From 

Emmanuel Kisitu
Director, Font Preparatory School

Greetings from Font Preparatory School

I am a step child in family, I struggled a lot to see myself through my education. I would like to thank Brother Robert who started this journey with me since 1996. I was asked to leave school for fees and Br. Robert gave me a hand by asking the head teacher to allow me to continue to my promotional term. My hope has always been in prayer. Sr Pauline Quinn my hero both in my life and Font Preparatory School. She financially facilitated my university studies with the late Br. Francis Blouin, she facilitated my journey to priesthood and i did not succeed. I went through painful moments in life because of illiteracy in my village. I decided to start a school to enlighten the many disadvantaged people as a way of sharing the knowledge from my education, extend a helping hand to those girls who would otherwise be married off early, the witchcraft practices, family breakups, and many who would have wished attain education and had no hope. I started the Font school from scratch, on the verandah of the church, to the kitchen to the dirty floor two classrooms from my savings.

Sr Pauline Quinn stepped in even though she was in the hospital fighting cancer. She donated money for the first classroom which she inaugurated in march 2018. Many people through Sr Pauline Quinn, her friendship with Bishop David, Dominican Sisters, inmates K9 Prisons Dog Program and many others. These have given us furniture, drilled water source, bought a pump, solar panel and the new building under construction. The building has a girls dormitory wing and the female teacher’s rooms.

Font too has five deaf students it is caring for, there are three girls and two boys, they are being sponsored by Sr Pauline and Mary Cooney respectively.

We are looking forward to have more classrooms, furniture to those classes, a kitchen, boys dormitory, water tank to the new building to harvest water, aseptic tank and plumbing in the new building, beds and plastering and the school also needs an office. There are many necessities needed in the school but we are trying and working very hard to see Font become a model school.

Parents have started making bricks for the boy’s dormitory so that they can also have accommodations and male teacher’s rooms for gender sensitivity.

Any support extended to Font Preparatory School is most welcome and donations are used efficiently and effectively.

Here I am ready to serve in educating the masses in our community and country, to uplift the children's rights to education and eradicating poverty among the people through education.

Emmanuel Kisitu

Director, Font Preparatory School

Cancer robbed Font Preparatory School and I of an irreplaceable mother so generous and loving. I met Sr. Pauline Quinn in 2004 at a time when I had lost all hope of joining University because my parents had told me the naked truth that they were not able to pay my tuition anymore. Through Brother Francis Blouin R.I.P, I met this incredibly generous accomplished and exemplary Mother who paid my tuition up to completion. 

After my graduation as a teacher, Sister Pauline said to me, “Emmanuel, a degree not put to tangible use is a degree lost. With this degree what can you do to improve the predicament of your community?” In response, I told her that the only thing I could do ably was teaching so I promised her that in appreciation of what she had done for me, I was going to start a school. She just smiled and kept silent. Six months later, I went back to my village and prepared to start a kind of school at the veranda of St. Steven church. 

The school started with 12 children in a class, but with time I could not meet the demands of the church so I moved the school in what used to be my mother’s kitchen. This change of station made the enrollment to drop to 7 pupils. Six months later, after making bricks I asked some of the parents to give me a hand in form of labor and we constructed one-classroom. When I told her about this, Sr. Pauline was really happy so she said to me “Then you learnt something in school”. From that moment, she in conjunction with her friends and other generous Americans started transforming this kitchen initiative into what today is known as Font Preparatory School (Font Of Wisdom). A name she baptized the school.

We thank God that she physically came to Uganda in 2018 to officially commission the school.

At the time of her death, the following had been achieved; For starters, She constructed an additional classroom and water borne toilets. She availed funds to drill a well to protect the children from walking long distances through forests to draw water, bought a solar panel, a pump plus a water tank. With the following in place life for girls attending school and in boarding improved for they were now safe from the snares outside school and the long distances. Thank you Sr. Pauline.

Sister then provided funds to construct a self-contained girl’s dormitory that has a matron’s room, three self-contained female teacher’s rooms and two solar panels to light the dormitory. After that, the kitchen with stoves and a store for food was constructed. She then gave Font a cook's house, security man's house and to beef up security, she surrounded the school property with a chain link on which a gate was put. Additional tanks for water harvesting were then bought. The boys’ dormitory has now been completed but was still under construction by the time her death struck us a blow.

Her intention was to have an all-inclusive school that accommodates both the deaf and the hearing children from nursery to Primary seven. As I write, Font has a couple of deaf pupils and sign language teachers to interpret for these children. 

Her next move was to have a building to house classrooms, offices, a staffroom for the teachers and a dining room for the children to stop sitting under trees as they eat, a school library and a computer room. Now that her precious soul has gone to the lord, with God's Providence if this dream building comes into reality, we intend to immortalize her by naming it after her in a heartfelt appreciation for what she has done for the children and the physically challenged especially the deaf. 

Sr. Pauline Quinn O.P, you fought a brave and a good fight. You preached in word and deed. To say that we will miss you is an understatement so Mama Rest in eternal peace.

From 

Harriet Nabukeera

Deputy Head Teacher

l convey my greetings in the name of the Almighty God. I thank God for the gift of life, knowledge, guidance, protection, blessings and good friends as we run our school.  Ï got to know about Font preparatory school through Mr. Emmanuel Kisitu who founded it following his love, passion and empathy for the needy. Ï First visited the school in 2017 and wondered whether his dream would one day come true due to the state the school was in. It had No furniture, the structures were in bad shape and with about 20 pupils, it looked like a Day care center for the farmers' children. But all this didn’t change his dream of making a model school for the needy for It was his dream.

Mr Emmanuel, out of his small saving, bought land and started the construction of two classrooms so that the children would be able to study from a good environment so as to have a smile on their faces and know that someone cares for their future especially the girl children who would be married off early if they fail to attain an education.  Shortly after this, Sr Pauline Quinn joined Emmanuel’s efforts and funded the construction of another classroom, this gave us hope for the success of the school.

The inmates from the New Life K9 Prison Dog Program through Sr. Pauline Quinn contributed to the construction of the girl’s dormitory and staff houses.

Font Preparatory school has gained fame for the Wonderful services it tenders to the Community of grooming the young citizens into responsible citizens. Our children now have hope for the future.

We know that as an institution grows, the necessities also increase in demand.  The students have increased in number next year we will need to open a class level3.  The school still needs A boy’s dormitory so that they don’t feel neglected or isolated. The parents are making bricks for the boy’s dormitory and for primary four class. There is still so much to do and although it seems like there will never be enough, somehow the lord always provides. Our hands are open to receive whatever you can do to help us as we build the future of these young children.  We pledge to be ever committed to serve the community through Christ who strengthens us.

My sincere gratitude goes to everyone who has done anything to see that Font Preparatory school becomes the place for children to climb to great heights.

Sr Pauline, we are grateful for your generosity. May the Almighty God bless you.

Yours sincerely,

Harriet Nabukeera

Deputy Head Teacher

Font Preparatory School

From 

Brother Robert MUKASA

Brothers Of Christian Instruction, Uganda

Greetings in the name of the Lord.  I am writing thanking God for the Font Preparatory School which started from a desire of Emmanuel Kisitu to help his village.

Emmanuel was my former student, I met him way back in the 90’s. He was a very focused and had a passion for education. As a Senior, he was not only musically talented but a friend of God too. As Emmanuel advanced academically, his chances of managing to pay for his tuition grew slim but as he was about to give up, the Providence of God brought Sr Pauline Quinn in his life. She supported him at University until he graduated. 

When Emmanuel finished his university studies he decided to start a school to help the disadvantaged especially the girl child to acquire basic education. I remember visiting the first Font Classroom which was in the former kitchen of Emmanuel's mother, in the rural part of Mpigi district Uganda.  Having seen this young man's genuineness and passion, Sr Pauline Quinn started   to support this dream up to where it is. From the kitchen to a school with classrooms, furniture, a source of water, a dormitory for the girls and dreams of more, it's a miracle.

Given continued support, I see Font turning into a real Fountain of hope for the disadvantaged children who otherwise wouldn’t have managed to get quality education. The challenges are still many but having seen this school grow I believe that the Lord who started this beautiful work will see it grow to even greater heights. 

May the good Lord bless Sister Pauline Quinn and all those who are generously nurturing Font Preparatory school.

Brother Robert MUKASA

Brothers Of Christian Instruction, Uganda