Minister Babalanda Commissions Nsomba SDA Church in Buyende

BUYENDE DISTRICT: The Minister for the Presidency and Member of Parliament for Budiope West Constituency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, yesterday officiated the commissioning of the new Nsomba Seventh-day Adventist Church building in Buyende District.

Addressing a congregation of religious leaders, area leaders, and hundreds of well-wishers, Hon. Babalanda commended Mr. Ngoma Zebroni for donating the 10 acres of land on which the church sits. She also recognized the family of the Late Dhikusoka, his wife, children, and Mr. Kagoda Dhikusoka Elijah, the District Chairperson of Kaliro, for their major contribution toward the church’s completion. She further applauded church members for their unity, sacrifice, and commitment in mobilizing resources to finish God’s house.

“A church is more than just a building; it is a centre for prayer, moral guidance, and community transformation,” the Minister said. She urged Nsomba SDA members to use the new place of worship to promote discipline, hard work, and love for one another.

Hon. Babalanda also commissioned a water source she donated to the church and the wider Nsomba community to ease access to clean water.

She thanked all those who participated in the recently concluded health camp at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, sponsored by Turkish medical professionals, which offered free medical services to residents. She appealed to the congregation to prioritize their health and seek medical care early.

The Minister called on church members to align their faith with Government’s development agenda by embracing household income programmes, fighting poverty, promoting education, and shunning corruption and idleness.

She reaffirmed Government’s commitment to partnering with faith-based institutions as key actors in social transformation, peace-building, and service delivery.

To demonstrate practical wealth creation, Hon. Babalanda pledged to use part of the 10-acre land donated by Mr. Ngoma Zebroni to establish a community demonstration project of the 4-Acre Model. The project will allocate one acre to coffee, one to high-value fruits, one to a banana plantation, and one to animal feeds. She said the demonstration site will equip community members with practical skills and knowledge to replicate the model on their own land as a pathway out of poverty.

The commissioning was attended by the Archbishop of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Pr. Samuel Kajoba; RDCs; pastors from Busoga Field; local government officials; community leaders; and residents from Budiope West and the wider Buyende District.