Like several Brothers, my journey with the Brothers of Christian Instruction began as a student.
I studied at St Edward’s School in Bukuumi, Kakumiro District, a school run by the Brothers[of Christian Instruction]. However, when I first joined the school, I had no intention of becoming a Brother.
The call to religious life is deeply personal and can sometimes be mysterious. There are moments when you cannot fully explain how or why it happens. You simply find yourself drawn towards that life.
For me, that journey eventually led me to join the Brothers in 1983.
I went through the different stages of religious formation ; postulancy, novitiate and scholasticate. As a young Brother, I began my teaching ministry. My first posting was to St Henry’s College, Kitovu, where I began my journey as both a professional teacher and a Brother.
Over the years, I served in different places and travelled for further studies, while teaching remained an important part of my life.
I have also spent many years in formation, accompanying young men preparing to become Brothers. I served as a postulant director, worked in the novitiate, and later spent several years in the scholasticate. Formation has therefore been a significant part of my life as a Brother.
Today, I serve as one of the Assistant Superior Generals of the congregation.
The White Fathers, beginning of the Brothers’ mission
The story of the coming of the Brothers of Christian Instruction to Uganda cannot be separated from the history of the White Fathers, officially known as the Missionaries of Africa.
When the White Fathers came to Uganda in the late 19th century, their mission was not limited to evangelisation. Education was also central to their work. Wherever they established themselves, they founded schools.
However, as their mission expanded, they realised they could not do everything. They were responsible for parishes, pastoral work, evangelisation and schools, and eventually the burden became too great.
They needed another congregation to take charge of education. That is how the Brothers of Christian Instruction entered the picture.
The White Fathers did not invite the Brothers simply to establish their own institutions. Rather, they asked them to help take over and develop schools that had already been established.
The White Fathers could then focus more on pastoral and missionary work, while the Brothers concentrated on education.
The role of Bishop John Forbes
One of the key figures behind the arrival of the Brothers in Uganda was Bishop John Forbes, a Canadian who had connections with the Brothers of Christian Instruction in Canada.
At the time, Church leaders in Uganda were discussing how to manage the growing responsibility for education. Bishop Forbes knew the Brothers and believed they were well suited to the task.
He convinced his fellow missionaries that the congregation had the experience and capacity needed to take charge of schools.
The process began around 1922.
Bishop Forbes wrote to the leadership of the congregation, encouraging them to consider sending Brothers to Uganda. In his letters, he described Uganda as a promising mission field. He wrote about the people, their religious commitment, the schools and the opportunities available.
He did a great deal of groundwork, with several letters exchanged between Uganda, the congregation’s leadership and the Canadian province.
Eventually, in 1924, the leadership in Canada communicated that they were ready to send Brothers within two years.
For Bishop Forbes, this was wonderful news. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the Brothers arrive.
He died before the first Canadian Brothers reached Uganda in 1926.
It is one of the sadder parts of the story: the man who had worked so hard to bring them to Uganda was no longer alive when they finally arrived.
A journey of 54 days
It is difficult for people today to imagine what travelling from Canada to Uganda meant a century ago. The first Brothers left Canada on June 9, 1926, and arrived in Uganda on August 2. The journey took about 54 days.
Today, someone can leave Canada and arrive in Uganda in less than a day. For those pioneers, however, travelling to Africa was an extraordinary undertaking. Their journey involved boats, trains and long periods of waiting.
They travelled from Canada across the Atlantic to England, then continued through different parts of Europe. Along the way, they visited communities connected to their congregation and met members of the White Fathers who had invited them to Uganda.
From France, they travelled to Marseille and boarded a ship across the Mediterranean. They passed through the Suez Canal and continued towards East Africa.
Eventually, they arrived in Mombasa. From there, they took the railway to Kisumu before continuing by boat across Lake Victoria. The White Fathers received them upon arrival and eventually brought them to their new mission.
They reached Uganda on August 2, 1926. After a short period of settling in, they travelled to Kisubi. Remarkably, only days after completing a journey of almost two months, they were ready to begin work.
They started teaching on August 6, 1926.
Today, a teacher might ask for several days to settle in, prepare schemes of work and understand a new environment. These men had travelled for 54 days through unfamiliar countries and environments and, within days, were in the classroom.
That tells you something about their commitment.
Why they came
The greatest motivation was rooted in the missionary identity of the congregation.
‘The Brothers of Christian Instruction were never meant to remain in one place. We are missionaries.’
The Brothers who came from Canada understood this very well. Canada itself had received missionaries from France. Brothers had crossed the Atlantic and gone to Canada to establish the congregation there.
Therefore, there was a sense that Canada had also received a gift and now had a responsibility to share it.
‘We received, and we must also give.’
That missionary spirit was one of the main reasons the Canadian Brothers accepted the call to Uganda.
The second motivation came from Bishop John Forbes. He strongly convinced the congregation that Uganda was a promising place for a mission. In his letters, he spoke highly of the people, their openness and their commitment to religion.
The Brothers also knew that missionaries had already sacrificed their lives for the faith in Uganda. For someone preparing to become a missionary, that could be a powerful motivation.
If others had given their lives for this mission, then perhaps this was a place worth going to.
There was also an element of adventure. The pioneers did not know exactly what awaited them, but they had faith and courage and were prepared to embrace the unknown.
The Brothers’ greatest contribution: Education
Without doubt, the greatest contribution of the Brothers of Christian Instruction to Uganda has been education.
Interestingly, the Brothers were not originally invited to focus mainly on primary school education.
The White Fathers had already established primary schools and teacher-training institutions. What was lacking was a strong system for higher education.
There were very few teachers available for secondary education. That was where the Brothers came in.
The congregation was invited to help develop secondary and higher education. This explains why many institutions associated with the Brothers became important secondary schools.
The Brothers helped establish and strengthen institutions that educated and trained generations of Ugandans.
A century later, Uganda has many secondary schools and trained teachers. However, the foundations laid by the early educational institutions remain important. Many of the schools handed over to the Brothers are still standing today. These include St Mary’s College Kisubi, St Henry’s College Kitovu in Masaka and many more.
Some of the original buildings have disappeared and been replaced by modern structures, but the institutions themselves remain.
Schools that became part of families. Over the years, generations of Ugandans have passed through Brothers’ schools. In some families, attending a Brothers’ school is prestigious and a tradition.
You could come across people saying, ‘My grandfather studied at, for example St Mary’s College Kisubi. My father studied there. I studied there, and now my son is also at the same school.’
The schools have become part of people’s family histories.
Initially, the Brothers mainly ran boys’ schools, reflecting the educational structures of the time. Girls’ education was largely managed by religious sisters. Over time, however, this changed. The Brothers eventually became involved in coeducational schools and institutions.
Today, former female students are also part of the extended family of the congregation. They too continue sending their children to the schools. This is how an educational mission grows beyond an institution and becomes part of society.
Beyond the classroom, the Brothers have also contributed through agriculture. In many of our institutions, students learn practical skills alongside academic subjects.
The environment created around Brothers’ communities also had an influence. If you visit many Brothers’ institutions, you will notice the well-trimmed hedges and manicured compounds. They are often well organised and attractive. Such environments can also educate people. Sometimes, people see a place and think, ‘I would also like my home or institution to look like that.’
Even without a formal lesson, an environment can communicate values such as discipline, care and responsibility.
The challenge of building a mission
The first challenge for the pioneers was adaptation.
The White Fathers had invited them, but the Brothers still had to learn how to live and work in an entirely different society. They had to understand Uganda and its people.
Another major challenge was financial.
The schools the Brothers inherited were much smaller than the institutions we see today. Over the decades, many of the original buildings were replaced, renovated and expanded.
This required resources, and the Brothers had to seek benefactors and financial support.
At the time, the financial system was also different. In some cases, school fees were paid to Church authorities rather than directly to the institutions, while the Brothers received limited funding to manage the schools.
That was often not enough, so they had to find additional resources to sustain and develop their institutions.
From Canadian missionaries to Ugandan Brothers
One remarkable thing about the pioneers is that they immediately understood the importance of developing local vocations. They did not come to Uganda intending to remain foreigners forever. They wanted Ugandans to become Brothers.
Culture was another major challenge.
They had to learn how people lived, communicated and functioned as communities. One important lesson passed down from the early missionaries was the importance of learning local languages.
Church leaders repeatedly encouraged the Brothers to learn the languages of the people they served. You cannot truly become part of a community if you do not understand its language.
That challenge remains even today.
A Brother from another part of Uganda or another country who is sent to a new community may have to learn the local language. A Brother serving in northern Uganda, West Nile or another region cannot simply remain isolated. He must become part of the community.
Also, as Assistant Superior General, I have had opportunities to work in different parts of the congregation.
At one point, I was responsible for Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Later, my responsibilities included Haiti, France and England. I have also worked with Kenya, Tanzania and, more recently, countries in West Africa, including Senegal, Togo, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.
These experiences have allowed me to see different ways in which the congregation operates. We can all learn from one another. Uganda can learn from other countries, particularly in areas such as school management, recruitment, formation and community life.
But the wider congregation is also interested in learning from Uganda. Many Brothers outside Uganda see the Ugandan mission as a success.
Sometimes, when you live inside a situation, you see only the struggles. We know the challenges we face every day. But when people look at Uganda from outside, they see a congregation that has survived and grown for 100 years. That external perspective has helped me appreciate what has been achieved.
Of course, we cannot claim that it is entirely because of our efforts. We believe it is the grace of God that has brought us this far. Humanly speaking, we have struggled and continue to struggle. But we are grateful.
The future of the mission
The future remains rooted in education. Schools will continue to be at the centre of our mission, but we also hope to expand into more places. The missionary spirit must continue. Uganda must not only celebrate the missionaries who came here. Ugandan Brothers must increasingly think about becoming missionaries themselves.
That, however, comes with new challenges.
The political and immigration environment today is very different from what it was 100 years ago. When Canadian missionaries came to Uganda, they were not confronted with the same visa restrictions and professional requirements that Ugandans may face when trying to work abroad today.
The world has changed. Missionary work today requires navigating political systems, immigration laws and professional regulations. But that does not mean the missionary spirit should disappear. It simply means we must find new ways to live it.
The legacy of the next generation
As today’s Brothers reflect on the next 100 years, commitment to young people must remain.
Young people are the future. The greatest legacy we can leave is not simply buildings or institutions. It is people. If we continue forming young people who are educated, responsible, compassionate and capable of contributing to society, then the mission will continue to have meaning.
After 100 years, we can look back with gratitude. The journey has not been without challenges, sacrifices and struggles. But we are still here.
And perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons of the centenary.
A mission that began with four Canadian Brothers, after a 54-day journey into an unfamiliar land, became a Ugandan story. The challenge now is to ensure that the story continues.