"A Better Life." - Southern Ugandan dialect
Giving back to those who give us so much.
News & Updates
Phase 6 of Akweto Health Center
Fr. James is happy to report that cement, sand, and gravel have been secured! Plastering in and outside, the finishing of the gables, and flooring in commencing! January 2024
Christmas Gift Day & Yr. Ending Letter
As a part of continued efforts to support the elderly AM has sent funding to distribute food and basic needs supplies as a Christmas celebration. Thank you to the many local volunteers who made this possible.
Message from Uganda:
"I can’t tell you enough of the joy these people are sending into you all and to AM donor supporters. I’m sure this is my joy for Christmas you have given me that I want to return a BIG THANK and a PLEDGE for continued prayers for AM. Merry Christmas to you all."
Staff Residence is Complete!
TO Amagara Marungi
P.O.Box 1633, Saco 04072, USA
Dear Brethren in Christ
RE: APPRECIATION FOR GIVING US FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
TO COMPLETE THE STAFF RESIDENCE.
On behalf of Rubanda PHC and the medical mission sisters, I would like to express our since
gratitude and appreciation to the Amagara Marungi board for your generous support towards the
construction of the staff house
Your support is very important to us; it helps the continuity of our commitment to serving the
community of Rubanda.
The funds you send to us we were able to complete the house and it is in good condition. This
would have not been successful without your act of generosity in support of Rubanda Primary
Health Care Programme. We greatly appreciate and we are now ready to continue with the
theatre project if more funds are available
Thank you. God bless.
Yours in Christ
SR.Lucy Kamwaka
October 2023
Chickens?!
Update from Mizzoldi Community College
"Our students are excited at having hands on modern new industrial machines they will most likely meet in the life of work. Good exposure in advance. Thanks to you Amagara Marungi. We are now training them how to operate them.
We are in the third term of the year and rains have come. We are looking forward to concluding the year well. However, since the rains have come, we have gone back to the gardens. We have planted vegetables, beans and maize. We are grateful to you for your support you gave us to begin this project. With what you gave us we are able yet to plough back for next season. In addition to gardening, we have also started rearing chickens. Chickens are profitable but need bigger investment than we are able now.
Here in Uganda, we are celebrating Independence Day. We pray that Ugandans may grow to be truly independent putting God at the centre of their lives.
We wish you God's blessings in your work.
Faithfully,
Fr Julius Kabatereine."
Mizzoldi Community College, Uganda
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October 2023
Celebrate!
In an act of support for Rubanda Solidarity and their attempts to reduce elderly isolation Amagara Marungi was thrilled to support the Celebration of Older Persons hosted by the Rubanda Solidarity Nursery and Primary School (Uganda)
October 2023
Doors, windows, & tile...OH MY!
Greetings in the name of our lord Jesus Christ.
We would like to express our since heartfelt gratitude to you for listening to our plea for sending
us money to continue the construction of a staff house
We have been able to complete the shuttering, shower rooms plumbing and tiling phases
We are very grateful for your support towards the development of our facility, the staffs and the
community around are very happy for the support you are rendering to us.
We are now ready for the last phases
Thank you so much for your partnership
Yours faithfully
SR.Lucy Kamwaka
Rubanda Health Center, Uganda
Late Summer 2023
So Close!
Fr. James in Akweto has sent us the latest report on Phase 1 of the Health Center. We are down to electrical and plumbing! Fr. James has made wonderfully detailed and quick work to report each phase. The local community is supporting the work with much donated labor.
(Cameroon)
September 2023
Celebrate!
We are grateful to Fr. Dominic Tumusiime for being the non-voting, spiritual advisor to the Amagara Marungi board. Please say a prayer for the lifelong missionary continued journey of our friend and most wise companion as he celebrates his 30th year of ministry.
August 2023
Safe Travels
Bishop George of the Cameroonian Diocese of Kumbo was in the US to check on “his men” this past week and we were able to travel to Ellsworth to celebrate mass with him, his 10 missionary priests and two seminarians now posted in Maine. V. Rev. Emile Dube, VF graciously welcomed the Bishop and all of the priests which he had sent with a jovial smile saying, “...thank you for sending us the cream of the crop!” As Bishop George started his homily he stated that V.Rev. Dube was more right than he knew. Though Kumbo has been blessed to produce the first priest in Cameroon (1949), the first bishop (1970), and the first cardinal (1988), they are not overflowing with so many priests or experience such peace, that the local populus can do without such fine men.
On the contrary, Bishop George, poured out his heart that since a missionary changed his life and pulled him from darkness to the light, that missionaries “give someone a future they would not have a chance to experience if someone did not intervene”. We, Mainers, are grateful for his heart, his story, and the faithfulness of his men. Bishop George concluded by saying, “Thank you for giving them the opportunity (to serve).” AM says, thank you for being faithful to us and allowing us the opportunity to serve you in return.
August 2023
Skill+Tools = 2(Success)
Have you ever learned a skill? Did it involve a tool or a set of tools? What would your success rate have been if you had not had those tools? Someone once said that every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success. The AM Board agrees. This is why we have funded the procurement of basic tools for the Mazzoldi Community College which is trying to build up the marketable skills of the next generation so that they might find paid work and support their families and community. Fr. Julius, who runs the school has not only secured the building but he is also gathering students from the local populace who with their fees are building sustainability for this noble project. (Mizzoldi Community College, Uganda)
Summer 2023
Changing of the Guard
One side of this work that we did not realize was the strong emotions and connections that would be made, the real friendships that would be forged across thousands of miles. We have gotten to know and work with Fr. Earnest in Akweto, Cameroon who has been amazing and attentive to many details in getting Phase I of the Health Center off the ground. He has now been reassigned within the Kumbo Diocese and we will miss him but know that he will do great work wherever he goes. We are also grateful for the speed and prioritization that his replacement Fr. James (pictured) is taking in order to complete Phase I. We have already had a call and several photo/video reports from him.
July 2023
Join Us!
Amagara Marungi was honored to be able to speak to the Knights of Columbus of Maine at their annual convention in Bangor and the loving and enthusiastic response to what we are doing and why.
April 2023
New President
March 2023
Thanks everyone for all of your hard work to get us where we are now!
May God bless you richly, Dr. Bill Martel, Amagara Marungi President
February 2023
Thanks to Dr. Bill Martel for all of his hard work. Here are exciting videos of the progress made in Akweto on the health center building. See Fr. Earnest and the workers give Bishop George a tour.
Most Ambitious Projects Started!
September 30, 2022
The summer months proved fruitful! Together with our partners in Cameroon and Uganda we've launched two of our most ambitious projects yet. Funding for both were approved by the Board of Directors on August 27, the feast day of our patroness St. Monica.
The first project is to build a lodging rooms for the Health Center in Rubanda. With no resident staff, the Health Center depends upon traveling physicians who are currently hosted by local families. The residency hall will provide modest rooms for them to stay, likely increasing the frequency and duration of visits to serve local needs.
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The second is our first project in Cameroon. Partnering with the Diocese of Kumbo we are breaking ground on a permanent Health Center in Akweto. A rural area, Akweto has no Health facilities currently. This ambitious project will build a two building Health Center for general health as well as a maternity ward.
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We were blessed in September with a new Board member joining us. Bob Stalilonis brings financial expertise and a lifetime of loving service to our Lord. We look forward to Bob's leadership on our team.
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Certainly not least on the list is the continued support of our donors. One time and ongoing donations have continued to come throughout the summer making the projects we are undertaking possible. We are humbled and thankful for your investment to provide Better Lives for our brothers and sisters in Africa.
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May God bless you richly,
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Dr. Bill Martel, Amagara Marungi President
Community College Complete!
June 20, 2022
With great thanks to our supporters, the Mazzoldi Community College classrooms are complete!
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Pictures of progress over the past year can be found in our gallery, including the finished building. The classrooms will be used to train young adults in Uganda in trade skills, allowing them to better support their families and communities. The board of Amagara Marungi is thankful to the Apostles of Jesus missionaries for allowing us to assist in this powerful project to provide Better Lives to Uganda.
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Planning for our next projects is well underway, both in support of health care. The health center in Rubanda is in need of an operating theatre as well as rooms for visiting physicians. Concurrently, plans for a health center in Akweto, Cameroon are being developed. The health center at Akweto, if pursued, will represent Amagara Marungi's most ambitious undertaking to date.
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Thank you for your continued support to provide Better Life to those in Africa who provide for our spiritual lives here in the US.
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Dr. Bill Martel, Amagara Marungi President
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Thank you for the support!
April 23, 2022
Happy Easter to all! Lent was filled with blessings as so many contributed to the work for a Better Life in Uganda and Cameroon. We are thankful to Dom & Jimmy at Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World; the excellent mystery of Our Lady at Kibeho generated great awareness of Amagara Marungi. We have been humbled by the donations and fantastic emails of support, far beyond our expectations. Thank you!
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We've begun discussions with Bishop George Nkuo of the Kumbo Diocese in Cameroon for the potential building of a Health Center in the rural area of Akweto. The Kumbo Diocese currently provides five missionary priests to serve the needs of the state of Maine. While this Health Center would be our most ambitious undertaking to date, your generous gifts have encouraged us to proceed to the next steps. Prayers for prudence and wisdom are appreciated.
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Finishing touches on the Mazzoldi Community College classrooms in Uganda are underway and we will continue to post updated pictures in the gallery.
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On behalf of the Board of Amagara Marungi let me again thank Dom, Jimmy, SQPN, and all those who have generously supported this mission to provide a Better Life for the African communities that provide a Better Life for us in Maine.
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- Dr. Bill Martel, Amagara Marungi President
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Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World
February 4, 2022
Amagara Marungi was highlighted on Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World, episodes 192 & 193. The episode investigates the mystery of Our Lady of Kibeho, the only approved Marian apparition in Africa. You can watch or hear the episode at SQPN. com or by connecting to one of the following links:
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https://www.sqpn.com/2022/02/our-lady-of-kibeho-marian-apparition/
Unexpected Grace
December 30, 2021
There were no plans, no thoughts, no designs; only friends, needs, and opportunities. At least for our part...
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Divine grace on the other hand apparently had sovereign plans, thoughts, and designs for 2021, and in His mercy He included us. In His grace he offered the Board of Amagara Marungi an opportunity to be Kingdom people in a different way. We were offered the blessing of serving Him by serving the "least of these".
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It started as a simple desire to support those who support us. We wanted to support the African families and communities who send us their sons and daughters for our spiritual needs. They give us so much, could we not in thanks give something back ?
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God blessed our efforts and allowed us to serve. We quickly learned, however, that we could not out-serve Him who modeled service from the beginning. Every attempt to provide became a provision in return...every gift given, a gift received...every support lent, a support supplied.
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2021, an Unexpected Grace. We humbly look forward to what He will do in 2022. Please join us!
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- Dr. Bill Martel, Amagara Marungi President
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Most Ambitious Projects Started!
September 30, 2022
The summer months proved fruitful! Together with our partners in Cameroon and Uganda we've launched two of our most ambitious projects yet. Funding for both were approved by the Board of Directors on August 27, the feast day of our patroness St. Monica.
The first project is to build a lodging rooms for the Health Center in Rubanda. With no resident staff, the Health Center depends upon traveling physicians who are currently hosted by local families. The residency hall will provide modest rooms for them to stay, likely increasing the frequency and duration of visits to serve local needs.
​
The second is our first project in Cameroon. Partnering with the Diocese of Kumbo we are breaking ground on a permanent Health Center in Akweto. A rural area, Akweto has no Health facilities currently. This ambitious project will build a two building Health Center for general health as well as a maternity ward.
​
We were blessed in September with a new Board member joining us. Bob Stalilonis brings financial expertise and a lifetime of loving service to our Lord. We look forward to Bob's leadership on our team.
​
Certainly not least on the list is the continued support of our donors. One time and ongoing donations have continued to come throughout the summer making the projects we are undertaking possible. We are humbled and thankful for your investment to provide Better Lives for our brothers and sisters in Africa.
​
May God bless you richly,
​
Dr. Bill Martel, Amagara Marungi President