Looking Back on 2025

Dear Friends of TCI,

As we look back and see all that God has done through TCI  in 2025 and all of you who have stood with us, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude. This year, because of your partnership, God has been at work in powerful ways:

Preserving the lives of more than 5,000 people in five Karamojong villages

Supporting four primary schools in Western Uganda

Continuing livelihood programs in both Western Uganda and Karamoja

Sponsoring 48 high school students in Western Uganda and 18 students in Karamoja

We are so deeply grateful to you for making this possible. While the numbers are remarkable, our operations manager in Karamoja, Isaac, recently drew our attention to something even more important: each individual life.

To us, the numbers inspire awe — but behind every number is a person created in God’s image, with dignity, value, and God-given potential. Because of your generosity, many of these lives have been preserved from death, and many others are being transformed through education.

Isaac reminded us of the fact that Moses was spared from death at the hand of Pharaoh, and Jesus was spared from death at the hand of Herod—and within those preserved lives were stories that changed the course of history. As we look into the faces of the children and adults you see here, we wonder what stories God is writing with these lives and how these lives will fulfill his purposes. We do know this: whatever they are,
you are part of every one of them.

As you consider your end-of-year giving, we invite you to prayerfully consider two key areas, always keeping the individual in mind:

Karamoja food relief — Each month, we are in urgent need of funds to continue providing life-sustaining food to the most vulnerable in Karamoja: grandmothers caring for many orphaned grandchildren.

School infrastructure in Western Uganda — We are seeking to complete much-needed classrooms at both Brainstorm School and Kiibanga School, as well as toilets at Kiibanga. These improvements would allow the schools to begin the new school year in February 2026 with safe and adequate facilities. Use the button below to contribute to Brainstorm School. (We will give you more information about Kiibanga next week and you can give to that project then.)

As we enter these final weeks of the year, we simply want to say THANK YOU for being the hands and feet of Jesus to the hungry, the weak, and the forgotten. From all the villages in Karamoja, from the children who are alive today, from those who are being educated and discovering their potential, and from our entire team — THANK YOU!

With much gratitude,

Frank and Sue and the TCI Team

Just a Sling and a Stone

In June, Tim Pearson, the man who faithfully began the ministry known as JustASlingAndaStone visited Karamoja with us and captured the lives of the Karamojong people through his photos. Tim is a professional photographer, using simple tools just as David used just a sling and a stone. Later, our TCI  board member Craig Botha spoke powerful words over him—reminding us that God often uses simple tools and willing hearts to do far more than we ever could on our own - far beyond human ability!

As we listened again to those words (shared in the video above), we realized how beautifully they describe our work in Karamoja and Western Uganda. The transformation we’re witnessing — lives saved, villages strengthened, families fed, students sponsored and schools built — is far beyond our ability. But God has enabled us to press into the reality of what HE is able to do. It has been God’s work from the beginning.

And He has used our friends and donors to make it possible.

Their giving, their prayers, and their encouragement have been the “stones in the sling”— acts of faith that God has streamed into real, lasting impact in five villages of Karamoja and in the schools we support in Western Uganda.

All of us at Transformed Communities International are SO VERY GRATEFUL!

Thank you to all who have been standing with us, believing in the people we serve, and allowing God to work through your generosity.

Frank and Sue Robb -Nov 2025

Training put into action - creating sustainability!

Paradigm shift Training conducted in the rural communities consists of seven modules : pro active, begin with end in mind, put first things first, think win- win, seek first to understand then to be understood, synergy and sharpen the saw.
We encourage people to work with vision for their lives - we encourage them to start these gardens for balanced diets  for good health and getting side income for their families. Now, 400 families are practicing gardens in Western Uganda as a result of understanding the Paradigm Shift or mind set change. They plant egg plants, cabbage, tomatoes spinach, and onions.

The TCI piggery project is all about synergy. TCI gives two pigs to the Community Groups in the villages and they work together to feed and care for the piglets as they mature. As the pigs produce more piglets each member receives a piglet and when each member in the group has a piglet, one piglet is given back to TCI so they can have a pig farm for sustainability. Eighteen groups received two piglets - and 36 piglets have now multiplied to 155 pigs and piglets!!!!! We have heard so many testimonies of group members being able to support their children in school through projects like this and gardening and chickens.

Join us in continuing to support the training, starting more FAITH gardens, and creating sustainability.

September life saving food delivery

We successfully delivered life-saving food to 309 families of grandmothers, physically disabled persons, and orphaned children—each grandmother caring for at least eight grandchildren who are living with or at risk of acute malnutrition.

The wider community peacefully advocates for these vulnerable families to receive food, and we witnessed a beautiful spirit of solidarity as neighbors helped the grandmothers carry the food to their homes.

These families come from six villages in Moroto District, Karamoja. Most of the grandmothers are too weak to cultivate gardens and therefore cannot provide adequate food for their grandchildren. Many of the children are enrolled in a malnutrition treatment program, and the fortified food they receive is rich in protein from soybeans and full cream powder milk —supplying essential amino acids to fight protein-energy malnutrition. Together with other vital nutrients, this ensures that actively growing children have the nutrition needed to achieve healthy growth and development.

The families we serve were classified as extremely needy, unable to dig gardens and with no expected harvest. Yet, their dream remains simple but profound: that their grandchildren will grow strong, tall, and capable of supporting themselves in the future.

The grandmothers above testify with gratitude that, without TCI’s support, many of their grandchildren would either be dead or crippled by the effects of malnutrition. They deeply appreciate that TCI is not only feeding their children but also sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, which has lifted their hope. In addition, the children are learning how to cultivate vegetable gardens—gaining practical skills that will help sustain them.

We also celebrate that young women and men who were fed by TCI during the peak of the starvation crisis regained strength and were trained in gardening. With the seeds provided by TCI, they were able to plant crops and are now harvesting grain to feed their own children.

The support to the Karamajong has not only filled empty stomachs but has also restored dignity, revived hope, and planted seeds of sustainability for the future.

To join us in these ongoing efforts until sustainability is reached use the button below to give

Streams in the desert - TCI Trip 2025

Our hearts are filled with such gratefulness to God for the transformation and grace that we see in the Karamojong villages that TCI has been able to invest in through the generosity of you who are thousands of miles away from them! We acknowledge and thank our local Ugandan team who have been the prime instruments in bringing this about.

We must tell you of our wonderful team from the US. It was so valuable to have different perspectives, ideas, and talents as we navigated our way through each day. We had Cathy Mays, a long-time board member who leapt into the role of Director and Producer of Bible storytelling in the villages.

We were also joined by our new board member, Ryan Matthews from Connecticut. His analytical and strategic mind was very valuable as we discussed future plans. Mary Thomas from our home church, Monument Church, became a team manager and finance officer, which was a huge blessing! Isaiah Stoy, a young teacher from Virginia experienced his first trip to Africa and was a real hit with the elders of the villages! Finally, Tim Pearson from Bozeman, Montana, joined us as a professional photographer to help us tell our story. His website justaslingandastone.org tells the story of his mission to help small nonprofits like us.

One of the big highlights of the trip was the inauguration of the new borehole at Kachakatom village. Seeing the joy and gratefulness of the people as fresh, clean water filled their Jerry cans only a short walk from their homes was wonderful! Before this borehole was built they walked for hours to get water each day. 

Thank you so much Georgetown Women’s Bible Study for donating the funds for the borehole!

The people of Kachakatom welcomed us with generous gifts and fitted Sue out in Karamojong attire! They had already started digging garden beds right next to the borehole in anticipation of growing vegetables! Their lives have already been dramatically transformed.

We were welcomed warmly in every village, and in every village, we were able sit down and talk with the elders, the women, and the village leaders. We wanted to hear from them, and these conversations were so very rewarding and enlightening.

Elders at Lopwanya

TCI has provided monthly food deliveries to these villages for 36 months. That practical saving grace has kept starvation at bay and built a relationship between us and these people. At one village, we were very moved as we sat in the shade of a huge Tamarind tree, hearing the stories of the elders. They are broken people - no longer the proud Karamojong warriors who were taught to look after cattle and received a gun at fifteen to help them do so. As herdsmen, cattle and weapons were their life-symbols of success and prestige. But in the last few decades, cattle raiding and bloodshed have ravaged these communities. The government disarmed them and left them helpless against thieves. Many men have been imprisoned by the Government during the disarmament. Typically, the Karamojong have spurned outsiders and scorned the need for education. But now, as one humble elder told us, “We were products of that way of thinking and are now ignorant, illiterate, and we are nothing”. They don’t want their children to be uneducated and ignorant--they are eager for this next generation to be educated. 

The village elders told us that TCI brought light to them--caring for them, bringing food to them, sharing the love of Jesus, and showing them how to grow vegetables. They openly admitted that they need the wisdom TCI brings as they try to stay alive and build their lives in a different way.

Eighteen Karamajong children have been sponsored at boarding school this year by Samaritan’s Purse. We had the privilege of meeting with them, and it was incredible to see how quickly they have learned English and are progressing so well with their studies.

We were humbled to be with these beautiful, courageous people, and to have been instruments in saving many from starvation and restoring hope in these villages. There are also still many vulnerable grandmothers, children, and young mothers who we want to keep out of the severe acute malnourishment state. Please consider funding our July food distribution which will include seeds for increased vegetable gardening cooperatives.

We were able to witness a food distribution and also share in the preparation and consumption of one family’s only daily meal. It is clear that although the Karamajong have labored very hard to plant and sustain crops this season, they do need ongoing support with food supplies until the harvest. Please join us in praying for the steady rainfall that will cause the crops to thrive and help them towards sustainability in the future. We talked with leaders in detail about sustainable strategies which our local team are planning to implement as we decrease the amount of food relief. 

One of the great results of this trip was that we were put in contact with many organizations who we look forward to partnering with, learning from, and collaborating with in the future. They are organizations who have a love and respect for the Karamojong people and a desire to see them rise up.

But the greatest blessing of our trip was to see the transformative power of the Gospel. The Karamojong have tremendous challenges that we cannot even relate to. They recognize that they need a whole new way of life in order to survive, and they are thirsty for the Word of God, drinking in the hope that it brings as they courageously move forward. We wish you had all been with us to see the transformation that you have made possible. We cannot thank you enough!

On behalf of all at TCI, many blessings from Frank and Sue

Our First Ever Online Event!

May 2025 is a special month to us; we had our first ever online event on Friday 9 May, 1:00pm and 7:00pm EST. We had the privilege to celebrate our work so far and dream with some of you. Thank you so much for saying yes to our invitation and/ partnering with us financially, prayerfully and/ administratively. Here are some highlights from our precious time together.

We started with a brief history of our work in Uganda. TCI is the developmental arm of Covenant Global Ministries, founded by Pastor Moses Nkwatsibwe, a visionary. We had clear synergies in envisioning transformed, empowered, food secure and healthy communities. This partnership also included community leaders, Christian schools, a team of passionate staff, volunteers and board members.

TCI Team 2023

In the online event, there was also an observation of the contrast between our two areas of operations: the green, fertile and stable Kiburara in Western Uganda with relatively high literacy levels versus the drought stricken, historically insecure Karamoja in Eastern Uganda with low literacy levels.

Kiburara (Western Uganda)

Karamoja Eastern Uganda

The foundation of our work in both region has been Paradigm Shift Training which involves mindset change towards a strong ownership of one’s future and the future of one’s community. We spoke about how this has inspired several investments like utilizing each available piece of land through Food Always In The Home Gardens, community piggery projects, school buildings, student sponsorships, teacher training, Bible story telling, food relief and malnutrition assessments. The result has been regained strength, hope joy, unity and open possibilities.

Finally, we peeked into exciting things coming up in the future. First we spoke about our Karamoja sustainability journey inspired by JUSTDIGGIT’s re-greening solutions like earth smiles or water bunds. These semi circular holes open up the hard top layer of the soil slowing down and capturing rain water running downhill. The picture below shows a mango tree planted as a trial run in the re-greening efforts. We are also working towards learning and experimenting with Earth Microbial’s crop enhancement techniques which involve using microbials to naturally fix nitrogen to improve soil health, plant growth and resistance to heat stress.

Second, we celebrated together with Kachakatom village (one of our five partner Karamoja villages) hot off the press, the completion of their well thanks to the support of our donors, community leaders, well diggers, our staff and in collaboration with Kaabong Peace and Development Agency (KAPDA). This was a reflection of the hope regained in this region since this village had lacked a reliable water source for quite a long time. Please read the blog post on Kachakatom in our One Village at a Time series to learn more about this. Below are pictures from the well construction site

Finally we shared some ways to get involved that we invite you all to prayerfully consider and feel free to contact us at info@tcius.org:

1. Please join our weekly Zoom prayer meetings on Thursdays 8 am EST.

2. Please join our peer to peer Givebutter fundraising efforts which involves fundraising for a portion of the overall goal of a campaign (Brainstorm school and Karamoja Life flow campaigns)

3. Please consider being one of our volunteers to help with financial reconciliations, social media or any other skills you would like to contribute.

_ by Gloria Nderitu

Invest in a Mind..Invest in a Country

Motivated by the vision to invest in children who would later come to impact their communities and nation (and education having been found to be one of the most transformative aspect in a community), TCI has been investing in four small elementary schools in Uganda since 2019. These schools are: Brainstorm, Jerusalem, Kanara and Kiibanga.

Jerusalem

Kiibanga

Brainstorm

Kanara

Thanks to the faithful support of our donors and friends:

• We have replaced unstable mud and stick structures with twelve brick classrooms (two in Brainstorm, four in Jerusalem, four in Kanara and two in Kiibanga)

• We have stocked these classrooms with one hundred and seventy desks (thirty in Brainstorm, thirty in Jerusalem, eighty in Kanara and thirty in Kiibanga), with each desks (which has a book storage compartment) being shared by three students. As a result, the study environment of ten students in brainstorm, ten in Jerusalem, twenty six in Kanara and twenty in Kiibanga has been improved.

• Four toilet blocks (one for each of the schools) have been built.

• Four staff offices (one for each of the schools) have been built.

• The school staff have been supported in different ways like:

  • Staff training e.g. transferrable bible story telling skills for the teachers and accounting training for the school bursars.

  • Supplementing of the salaries of thirty teachers (ten in Brainstorm, seven in Jerusalem, nine in Kanara and four in Kiibanga)

• The parents have also been empowered to be proactive, future and other minded, setting valuable priorities, unified and investing in personal development through our Paradigm Shift Training.

The ripple effect of this investments continues and will continue to be seen, one student at a time. We celebrate and are very grateful for the progress in the past six years and we invite you to journey with us prayerfully and/ financially in these precious lives. Please prayerfully consider:

1. Investing in building a toilet block for Kiibanga, the estimated cost is $3,000. Please click here to donate.

2. Investing in building a block of two classrooms in Brainstorm, the estimated cost is $13,000. Please click here to donate.

3. Investing in purchasing fifty desks for the recently built classroom in Jerusalem, the estimated cost of each desk is $19.11. Please click here to donate

Together, we can help shape a future where every village sees the fruit of transformed lives.

_ by Gloria Nderitu

Nawal’s Story and the Struggle in Karamoja: How We Can Help Together

Please watch the videos below about some of the many families and individuals that have been adversely affected by the persistent droughts in Karamoja for the past four years. This blog will feature the first video about Veronica Nawal, a grandmother with 11 grandchildren. Her family has greatly benefitted from our monthly food relief, however, they have had to supplement their income and diet. At the time of this video, the mother of the 11 children was in the bush, gathering branches from thorn trees to sell as fencing material in town, to earn a small income. Nawal, on the other hand, was in the midst of a nine-hour process of cooking pieces of the leather hide they sleep on.

Meanwhile, our very able staff team in Uganda continues to tirelessly train these amazing people in agricultural skills.

They continue to empower the old and young alike to be proactive, strategic, purpose driven, other minded and united; to invest in the seemingly little resources they have to create a better future for themselves.

Our prayer is for God to raise oaks of righteousness to display His splendor out of this starving, marginalized and forgotten community. Thank you to everyone who has faithfully supported this work in the past, whether through prayer, encouragement, sharing your skills, or financial contributions. Your generosity and dedication means the world to us. For those who haven’t engaged with TCI work, we would like to urge you to prayerfully consider contributing any amount towards the March 2025 food run on this link or forwarding this blog to friends and family. Please also feel free to share any ideas you might have on long term sustainable solution to the hunger nightmare in Karamojong; you can reach us at info@tcius.org.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

— Matthew 25:35-40

_ by Gloria Nderitu

We are asking God for another miracle of provision!

Dear friends and wonderful supporters of this "impossible" Karamoja work! Thank you so much for faithfully partnering with us to provide for the dire situation in Karamoja, East Uganda. For the past 30 months, You have provided 375 tons of food and kept 5000 people alive! With your contributions, you are putting your love (to those in need) into action as prescribed by John in 1 John 3:17-18. And it is making all the difference to these isolated and forgotten families.

We've been teaching them to grow vegetables through our Food Always In The Home Garden Program. In as much as we would like these villages to be self-sufficient, they are still struggling after 4 years without a maize or sorghum harvest due to droughts and floods. Our West Uganda operations manager, Gilbert, recently saw the men and boys out in the bush catching rats to eat and learned that about 100 families had already run out of food. 

Please watch the video below done by our Karamoja Operations Manager, Isaac. It shows our journey with the people of Karamoja and how they are currently doing.

We cannot turn away from these wonderful people. We cannot give up when we know there’s a possibility to provide food! So here we are asking again. We are asking God for another miracle of provision! Please prayerfully consider helping us in any way you can with the February 2025 food run by giving to this campaign. 

Thank you so much from all of us at TCI!

Blessings, 

Frank and Sue Robb

Education: A Glimmer of Hope in the Midst of Hardship

Yesterday on the International Day of Education 2025, we celebrated TCI friends who have faithfully supported the tuition of 45 students at Alpha Omega Secondary School in Kiburara, Uganda. We can’t share the story of each of the 45 students, but we wanted to share one heart wrenching story with you.

In the small village of Rwenyawawa, Habaasa Allen’s family is caught in the grip of relentless hardship. Habaasa is a 46 year old blind widow who lost her sight in 2008 due to lack of medical care. This forced her to abandon farming - her family’s only source of livelihood. Her oldest daughter dropped out of school and  ran away from home leaving Habaasa entirely dependent on her two youngest children, who have become the family’s breadwinners.

Thirteen-year-old Bibian, a determined young girl, attends a nearby government elementary school. She spends her afternoon study time fetching water for neighbors, to earn just enough to buy maize flour for porridge (the family’s only daily meal). Her 18 year old brother,  Asaph, is supported by TCI Friends and is very grateful for the chance of a secondary school education. He is in Senior 3 (grade 9) and Alpha Omega Boarding School has  given him permission to return home every weekend to help Bibian with gardening and chores to support their mother. In as much as this is not the childhood Habaasa envisioned for her children, she acknowledges, 'There is no other way to survive,' adding, 'They have learned to persevere.'

Their home (a crumbling mud house held together by eucalyptus poles), much like the family’s fragile livelihood, is on the brink of collapse. Our Education Officer, Oscar, is working with our team and church members to help with reconstructing their collapsing house. 

Despite these crushing challenges, education offers a glimmer of hope with the prospect of escaping the cycle of poverty. Let's take today to remind ourselves of the privilege we have, and the power we hold to invest in the lives of others. As we celebrate this day, we want to say thank you to all those who continue to believe in these students. Whether you see it or not, giving them the opportunity for education makes them feel truly seen and valued.

18 Year Old Asaph in Alpha and Omega Secondary School

We hope to continue journeying with this family and others like it. Please pray and consider partnering with us in being a lifeline of educational support to these precious souls. If you are interested to know more about the program or would like to sponsor a student please email us at sponsortci@gmail.com

THANK YOU once again for giving hope to so many!!

_ by Sue Robb

2024: A Tapestry of Celebrations and New Beginnings

We kicked off the year with a visit to Uganda together with our founders’ church family which has been a great support system in our work in Uganda. Among many other things, they got to hear the story of a beneficiary of our Paradigm Shift Training who leveraged on the few resources at his disposal to support his family through animal and plant farming.

Godfrey Muhumuza (TCI’s Community Development Officer) passionately sharing the impact of Paradigm Shift Training in his life at Jerusalem School

This was followed by the unfortunate death of a beloved grandmother called Pedo Anna from Kachakatom Village in Karamoja: may her soul rest in peace. The distress of caring for her family and herself with old age in a hunger stricken environment must have been overwhelming. We continue to thank God for having sustained this family to the very date that the grandmother went to meet with the creator.

A medical examination of Pedo Anna by Gilbert Beingana
(TCI’s Operations Manager and Health Officer)

Around the same time, on the other hand, we got to celebrate with a famine survivor, our beloved Lomonyang Nachap from isolated Kamera Village, as she joined school. Her words ‘I want to go to school and I want to be a teacher!’ as we were admiring her Food Always In The Home garden previously had impressed on us what felt like wisdom from heaven not to neglect the task of educating the upcoming generation in our five partner villages in Karamoja.

You can read more of Lomonyang’s story and other education success stories here.

This ushered the way for more success stories in education like the construction of new brick classrooms in Kanara Gospel Primary School (one of our five partner Christian Schools in West Uganda).

In the mean time, our monthly food relief to Karamoja villages had been going on consistently thanks to the support of our donors. On the flip side, this region flooded after many years of drought and this destroyed crops like corn and sorghum which the villagers had been laboring to plant.

Following this tragedy, the God who diligently cares for His people, provided the much needed blankets, clothes and food to the Karamojong people through our donors. For context: the Karamojong sleep on makeshift beds made of animal skins and hides which offer little protection from the rain. The loss of body heat mainly through conduction to cold surfaces therefore exposes them to the risk of hypothermia which is a life threatening condition for starving people who lack the calories to maintain their body temperature.

August was a month of new beginnings and poignant farewells—one friend married, another departed. Gilbert Beingana, our Operations Manager and Health Officer celebrated not only the amazing work God has done through TCI in Uganda with the visiting US team but also the beginning of a new chapter in his life - marriage. Soon after that, we were informed about the death of a dear friend, Pastor Lauben, a beacon of hope in Jerusalem village. His vision was to serve God through educating and instilling Christian values in his children and village.

Your prayers and financial support have been instrumental in advancing this vision_ ensuring the school continues to thrive and providing the much needed support to Pastor Lauben’s family. Additionally, our other partner schools continue to thrive in implementing the Bible Story Telling lessons taught by Samuel Davis when the US team visited Uganda. The video below shows the students of Brainstorm School (One of our partner schools) narrating the Bible story of the raising of Lazarus:

October was a special month as we celebrated one of our founders, Sue Robb, turning 70 and looking absolutely fabulous. This was followed by the transformative Heaven Touches Earth Conference in November, where people from various parts of Africa (including our Uganda team) gathered in Kenya. Besides, we continue to witness transformation among the Karamojong back in Uganda particularly in their efforts to enhance food security; vegetable growing skills are starting to be actively passed down through generations. In November, we also celebrated Thanksgiving and our other founder, Frank Robb, who turned 80 as a good and faithful servant of God.

December has been another eventful month! We are thrilled that a wonderful group of women initiated a fund raising effort to provide a well to bring clean and convenient water to the village of Kachakatom in Karamoja. This village has had no clean water and has been unable to do any vegetable gardening and now we have hopes to get a well in for them in 2025.

Thank you so much for investing in Ugandan children and Karamojong families through your generous contributions or heartfelt prayers. We’ve also had the privilege of celebrating the achievements of our pig project beneficiaries, as well as the birthday of the chairman of our board of directors, Ubaldo Ahimbiswe.

Thank you for journeying with us this year; your support has been invaluable in growing transformed, healthy, empowered, and food-secure Ugandans who take control of their lives and the future of their next generation. May you have a joyful celebration of the One who came to: proclaim good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, proclaim freedom for the captives and bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a Spirit of despair!

_ by Gloria Nderitu

A Single Educated Child Can Transform Communities!

While in remote tribal Karamoja in February 2024, we found ourselves in the midst of hundreds of Food Always In The Home gardens where men, women and children stood proudly by their gardens eagerly waiting to share their new vegetable gardening skills. One shy little girl, Lomonyang Nachap who had survived the famine, greeted us as we were admiring her FAITH garden in isolated Kamera village.

 In a very soft voice, she said, “I want to go to school” and a little later she said “I want to be a teacher!” We were very impressed, as if we were hearing wisdom from heaven telling us not to neglect the task of educating the upcoming generation in these five villages! 

What difference would education make in this young life? What difference would it make in the lives of others? What plans does the Lord have for this life?

 A  SINGLE EDUCATED CHILD HAS GREAT CAPACITY TO TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES!! Among so many others we want to highlight the impact of TWO educated children! Gilbert Beingana (TCI Operation manager for the West) and Isaac Tuesday (TCI Operation manager in Karamoja) are basically responsible for TCI's food relief and medical work in Karamoja. They have used their education and considerable skills to keep approximately 5,000 marginalized starving Karamajong people alive (data as at February 2024) and to give them restored hope and self worth. 

We met Gilbert in Kiburara as a 14 year old in 2009. He was such an eager student but did not have the means to attend a good school and we began to sponsor his education all the way through medical training. We had no idea that years later God would bring him to work for TCI, a non-profit that we would be leading!  

Isaac, on the other hand, did not get sponsored as a child but struggled with fierce determination to get an education at times living on his own, sleeping on dry banana leaves, hungry and cold. After becoming a teacher, Isaac met a family on a short term mission trip and they sponsored his nursing degree.

Isaac (front) and Gilbert (back) carrying food

Isaac relocated to Karamoja and both of these young men, with the essential help of Gabriel Siokan a local Karamojong, are helping hundreds of severely malnourished villagers to improve in health, develop gardens, know that they are loved by God and are valued human beings.

While studying medicine, Gilbert became friendly with a talented Karamojong medical student called Moses Imalany. After graduating, Moses returned to Karamoja to invest back into his people as a Clinical Officer while Gilbert joined TCI as our Medical Officer. It was Moses who led TCI to two of the villages that we are now engaged in. We met him there in January 2024 and he shared his inspiring story with us. CLICK HERE to hear how he rose up out of the manyatta (village) to get a university education. It is his estimation that without TCI's intervention at least 1000 would have starved to death in his district! Instead, there have been NO lives lost to starvation (as at February 2024) since we started food relief.

By God’s grace, TCI wants to keep these phenomenal villagers alive so that many young children like Lomonyang Nachap can live to fulfill their dreams and God's purposes. 

_ by Sue Robb

One Village at a time! (Kachakatom)

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

— Galatians 6:9

Journey with me through the lived experiences of select people of Kachakatom Village in Karamoja, East Uganda (third on our ‘One Village at a time!’ blog series) that are a testament to Galatians 6:9

1. The images below depict the recovery process of a malnourished boy from Kachakatom village. The first picture shows a TCI assessment and appetite test in 2022 while the second picture was taken in 2024.

2. The video below is a story of one Moses Imalany who led TCI to support his village. Despite a very difficult childhood, he was top in his high school class which earned him a scholarship to study in medical school. This is where he became acquainted with Gilbert Beingana (TCI’s Operations Manager and Health Officer) and later told him about the severely hunger stricken Kachakatom Village.

3. Lobong’ Raphael, Parish Chief of Kachakatom Village, is also very appreciative of our donors providing monthly food relief to his people (saving lives and restoring hope) in the video below:

On the other hand, Kachakatom Village still continues to face various challenges:

1. The relentless drought, intensified by the scorching sun, has resulted in three consecutive years of failed harvests.

2. The drought was soon followed by devastating floods, which swept away any remaining crops.

3. There is lack of a reliable water source which hinders vegetable gardening (TCI’s Food Always In The Home Gardens)

4. As a result, malnutrition rates have surged, making Kachakatom the village with the lowest recovery rates in Karamoja region. Consequently, the demand for Plumpy'Nut (a high-calorie, nutrient-dense peanut paste used to treat severe acute malnutrition) continues to rise.

Let us not grow weary in doing good for Kachakatom Village. Your prayers, donations, and any other forms of support are greatly appreciated. Please keep an eye out for our Giving Tuesday email updates (info@tcius.org) in the coming weeks to learn how you can get more involved.

_ by Gloria Nderitu

We are part of something bigger..

If you receive our newsletters, you might have read somewhere that seven of us from the US and one from the Netherlands travelled miles away from their homes last month to visit and connect with our big Ugandan family. They joyfully share their main highlights from the trip.

“A highlight of this trip was that I felt very welcomed by such a joyful people wherever I went. One day as I was walking home with two ladies from the US Team, a three- to four-year-old girl approached me just to give me a big hug. During another visit to a school, as I stepped out of a classroom, I suddenly felt a small hand in mine—it was a girl’s hand. She held my left hand confidently, unafraid to express what was on her heart. This was an eye opener for me to meet such a joyful and appreciative community despite being poverty stricken. Secondly, I loved the unity among our US and Ugandan team members. The fellowship among us was both very natural and precious. Sharing experiences and testimonies formed a special bond among us. Thirdly, it was amazing to pray for others and see God at work within them. Some got healed instantly, others some time later. One elderly lady, in particular, was delivered from severe stomach pains and she was able to work the land in two days. The teachers’ workshop on Bible story telling with Samuel Davis was also such a big highlight for me. I am very grateful to be part of this team.”

— Helena Papadopoulos

TCI Family celebrating Helena's Birthday

“For me, the highlight of the August 2024 Uganda trip was the people! First our team that the Lord put together, and how by the end He had knitted us together. The last morning in Kiburara, one of the young women who served us stated how she had seen such unity in our group - that was such a blessing as it answered our prayer that God would give us unity. This was my first time in Uganda and Africa. From the moment we arrived, I felt the warm welcome from our Ugandan team. The singing, dancing and drum playing - wow, what a welcome! As we shared meals, times of worship and prayer, laughter, tears, fun van rides, games and relaxing times - this team felt like family! I came home with such an appreciation and respect for TCI, the people who support the work on the ground, and all those around the world who support this precious work in this nation. I saw the hearts of those serving the families, the schools, the neighborhoods and I came away with the true definition of love - putting God first, seeking Him in all things, and all other things will be added. (Matthew 6:33). This was a life changing experience for me!”

— Mary Thomas

The singing, dancing and drum playing

“A big highlight is the gift of being part of a group led by Frank and Sue, who have hearts for the Lord, the people of Uganda, and for one another. We are also thankful to God for the amazing opportunity to meet with a group of secondary school teachers, and to be used by the Holy Spirit and Jesus as we prayed with them. Thirdly, we are grateful for the opportunity to visit primary schools and a preschool, and pray with and for the teachers and students. Underneath being welcoming, open and loving, they face a lot of life hardships and pressures. Their financial barriers (e.g. school supplies and personal hygiene items are a big burden) and emotional distress (caused by dysfunctional families and bread winner demands) with no knowledge or access to counselling services weighed heavily in our hearts. However, we are grateful that God is there and we are just His hands and feet. Fourthly, it was a blessing to gain a deeper understanding of life and culture in Uganda. We got to attend a Christian wedding, and learn about wedding customs – including the journey a young man must take to win his bride, negotiate the bride price, plan the wedding; the isolation and preparation of the bride before the wedding, and the celebration itself. At the end of the trip, we sat together as a group at Lake Mburo and shared our experiences of God’s work in using all of us during our time in Uganda. We were joined by a warthog, and further away monkeys and baboons, and in the distance, hippos.”

— David and Mary Bulkely

Caring for the heart session with teachers led by David and Mary Bulkley

Gilbert’s (TCI staff) Christian Ugandan Wedding

“The biggest highlight for me was one on one time with people. Whether it was with our team or with students and teachers at the schools, we got to see God move while ministering to people in the various ways they needed. It was a blessing to pray, listen to stories and learn about the work in Kiburara. The animals were also such a joy!”

— Lisa Carr

“I had an emotional time when we are welcomed with drums and dancing at Pastor Moses’ home. It is like that all the time when we get reunited. Our work also felt more personal rather than abstract by being on the ground. The highlight for me was praying for people for example one old mother who received physical healing and healing in her marriage after a long time of struggling. A second highlight was the faithfulness and ambition of Kiburara Alpha and Omega secondary school teachers- far away from their homes (they could have been working for higher pay in government schools) and the primary school teachers, who sometimes only get half pay. The unity of our team was also a highlight”

— Franc Robb

“For me it is always a blessing to share with the people we love our experiences in Uganda. Our team had a heart to bless the people they came into contact in a special way which is God’s heart; I was especially glad that we took some time to pray for the late Pastor Lauben. Our team was also very flexible to the Spirit’s leading. Everyone was a great help to us (with reports, photos and notes). It was wonderful seeing God use the gifts and talents that He has put in each person in the team for his plans and purposes. It is such a privilege being part of something much bigger that the Lord is doing; we won’t know the fullness of it until we get to heaven”

— Sue Robb

The team praying for Pastor Lauben

Truly a welcoming, loving, God- filled, celebratory, unifying, learning and life changing experience!

_ by Gloria Nderitu

One Village at a time! (Kamera)

Second on our ‘One Village at a time!’ series is Kamera village in Moroto District, Karamoja.  Karamoja is a historically marginalized, isolated and underdeveloped region hence it has been dubbed ‘the forgotten corridor of Africa’ by many researchers, journalists and humanitarian organizations. It is known for its semi arid climate, rolling savannah, mountainous terrain, rich cultural heritage, communal living and nomadic pastoralism. The people of Karamoja live in Manyattas (a beautiful cluster of wood and grass thatched huts) which make up villages; one of the five villages we have been journeying with in Karamoja is Kamera Village. Due to the recent floods which were preceded by droughts, we recently sent out an urgent appeal for funds to purchase blankets, clothes and food mostly featuring this village. We are very grateful for your wholehearted support through prayer and your generous contributions. And as seen in the video below, the people of Kamera village are even more grateful (‘Alakara’- thank you)

You might hear in the video a mention of the names 'Apollo Quan' and 'Nakiru'. These are the names given to our founders Franc and Sue Robb by the communities. They mean 'Father of the great white bull' and 'Bringer of rain' respectively.

They say, “thank you for the food”. Among the acts of service categorized as true fasting in Isaiah 58.5-7, sharing our food with the hungry is one of them. Besides, Jesus later in Matt 25:35-40 said that whenever we feed the least of these when hungry, we essentially feed Him when he is hungry. “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.” (Proverbs 19:17).

They say, “thank you for the clothes”. The bible speaks a lot about clothing the needy as an act or evidence of true fasting, faith and righteousness

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”

— James 2:15-16

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

— Matthew 23:36

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen…... .when you see the naked, to clothe them.”

— Isaiah 58:5-7

“John answered, ‘Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.’”

— Luke 3:11

They say, “thank you for the blankets”. As described in our appeal, the people sleep on makeshift beds made of animal skins and hides which offer little protection from the rain. The loss of body heat mainly through conduction to cold surfaces therefore exposes them to the risk of hypothermia which is a life threatening condition for starving people who lack the calories to maintain their body temperature. The young ones and grandmothers were the most vulnerable and as you can see in the video, this was such a huge blessing to them and they can’t wait to express their heartfelt gratitude. They say, “thank you for giving us life” and “they are now safe.” Thank you for being God’s vessel of God’s peace and safety to Kamera Village!

“The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together”

— Isaiah 41:17-19

_ by Gloria Nderitu

One Village at a time! (Jerusalem)

Welcome to our ‘One Village at a time!’ series. We will keep you updated on what’s happening in the different villages we are journeying with in the Pearl of Africa. Our desire is for you to get to know the villages that have been empowered by the principles of our Paradigm Shift Training on proactivity, future and other mindedness, setting valuable priorities, unity and investing in personal development. This poverty stricken community embraced the FAITH (Food Always In The Home) gardening initiative leading to remarkable progress. 

 Jerusalem was the first village in Western Uganda that TCI worked in. Our friend Pastor Moses connected us to Pastor Lauben who had a vision to see his village come to life by establishing a small primary school that fostered Christian education in his church building. TCI came alongside him and the villagers with the Paradigm Shift training.

By God’s grace leading to your continued support, we were also able to build a permanent block on the school premises. This significantly increased school enrollment; parents were also drawn to the safe and modern facilities. However, the aging temporary mud structures pose a risk to learners and after one building wall cracked significantly, the school inspectors demanded its demolition. This has led many of the students to transfer to government schools. The school urgently needs a new, suitable brick structure; similar to a recently completed project in Kanara Village (see video below); the estimated budget is $13,000.

We are very grateful for the way you continue to journey with us and are inviting you to impact these young lives by prayer and contributing any amount towards this project.

We know that this is a poor community!  The picture on the far right shows that many, perhaps half of the children are barefoot because they do not have shoes.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:......Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them?”

— Isaiah 58:6-7

_ by Gloria Nderitu

Flooding, Famine, and Lack of Warmth

URGENT HELP NEEDED !!
Earlier this month the situation was famine & drought..the current situation is famine & flooding.

The recent flooding has left her dear friends desperately in need of a famine relief food delivery early as well as blankets and warm clothes. Our team is on their way now for the food delivery that will start tomorrow!! As a result of the flooding, the food that was remaining to sustain them for the next almost 2 weeks either spoiled or washed away.

We are asking for help with fundraising for the emergency food relief that is on the way now. We are also hoping to send BLANKETS to help with the cold of the night time and warm clothes. The dream would be 5,000 blankets so that everyone has one. We are hoping to raise enough to start with 200 for the most vulnerable families.

PLEASE JOIN US in this effort to make a huge difference in this dire situation. Our hearts break for them.

Please join us in prayer for safety for our team as they jump into this last minute need and gathering supplies, please pray for hope! The gardens we had hoped to a develop sustainability for them as a food source are also destroyed.

Here is an update from a team member on the ground in Uganda:

“The videos shared above are from Kamera village, one of the villages in Moroto district, Karamoja. After over three years of drought, the arrival of rains starting in May this year brought floods, exacerbating the vulnerability of elderly grandmothers and children.

The wood and grass-thatched huts, where people often sleep on animal skins and hides, offer little protection. When rain occurs, extreme shivering affects both grandmothers and children. Shivering is an energy-expending process, and the energy required comes from the food they consume. Adequate nutrition not only supports physical work but also helps protect vulnerable individuals as they struggle to keep warm and stay alive. Children, especially those under five are not used this are at huge risk of suffering the consequences of hypothermia.

The children’s lose heat mainly through conduction to the ground and cold surfaces, radiation. The floods and surface runoff has gone through their huts and we have seen the children sleeping in cold-water soaked mud. Grand mothers have been seen sitting vulnerably with their grand children.

We thank TCI for sending in the food relief for these marginalized children and grands. Food is critical and first line for protecting the essential right of life. Please pray for these souls.”

We are in need of funds for famine relief and blankets!

To donate please use this link : https://givebutter.com/PwLxax

Join the Life Flow to Uganda

Dear Friends of TCI,

Recently, a statement in a sermon stood out to us: “Each and every one of us is called to something beyond our capacity.” We cannot believe that TCI is now 5 years old. What has been accomplished is way beyond our capacity! 

Thank you to all who have helped us through prayer or by giving. You have joined us in what we have come to think of as the “LIFE FLOW.” Jesus said “I came that they would have life and have it abundantly.” Your support is bringing life - abundant life not only to the physical and the emotional wellbeing of the people we are serving, but it is bringing many into abundant spiritual life through Jesus.

The initial focus of TCI was to equip people in Western Uganda with the mindset and skills to fund the education of their children. This involves “paradigm shift training" which is very effective in enabling people to see their potential, what they can do with their resources and how they can reach their dreams to get out of poverty. 

It was never our intention to become involved with a starving, marginalized, forgotten group of about 5000 Karamojong in Uganda. But somehow it seems to have been the Lord's! Three years after beginning in Western Uganda with our paradigm shift programs, we had gained a lot of experience and the principles of paradigm shift training were working! The wonderful thing was that our team started to look outward and beyond themselves to those in danger of starving in Karamoja. 

Isaac and Gilbert, our two medical personnel, visited Karamoja in July 2022 and were devastated by what they found and immediately wrote a proposal to take food relief there. It was going to cost about $15,000 to take food and do medical assessments. This amount of money seemed totally impossible for us, but not for God. It came in! 

That was the beginning of the story in Karamoja. Since then, miraculously, at a cost of $19,000 monthly we have halted starvation deaths in five villages! This is way beyond our capacity but not God's. Health and hope have been restored. Grateful villagers are eagerly receiving the paradigm shift training which Isaac developed using Bible stories and embracing vegetable gardening for the first time. 

PLEASE JOIN THE “LIFE FLOW” by signing up to give monthly. Monthly donations really help us in planning. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST MONTH 

• Continued community development through gardening and livelihood programs in Western Uganda and Karamoja

• Provision for June food relief came in! The 5000 in 5 villages of Karamoja received food once more.

• The flooded yellow sorghum and maize in Karamoja have recovered and turned green (photo above). PRAY for continued rain and for a harvest - it will be the first in 4 years.

• The pigs in the livelihood projects have produced 35 piglets this past month.

• Two more classrooms at Kanara Primary School were completed with much rejoicing as the building was handed over on Monday. The school is looking so good!

 42 TCI sponsored students in Western Uganda and 17 in Karamoja are flourishing in schools

Frank had a productive meeting with Innovation Africa when he was in Israel. This NGO constructs and operates solar boreholes (wells) and we are currently working to establish a collaboration. They are enthusiastic about our sustainable agricultural methods.

PLEASE JOIN THE "LIFE FLOW " and PRAY FOR THESE CURRENT NEEDS:

• The building of two classrooms at Jerusalem Primary School as recently as they had to break down two which had developed a very large crack.

• 50 desks at Kanara Primary Desks to make the new classrooms learning centers.

• Ongoing food relief for Karamoja.

• CONSISTENT RAIN FOR KARAMOJA so that we have a harvest.

• OUR TRIP IN AUGUST Frank and Sue are excited to be returning with a team of seven in August.

We thank you so much for helping us do something beyond our capacity. 

TOGETHER, we have made an incredible difference to thousands of lives!! 

Famine Relief Efforts Update

A letter from Isaac our Operations Manager in Karamoja:

Dear Selfless Heroes of TCI ,

As I have been seated down to write this appreciation letter, I feel my heart overflowing with gratitude and joy for the children and elderly of Moroto. We see this every time we are interacting with the communities we serve and in this food run I saw the greatest smile of children and grandmothers and on behalf of these souls. I would wish to express my deepest thanks to each and every one of you who have dedicated your time, resources, and love to helping the severely malnourished children and elderly.

Your unwavering commitment to this noble cause is a fountain of hope in a world where darkness often seems to prevail. You have fathered these children and cared for these most vulnerable individuals that without your help they would be lost in desperation for continuing to live.

Your tireless efforts to provide sustenance, care, and compassion to those struggling to survive are a testament to the goodness of humanity. You are the ones who rush in where others fear to tread, who hold the hands of the forgotten, and who wipe away the tears of the broken. Your selflessness has given hope to those who had lost it, strength to those who were weak, and a chance at life to those who were on the brink of giving up on a chance to see the next day.

Thank you for your continued dedication and sacrifice. Surely your unrelenting passion, and your strong belief in worth and dignity of every human life is creating a palpable impact in these communities.

I can boldly say that YOU are the change-makers, the game-changers, and the souls you are touching here in Karamoja, Uganda are grateful forever! Your work is a wave of love, kindness, hope that is transforming lives and communities.

You have indeed championed humanity through giving hope to those who were counting days to the end.

Isaac

For more information see previous blog posts about our previous work! To donate to these efforts use the button below.

Celebrating Wonderful news from Karamoja!!!

Dear TCI friends,

On good Friday we received the following videos and photos from Isaac in Karamoja. When we were there in January one small girl Lomonyang Nachap told us very quietly as she showed us her vegetable garden that she wanted to be a teacher. The photo below shows Lomonyang Nachap clutching her new shoes as she is fitted with her school uniform.

Today she is beginning to realize her dream, along with 16 other children from the five manyattas that we are serving. This is due to our collaboration with Samaritan's Purse. They have given us a grant for children, and we are using a portion of that to educate 3 or 4 Karamojong children from each manyatta. The children were chosen with the help of the leaders of the manyattas.  Not only that but Samaritan's Purse has donated a motorbike to us!

This is one of the transformations that we have been dreaming about for these villages in Karamoja. We are so grateful for everyone involved - to God for his mercy and grace, provision and strength– to each member of our team and supporters in Uganda for using their lives to make this possible and to all those who prayed for us and supported us financially. 

Your funds have kept the people in these villages alive and have given them hope and strength to start making FAITH gardens and now some of them are able to go to school! It has been a very long haul, and yet you have continued to believe that what we are doing is worthwhile. We are overwhelmed with gratitude to our donors and Samaritans Purse for collaborating with us to make this vision a reality.