Our Mission

Striving for excellence, we form students to be servant leaders who promote sustainability and stewardship. 

Staff and students standing outside of new school.

Donations provide school books for the children.

The school being built.

Progress being made on the school building.

Students learning in their new classroom.

Group of students outside of school.

Group of children playing.

Group of students waiting for water from new water pump.

Group of students receiving their new school materials

Students outside of school for lunch

Nursery school students

Students visiting the school under construction

Students at the former nursery school

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The School

Education is at the heart of Bethany Miracle Village. We believe providing children with quality education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering them to make a difference in their community.

Our school is a place where children receive more than just academic knowledge—it’s a nurturing environment where the whole person grows.

The School

Education is at the heart of Bethany Miracle Village. We believe providing children with quality education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering them to make a difference in their community.

Our school is a place where children receive more than just academic knowledge—it’s a nurturing environment where the whole person grows.

The Community

Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world with a young and rapidly growing population.

  • The Kikube (pronounced chick-oo-bay) villagers in Uganda live in poverty.
  • They lack access to clean water.
  • They have little or no access to healthcare.
  • The crops are poor due to long stretches without rainfall and the depletion of the soil.
  • Educational opportunities are limited.

Cultivating hope and growing dreams for the Kikube villagers will take a miracle…Bethany Miracle Village.

Please join us as we work alongside the Ugandan people to build a comprehensive and sustainable village to improve the quality of life for all those who live in and around Kikube village, the site of Bethany Miracle Village.

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What We’ve Accomplished

2010 Bethany Miracle Village (BMV) envisioned

Bethany Miracle Village was envisioned by Fr. Joe and Fr. Emanuel while reflecting on the biblical text in John 11:1-44. It is the story of the Resurrection of Lazarus—the miracle in Bethany.

The Diocese of Kasana-Luweero which owned 22 acres and a dilapidated school, St. Mary’’s Primary school in Kikube, offered it to Fr. Joe as the site for Bethany MIracle Village.

2016 Initial Site Visit in Kikube Village

Carsten Schmidt, current board president, traveled from the USA to Uganda with a group of 8 people to meet with Fr. Joe as he shared his vision for the project.

2017 Bethany Miracle Village (BMV) established as 501-c-3

Being established as a charitable organization allowed us to begin fundraising for the project.

2018 St. Mary’s Primary School Construction

Constructed a new four classroom building. Added a new roof and water collection system to the existing three classroom building. There are now 7 classrooms that are used to teach approximately 225 students in Primary 1-7.

2019 Repurpose an old classroom building into library and administrative offices

Renovated an existing three classroom building and converted space into a library, administrative offices, and teachers’ meeting space.

2020 Nursery School Constructed

Constructed a new four classroom building which consists of three teaching classrooms for three levels of nursery school, according to age, and a room dedicated for student quiet time during the day. Approximately 100 children are currently enrolled in nursery school.

2020 Covid School Shutdown (March 2020 - February 2022)

No classes were held during this two year period. Unfortunately, many students did not return to classes once school reopened as they had found jobs and started earning a living or supporting the finances of the family.

2021 Teachers’ Houses constructed

Constructed 4 teachers’ houses and a community kitchen with dining facility. Currently the teachers reside on campus to reduce travel costs and delays.

2023 Construction on the perimeter fence began. Soccer field, soccer goals, and netball baskets installed

The perimeter fence provides safety for the students and staff as the school is located adjacent to the village trading center where there is constant activity causing distractions to the education process.

The soccer goals and field are the best in the area thanks to a generous donor. Recently, the school hosted a five school soccer tournament.

2024 Perimeter fence project completed. Demonstration garden planted. Musical instruments and dancing uniforms purchased.

BMV partnered with Bethany Land Institute (BLI) to start a demonstration garden where students of BLI are teaching the staff and students at BMV how to plant and maintain a garden using an environmentally friendly approach. The students are able to grow produce that will be served as a part of the school lunch program to supplement the posha (cream of wheat) that is eaten at every meal. Students can share the techniques learned with their parents in hopes of enhancing/strengthening their parents’ agricultural projects.

2025 and beyond goals: Construction of a community center.

The community center will be a place

  • Where villagers, parents, and students can assemble in support of the vision and mission of BMV.
  • Of welcome, hospitality, and assembly for mission church services, weddings, and funerals in the community.
  • For villagers to assemble, collaborate, and learn a trade such as agriculture, sewing, carpentry, and mechanics from local educators and Bethany Land Institute (BLI) teachers.
  • For St. Mary’s Primary School
    • to cook and serve meals. Students currently eat meals outside unprotected from the environment. The school kitchen is currently a modest open fire.
    • to take their exit exams. Government regulations require an exam space other than the classroom.

Contact Us

Email: [email protected]

Bethany Miracle Village, Inc.
PO Box 6101
South Bend, IN 46660

Board Member: Mark Schaeffer

Mark joined the board in 2022. Mark retired from Express Press where he worked for over 40 years. Mark was responsible for coordinating all sales and marketing activities across the 5 field offices. Mark continues to provide consulting services as a sales training executive. Mark has been a long-time member of Holy Family Parish, located in South Bend, Indiana and has served as a member of the Finance Council for many years.

Board Member: Chris Sharp

Chris joined the board in 2022. Chris is the co-founder of Sharp Wilkinson, a data-driven marketing and sales organization. Prior to starting Sharp Wilkinson, Chris was a Principal and VP of Sales and Marketing at TruPay, a payroll processing company. Chris has been a board member of several non-profit organizations and is a member of Holy Family Parish, South Bend, Indiana for over 20 years.

Board Member: Anne Schramm

Anne joined the board in the fall of 2022. Anne was a teacher at Holy Family School, South Bend, Indiana from 1983 to 2003. In 2003, Anne moved to California and became the Director of the Sylvan Learning Center in Napa Valley until her recent retirement. Anne is a past president of her Kiwanis Club of Napa Valley and remains an active member.

Board Secretary/Treasurer: Paul Witek

Paul joined the Board in 2022 after retiring as a financial executive. He spent most of his career as CFO and President of Koontz-Wagner, a privately held multi-state electrical services provider and manufacturer headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. Paul was previously a member of Holy Family Church in South Bend for 35 years. Paul was chair of the Parish Finance Council and was an active member of the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Paul and his wife Ann Marie currently reside in Belleair, FL where they are active members of St. Cecelia Church in Clearwater.

Board President: Carsten Schmidt

Carsten has worked at the Healy Group, Inc. for the past 14 years, and currently leads the Healthcare Division. Prior to joining the Healy Group, Carsten worked as a commercial lender at a community bank for 20 years. Carsten formed BMV in 2017 with the help of members from the original board of directors. Carsten has been a member of the South Bend Rotary Club since 1998, serving as Club President in 2015/16. He is currently the International Service Chair for the South Bend Rotary Club. Carsten is a long time member of Holy Family Parish where he has been involved in the Parish Council and Finance Council.

Bethany Miracle Village

Our History

Fr. Joseph Kakooza-Nnyanzi (Fr. Joe) was born and raised in the Luweero Triangle of Uganda and grew up under the brutal regime of Idi Amin. He saw a number of people in his village killed. He lived through fighting in the 1980’s and witnessed the destruction of his village including the home he grew up in.

As a newly ordained priest he ministered to many young people sickened with HIV/AIDS --and buried many more. As a priest in this mostly rural diocese of Kasana-Luweero, he witnessed first-hand the abject poverty of the people – a situation that makes them not only susceptible to despair, but also an easy target for militias that recruit them into thuggery, tribal violence, and other forms of desperate living. The young are most vulnerable ---when they are deprived of a stable upbringing and a good education, they waste their lives through drinking, promiscuity, etc.

In 2010, Fr. Joe was on retreat in the Holy Land of Israel with his brother and fellow priest Fr. Emmanuel Katongole. The retreat was hosted in the town of Bethany, which has biblical significance (John 11:1-44) as the town where Lazarus, brother to Mary and Martha, was miraculously raised from the dead.

Fr. Joe, who was celebrating 25 years of priesthood, and his brother found themselves lamenting over the lack of progress being made in Uganda to provide a better way of life for the people--government leadership has been in control since 1986 and economic advancements have been slow to manifest. Fr. Joe commented that it would indeed take a “miracle” to raise Uganda from the “dead”.

Upon Fr. Joe’s return home from the retreat in Bethany, he created a concrete plan to promote servant leadership as a path to eradicate poverty in Uganda.

Educating young people and villagers alike with an integrated vision for servant leadership in a thriving village community is the answer to bringing Uganda back to life.

He presented the plan to the Bishop of Kasana-Luweero Diocese. They agreed that Kikube, one of the poorest communities in the Luwero District and one in which the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero owned 22 acres and a dilapidated school, St. Mary’s Primary School, would be home to this developing project.

Fr. Joe accepted the challenge of transforming St. Mary’s Primary School into a model school that is guided by these three pillars:

  • Stewardship
  • Sustainability
  • Strive for Excellence

Fr. Joe prays that building a vibrant community in Kikube will cultivate hope in other villages across the diocese.

With 22 acres of land, a school, and a vision, Bethany Miracle Village was born.

And just like Martha and Mary called Jesus to help a dying Lazarus, we, too, are called to support our brothers and sisters in Bethany “Miracle” Village.