NEW QUAY’s John Conroy will lead ten volunteers to Uganda on a humanitarian mission this July.
Over the summer, the Clare crew will volunteer with Hospice Jinja which is a facility established to assist with palliative care, they will assist on educational training children with special needs and mainstream children in a primary school with an enrolment of 1200 children and also coach gaelic football at Nile Óg Cusack’s GAA club.
To assist with fundraising efforts, a 6km family fun run and walk takes place in Barefield on Friday. The run has been kindly sponsored by Frank and Siobhain Landy from Sweet n Green and it kicks off at 19:30.
Since 2017, over sixty volunteers from Clare have raised in excess of €375,000 for charities in Uganda. All flights, daily expenses and living costs are paid for by the volunteers themselves with all donations going direct to those most in need of support and assistance.
This year the volunteers heading to Uganda alongside John are Maria O’Loughlin, Martina and Ailbhe McGann, Michelle McNamara, Teresa Reynolds, Olive Robinson, Cora McNulty, Rachel Helebert and Michael O’Neill.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, John outlined that the fundraising target this year is €39,000 to construct ten teacher’s houses, toilet and wash facilities. Plans have been drawn up with construction of the building due to begin in the middle of April with completion earmarked for the middle of August. The building will be built on the grounds of Walukuba West Primary School in Jinja and is also home to Nile Og Cusack’s GAA Club.
Conroy explained, “Last year we fundraised the construction of a dormitory and toilets for 100 deaf children with the ten teachers house due to be constructed behind the dormitory. In nineteen countries across eastern and southern Africa teacher absenteeism range from fifteen to forty five percent. In Uganda, recent data reveal a staggering reality, while teachers may be on the payroll fifty two percent were not actually teaching in the classroom. Without teacher presence and engagement, learning will not improve for the nine out of ten children in sub-Saharan Africa who currently cannot read and understand a simple text by age ten. Teachers in Uganda face many challenges, low wages, difficult working and living conditions and lack of professional respect, many teachers are forced to take on additional jobs to supplement their inadequate income, with many teachers unable to pay for transport to school. By constructing the teachers houses this will help the school in keeping the teachers within the school and improving the children’s education”.
He has urged the people of Clare to get show their support for the work in Uganda by getting involved in the Barefield run. He said Toonagh Craft Group and Circles of Stitches have been busy knitting clothing items for babies and young children that access the hospice service.
Students in seventh class of Walukuba West primary school received their final exams in early February with the school receiving the highest grades on record with the school headmaster noting the input of the Irish volunteers and donors in improving the facilities and standard for the students through sport and education.
Founded in July 2024, Nile Óg Cusacks GAA club began initially coaching thirty deaf children but now has sessions three times per week amongst the school community of 1,200. An Easter GAA camp takes place in Uganda next week. In October 2024, the terms of gaelic football and hurling were launched at the Irish Embassy in Kampala as part of the Ugandan sign language by Ambassador Kevin Colgan. Nile Óg Cusacks had their first AGM and elected the club’s first officers in February 2025, the following July the club played their first official game against Simba Wolfhounds. The club hosted a tournament last summer to celebrate the opening of the new dormitory.
Hospice Jinja provides a palliative care service to a population base of five million in the Busoga province. The hospice is a free mobile palliative care service that travels to the homes of people administering treatment to the families and individuals in need. The team relieve their pains and symptoms and help them live their last days in peace, comfort and dignity. In 2025 1,579 patients received palliative and supportive care with 854 new patients enrolling
Every day, during home visits across the Busoga Region the hospice encounters patients living with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses who have faced years of delayed diagnosis, untreated pain and limited access to care. Poverty, lack of awareness, and weak referral systems often means that help arrives late or not at all. The Hospice delivers an integrated, community-based model that follows patients along the entire cancer pathway working around five interconnected areas, prevention, early detection, treatment support, palliative care and psychosocial and family support. The average cost per patient is €366 with costs covering palliative care, treatment support, psychosocial care, prevention and outreach.
