Ugandan author visits campus
Head of School Rachel Simpson, Sister Irene Cullen, RSCJ and Betty Ogiel eat lunch and look at photos of Ogiel’s children. Ogiel gifted the school a handmade wood plaque.
November 2, 2017
Betty Ogiel, an alumna of Sacred Heart Schools Kangole Senior Secondary School and St. Charles Lwanga Girls Training Center Kalungu in Uganda, visited Oct. 23 as part of her United States book tour.
Ogiel’s memoir “Against All Odds” chronicles her life as an orphan and details her commitment to the pursuit of education. Ten percent of the book’s proceeds will go to Ogiel’s fund, which supports girls’ education in the Karamoja region, where Kangole is located.
Ogiel said she hopes to make a film of her experiences.
In an interview during Chapel, Ogiel shared stories of her life with the school community of suffering and resilience.
Orphaned at young age, Ogiel overcame countless struggles to attain a quality education, leading her to win the Human Resource Excellence Award 2016 of Uganda.
In her book, Ogiel credits her intellectual success to the nuns of the Society of the Sacred Heart who provided her opportunities to pursue her education.
Kangole, Ogiel’s high school, previously faced a food shortage crisis brought on by the withdrawal of support from the United Nations World Food Programme.
Due to donations and support from the Sacred Heart community, the school has the resources to remain open for the remainder of the school year.
The RSCJ are in the process of developing long term food sourcing solutions for coming school years.
