St. Mary's Mission
St. Mary’s Midwifery Training School, serving in the spirit of the Catholic identity and reflecting the mission of Doctor Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital aims to educate highly competent midwifery leaders with a strong sense of moral responsibility and the social values demanded by the challenges of the world today and our local communities.
Academic Programs
Students who have graduated from secondary school whose studies have a strong science focus pursue a Certificate in Midwifery degree. The Certificate degree is equivalent to a bachelors degree. This is a 30-month program costing US$2,500 for the entire program including books, uniforms, classes, room, and board.
Students who are currently practicing midwives pursue an advanced graduate degree of Diploma in Midwifery that allows them to further their education. In order to successfully complete the Diploma in Midwifery students must complete a research study and paper presented to the Ministry of Health. The Diploma degree is equivalent to a masters degree. The Diploma in Midwifery costs US$2,500. As with the Certificate program this cost includes the entire course of study.
History
"I have never in my whole life met a person as good and caring toward others. Rich or poor, healthy or sick didn’t exist for him. In every human being that he met he saw the face of Christ and was seized by it."
From an account from the Sisters of Kalongo and Sister Romilde talking about Father and Doctor Giuseppe Ambrosoli, founder of St. Mary’s
It was Father Alfred Milandra who requested that a priest and doctor be sent to his mission in Kalongo. The medical needs of this isolated population were far greater than what the Comboni Sisters could provide with their grass hut serving as a dispensary.
Upon his arrival Father and Doctor Ambrosoli with the collaboration of the local community began planning the construction of a hospital. The Comboni Mission provided funding; the people of Kalongo labor moving boulders and making bricks. In 1957 the 302 bed Kalongo Hospital opened. It was later renamed the Doctor Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital. Today the hospital services over 40,000 Ugandans each year.
Realizing the need to have properly trained and competent medical personnel Father and Doctor Ambrosoli in 1959 established St. Mary’s Midwifery Training School. Once again the local community provided the labor in which to build the St. Mary’s campus.
“The hospital and the school are the heart and pride of our community.”
Jino Owiny, Parish Chairman and longtime Kalongo resident.