Since September 2014, Redemption Song Foundation has had its office, staff housing and community center for the Batwa in a lovely one-story house in Buhoma, a few kilometers from the main entrance to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park — the ancestral forest homeland of the Batwa people — and just down the hill from Kalehe village, where the Batwa we work with live.
The house has a beautiful large yard, with banana, plantain, avocado, and mango trees, and a pineapple plantation. Alas, the owner recently sold the house and sadly, he also passed away last month. As a result, RSF has found itself suddenly without a home for the future.
The RSF House has provided a safe place for the Kalehe Batwa kids to play soccer (“football” in Uganda) and Frisbee, to do cartwheels in the yard, and to come inside to watch movies, color and play with toys and read books.
Every week, the RSF house welcomes all the Kalehe Batwa kids to our Educational Soup Kitchen — feeding them a protein-rich meal, removing parasitic jiggers from their feet, cleaning them up, providing needed medicine, and supplementing their regular schooling — from the ABCs to hygiene, health, and sports skills.
The kids often sing the ABC song at the top of their lungs (and you can hear them all singing it throughout their village too), dance with abandon to music, or watch an English-language cartoon or movie, learn to use Android tablets, or write to their sponsors.
RSF needs to move into a new house by December 1st. We have found a new house at the same cost – a reduced cost for a nonprofit by a trustworthy landlord.
Things around Uganda can always fall through at any moment, so your prayers for a smooth transition are greatly appreciated!
Do you own a business? Would you consider sponsoring the new RSF house – which will be home to the new Hope Stone Academy for Batwa?
RSF accepts online donations via Paypal. There is a link at our website’s donate page: Donate Now. (NOTE: you do NOT need a Paypal account to make a one-time donation through Paypal. Just click “donate as guest” on the Paypal page that comes up.
If you want to set up a recurring donation, you will need a Paypal account. When you support RSF, you’re helping us spread hope by creating healthy communities and sustainable ecosystems in Uganda!