Sisters of Mercy from Australia went to Uganda in 2002, in association with the Jesuit Refugee Service, as part of Mercy Refugee Service under Mercy Works Inc. They ministered on the Ugandan-Sudanese border with Sudanese refugees.

Today, a Sister of Mercy belonging to the Institute of the Americas, West Midwest Community, ministers in the district of Mbarara in western Uganda. Frances Walshe rsm is the director of a counselor training institute that is part of St. Francis Family Helper Program an organization whose mission is to raise the standard of living of poor rural families through the sharing and transfer of knowledge and skills. The institute is accredited through Uganda Martyrs’ University. While based in the Mbarara district, the training institute travels to other regions to train counselors throughout Uganda and other eastern African countries and offers counseling and psychosocial services throughout the diocese of Mbarara.

The counselor training institute is one of several programs undertaken by St. Francis Family Helper Program. It also hosts a tailoring school and promotes the education of Ugandan children through a child sponsorship program.