Archbishop John Baptist Odama refers to Sacred Heart Seminary (SHS) as the “heart of the Archdiocese of Gulu.”

• A Minor Seminary that prepares young men for the priesthood and community leadership, and empowers them to help build a better future and serve humanity.
• Founded in 1936 by the Comboni Missionaries who brought the Catholic faith to Northern Uganda and celebrating 82 years of faithful service in 2018.
• Currently more than 200 seminarians are enrolled in studies to become priests.
• 87% of the priests serving the Archdiocese of Gulu graduated from Sacred Heart Seminary.
• Ranked among the best schools in Uganda (114 out of 2900) by performance on government exams.

There are two main challenges facing SACRED HEART SEMINARY today:”

1. REPAIR AGING FACILITIES. Most of the SHS buildings were built in 1937. Classrooms and the computer lab are in dire need of renovation. Computers, printers and related technology are in desperate need of upgrading.

2. FINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS. The effects of war have had a lingering economic effect on most families in the Archdiocese of Gulu. Many promising students have to drop out of school because they cannot afford school fees. The SHS Scholarship Fund is the primary means of addressing this reality and you can help. Please consider a generous gift to the scholarship fund and give these students an opportunity to pursue God's Will for their lives.
Archbishop Flynn Secondary School (AFSS) was founded as a direct response to the tragedy associated with the 2002 insurgency.  At that time desperately concerned parents approached the Archdiocese of Gulu for help with the education of their children.

• It was a time when 80% of the population lived in camps for displaced persons.
• The school system had collapsed.
• Poverty was at dehumanizing levels

Msgr. Matthew Odong, the Vicar General of the Gulu archdiocese, heard the pleas of his people and reached out to friends he had made during mission trips to the United States.
• Archbishop Flynn Secondary School started operations in February, 2009 with 37 co-ed students.
• By 2014, there were 352 students (180 girls and 172 boys) in grades 7 – 10.
• In 2015, the dream was fulfilled adding the last two grades of high school.
• By 2015, enrollment had grown to 510 students
• In 2022, the enrollment has increased to 737 students (353 girls and 384 boys)

Archbishop Flynn Secondary School is a beacon of hope in a place still suffering the effects of a 22 year war that left a generation in abject poverty.  Generous support from the American apostolate is making a miracle possible.
• AFSS is known for academic excellence. Always in the top 100 schools in all of Uganda
• Girls are given the same opportunity as boys for quality education and moral formation.
• AFSS ranks 57th out of 3000 secondary schools in Uganda and number 2 out of all schools in the northern region when measured by governmental examinations.

Hope for Uganda schools (Sacred Heart Seminary and Archbishop Flynn Secondary School) are the bright shining stars in Hope For Uganda.  They combine academic excellence with spiritual and moral formation in the lives of young men and women who will serve the church and the common good in Uganda for decades to come.
As AFSS celebrates ten years in operation, a life-changing program for sustainability has been launched. In 2017 Hope for Uganda helped purchase 261 acres of fertile land for the purpose of providing food for the students and staff at AFSS. The Archbishop Flynn Rural Development Education Center, affectionately called The Farm meets several challenges:

• It curbs ever-increasing food costs – one of the largest and most unpredictable expenses for school management.
• It provides jobs for people in the local community.
• It sells excess produce to generate income.
• It provides an education center for teaching modern farming methods to the students and area farmers.
• It gives students and members of the community some ownership in the economic future of the school and surrounding area.
• It saves the school tens of thousands of dollars each year in food costs

There is a lot of excitement for this new program. Hope for Uganda is working closely with Ugandan partners to ensure its success. Fr. Rom Peter Paul, newly appointed administrator of AFSS, has responsibility for developing The Farm. This young, energetic priest is determined to show the merits of the program – so determined that he literally camps out at The Farm when time is of the essence.

Once again, HFU changes lives!  Please consider investing in this this effort to ensure sustainability at AFSS – a promising plan for the future.

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