Our Beginning

The Story of Our Beginning — FATHER DEUSDEDIT NAJJA, OUR INSPIRATION

Father Deusdedit (Deus) was born in Uganda, where he was raised in the village of Kibanga. While still in his mother’s womb, his father died in a tragic incident. His mother gave him the name, Deusdedit, which means “given by God.” At an early age, he was drawn to a life of service in the Church. He was inspired by his grandmother, as well as his uncle, who was a pastor for the Church in a Ugandan village.

Father Deus entered a junior high seminary in 1999 where he began his path towards the priesthood. He went on to Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Uganda. He was given an opportunity to complete his final years of the seminary at Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California. Upon completion, he returned to Kampala, Uganda, where he was ordained as a priest.

He served during his initial pastoral duties at two rural parishes in Uganda. During that time, he looked after both the spiritual and corporal needs of his people. He knew all too well about the struggles for clean water and basic medical care in the villages of Uganda. The time spent at Saint John’s seminary in Camarillo, and serving at a nearby Los Angeles parish, became a blessing and a call to action. Having made several lasting friendships while in the U.S., he shared his vision of some simple projects that would provide basic needs and water to people in rural Uganda, where he was serving. Together with these friends, a village well was created at the parish he was serving in Kiziba, a drinkable water supply was restored at the high school, and shoes were gathered and supplied to barefoot school children in Kibanga. His most recent endeavor was providing a water well for the Wakiso village and installing an electric pump. All of these projects were made possible by the generosity of his friends and those who heard about the needs from Father Deus and joined his call to action.

In 2019, he was called back to the U.S. to serve as a diocesan priest at the parish of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha in the Los Angeles area. Even though he was serving the faith community here in Los Angeles, he could not forget the dire needs of his community back in Uganda.

Having been successful with several smaller projects, Father Deus decided to dream big. The desperate need for medical help in the rural villages of Uganda was ever-present. He saw all his life how simple curable medical issues would not be addressed, often leading to a preventable death. For his village in Kibanga and the outlying areas with 50,000 residents, medical help was 55km away and another part-time clinic wasn’t much closer. To get there was usually by foot or bicycle, or the bus, if you had the funds for a trip to Kampala. Few villagers have access to a car.

Father Deus dreamed that someday, with the help of his friends, he could build a regional medical center in Kibanga to serve the medical needs and provide basic medical education. Father shared his dream with several friends. Thus, our non-profit organization, Friends of Kibanga Medical Center, was born. We are committed to raising awareness and support for the creation of Saint Gianna Molla Medical Center-Kibanga.