(2008) When we first met Fr. Emmanuel Katabaazi in 2005, he was a parish priest at the Church of the Visitation in the Diocese of Maska, Uganda. Our good friend and colleague, Fr. Evarist Lubega introduced us and had us take a tour of his church. On our tour Fr.
Emmanuel showed us a medical clinic that he had opened on the parish property. It was a very rough structure with few amenities and not much necessary equipment to deal with the most basic medical needs. He also showed us another medical clinic structure that was in the process of being built. Right from this point I discerned that this Fr. Emmanuel can dream big dreams and work to accomplish them.
On May 1st of 2005, news of the sudden and tragic loss of our good friend, the forty-five year old, Fr. Evarist was shared with us by a phone conversation with Fr. Emmanuel. From that time onward, Fr. Emmanuel, Fr. Evarist's best friend, became our best friend and a good contact in the Diocese of Masaka, Uganda. Apparently I was not the only one to notice Fr. Emmanuel's great potential for news reached us that Fr. Emmanuel had left the Church of the Visitation to become head of the Masaka Catholic Health Services. We were all so happy to hear of his new appointment and knew that he was the perfect person for that most important ministry. There was only one difficulty. He had to supervise two hospitals and at that time thirty medical clinics under the Diocesan umbrella. However, he had no means of transportation given him to accomplish this task. This is when ROTA did some significant outreach and was able to supply some funding so he could accomplish his new assignment with a sound vehicle. We were delighted to ride in the vehicle when we had the opportunity to visit in 2008. God bless all our benefactors who make these miracles happen.
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