Ocer Campion Jesuit College (OCJC) was founded in 2010, following peace talks in northern Uganda. This area had been ravaged over a 25-year period by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group. The LRA’s activities caused major displacements of local populations and inevitable disruption of young people’s education.
“Ocer” (which means “He is risen” in the local Acholi language) is the first Jesuit school in Uganda. It emphasizes peace and justice, and instills in its students a respect for the dignity of all people. Students are from diverse backgrounds; some are orphans or from single parent families while others are from poor families.
Today there are more 700 students at OCJC, which is located near Gulu in northern Uganda. There are also 7 Jesuits and over 70 lay faculty and staff. Canadian Jesuit and physicist Fr John Legge, who worked in Uganda for decades, spearheaded a project at Ocer Campion to equip new laboratories for physics, chemistry and biology. He was ably assisted by Ojwang Geoffrey, the school’s lab technician, and by Br Silas Kipkorir SJ, who is a chemistry teacher.
CJI’s first involvement with OCJC was to help with this project of equipping labs. Since then, CJI has also supported the building of an infirmary that offers holistic health services, including psychosocial therapy and therapy addressing gender-based violence. The infirmary was completed in 2017. It is expected to serve the 800 students and staff of Ocer Campion as well as approximately 2,000 people per year in the surrounding community.
OCJC Director: Fr Tony Wach SJ
Visit OCJC’s website: https://ocercampion.org/
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