By Richard Onapatum
BUIKWE: The Vice President Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Alupo has today commiserated with Sisters of Sacred Heart Convent following the passing of Kangole Girls SSS former headmistress Rev. Sr. Margaret Conroy.
Margaret breathed her last on Thursday last week after a very short illness.
Sr. Margaret 94, was yesterday laid to rest in Buikwe district during a ceremony attended by politicians and the religious from all walks of life.
Alupo, the chief mourner and former Deputy Head Prefect of Kangole Girls SSS in Karamoja eulogized Sr. Margaret as a very good communicator and strict administrator.
“Rev. Sr Margy was a very good communicator, she gave instructions clearly ranging from compulsory school mass, compulsory preps, all students having meals in the dining hall and at the same time, she also demanded that everyone must learn and sing the school anthem very well during the assemblies.” the vice president told mourners.
She said her time in Kangole girls was made very memorable largely because of the unique method of Administration by Sr Margy.
Alupo joined the school in 1989 in her S2 class, from St Elizabeth girls Kidetok where she did her S1 but because of the insurgency of the UPA rebels then in Teso sub region, her Dad chose to transfer her to Kangole Girls.
She recounted that during her first school weekly assembly, she heard loud and clear Rev Sr Margy speak with a parental tone though laced with sufficient authority.
From the first assembly, she attended, she knew she had been addressed by a strict administrator but motherly disciplinarian in Sr Margy.
“I silently kept asking myself whether I would cope. Sr. Margy reminded girls to always stick to school rules and regulations if they were to succeed in their academic journey in Kangole SSS.” Said Alupo as she asked the gathering to celebrate Margys’ life instead of mourning it.
She said Sr. Margy endeavored to know every girl by name and was called and chosen by God himself to be an educationist.
“Sr. Margy would physically check on us in our classrooms during night preps unannounced and this encouraged us to always concentrate during preps. For the compulsory weekly mass, she would personally pick up the slow girls from the dormitory and walk with them to church.” she eulogized.
Alupo explained that all this helped to them to help build their faith on a firm foundation.
Sr Margy believed in all round education. According to Alupo, the school had a school garden where they used to cultivate beans and maize which helped to inculcate in them a spirit of hard work.
“Sr Margie would personally walk with us to the school garden. She valued cocurricular activities and encouraged all the girls to participate in games emphasizing physical fitness.” said Alupo
Margy taught the girls how to keep neat, organized and smart. She would do everything with them to demonstrate that whatever they were asked to do by the school was possible.
The vice president stressed that Sr Margy touched her most on ensuring safety of the girls, at that time, the Matheniko warriors would threaten to attack our school especially if the Bokora warriors had raided them.
“Oh my God, Sr Margy would move around the school at night with her torch to ensure no warrior enters the school. She would ask us to lock ourselves in the dormitories and she would not allow any night preps when there was such a threat.” she told mourners.
Alupo said the head girl Nakoya Joyce would tell them that she would persuade Sr Margy to return to the convent but she would tell her that she had the duty to secure the girls both at day time but also at night.
“Commitment, Courage, Faith, confidence, dedication; she had it all in immeasurable terms.” she said. The relationship between us the students and Sr Margy was that of a True Mother and daughters.
She said Sr. Margy respected her teachers and non-teaching staff in equal measure. She valued them all and did not hide it from them. She normally commended them during the school assemblies. According to the vice president one could see a flowing atmosphere of teamwork between Sr. Margy and her teaching and non-teaching staff.
Alupo added that Sr Margy valued and respected her prefects too.
“I had the privilege to serve as deputy head girl too. When we the prefects would have an interaction with Sr Margy, she would always refer to me as a very polite Jessica, but would always add that ‘never mind polite people are intelligent’. I would feel so very overjoyed over her kind comment but I would never show it to her, I would instead later go and sing loudly and jump seriously in the dormitory.” She said sending mourners into a hearty laughter.
Alupo noted that all these great attributes changed the character of all those who went through Sr. Margy’s in administration and her contribution to the community and Uganda at large will forever be cherished.
She handed over ugsh.10million from President Museveni towards burials expenses.
Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Esther Anyakun, an Old Girl of the same school also paid tribute to their late headmistress saying she taught her to be responsible and honest in life.
Rose Lilly Akello, the minister of State for Ethics and Integrity and also woman MP for Karenga district thanked God for Sr. Margaret Conroy’s life and the impact she had on humanity. She’s also an old girl of the same school.
Sr. Anamaria Nankusu the Provincial Superior of Uganda-Kenya said Sr. Margaret was an educator and a leader who drew forth the gifts of each person she encountered. “She encouraged me and told me every leader is criticized.” Nankusu said.
Bosco Okiror the MP for Usuk County in Katakwi district described Sr. Margaret as advocate of justice, peace and Integrity of creation.
Sr. Margaret was born in Newfoundland in 1930 and her father died when she was Nine months. She arrived in 1971 after she was given permission to go on missions.
In 1981, Margaret went to Karamoja to be part of the founding community of the mission of Kangole after spending two years teaching Kalisizo secondary school. She also served in Kalungu for four years. Specialized in English Literature in Oxford and made her final profession in Rome in 1960.
At the time of her death, Sr. Margaret was teaching novices in Mbiko Buikwe district and also was working as provincial archivist.
