Stories & Highlights
Keeping You in the Loop, One Story at a Time
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.”
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
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:
The relentless drought, intensified by the scorching sun, has resulted in three consecutive years of failed harvests.
The drought was soon followed by devastating floods, which swept away any remaining crops.
There is lack of a reliable water source which hinders vegetable gardening (TCI’s Food Always In The Home Gardens)
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.”
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!”
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.”
“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!”
“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”
“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”
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?”
“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.”
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen…... .when you see the naked, to clothe them.”
“John answered, ‘Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.’”
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”
_ 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?”
_ 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.
Additional classrooms needed at 4 growing schools!
Join us in helping these local schools accommodate their growing student population - a total of 768 children at present. Building these two additional classrooms at each of the four partner schools will do just that! We are so honored to partner with them to help make their dream of providing quality education in their districts a reality!
The expense for the two classrooms is $13,000 at each school. The picture below shows the mud classroom construction that we are replacing with brick construction.
A mud classroom at Kiibanga
In 2021 and 2022, TCI built a classroom block at each of the four Primary schools. Last year we visited the first one we constructed at Kanara in 2021 (photo below) and you see it in contrast with the mud classroom to the right.
In 20 years these children will be adults and will be transforming their communities. Education eradicates poverty!
How can you join us in these efforts?
Pray - Please pray with us for the hearts of the children who will attend and a “quick” building process so they are ready for the next school term to start.
Donate - Please consider a donation of any size in order to make this dream a reality.
To partner with us these efforts please use the button below
The Impact of ONE - MOSES IMALANY, KARAMOJA 2024
This is the story of one man Moses Imalany- who as a child had vision and determination to strive to get an education and rise up out of the poverty of the village of Kachakatom, Karamoja.
During his medical training he became friends with with his fellow student Gilbert Beingana. Gilbert is now TCIs medical officer and Operations manager in Western Uganda.
After training, Moses returned to his home region as a clinical officer. In 2022 after two years of devastating drought, he led TCI to visit his home village to assess the state of malnutrition there and subsequently provide food for the village and nearby village of Lokorirot. From his assessment, this food relief spared at least 1000 people from death by starvation in these two villages.
To find out more about what we do visit: https://www.tcius.org/home
To donate please visit: https://www.tcius.org/donate
Uganda’s Top Student
We have been so encouraged by the following report! All of our efforts to improve Alpha Omega School are bearing fruit - and many of you are part of this success story.
"By the time I completed primary level I had no hopes that I would also join secondary school because I am a poor orphan but by God's grace...."
Merab, now 20 years old, was supported by Covenant Mercies ( A US orphan support organization) through 6 years of high school at Alpha & Omega. Merab achieved the highest score in Economics and Mathematics in the whole of Uganda in the 2019 Advanced Certificate of Education! This is an amazing achievement and is a testimony to God's grace, her dedicated teachers, those who supported her and to all who have helped us make Alpha Omega the fruitful learning environment that it is. From that graduating class all 15 of the 15 students are in University now and one of the teachers, Oscar Mugumya was recognized as the second most effective Math teacher in Uganda. He is currently also TCI's Education officer.
Meet Merab
In 2019, she achieved the highest score in Economics and Mathematics in all of Uganda!
Meet Oscar
He was recognized as the second most effective Math teacher in Uganda! He is currently also TCI's Education officer.
Merab is now pursuing a Bachelors of Statistics at Makerere University, Uganda's top college. She participates in Pastor Moses church and campus fellowship and in her words "I am hoping to complete my studies safely and I am ready to change my community".
Without your help, this school would have closed its doors due to the challenges of Covid. Teachers have been paid, Covid compliance equipment and laboratory supplies have been purchased and significant progress on the girls dorm has been made. Thank you! You are making a tangible difference here!
Thank you for supporting this school!
Without your help, this school would have closed its doors due to the challenges of Covid.
A Personal Story from Isaac (TCI’s Operations Manager)
The following is a candid letter from our Operations Manager, Isaac Tuesday, as he recount the way he grew up. And now, he’s leading a significant effort to aid more than 5,000 receive food amidst a harsh famine!
A Letter from Isaac:
By age of seven I could go Digging with My For two tubers of cassava even bitter one we ate knowing diarrhea was a must. But at least something could be in our stomach at least live until the next day. Some days Mom came empty handed and could tell us to sleep not to be too hungry. She would then burst into tears and hide in her room in the hut . We could boil wild (amaranthus) and drink its water for survival. God fathered us and provided that we have been able to live to date. On dry plantain leaves we slept. Under leaking roof we dwelled. Here in karamoja, there is nothing edible is seen in the environment. What is seen is dry land , no water, green. Suffering can be seen from distance. The grand mothers and grand children can be seen resting on the ground with no hope. Grand mother and grand children are weak and unable to work. There no where to work for food in the neighbourhood. The previous season failed. Its the only season they have in the year. The children go hunting wild fruits and rats.
The very little children 1 to 5 years are sleeping with grand mothers helpless. Children are stunted and being crippled by malnutrition. The situation at household is haunting. Children need nutrients to meet their growth and development needs , the environment cannot provide. The parents have lost hope.
The people though weak, can be seen in TCIs sustainable effort doing faith gardens on the knees and grand mothers in the dust waiting for the time to die.
We always observe joy and great hope when TCI send food. You are surely providing for these helpless needy and impoverished starving souls. We have 500 families that house 5000 individuals who need your prayers to live.
Thanks for the continued support to keep 5000 people alive.
Over the past one year you have done a great job to keep these children alive and grand mothers able to see tomorrow. You have given these people hope of Christ.
We need food for these children to continue living. Otherwise they are risking going back into the 2022 acute starvation. You have fathered these souls, your Generosity has created a huge difference in these lives.
God bless you.
~ Isaac Tuesday (Operations Manager)
New “Piggy” Project in Western Uganda
Godfrey giving pigs to Kiibanga Community groups
Here is an update on the exciting accomplishments in Western Uganda. Our team there has been faithfully continuing the Paradigm Shift Training (PST) and has started a new “ Piggery Project” this year. TCI provides pigs and training to the Village Community Groups and they endeavor to work together to raise and multiply the pigs. Each group develops its own rules and regulations for caring for the pigs and sharing the pigs.
Godfrey and Pastor Stephen have now implemented this project in five villages. Overall so far, 12 groups from villages of Kiburara, Rwenyawawa, Kanara, Brainstorm and Jerusalem have already received two pigs each and 24 pigs have been given out so far. Here are group members from Kiibanga who have had Paradigm Shift Training. Godfrey tells us that they are "happy and ready for phase two piggery project."
Godfrey himself testifies to the great impact of PST training in his life. " I was someone who was hopeless but through Christ now there's hope. Mama Eda did much in my life through Paradigm Shift Training." He has his own piggery, banana plantation and shop now and says " Through Paradigm Shift Training in our communities, people are seriously changing. They are looking smart not only outwards but also in their mind sets. We thank God for provisions for our donors and our directors to continue to support PST training because we are seeing good results from it!! "
Are you interested in giving a pig in honor of someone this holiday season to bless someone in Uganda with sustainability. You can use this link: https://www.mightycause.com/donate/Transformed-Communities-International
This is the season of hope and we are so honored to be a part of their hope story.
Please watch this beautiful video. It exemplifies the impact you are making in the communities of Uganda through TCI.
THANK YOU - Food Relief Success!
Dear TCI friends,
Two weeks ago we sent out news of our need for A TOTAL of $20,000 to prevent many of our dear friends in Karamoja relapsing into a severe state of malnourishment. Three days later we had the money - in hand or promised! This past week our TCI Team purchased relief food and completed distribution!
"The more I serve these hungry and starving people and see their hopes being restored, the more I know of God" said Isaac a few days ago in Karamoja.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your very quick financial support and your prayers. But this is not the ONLY TIME!! We wouldn't have believed you if you had told us that, during the past year our partnership with ALL of you would be able to accomplish the following:
Deliver ten truckloads of food
Stop starvation-related deaths in 5000 people of this tribe & significantly reduce the number of severely malnourished people
Restore clean water to two villages with broken boreholes
Teach gardening techniques that sustainably provide food using hand-pumped groundwater
Inspire Karamojong men to lead in the gardening effort, despite their deep-seated cultural tradition of men not working
Witness lush, green vegetable gardens sprouting up in three villages
Encourage villagers to construct toilets for the first time ever
Share the hope of Jesus to this traditionally animist, unreached tribe see so many people responding to the hope of Jesus Christ in the midst of such hardship.
We never would have thought that our little organization was up to such an enormous task, especially that we would be able to manage all of this financially. And this is not including all the work that is going on in the schools and villages around Kiburara in Western Uganda. Next week we will send an update on that very active and important work.
BUT God has wrought each of these miracles through YOUR sacrificial donations and prayer. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
With much appreciation and with much joy,
Frank and Sue
Failed Harvest in Karamoja
Dear Friends,
We are SO GRATEFUL to each of you for your generosity towards the beautiful souls in Karamoja, especially after having spent time in June getting to know them, seeing their courageous culture, and witnessing the effects of severe hunger first-hand! Frank and I were just reflecting on all the wonderful accomplishments in this past year.....
BUT THE HARVEST HAS FAILED and we have just received this video and letter from Isaac our team member who is daily with the local communities.
Isaac's Letter to you all:
When you move around Ugandan communities outside Karamoja you can see green vegetation, different foods like cassava, yams, banana plantations etc But in Karamoja you see an open land that is very dry with no thriving plants. Karamoja is an environment where hunger and starvation are the order of the day. We can all be hungry but starvation and death related to acute malnutrition can be prevented. It’s agony to die of starvation. It’s extreme suffering to depend on bitter herbs for survival. It’s difficult to imagine a child losing his or her life because they have lacked what to eat for several days. We can protect the future generations of Karamoja by caring for the little ones.
TCI Donors and Friends, you have saved lives. Helpless children staying with their helpless grandparents in extremely impoverished communities have been kept alive. God has used you in a way that is incredible, especially the journey of keeping the 5000 starving persons alive because of your generous donations that have made a huge difference.
Moroto had many severely acute malnourished children at the verge of death from complications of severe acute malnutrition by 2022. But I can testify that none of them have died in 2023 because you have been there for these voiceless innocent humans.This season is the season where people expected the harvest but drought has destroyed the sorghum and maize so that there is no grain.
Without your help we lose the battle, but with your support we can save lives as we step up the Food always in the home (FAITH) garden and other sustainable livelihood projects.
We applaud you for your continued support of those in dire need for food and nutritional care.
God bless you,Isaac
Appreciation from Karamoja
This video from Isaac is one of the most delightful thank-you videos we have ever received! Our dear friends in Karamoja are calling us the names they gave us when we visited their villages - Nakiru - (bringer of rain) and Apolaquan (father of the great white bull!). We wanted to share it with you because although we are the ones they know, their gratitude and joy is extended to all who made the food relief possible.
Reflections on Karamoja
Back in Kampala we reflected on our time with the marginalized Karamajong people of Moroto. Our hearts ached for them in their suffering but in the midst of it we experienced HOPE RISING in their hearts and ours.
We were welcomed so warmly by five different manyattas (villages) and have learned much about these beautiful people. Their culture and way of life has been completely upended by the cattle raiding, the disarmament, the bloodshed and the drought. The Karamajong are trying to find their way without cattle now. However, in the midst of this life and death situation we are catching glimpses of a MIGHTY COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION! The Karamajong are typically resistant to outside influence but Isaac and Gabriel have found favor and have been sharing Bible stories to communicate principles which are producing a paradigm shift in so many areas.
HOPE HAS REPLACED HOPELESSNESS AND RESIGNATION: Gabriel and Isaac have been tirelessly focused on teaching the people how to use the water from boreholes to grow vegetables to eat and to sell. We initially supplied watering cans and seeds - and now 183 households in three villages have embraced the training and made gardens! They are not just sitting around waiting to die but are working hard to plant and water by hand. It was so wonderful to see such joy and satisfaction on the faces of grandmothers, elders, young women, young men and children as they proudly showed us the results of their gardening efforts!
CULTURAL SHIFT is taking place. Traditionally, men protect the women and children and watch over the cattle, and DO NOT dig or garden. In every village it is men who are leading the gardening efforts and in one, fifteen men have gardens!!! This is a major shift for Karamajong warriors!
SUSTAINABILITY is emerging. Some are selling a portion of their vegetable crop and using the proceeds to buy more seed to replant their vegetables.
RECOVERY FROM MALNUTRITION: We shared the grief of this grandmother who lost most of her grandchildren due to starvation (see below) BUT we rejoiced to see so many children who would have certainly died were it not for the medical evaluations that Isaac and Gilbert had made and the provision of food and Plumpy’Nut.
SANITATION is improving. Ten months ago there were no latrines in any of the manyattas! In Kamera village there are now ten!!! We are hoping for this trend to spread to the other villages and result in better health and hygiene.
INCREASED DEMAND FOR TRAINING IN GARDENING: When we started this we did not know how open people would be to making gardens but 50 gardens were started because one man saw the 90 gardens of a neighboring village and begged for training. By the time Isaac and Gabriel reached his village they had already done all the digging and preparation and were waiting in anticipation! This is SO encouraging.
NEW BOREHOLES: Two of the villages where we have been delivering food do not have functional boreholes so they cannot make gardens. But we were greatly encouraged to discover that it may not cost much to fix the existing boreholes in one village. In the other, we were thrilled to find that a local entrepreneur had saved up for 5 years to drill a borehole there! It should be up and running soon. Gardens may begin shortly!
EAGERNESS TO HEAR ABOUT JESUS: In all the villages, it was an unexpected joy to see eagerness to hear about Jesus and to respond to His love with gratitude and singing. Because they are a story-telling culture, they love listening to Bible stories. The harvest is ripe but the workers are few. Join us in praying for all seeds sown to bring forth fruit!
This is a team effort and none of the above would have been accomplished without the support of so many. At this very moment our team is delivering ground corn and powdered milk for the 8th time to the five villages we visited and having just seen the urgent need, we are SO relieved.
Words can't express our gratitude to those who made this all possible.
On the Ground in Karamoja at last!!!
Dear friends,
We arrived in Karamoja last week days!! Here is a video that we made to give a history of our involvement in Karamoja. Please click on the link below.
Last week we visited Kamera Village. This village is huge and there are about 100 families each enclosed in thorn branch hedges with small, narrow entrances. Some of us nearly didn’t get through!
These are very interesting lovely people and they received us with such a wonderful welcome with much joy and dancing. They were so happy to welcome us inside their compounds and show us all the gardens that they have made under the instruction of Isaac and Gabriel who is a local Karamajong.
Young men are noticeably absent but the elders of the village are overseeing everything. They sit on the small carved stools that they carry around and remain a little distance from the women and children, but still protecting and guarding them. They received us very warmly, and also the message of Pastor Moses testimony. We prayed for many for healing, and Frank said that 60% of the people he prayed for were pointing to their tummy! It was probably empty.
We had thought that the people must be eating quite well because everything looks so green, but they have no mature crops. Every fireplace of every compound was cold with nothing cooking. One lady was drying the leaves of a local weed to eat and another very thin old woman was being fed some blood that they got from the Moroto slaughter house (see the picture below). Traditionally, the Karamajong eat blood and milk like the Maasai. However, in this village, due to all the problems with cattle raiding and the removal of all protective weapons by the government, the people have lost their livestock. They no longer have herds of cows or goats. Agriculture is their only resort.
They need food desperately. Please pray for funds to come in so that we can bring food next week. Please give what you are able. Please share this with anyone who may be interested in keeping this community alive and healthy. Isaac told us that the little girl in the blue dress would not be here today were it not for the food relief and Plumpy'nut.
To donate go to : https://www.tcius.org/donate
The current crops will only be ready in August as long as rain continues. Their gardens are supplying some greens and vegetables, but they have no solid food like corn or sorghum to eat with them. For the past three days we have had rain here - there has been much rejoicing. Please pray for steady rainfall to continue.
They have given us all local names-Sue has been called "Nakiru"- one who brings rain.
Frank is called "Apa lokwan" which means the father of the White one (always meaning the largest big white bull) and
Moses is called "Lochap" which means the one who weeds or removes weeds.
With much appreciation for your partnership,
Frank and Sue - aka Apa lokwan and Nakiru
JOYFUL visit to the schools!
Dear TCI Friends,
There is nothing that compares with the exuberance and joy of Ugandan children dancing and singing!! In spite of their very humble circumstances they have an optimism and joy that is always infectious. We wish you could all experience it!
Visiting four primary schools in the past four days has strengthened our resolve to help these schools give over 500 resilient little ones an education that will help them on their life journey. We are SO VERY GRATEFUL for the generosity of donors that has enabled TCI to:
help the schools open their doors after an 18 month lockdown
help them register with the Dept of Education and register all the students
build a brick two-classroom school block for each of four schools
develop sound financial systems and provide desks
train teachers and help with salaries while the schools get on their feet
carry out health education and disease testing
train them in sustainable gardens and community programs
All these things are setting them up for success and sustainability. Please help us to continue to make a lasting impact in many lives. tcius.org/donate
God bless you,
Frank and Sue