Who is Father Adolf?
            Father Adolf Busobozi is a Roman Catholic priest and a native of Uganda. He came to western Massachusetts in January 2005. Father studied at Elms College and graduated in 2011 with an MA in Theology, focusing on ecumenical/interreligious studies.
                During the course of Father’s studies, Springfield’s bishop asked him to serve as chaplain at Baystate Medical Center, beginning in 2008 until his return home. Father Adolf also assisted Father Murphy here at St. Mary’s for six years with weekend mass and vacation coverage. Father Adolf returned home to Uganda in 2016 when the Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Portal, Uganda asked him to be the Pastor of the newly created parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Rwimi, Uganda.

How did St. Mary’s get involved in raising funds for a health clinic?
            After Father Adolf returned home to Uganda in 2016, several members of the Parish who were participating in Bible studies at the time began brainstorming ideas for projects in which the parish could help others. Helping Father Adolf in his new parish emerged as a possible endeavor. The pastor of St. Mary’s, Father Murphy, was asked for guidance and he wholeheartedly approved the undertaking. Preliminary research of Father Adolf’s new parish and its parishioners highlighted a couple of facts: the residents of Rwimi are an impoverished community without many resources of social safety net programs, and a US dollar goes a long way in Uganda. The result was an understanding that the St. Mary’s community could make a significant impact on people in need. The committee then reached out to Father Adolf, asking, “We would like to help you. What can we do?” Father Adolf’s simple response, “My people need a health clinic.”

Why is a health clinic needed?
            Father Adolf explained to us that when people get sick they are in danger of death because the nearest hospital is one hour away- but there are major hurdles to get there. There is no ambulance service and other transportation is scarce; the roads are poor. Often times Father Adolf’s parishioners don’t get the health care they need or they receive poor health care. In Father’s parish children are dying from malaria. Babies that have diarrhea may die.  A local clinic will help save these children’s lives and others. Adults with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure will get help to manage their health.

How much will it cost to build the health clinic facilities?
1^st phase: Construct a health clinic. This was completed October 28, 2018.
2^nd phase: Equip the building and construct housing for nurses. Providing housing for nurses will allow the clinic to serve clients on a regular basis and staff the clinic consistently. The first residence was opened on October 27, 2019 and the second is targeted for completion in 2020.
As of November, 2020 $158,835 has been raised. The remaining goal is $25,000

Contributions are welcome! Tax-deductible donations by check can be made out to St. Mary’s Church with “Fr. Adolf’s health clinic” in the memo line and mailed to St. Mary’s Church, 27 Somers Rd., Hampden, MA 01036. To learn more about the project, contact stmaryhampden@gmail.com.