Uganda is like a continent in a country, encompassing everything from dense urban areas to scattered rural communities coupled with a rich cultural diversity. Nearly sixty previously independent ethnic groupings lie at its core, together with others who have moved to the country in more recent history. It also has extreme variations in levels of agency and access to resources, with some areas more marginalised and on the peripheries than others. Years of conflict concentrated across parts of northern Uganda have further exacerbated this.
The perennial challenge for the Church of Uganda is to be a Church for the whole nation, one that prevents fragmentation and reverses marginalisation rather than one that reinforces these tendencies. BUILD Church of Uganda is embracing this in its latest formal training of trainers’ efforts. Those take the form of a BUILD-based Diploma in Bible, Theology and Leadership, with residential periods of study for what is a block-release programme. The course not only strengthens them in their leadership, but also equips them to equip others in their home contexts, using the BUILD curriculum.
The two current cohorts enrolled at Uganda Martyrs Seminary (UMS) may be relatively small in number, with around fifteen across the two, but they are significant in that those from more marginalised areas are in the majority, with three-quarters coming from Kitgum Diocese in northern Uganda and from the Diocese of North Karamoja. Those coming from Karamoja come from the districts of Abim, Kaabong, Karenga and Kotido, which means that they spend up to fifteen hours travelling by bus to reach Kampala, where UMS is based. And two of their number are from Dodoth Archdeaconry in Kaabong, which sits in the north-easternmost corner of Uganda bordering both Kenya and South Sudan.
They are now studying alongside a group that includes a number of students from Kitgum Diocese in northern Uganda. Northern Uganda has been systemically marginalised and was caught up in a brutal conflict between a rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the government of Uganda, leaving a legacy of decades of trauma and internal displacement. To come from the margins to the centre, and to also study alongside students from across the country, is transformative.
There are other representatives from further south (Masindi Kitara Diocese), west (North Ankole Diocese), and the southern Buganda region itself (Central Buganda Diocese and Mityana Diocese). As a result, those who have attended the training blocks are benefiting personally and are beginning to impact and train others in context. To give the last word to one individual from Kitgum, “this course of BUILD study has impacted a lot on me. I came last year when I did not know how to make a good sermon, but here I am now with many people appreciating and testifying that my preaching has changed. I also want to thank BUILD partners for giving me this opportunity and pray that this programme should continue. I say this for God and my country. Amen!”
