It's hard to believe it has been a decade since I moved to Uganda and started Redemption Song Foundation with two Ugandan friends, one of whom still serves on our board of directors, Ben Ssenkeera. We have accomplished so much, as this retrospective overview of our major projects over the last ten years shows!
When I first encountered the Batwa children of Kalehe village, some were malnourished, had ballooning bellies, and dirt was caked onto their fingers. Some children hid in the bushes, peering out to see the "muzungu" (white person) walking through the village. Others stood quietly by their simple mud huts, peering but not waving and excited as I'd seen children in other countries do when I did reporting trips. Shy, untrusting, or told to keep to themselves, I don't know. Living conditions were appalling. Some lived in thatched teepee structures that were only meant to be temporary dwellings when they lived in the forest. There were no toilets, even pit toilets, so they practiced open defecation. Feces washed into the river that meandered through the lowlands directly below their hillside community. They gathered water from and bathed in that river.
Our Proudest Accomplishments in Sustainable Development with the Batwa People
➼ Perhaps most important of all, we have created a trusting bond and mutual respect between the Kalehe Village Batwa and Redemption Song Foundation.
We have become family. I'd say this even if I (RSF's Director Wendee Nicole) had not adopted one of their own, a girl who had lost her parents at a young age. Because of her, the Kalehe Batwa are my literal family, as well. That creates an even deeper bond both ways.
Joyce has volunteered with RSF in varying capacities for more than 6 years and completed several RSF internships focusing on different areas, such as eCommerce, social media, and education. Throughout this time, she has lent her insight and wisdom to me as the Director and to her people, who look up to her. She will be an incredible leader and inspiration for not only her family and village, but for all Batwa.
Her award-winning 100-word essay was published in the New York Times, and she has been featured on news like this incredible story on NBC-San Diego TV News. I am grateful that over the past 8 years, I have been able to bring her back and forth many times so she stays in close connection with her people, her country, and her culture. She is currently studying at Stanford University.
➼ We built and maintained an effective Clean Water System for the village. Before this, the Kalehe Batwa drank polluted river water, ripe with E. coli, amoebas, and other pathogens that cause numerous ailments. The pathogens can cause diarrheal disease, which can kill children and immune-compromised individuals. Providing clean water was an act of environmental justice because the water comes from a freshwater spring within Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a couple of kilometers away, and this ancestral land was stolen from them in 1991. The spring from which the Batwa people had always accessed fresh, clean water was being directed to the community where the majority-population Bakiga tribe lived, and the Batwa, who live in their own community, could not access it. RSF paid to connect the system to Kalehe Batwa village.
The water system breaks occasionally and has been sabotaged by people cutting the pipes both on purpose and on accident while farming. We have paid to have it fixed as soon as possible every time there's any need.
➼ We built 4 beautiful brick houses (superseding the 7 mud-and-wattle ones we initially constructed, mostly for single mothers). The families are so proud to live in these sturdy, beautiful homes! When they move in, we also provide a wooden bed frame and mattress for the parents, curtains inside, and some shelving.
➼ We installed and maintained solar power on all homes, whether brick or mud. We have also donated to community solar projects including Buhoma's Anglican Church, and some other community members who are current or former staff of RSF.
➼ Reforestation and Climate Change. We have planted thousands of native and fruit trees (avocado, guava, passionfruit, jackfruit, mango and more) in Kalehe Batwa Village, and are continuing until we reach 10,000 Trees. The Batwa live in settlements at the edge of their former homeland in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an incredibly dense, beautiful tropical rainforest. Although the Batwa continue their fight for LandBack (returning rights and ownership to the rightful owners), and they cannot currently access their rainforest to harvest honey, medicinal plants, or to hunt as they did traditionally, we can reforest the hillsides where they live. This is creating a beautiful environment, mitigating a warming climate by sequestering carbon, and providing fruits to reduce food insecurity for years to come. We have also planted trees alongside Munyaga River to stabilize the banks and prevent erosion.
Little Ones planting tree seedlings
➼ We are growing a “Sustainable Food Forest” in Kalehe Batwa village that surrounds each homestead. These food forests are designed to provide a cornucopia of food, with extra providing income. These livelihood projects will give and give for generations.
➼ We planted more than 500 shade-grown coffee arabica bushes. We are working with coffee farms who can pay higher rates for this quality, organic coffee and potentially export it as single-origin shade-grown coffee.
Though we worked on agriculture a little bit in our early years, this project started in earnest during the pandemic. The goal of the food forest is to ensure food security and income sources for the long term. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we also not only provided direct food relief to the Batwa but we also donated funds to the local Kanungu District government through official channels.
➼ We started and maintained Animal Husbandry projects using Goat and Rabbits. RSF employs a "pass on the gift" model which we adopted from the Jane Goodall Institute (also practiced by Heifer International), whereby the first offspring from the animals provided get passed to the next recipient. RSF pays to build goat pens and rabbit hutches to recipient families, who then graze and feed the animals.
➼ We built and maintained a Sturdy Bridge across River Munyaga to access the village (provides safety). Our very first project, we have had to upgrade this several times throughout the years because the wood rots. This is a tropical rainforest region, after all. But our most recent iteration included concrete bases on either side of the river to increase its longevity. The Batwa help during every construction project. Sometimes they are paid, and other times we feed them. In every project, they are working for their own or their community members benefit, so it is beneficial for them to help. However, where funds allow, we do provide payment for construction.
Our Education Projects have improved the life of every child within the village
➼ We have supported more than 30 children in the best primary and secondary schools, with only one child dropping from school (our low dropout rates are unheard of within Batwa communities!) We believe tat's because our model works. Some families have moved to other villages but we have continued to support those same children to provide consistency in mentoring and support.
Our Child Sponsorship program includes student engagement with sponsors based in the US and Canada, who write back & forth. Pen pals! Full sponsorship costs $45/mo and half-sponsorship costs $25/mo. These funds cover school tuition, school supplies, transportation, uniforms, shoes, and helps cover costs of staff and administration of the program. Sign up here by setting up a recurring donation and we will match you with the child most in need.
➼ Our unique Educational Soup Kitchen actively engages children with programs about hygiene, health, decision-making and personal choices, faith, study habits, and much more. We hold it weekly when school's in session and twice weekly when school is on breaks. Older children help out by serving, cleaning up, and more.
➼ We chaperoned several field trips to Queen Elizabeth National Park, capital city Kampala, and to visit Secondary (High) Schools.
➼ We created and managed Student Internships for older Batwa kids, who tutor younger students, assist in set up and clean up at our Educational Soup Kitchen nights, and chaperone field trips. We also have had several US-based interns, including high school and college students, who have helped with everything from maintaining our social media and writing blogs to setting up our eCommerce store, selling baskets at fairs, and sending year-end thank you letters, among other projects.
➼ We created the Batwa Children's Dance Troupe, which has performed at a fundraising concert with Pinky, a Ugandan musician, at the Bwindi Cultural Centre, and at the Bwindi Community Hospital during a talk given by Director Wendee Nicole to the community.
➼ For two years, we ran Hope Stone Academy, a preschool and nursery school that helped our younger Batwa kids gain confidence in speaking and learn how to excel in primary school. See more videos at our Youtube channel!
Batwa Baskets! Fair Trade Artisan Coop
➼ We've paid millions of shillings to Batwa and Bakiga artisans for handmade baskets, hand-carved gorillas, African fabric cloth goods in a direct-trade process.
➼ We sold these beautiful, unique products in the United States on RSF's Online Fair Trade Shop, at Farmers Markets and Holiday Fairs, in stores, and in people's homes via Basket Parties. Proceeds go back to RSF projects.
Jobs and Mentoring for Local Bakiga and Batwa
➼ RSF has provided training and jobs to numerous adult Batwa adult and Bakiga staff over the years. Staff have been trained in computer technology, including Google docs and sheets, accountability systems, financial management and budgeting, project planning, and more.
➼ Secondary and primary 7 (P7) students are given internships where they gain valuable work-training experience. They are required to tutor younger students, reading to them, helping them complete holiday homework, and helping them write their sponsors. They assist with Educational Soup Kitchen activities, setting up, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards. They are trained in use of computers and cell phone technology, learning how to use Google docs, writing task reports, and more.
➼ RSF has supported the local Buhoma Village, Kanungu District economy through our economic input over a decade, including construction projects, buying supplies and groceries, and employing locals.
Bought Land and a RAV4 Vehicle
➼ Last year, RSF purchased a parcel of land that was partly developed (septic, some electrical wiring, and a cottage). The cottage is available for rent, with funds going to RSF.
➼ Restored and upgraded the cottage with interior and exterior paint, a double-sink, varnished and repaired the deck and wood floor, furnished the cottage, and installed a hot water heater.
➼ Our new (to us) RAV4 vehicle is used as our "school bus" to take kids to and from school, and to take staff in town to buy supplies when needed, or other activities.
We have done so much but there's so much more to do. We have some incredibly exciting new ideas that will help these students as they become young adults, as they start to become leaders and start their own families. Stay tuned to our blog and sign up for our newsletter on our pop-up or on the home page! In the coming weeks, I'll share stories from the past and exciting projects for our future.
Wonderful and very impressive. Congrats.
Couldn't have done this without the kindness and humanity in you, thank you for touching lives we shall keep sharing your message of hope to well wishers who share the same ideology ❤
Thank you, thank you and thank you always.
I have seen all this happen and so far, RSF has done the best in transforming the lives of these Batwa families and individuals.
You’ve done an incredible work to transform the lives of kalehe people (batwa) into better ones!
May God continue to bless the work of your hands🙏
Great work!