by Dr. Gregory Bartha
March 1, 2022
Pastor Simon Peter Mubbi is the director of the projects I have been developing and supporting in Uganda. In addition to the Cross Clinic, this work includes a secondary school, 3 primary schools, a vocational training school, an orphanage, and a scholarship program.
Simon Peter was raised by his grandmother from age one and one half. His father brought another woman into the home, and his mother left. This was a very dangerous time in Uganda when the Lord’s Resistance Army was engaged in violent and disruptive activities in Northern Uganda. Simon Peter and his grandmother had to keep moving around to find safe places to stay. Simon Peter got as far as the tenth grade in school when he had to drop out because of lack of funds. He worked for about two years as a gardener in a nearby town for a family who treated him roughly. Finally, the abuse became too much for him. He packed up his belongings and started to walk back to his grandmother’s home.
While he was walking, he was offered a ride by a man who was working for the prison system. The man asked him what he was doing and what his plans were. He told him he would like to back to school. The man dropped him off near his grandmother’s home, gave him some money, and told him to come back to see him in three months. When Simon Peter kept that appointment, the man offered to pay his school fees so he could complete his secondary education. Simon Peter loved to learn and did well in school.
Simon Peter was raised as a Catholic and had a dream of becoming a priest. He enrolled in a Catholic seminary for one year but had no financial support to continue. He still very much wanted to serve the Lord and eventually entered the Presbyterian-based Covenant School of Theology in Mbale. This school charged very low tuition for students. It was very difficult for him to switch from Catholic teaching to Protestant theology, but he persevered and graduated after three years. He served as a pastor in several churches in the Mbale region for about thirteen years.
I met Simon Peter in 2014 on a mission trip sponsored by First Presbyterian Church in Midland. He expressed a desire to develop a hospital in an impoverished area near his home. This idea was in line with what I had been hoping to do. We had several long discussions and decided to work together on this project. This partnership has continued and flourished. He did some extra training in project and development at a university in Kampala. Simon Peter has been a very honest and hardworking administrator. He still manages to work with several churches in the area.
I hope to continue to partner with Simon Peter to bring health care and educational opportunities to the Ugandan people.
To make a tax-deductible contribution to Dr. Bartha’s efforts in Uganda, please contact him at this address:
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