Michigan doctor raises money to build 400-student school in Uganda

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Prudy Barrett Nelson is a Southwest Michigan doctor who recently received the prestigious 2026 Donald Macrae Peace Award for her work building a 400-student primary school in Southwest Uganda.

Prudy wears many hats. Mom and grandma to some, pediatrician to others. And in Southwest Uganda, an educational sponsor for orphaned and abandoned children.

Originally from the Upper Peninsula, her family moved to Spain when she was 11, which influenced her to travel, and spend time in places people would consider uncomfortable. She now resides in Benton Harbor.

"We went to Morrocco," she said. "Northern Africa and spent six weeks driving around and I saw the poverty and the hopelessness, and it impacted me and at that point I decided I was going to go to medical school to 'save Africa.' I was very idealistic at the time."

After falling in love with her husband Tom and having children, living in Africa was out of the picture. So, she used her medical expertise and paid time off to aid disaster areas for two weeks at a time, but this did not sit right with her.

"In my first few mission trips, the two-week trips, we handed out amoxicillin and vitamins and we left," she said. "And I became dissatisfied with that and started doing the more chronic disasters where people came in after me. So, there was continuity of care."

Prudy ended up in Uganda helping Congolese refugees. While there, she met a nurse named Johnathan Atukunda. Recognizing his clear talent and intellect, she discovered he didn't go to medical school because he couldn't afford it. After returning home from the six-week trip, Tom and Prudy decided to pay for his education, and the rest is history.

"Through him we started paying for other kids that were street kids that couldn't go to school. And because I had his contact and that strong relationship that was the ideal place to start making a long-term impact. Rather than just going in and spending a month, six weeks, whatever, and leaving we wanted to have a permanent impact and permanent footprint and he became our conduit."

Taking on 20 elementary aged kids was not the expected undertaking.

"We started recognizing they had far more needs than just paying their school fees, they needed food, they needed clothes. We didn't have any way of providing that. So, we decided to start a non-profit in Africa."

Thus, the welfare organization for orphans and vulnerable children was born. Once they were established with 40 students, purdy asked what their dream was, expecting them to want 60 students. Instead, they wanted to build a school.

Prudy's response was, "No, you know, I don't have the bandwidth for that. No, no, no."

But upon visiting the schools the sponsored children were in, which were the best in the rural two-hour radius, she saw chipped paint, crowded classrooms, and a lack of scholastic material.

"So, we came home, we presented that to our board of Helping Hands, and they were a little shy… $300,000 is a lot of money, but they said, 'Well let's buy the land.'"

Rural southwestern Ugandan children also faced another problem.

"High schools are competitive in Uganda," she says. "You have to apply and get accepted. Because the quality of education in those rural schools is so poor, even if the kids could afford to go to high school, 99 percent of them couldn't get in because they can't pass the national exam that would qualify them to go to high school. So, they just need an opportunity."

The land for the school has been purchased, and most of the money has been raised. The school will accommodate 400 students, with boarding for 300. With the goal of increasing the quality of early childhood education in rural areas.

"We can leave the pre-k to 7th in the hands of the welfare, WOOVC, we call it, in their hands because they're going to run the school. They're going to be able to recommend the 7th graders who have proven themselves to be exceptional. Then we'll be able to be more of a scholarship program."

WOOVC is the Welfare Organization for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Uganda.

The children with the highest aptitude will be sponsored through high school and college. If the project can fully get off the ground. The project is still lacking in over $40,000, meant for things such as buses, desks, filing cabinets, bookcases. Prudy has exhausted her circle and online has led to many dead ends.

"I've also searched the internet. I've spent hours searching for foundations. There are very few that will give a grant for an African school. I thought there would be many. But there aren't very many. So, I have submitted some grant applications. I have not heard back."

Prudy and Tom will be traveling to Uganda this week to share an update on their fundraising journey.

"We are really hoping that we can tell them to break ground on phase one which would be kindergarten through 3rd grade. That buys us a little time to get the last money that's needed"

If you have been moved by Prudy's story and would like to donate to help her reach her fundraising finish line, visit the Helping Hands website.