The Vice President of Uganda, Jessica Alupo has appealed to Christians who gather under the Archdiocese of Mbarara Association (AMDA) to rally behind the government in its flagship program, the Parish Development model (PDM).

Alupo cognizant of the association’s success in transforming communities in Western Uganda, said it was crucial for AMDA to utilize the opportunities presented by the government through PDM to reach a wider community.

“As a government, we would like to enlist your support as ambassadors of the transformation program that the government has proposed. It is an agenda we call upon each of you to join as we empower Ugandans to enjoy better lives and secure a bright future for generations to come” Alupo said.

She added, “I particularly implore all of us to embrace the Parish Development Model whose objective is to increase household incomes and improve the quality of lives of Ugandans with a specific focus in rural and urban settings into a money economy as well eradicating poverty in our country.”

Alupo made this appeal at the monthly gathering of AMDA members on Sunday, 26 June 2022 held at Kitante Primary school where she was the chief guest. The event was solemnized with the Eucharistic celebration led by Rev. Sebastian Muthukattil, Parish Priest from Nyabwina, Sheema district.

She observed that AMDA’s socio-economic activities were well aligned with the components of the PDM such as the Sacco, through which government will extend credit to people at parish levels.

“I congratulate you upon the formation of AMDA SACCO which has enabled you access finances to grow your businesses at very competitive rates, the over 200,000 per cent growth in share capital is a testimony,” Alupo stated.

She was equally thrilled on learning that the association is actively engaged in environmental conservation and the promotion of education.

Alupo gave AMDA Shs 40 million as a contribution towards the completion of a multi-purpose building in Lubaga.

Sheema district woman MP who is also an AMDA executive, Rosemary Nyakikongoro implored members to mobilize their parishioners to benefit from the PDM. “Mr Chairman, the chaplain let us replicate PDM in our respective parishes, let us mobilize our people,” she said.

She scoffed at the ‘prophets of doom who say the parish development model is bound to fail and tipped AMDA on the opportunities the program presents.

“Ignore those who say it is bound to fail, PDM is still pregnant, it hasn’t delivered yet, if we don’t handle that money well other people who are sharp will use it and the rest will keep on watching,” Nyakikongoro said.

The AMDA chaplain, Rev. Fr. Darius Magunda pledged the association’s support towards PDM which he said rhymes well with their programs.

“We shall use our AMDA association to rally behind the government in its development endeavours. We appreciate the efforts made by the government to help our people improve economically, we, therefore, pledge our support and cooperation in embracing this program for the development of our people,” Magunda noted.

Magunda used the occasion to push for the pay rise of arts teachers who have been left out in the recent salary increment of teachers.  Magunda reiterated that society needs arts teachers as much as it needs scientists.

“We strongly believe that we need both the scientists and art teachers, whereas we need scientists we also need thinkers, we need philosophers to plan for our country, so we would like to add our voice for your consideration of our dear teachers,” said Magunda.  

ABOUT AMDA

The Archdiocese of Mbarara Development Association (AMDA) is an umbrella association uniting all Catholics that hail from Mbarara Archdiocese living in Kampala and surrounding areas such as Entebbe, Mukono, Wakiso and Jinja. The Archdiocese of Mbarara has 45 Parishes and each one has members in AMDA. The Association currently has over3,000 members and the number is still growing.

AMDA’s work is hinged on seven pillars as its core values include; Unity; Spiritual Development; Leadership Development; Economic Empowerment; Education; Health and Wellness; and Environmental Protection.