Loyola University Chicago

• About the Bannakaroli Brothers
• Objectives
• The Brothers' Work
• Relationship with Loyola
• About St. Charles Lwanga
• Your Contributions At Work
  
  Back to the Bannakaroli Brothers homepage 

             SAVE THE DATE! June 3. A Special Evening with the Bannakaroli Brothers

About the Bannakaroli Brothers

Founded in 1927, the Bannakaroli Brothers (Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga), a Catholic order initiated in Uganda, whose calling and charism is to offer support and education to children in marginalized communities, has transformed the lives of thousands of children in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania – by establishing primary and secondary schools, and vocational training programs.   

Serving as elementary and secondary school teachers and headmasters, as well as social workers, the Bannakaroli Brothers are dedicated to the rehabilitation and development of children - especially orphans who are victims of AIDS; children from the streets; and those from families who suffer from severe poverty.  They are also leaders of social service programs, including care for the sick and aged. 

Objectives

The Bannakaroli Brothers, together with the Loyola community, hope to:

• increase awareness of the plight of these children;
• raise funds to provide basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and education to these vulnerable children;
•  improve the income generating capacity to support three schools (primary, secondary, and vocational) in target communities in Uganda

The Brothers’ Work

The Bannakaroli Brothers are dedicated to the well-being and education of the children, to enable them to realize their future in an empowered community, through rehabilitation, development, and education based on Christian values of charity and love.                                                           

St. Kizito Mbuye Primary School:

Kiteredde High School: Founded in 1960, Kiteredde HS was originally intended as a preparatory high school for the Catholic boys interested in and aspiring to join the Bannakaroli Brothers. In the 1990s, due to Bannakaroli apostolic demands, however, it was opened to mostly HIV/AIDS orphaned school-aged children from all religious nominations.  Today, the school has about 700 students: most of the students come either from single-parent and/or child-headed headed families. Although it has remained the best performing high school in Uganda, it lacks science text books, science laboratory and science equipments; and has only 3 classrooms for science classes.  The school administration is challenged by education quality demands that need money, yet most of the parents/guardians cannot afford to pay school fees and boarding fees.    

Kiteredde Vocational Institute (KVI): (Departments: Tailoring, Carpentry, Bricklaying, Mechanics, Agriculture and Home Management) Established in 1980, the KVI is a residential, private-registered vocational training center for youth (boys and girls) located in Kyotera town Rakai district, about 100 miles south west of the capital city, Kampala; it provides services for over 350 (150 girls and 200 boys aged 10 to 17 years old) orphans or those who have dropped out from within Uganda and the bordering countries.  school. The KVI has designed the vocational programs to meet informal and formal technical/vocational  training skills education needs of those that have not and/or have completed grade 7-level education and those that  have completed high school level education in particular from St, Kizito Primary School, Kiteredde High School and other schools that affiliated with the Bannakaroli Brothers.  On completion of the programs at KVI, the graduates are awarded with the KVI Certificate and/or Uganda National Examination Board Technical/ Vocational Certificate by the Uganda Government Ministry of Education.

KVI faces the immediate challenge to meet the need for clean and health water for drinking, cooking, and for building construction training.  KVI’s mission is to empower the poor and deprived - to enable them meet the present and future challenges of life in their own communities.  The Kiteredde Vocational Institute serves the communities in the Rakai district – which were abhorrently affected by civil wars of 1979, and later affected by AIDS.  Sadly, this area has recorded the highest number of HIV infections in the early stages of HIV prevalence in Uganda and, to-date, the problem of AIDS. The plight of its orphans has remained significant with ruinous long term social-economic crisis.    

Relationship with Loyola University Chicago

For more than twenty years, Loyola University Chicago has welcomed members of the Bannakaroli Brothers to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in order to further their service in East Africa. With the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, seventeen brothers have studied at Loyola since 1987; they have obtained degrees and returned to Uganda with knowledge and skill sets to better serve their communities.  At Loyola, the Brothers have taken on rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs.  They also find time to participate in community service projects in Chicago in a variety of social service agencies to assist underserved populations.  Moreover, the enduring effects they have on the Chicago community and beyond is multiplied by not only those they serve directly, but also by their presence at these agencies, not-profit organizations, and the University classrooms where they take their courses.

Charles was one of 22 Ugandan martyrs who converted from paganism. Though he was baptized the night before being put to death, he became a moral leader. He was the chief of the royal pages and was considered the strongest athlete of the court. Read more about St. Charles Lwanga

Your Contributions At Work

Your contributions, regardless of size, are very important to the work of the Bannakaroli Brothers, as they serve the children in marginalized communities in Uganda.  This important cause merits attention, and contributions from people like you make a large difference in the lives of these children. 

All the proceeds will go directly to cover the cost and expenses the care of the students (i.e., room and board, tuition)
 
For example,
 
$20 would cover books and class materials for one student
$40 would cover books, class materials, and a materials and uniform for one student
$60 would cover school fees for a day student
 
Currently, the tuition costs per student are:

Grade schools:
Grades 1-5 - US$200 per term. Academic Year (3 terms): $600
Grades 5-7 - US$180 per term  Academic Year (3 terms): $540

High School:
Years 1-6 - US$180 per term. Academic Year (3 terms): $540

Vocational Institute (Training Schools)

After grade 7: 3-year Certificate Program. US$120 per term.
Academic Year (3 terms): $360 per year ($1,080 for 3 years)

or

After High School: 2-year Certificate Program. US$160 per term.
Academic Year (3 terms): $480 per year ($960 for 2 years)