Dr. Barbara Ofwono
Victorious Transformation
Dr. Barbara Ofwono
FOUNDER OF VICTORIOUS EDUCATION SERVICES | COHORT 3; UGANDA
Dr. Barbara Ofwono was seven-years-old when a grenade was thrown into her family’s home. It was 1979, and war was raging across Uganda.
Barbara’s father was a chief and WWII veteran, and during years of political instability and widespread violence, he and his family selflessly served their community. After the attack on their home, they were forced to relocate, but their focus didn’t change. The Ofwono family was committed to service.
Growing up, this priority was consistently represented and communicated to Barbara. Her father counselled community members, built churches and schools, and promoted public health. Her family fed 40-50 people daily as they stopped by to consult her father. When they weren’t in school, Barbara and her siblings helped provide hospitality to whoever arrived. Whether cooking, cleaning, or gardening, Barbara worked around the house from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. On weekends, her family would serve at church.
Despite being a young girl surrounded by older siblings and influential guests, Barbara didn’t get overlooked. Her father recognized her unique leadership potential. In the midst of a demanding public life, he began involving Barbara in his decision-making process. He intentionally encouraged and affirmed her, and as she grew older, Barbara had confidence in her ability to lead and displayed a deep commitment to service, no matter the obstacles.
One of Barbara’s favourite places to serve was at Sunday School. After she became too old to participate in the classes, she stayed to volunteer as a teacher. In her twenties, she completed the education program at Uganda’s top university while continuing to serve children at church.
One Sunday, Barbara heard God speak to her.
She was standing on the balcony between Sunday School services, looking at Kampala, when she heard a clear voice say, “The children here are okay. The ones out there need you.”
A deep burden was placed on her heart: invest in Kampala’s overlooked nursery school children.
The next day she visited three nursery schools. She saw teachers beating and yelling at three-year-olds. It broke her. Not only were the schools ineffective – they were dangerous.
She asked God, “How best can I make a change?” Once again, she heard His voice, “You are the change. Open a centre where my name will be glorified, and the children will be loved and heard.”
Barbara didn’t believe this was possible, but after prayer and fasting, God said, “You will be victorious because I am able.”
At that moment, she decided to use all her savings ($350) to start Victorious Education Services.
People in her community, including her friends, discouraged her because most preschools were led by high school dropouts. But Barbara could not ignore her calling. Without financial support, Barbara paid one month of rent to a landlord who owned a dilapidated building. She secured 30 chairs from a carpenter who agreed to accept payment after the children arrived. And she went door-to-door sharing about Victorious.
Despite the obstacles, her commitment to service was rewarded. Children began to come, and they didn’t stop coming. More and more parents wanted their children to experience holistic Christ-centered education.
Barbara never wanted to turn a child away, so the only option was to grow the school.
She worked hard to scale Victorious and increase her capacity – completing her master’s degree, Ph.D., and other certifications while getting married and raising her own children. Barbara began receiving national recognition, and Victorious added new campuses serving thousands of children and employing hundreds of staff members.
The new campuses were thriving, but outside the school walls, Dr. Barbara saw so much need. She remembered the lesson her parents taught her: the Ofwono family serves their community.
Victorious launched ambitious community service programs in some of the most underserved areas of Kampala. The school hired dedicated staff members and began distributing resources, but despite an incredible amount of effort, Dr. Barbara said, “We were not impacting them in a way that we could trace and see.”
Dr. Barbara and her team were discouraged and looking for an alternative approach. During this difficult season, Dr. Barbara joined the Abundant Leadership Institute (ALI).
Deeply impacted by what she experienced at ALI, Dr. Barbara realized that she needed to shift her mindset. She saw that Victorious was giving the communities handouts, not a hand-up.
While learning about ABCD, Dr. Barbara says, “I discovered that even with the little we have, if we mobilize our communities, we can involve everyone and accomplish quite a lot. It’s also better for us to know the real challenges from them directly.”
Dr. Barbara applied this new mindset in Victorious’ work in a slum community where they had a campus. They trained the community in ABCD and began to work with the community, using their skills and resources to address the challenges they identified. Together, they built a police post and public toilets and supported micro-enterprises.
This community was notorious for abandoning newborn babies. Community members helped them trace the cycle of brokenness back to young girls being forced into prostitution due to neglect, abuse, and limited opportunities. To address the root issue, they launched a community-based scholarship program for young children to attend Victorious.
Within a year, a community that was previously one of the most dangerous and dirty neighbourhoods in Kampala was safer, cleaner, and beginning to thrive.
Dr. Barbara also learned about the importance of an abundant mentality. She shared about abundant leadership with her team and enrolled her key leaders in the next cohort of ALI. Every cohort since has included members of the Victorious team.
Her team displayed their new mentality when schools across Uganda closed due to COVID-19. Dr. Barbara and her leadership team knew learning must continue, so they applied an asset-based mindset and created a cutting-edge virtual campus. Their work caught the attention of national leaders, who invited Dr. Barbara to consult on national educational challenges.
Each Victorious staff member is also encouraged to apply their new mindset outside the workplace. Dr. Barbara says, “When you look at our staff, you see that we have a team that is impacting their communities, and they will soon impact the country.” Victorious staff members are running non-profits, planting churches, and serving their neighbours.
After Kurumbuka officially launched in 2020, Dr. Barbara and other ALI alumni from Victorious encouraged our team to consider setting up a permanent location in Kampala.
In early 2022, we launched our Kampala branch in partnership with Victorious. Dr. Barbara has served as an ALI facilitator, and we have supported Victorious Community Outreach Days, events that showcase local initiatives and offer healthcare to hundreds of community members. In 2022, we also launched ABCD Centres: spaces for supporting and promoting local solutions to local challenges.
Today, the preschool Dr. Barbara started in 1999 with $350 has six campuses with over 530 staff members serving over 5,000 students.
As she discerns what God has in store for her, she knows she will build on two things.
First, her heart for serving no matter the obstacles – shaped by her parents.
Second, her abundant mindset – inspired by her ALI experience.
“When I enrolled in ALI, I was blown away. I have studied and completed multiple degrees and various training programs, but I have never had training that really dwells with my innermost person, dealing with me first. After dealing with my mindset at ALI, I reached a place to truly discover how I could impact others. It is amazing the great things I have learned.”
