God at that place. Namugongo has a record 22 martyrs, however; it looks deserted and not well cared for. I expected a place where 22 martyrs are commemorated to be pristine, memorable, meticulously cared for and the ambience to be filled with religious awe.”
 
It was, therefore, with great relief that I learned that the Catholic Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese, His Grace Dr. Lwanga had constituted a committee and set work in progress towards the redevelopment of the Uganda Martyrs shrines at both Namugongo and Munyonyo as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration activities since the Uganda Martyrs were canonised saints in 1964.
 
To kickstart the redevelopment plan, on Friday August 22, 2014, the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese hosted a fundraising dinner at Kampala Serena Hotel, aimed at raising funds for the redevelopment of the Uganda Martyrs Shrines at Namugongo and Munyonyo.
 
Thinking deeply about the Uganda martyrs story, you come to the realisation that it is one single incident, in the history of Uganda, which was a major turning point for both this country and the African continent.
 
President Museveni summarising his speech at the said fundraising dinner where he contributed sh400m and where overall sh1.7b was raised, said the Uganda Martyrs story is one incident that has raised the Pan Africanism outlook of Uganda. People every year come from all over Africa just to celebrate the Uganda Martyrs day at Namugongo.
 
The story of the Uganda Martyrs describes the resilience of the Ugandan spirit. It defines how, as a nation, we have shown a lot of resilience even sometimes in the face of grave danger but through our courageous spirit we have overcome. Therefore, I would like to discuss the merits of why every Ugandan should join hands with the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese in redeveloping the Uganda Martyrs shrines.
 
When you have an annual event, running for weeks, where over one million participants are taking part, you need to prepare more adequately for them. Therefore, it goes without saying that the redevelopment of the Uganda Martyrs shrines has been long overdue.
 
Every year, we see our Muslim brothers, millions of them making a holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Have we ever thought about how much revenue Saudi Arabia generates from this religious tourism event? Add this to the millions of Christians that visit the Vatican and Israel every year going to check out the Holy Land.
 
Israel, we are told, generates over $5b annually from tourism alone, visiting the holy sites and the Holy Land generally accounts for about 80% of that revenue. Therefore, a well-developed Namugongo has the potential to turn around significantly Uganda’s tourism story. Imagine the trickle-down effect of all the land owners, accommodation facilities around the Martyrs’ Shrine when it is well developed to global outlook and standards.
 
To achieve her dream of revamping Namugongo and Munyonyo shrines, the Catholic Church is deploying Crowd-Funding!
 
Crowd-funding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the Internet, social media and telecommunication companies. One early-stage equity expert described it as ‘The practice of raising funds from two or more people using technology towards a common service, project, product, investment, cause, and experience.’
 
The crowd-funding model is fueled by three types of actors: the project initiator who proposes the idea and/or project to be funded; individuals or groups who support the idea; and a moderating organisation (the ‘platform’) that brings the parties together to launch the idea.
 
In this particular instance, here the Uganda Martyrs Shrines redevelopment initiator is Dr. Cyprian Lwanga. The moderating organisation is the fundraising and organising committee headed by Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Uganda, Amama Mbabazi.
 
The other organising committee members are: His Grace Dr. Cyprian K. Lwanga, Prof. E. Tumusiime Mutebile, Charles Mbiire, Fabian Kasi, Brig. Gen. Timothy Sabiiti, Rev. Fr. Musajjakawa, Rev.Fr. J.M Sebunya, Rev. Fr. Denis Wanimba, Vicent Kamwesiga, Joseph Ssali, Peter Rumanzi, Mrs. Winnie Rumanzi and Solomon Rubondo.
 
The platforms that shall be used in this project include all of Uganda’s telecom companies’ mobile money platforms and the all the commercial banks. In essence, the Archbishop’s appeal is that every Ugandan, who has a registered sim-card and bank account, should contribute sh1,000 per month only for the next 12 months.
 
If this is achieved, raising the needed sh36b will be as easy as the proverbial walk on water by the world’s saviour Jesus Christ.
 
The writer works with Uganda Media Centre 

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