ACT Uganda Blog

  ACT Uganda has a new Board of Directors to lead the organization. They are pictured her outside the entrance gate to the ACT Resource Center in Muko Marketplace. The ACT Uganda is Generous Turinawe, third from the left. The Board members serving are: Mr. Moses Bahatiyamungu, Mayor Norman Tushabe, Mr. Victor Kyatuka, Mr. Patrick Abeneimwe, Ms. Charity Mahoro, Ms. Charity Allen. These great, community leaders will take ACT forward in 2022 and beyond.  The new ACT Uganda Board  During their first meeting, they evaluated the meeting and here are some of their comments.  The level of technology is good and should be embraced. Good to know each other and what our roles will be. We were given guiding tools to be Board Members. We had good discussions regarding serving the community. We are blessed to have members who are government officials, religious leaders and lay persons. We have members with joyful hearts all willing to take on the mantel. I was very impressed by th...

 I am Onesmas Arinda, the ACT HANDS Manager! HANDS is an acronym for Helping Agricultural New Development and Sustainability. The HANDS program has achieved and reached to various farmers from Muko Sub County. Food and Nutrition have been the main topics of discussion whenever farmers are met. HANDS has employed various measures to improve on the nutritional levels of farmers in Muko such as distribution of iron rich bean seeds for planting, distribution of orange fleshed sweet potato vines for vitamin A. We are also training various farmers on the perma-gardening techniques where farmers organically create gardens that produce vegetables throughout the year for home consumption. Onesmas in blue shirt talking with farmers Pamella with farmers Women tending their gardens Farmers have been encouraged to always return a small portion of their harvested iron rich bean seeds so that other farmers can benefit from this program. The ACT HANDS Manager, the Field Extension Officer and the C...

My families' first involvement with ACT was as a sponsor for an orphan through the MukoHOPE Program. In those early days, our family did little more than submit our support dollars for our sponsored child, send periodic letters to him and an occasional gift.                           Dave with Andrew     Dave visiting Andrew and his guardian grandfather at his grandfather's home.   As time progressed, I became more curious about what life was like in Muko Sub-County, Uganda. Listening to ACT travel team reports presented on Sunday mornings at church, I started to have a lot of questions. Questions like, if Muko is on the shores of a huge lake, why do the people not have access to a plentiful supply of water and fish? Why, in a tropical region, is it challenging to grow adequate food? Asking many many questions after one such presentation, it was suggested that I consider traveling to Muko with an ACT Travel ...

 "Music is the language of the spirit, it opens the secret of life, bringing peace, abolishing strife." Kahlil Gibran In the heart of Muko Sub County, Uganda, there lies a beautiful family, loving one another mutually with an unshaken bond, a bond with which, when one from afar would behold, (s)he would affirm one spirit, one love, love that would make angels clap. As a stranger when you sat before this family, you must be attracted to comfort and to share lovely musical moments. MUSIC (Muko Stringed Instruments for Children) has been the major unifying agent if we were to best describe the ACT Orchestra. From far apart, miles away, cultural differences at some degree, but strings have broken barriers, strings have strengthened the souls of these young musicians. Music has become the breath of fresh air to Muko Community. Meet these young souls in a performance and your mind is blown away even before bows ride strings to produce music, smiles and joy, unity and cooperation s...

I am Prudance Kengyeyo, ACT Staff Assistant/Uniquely Uganda Handcraft Manager. I am talking about the ACT artisan basket weavers who had spent more than three years without meeting as a group and have their normal weaving work due to the world-wide spread of COVID-19. Hear comes a day when they had to meet to dye raffia in different colours so as to produce colourful basket designs that would compete in the world market. That very day, they were cooperative and very happy to resume their artisan work and hoped to get, at least some income that would help them provide for the necessities in their lives.   The women are boiling the raffia with various plants and herbs to make the natural colors. Notice all the various colours they are holding! And, see Prudance squatting in front in the gray jacket with the beautiful smile! She is next to Lovinah, the ACT Basket Leader who does not have normal use of her legs. She is an amazing weaver and teacher to the other women. Lovinah not ...

 ACT started in 2003 with the letter from Richard Turinawe to me. ACT is nearly 20 years strong! As the years pass by, not only does the organization age, but so do all it's constituents. I remember when I first "met" Richard and Generous over email, they had one new baby - Jesse. Now Jesse is nearly as old as ACT and they have 3 more wonderful kids: Jorryn (our God daughter), Josiah and Joash.   As we look into the future, much as we don't want to admit it, we are all growing older - especially those of us involved on the US side! Our board, with the exception of one younger professional are mostly retired. I acknowledge the trips to Uganda at one time were less taxing on me than they are now. We know we won't always be around and are seriously planning how to address that - more younger folks involved in the US... having the Ugandan partners take on more of what we do... setting up social businesses in Muko whose revenue will not only pay wages but sustain ACT...

It has been since September 2019 since we sent a travel team from the U.S. to Uganda due to COVID. We have made 2 arrangements for trips since then, purchased the airline tickets and had to cancel at the last minute. This August, we hope to "turn the tide!"  August 21st through September 10th we will travel to Muko to work alongside our partners in ACT. There will be a team of 6 of us going: Dave Viele, Karen Viele, Dick Dolinski, Diana Stubig, Barbara Disko and Sue Waechter. We will have a very busy agenda, per usual, including things like:  1. meeting the new Bishop  of Kigezi, Rev. Gaddie Akanjuna, with whom we partner to manage Muko High School, pictured here with Muko High School Head Teacher, Rev Philip  Ntwirenabo.  2. meetings with our health promotion program staff who are working to transform our work into dramas about public health issues and begin to address ways to identify and respond to mental health issues in Muko, 3. see all the incredible physi...