There was hardly any formal education before the era of the Christian missionaries in Uganda. The colonial power was too busy consolidating its sphere of influence that infrastructure and institutions were secondary. The British Colonial Office’s interest in the education of the people was a belated one. “As far as Uganda was concerned, the entry of the government to the field of education was belated. Until 1924, the sole credit for the educational development in that territory was due to the Catholic and Protestant Missionary Societies” (Cf. Love Is the Answer; pg. 131). Thus when Mother Kevin with her contingent first arrived in Uganda in 1903 she found a dismal situation - formal education - in its secular meaning was almost non-existent. She noted with concern the plight of women and the girl-child who were purely raised for child bearing, bride price and the kitchen. Mother who strongly believed in the principle of the ‘’’brighter a light is at its source, the farther it will shine,” folded her sleeves and courageously ploughed into the gigantic work of healing and educating the people. It was an uphill job but that did not deter her determination. The seed is sown Her initial attempts for formal education were under a mango tree in front of their grass-thatched convent at Nsambya. In the morning, the mango tree was a dispensary where the sisters dealt with all kinds of tropical diseases they had never known before. In the afternoon, all traces of a dispensary were wiped out and the mango tree turned into a school where the sisters taught both young and old the simple alphabet. Later a mud and wattle classroom was put up. An extract from the early memoirs gives us a comic scenario of what school was like in those pioneer days. It reads, ‘In striking contrast to Sr. Kevin’s dispensary was the carefree gaiety at the other side of the compound where the would-be-scholars crowded the paths to school. Mother Paul designed the building according to her means - and they were modest. There was no possibility that the pupils would fit into the building, so they overflowed in all directions’. Those inside squatted on the earthen floor, and set themselves to imbibe knowledge from these curios people who had come to live in their midst. Those outside filled the doorways and scaled the wall, peering through gaps between the wall and the roof. It was a novel experience for both teacher and taught. The congestion was relieved by holding open-air classes, most popular with the pupils, as this combined the honor of attending school with the liberty of departing when one got bored. It was sometime before sufficient order could be maintained to make the pupils understand what it was all about. Having grasped the idea they became enthusiastic in the pursuit of knowledge. The age range in the school was from seven months to seventy years. “But what has this to do with Nkokonjeru? Was there any connection between Nsambya and Nkokonjeru Primary Teachers College? Certainly, for people who began the school under the mango tree were the ones who were at the forefront of starting Nkokonjeru Teachers College as it was then called. The Mill Hill Fathers arrived in Uganda in 1895, and the mission at Mulajje was began in July 1897, two years after their arrival at Nsambya, and like all the early foundations, its beginnings were marked by trials and tribulations (cf. ‘Love is the Answer’ pg.139). It is interesting to note that the Franciscans were not the first women religious to work in Nkokonjeru. Long before Mother and the rudiments of reading and writing to their charges because’’ a certain degree of literacy was considered essential for those who wished to embrace the Catholic religion.” (cf. ‘Love is the Answer’ pg.131) The Banabikira Sisters’ convent was where the present teachers’ college is now. On May 3rd 1926, the first group of fourteen indigenous postulants received the Holy Habit of St. Francis of Assisi, and due to lack of space in Nsambya, she decided to move her young Congregation to Nkokonjeru. Mother Kevin arrived in the place on September 16th 1926 and without delay put up a temporary hut where she and Sr. Alex could live and see to the building operations. The Banabikira left Mulajje Mission soon after the arrival of the Franciscans. Mother Kevin did not found a purely contemplative Congregation. Her aim and desire was to form African religious women who would be at the forefront of evangelizing and educating their fellow African people, especially the girl-child. Thus when the Postulants and Novices transferred to Nkokonjeru, Mother set out in earnest to equip them with the best education at the time. She taught them English which was still a novelty in the country, and since it was the “open sesame” to the world of the white man’s education, the Little Sisters became torches of enlightenment for their fellow Africans. Mother Kevin trained her African Sisters to the standard of teachers’ education, so that they could go and run the many Franciscan schools that were mushrooming up. As far as Mother was concerned, only till best was good enough for her Little Sisters. The seed takes root The teaching and training of the Little Sisters as teachers was held in a simple building where the present St. Anthony’s Senior Secondary is situated. The Sisters who were trained here were those who had an aptitude in learning the English language, while those who were slow in mastering it were given special classes in the now Demonstration School. The training took at least three years and the Sisters were then sent off to work in their own Franciscan founded schools. It was only later that Mother Kevin put up proper buildings at the present location of the ETC to accommodate secular girls who wanted to train as teachers. When Mother Alcantara became the Provincial Superior of the Franciscan Sisters, the Little Sisters joined the College to be trained with the girls. Thus the teaching and training of the Little Sisters as teachers on their own premises were the modest beginnings of Sancta Maria Primary Teachers College!! A teachers training college for women? What was Mother Kevin’s aim in starting a Teacher Training College for women? Wasn’t she going against the cultural set-up of the people by educating a girlchild? Or weren’t the Little Sisters of St. Francis up to the job? She had no money to start with, and the government at the time did minimal to support the ambitious enterprise anyway. There was already a Normal Girl’s School which trained vernacular teachers in Masaka ran by the Banabikira Sisters. Then why Sancta Maria College? Mother Kevin was a woman of a broad and prophetic vision. She saw beyond the immediate needs and planned for the far future. Somehow, she had the intuition that what Africa needed were women who could compete with their counterparts worldwide. She started the first English speaking P.T.C for women in the whole country, because she believed in woman potential and in the old adage ‘educate a woman and you have educated the nation!’ In actuality, Mother Kevin’s whole missionary energy zeroed in on empowering and raising the dignity of the African woman, and the girl child. She believed in the great influence women had on the family, especially on their little children. She therefore set out together with her sisters to look for would-bestudents to go to school. It is interesting to note that, the college in those early days was not called Sancta Maria, but was named after the Holy Spirit, with theLatinwords “InCognoscantTe”, wrideninaredbrickcolourwimmepictiuieofadoveinwhite(asymboloftheHolySpirit) on it The girls went barefoot but very smart in their full white dresses and well-groomed hair. It was much later when the college changed its name and uniform. The students were taught a wide curriculum; cookery, embroidery, farming, gardening, house-keeping machining, and nutrition in order that they improve on the welfare of their families and also become self-reliant at the same time. It was an all round education which made the students proud of their sex- as women. Education in the college was free and open to all ethnic groups in the country. Those who heeded the sisters’ call to embrace education became prominent women in their area. We recall Maria Namubiru (Dr. Lulume’s mother) and Paula Namakula (Captain Roy’s mother), who were some of the first women from Nkokonjeru to join the college. These women braved the traditional set-up of their culture and became successful people in their lives. They were intellectual inspirations for many a child in Uganda as well as their families. Today the tiny seed planted by Mother Kevin and her sisters, seventy-five years ago, continues to grow and to spread beyond our borders. It is our hope and prayer that the girls who have passed through Sancta Maria will continue to know and love God in their lives. TuConoscantTe.’ May Our Lady seat of wisdom guide them in all their undertaking. God bless you all