1 Annual Report 2012
Mar 01, 2016
1Annual Report 2012
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“Being an Olympic Gold Medalist, I appreciate and value great coaches. A great coach is someone who believes in you and teaches you truth about how to operate at your very best. My wife and I enjoy supporting Tukutana because this organization has a great coach in their director, Roxanne Robbins. My wife, Shantel, and I have known Roxanne for many years and we know her commitment to coming along-side the beautiful Ugandan people to train, equip, and create sustainable change for the most vulnerable. It is very rewarding to see our offerings have such a tangible impact."Josh Davis, Olympic Gold Medalist, Captain of USA Olympic Swim Team (2000 Sydney Games), Former World Record Holder
Roxanne Robbins, Founder, Director
Roger Morton, Finance Director
Sunday Morris, Operations Manager
Agenorwot Medina, Program Manager
Mbabu Felistus, Production Professional
Kyalimpa Harriet, Production Professional
Nsamba Fred, Security Guard
Liz and Ben Bohanon (USA, Uganda)Sseko Designs, Co-Founders and OwnersJosh Davis (USA) Olympian, Gold MedalistTim Kruetter (Uganda)Cornerstone Development, DirectorSean Martin (USA) Golfweek Magazine, Senior WriterDavid McGaw (USA) Embarcadero Partners, Director of StrategyDr. Helena Nam MB Bch (UK) MRCP FRCR (London, Uganda)Consultant Clinical OncologistInternational Hospital Kampala
Our Team Board of Advisors
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Tukutana is a U.S. 501(c)3 project of Visions Made Viable, and Uganda affiliate of Cornerstone Development.
www.tukutana.org
Our MissionTo provide essential resources and holistic development opportunities for East Africa’s orphans and vulnerable children, and the people and communities that care for them.
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“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”Matthew 25:40
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Romans 12:9-16 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring one another. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to
practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Deuteronomy 10:19 Show love to foreigners.
I Corinthians 3:5 Complete the work the Lord gives to us.
Tukutana’sBiblical Impetus
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Letter from Roxanne Robbins, Director
PHOTO: Josephine Ssebambulidewith a handful of the thousands of East African orphans she has helped provide beds for.
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Dear Friends,
As I reflect on 2012, I find myself thinking of Josephine Ssebambulide (pictured above), the beautiful Ugandan woman who inspired me to launch Tukutana. When I first met Josephine, I thought all was right in her world. She had a loving husband, two beautiful children, an education, a good job with Molly and Paul Orphan School, and a permanent smile on her face. Eager to better serve the children at the school where she taught, Josephine attended a series of child development and FirstAID trainings I facilitated through Samaritan’s Purse. I marveled at Josephine’s enthusiastic participation in the course and her desire to help people in her native country. In addition to the seminars, I organized a KidsGames for 1,600 orphans and vulnerable children.The event brought children together from orphan homes, slums and community projects throughout Kampala to learn Biblical principles andvaluable life skills while having fun and making new friends.
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Part of the KidsGames’ curriculum included a compassion project that entailed all 1,600 boys and girls contributing to their community through a service project. On that day, my Samaritan’s Purse driver, Sam, took me all over Kampala to take pictures of the 1,600 kids serving their neighbors. When we arrived at Molly and Paul School, I found Josephine standing knee-deep in sewage. She was humbly shoveling filth to lead by example and serve the community. The next week, I told my Ugandan colleague, Rihanne, how moved I was by Josephine’s humility and servant’s heart. Rihanne replied, “Josephine always smiles but she’s really struggling. Because of a small dorm fire (no one was hurt), the government closed the school where Josephine’s been teaching. She now has no income.” Josephine didn’t want her children to know she was unemployed so daily she left home, at the time she would normally go to work, sat on an abandoned school bus and prayed. She came, unpaid, to every training I hosted and even waded through muck to serve others while she patiently waited on God to meet her needs and the needs of her family. Knowing that Josephine did not want a handout, I offered to come alongside her by giving her work. I took a small amount of personal funds, hired tailors to make handbags and other items from African fabrics, and found a market where Josephine could sell them. Through a small investment, I was able to provide tailors and Josephine with urgently needed income. I discovered firsthand the value of social enterprise, and went
on to launch Tukutana to help more ladies like Josephine. The resulting story for Tuktuana continues to unfold, with the past year recapped on the following pages. (Please take time to browse). But for now, back to Josephine. Shortly after I designed a job for Josephine, I received a call from Jennifer Gash, the founder of a Nashville-based ministry called Sweet Sleep. Jenn asked if I knew anyone that could work part-time to help Sweet Sleep bring beds to orphaned children in Uganda. After witnessing Josephine’s heart, work ethic, integrity, and attention to detail, I highly recommended her to Jenn. Josephine started with Sweet Sleep as a contractor and did such remarkable work the ministry hired her full time. Today, Josephine is Sweet Sleep’s Uganda Country Director! She’s helped and continues to help thousands of orphaned children receive beds and linens while earning
a solid income to provide for her own family. When Josephine finds me to tell me the latest ways God’s provided for her, she always drops to her knees, grasps my hands and - with tears streaming down her face - says, “Auntie, guess what God’s done this time?” I especially loved hearing Josephine announce that Sweet Sleep was bringing her to the United States to share about their ministry at colleges and churches. Josephine stayed with host families in Nashville that smothered her with love -- and she even got to visit New York City! Thank you, friends of Tukutana, for helping our organization serve ladies like Josephine. Whether it’s bringing women into our fold or helping them find ideal work with other programs, it’s a joy to invest in their lives. Thank you for being part of our work in East Africa!
Gratefully, Roxanne
TUKUTANA ANNUAL REPORT 2012
P H O T O : J o s e p h i n e p a c k a g i n g T u k u t a n a merchandise for shipment to the United States.
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Situated on the shores of Lake
Victoria (Africa’s largest lake), Munyono is home to the wealthy and the poor.
Tukutana has the privilege of investing in the lives of the poorest people in the community. The men, women and children we serve have no running water or electricity in their homes. The parents, in many cases, can’t afford to send their children to school. Often, they struggle to even feed their families one meal per day.
Yet, despite their poverty, the people in our neighborhood radiate joy and eagerness to learn and work.
Over the past three years, Tukutana has welcomed Emirates Airlines’ crew members from 81 countries, and hosted families
from the United States for up to six weeks at a time. In every case, our visitors have fallen deeply in l ov e w i t h o u r M u n yo n yo neighbors (and vice versa).
As we do for our own children, the Tukutana team looks for every opportunity to help enrich the lives of the youth in our Munyonyo program. We provide the boys and girls with mentors, tutors, sports clubs, music and art classes, field trips, discipleship, camps and “Skype Talk” sessions.
We are eager to see the kids develop holistically and embrace their God-given talents.
Tukutana believes in the v a l u e o f s t r e n g t h e n i n g communities and equipping parents to better provide for their families. While in Mbale, Uganda, we’re supporting the community through the provision of clean
water sources and sanitation and hygiene trainings, in Munyono we’re providing parenting and financial courses along with social enterprise opportunities.
Tukutana’s staff remains small (two Americans and five Ugandans) but we’re able to multiply our efforts thanks to r e m a rk a b l e a n d g e n e ro u s volunteers and our partnership with Cornerstone Development.
The Tukutana Kids are dynamos, and we’re excited to be part of their lives.
Thanks for joining with us to help Munyonyo parents and c h i l d r e n h a v e a c c e s s t o opportunities and resources that they are truly making the most of !
MUNYONYO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS (Top Left - C l o c k w i s e ) : 1 . Tukutana intern, Olivia, surveying mothers in Munyonyo to learn their backgrounds and interest in attending parenting and small-business trainings. 2. Thank you “Young Life U g a n d a ” f o r w e l c o m i n g t h e Tukutana Kids to your 2012 Summer Camp i n K a m p a l a . 3 . W o m e n f r o m t h e Munyonyo community show their completed project at a Tukutana parenting course. 4. Playing “dress up” with scrap material f r o m Tu k u t a n a ’s “ S o w i n g C h a n g e ” program.
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Skype TalkTukutana launched “Skype Talk” to connect the children in our Munyonyo Community Development Program with experts in a variety of fields.
For each Skype Talk session, the children come prepared with a list of thoughtful questions.
They’ve learned about serving the Lord from ministry leaders; hard work and discipline from professional athletes; integrity and the value of education from lawyers and judges; and world events f r o m Wa s h i n g t o n , D C , p o l i c y makers.
The boys and girls even had the opportunity to speak with a state Supreme Court Justice, and with a Hollywood film producer about the makings of one of their favorite films.
Skype Talk is one of many ways Tukutana is providing children with resources to enrich their education and set goals for their future.
PHOTOS: 1. Weekly art classes led by Silver, a former street kid. 2. Emirates Airlines’ crew members continue to visit Tukutana on a regular basis and spend time tutoring our kids. In the past two years, our chi ldren have hosted Emirates guests from 81 countries! 3. Face painting! 4. Daily South Sudan vs. Uganda soccer games at the Tukutana Community Center. 5. Impressive tigers drawn at a recent Tukutana Art Class.
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Photos [Top L - Clockwise]: 1. The List Family, from Arlington, VA, spent five weeks volunteering with Tukutana. An average of 75 children attended daily Vacation Bible School (VBS) led by the Lists. 2. Kristin List teaching the students in her VBS class. 3. At the close of VBS, the Tukutana Kids enjoyed a fabulous slide show produced by Maddie List. 4. Parachute fun at VBS. 5 & 6. The List Family and Tukutana staff challenged the Munyonyo neighborhood kids to a soccer game.
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T E A M
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The Tukutana kids know many people around the world love them and pray for them. In return, they like to pray for others. They formed “Team Gregory” to support their friend Gregory, in Birmingham, AL, as he bravely battles leukemia.
The Tukutana Kids praying from Uganda for their friend, G r e g o r y, i n B i rmingham, Alabama.
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For the second consecutive year,
Tukutana enrolled 26 children
from our Munyonyo Community Project in the Uganda Junior Golf
Program in Kampala. By learning a sport that
emphasizes discipline, integrity,
punctuality, and focus, our boys and girls are thriving on and off
the course One of Tukutana’s top
golfers, for example, 15-year-old
Irene Ziribagwa, wanted to launch writing and acting clubs at
her school but refrained after her
a m b i t i o n s we re m e t w i t h
resistance.
Following this past golf term however Irene came home from
school wearing an engraved badge with the title, “Acting Club
President.” When Tukutana
Director Roxanne Robbins asked Irene how she overcame the
negative feedback she’d received early on, Irene replied, “Before
when people told me I wasn’t
capable of doing something I believed them. But now that I
play golf, I have confidence!”
(There are a l ready 29
students in the writing club and
43 in the acting club. Well done, Irene!)
Thank you, friends, for investing in this valuable program
for Ugandan children!
TUKUTANA KIDS’ GOLF
PHOTOS (Top Left - C l o c k w i s e ) : 1 . “Auntie Rox” on the course with the kids. 2 . M a n y p a r e n t s (wearing red Tukutana shirts) and siblings came to support their children as competed i n a y o u t h g o l f tournament 3. There are currently 26 boys a n d g i r l s o n t h e Tukutana Kids’ Golf Team 4. Our golfers h a v e m a n y f a n s , including Byron List of Arlington, VA.
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Developing Life SkillsOn the Greens
CLICK TO HEAR TUKUTANA DIRECTOR ROXANNE ROBBINS INTERVIEWED ON ESPN GOLF TALK RADIO [scroll to Feb. 2, 2013 podcast]
u.s. open
Martin’s gallery has global reach. The UO golf coach has fans in Uganda, where he sponsors kids who want to golf.
By Adam JudeThe Register-‐Guard
APPEARED IN PRINT: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012, PAGE C4
SAN FRANCISCO — Tiger Woods may be the favorite to win the U.S. Open, but to a group of kids in Uganda, there’s no question who their favorite golfer is.To them, ‘Uncle Casey’ is bigger than Tiger Woods,” said Roxanne Robbins, the founder of a Christian-‐based nonproYit organization that supports orphans and impoverished families in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.Casey Martin, the Oregon golf coach who qualiYied for this week’s U.S. Open, had met Robbins through mutual friends in 2001. They’ve stayed in touch, and Robbins included Martin on a mass e-‐mail list when she moved to Uganda Yive years ago to start the program, called Tukutana.Recently, Martin sponsored 26 Tukutana children to go to the seven-‐week Uganda Junior Golf Program, which before was open only to high-‐income families. Martin’s sponsorship helped pay for the children’s uniforms, equipment and transportation to the golf course a half-‐hour away.“It’s was really phenomenal for these kids, because it gave them such a sense of conYidence (when) they were able to step somewhere they never thought they would step,” Robbins said. “It’s a tremendous program because of Casey.”Robbins and the children, ranging in age from 8 to 15, have Skyped with Martin several times, and the kids recently sent him a package with pictures and thank-‐you letters.“She’s sent me pictures of all the kids playing golf in their uniforms, and it’s just awesome,” Martin said.
Photo: Tukutana Kids (wearing light blue tops and red hats) prepare to tee of against children from Uganda and India.
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“Golf is known as a wealthy man's game, but it has proven to be a great way to enrich the lives of the children of Tukutana. Golf has given me so much -- I have built a career and strong relationships through it -- that I want to use it to help others in the same way it has helped me. Golf can help the children of Tukutana expand their horizons, meet new people and have fun. I want to support that mission.”
Sean Martin, Golf Week Magazine
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MBALE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
PHOTOS (Top Left - Clockwise): 1. This young girl was missing school to walk three miles, each way, to collect water for her family. 2. Ntungamo women had to wait for livestock to have their turn before they could scoop water into Jerry Cans for their famil ies. We were thankful to help remedy that situation. 3. Tukutana Program M a n a g e r S u n d a y Morris and church l e a d e r s i g n M e m o r a n d u m o f Understanding (MOU) stating Tukutana’s and the local church’s responsib i l i t ies for b u i l d i n g a n d maintaining the wells. 4. Tukutana Project M a n a g e r S u n d a y Morris and church l e a d e r s s u r v e y i e x i s t i n g w a t e r sources in Ntungamo, a village in Mbale, Uganda.
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working together ... with hopeto bring clean water to Mbaleby Roxanne Robbins
As the devastating storm, Sandy, encroached on North America my Tukutana team and I were working in a parched region in East Africa. Respectively, I found myself praying for water to recede in one part of the world and to manifest itself in another. Where my colleagues and I stood in Kachonga, Uganda (in the Mbale District, five hours north of my home in Munyoyno), the people go 365 days a year without indoor p lumbing or e l ec t r i c i t y. Women and children walk miles to collect water - from shallow springs and muddy
streams often shared with livestock - that they carry home and boil over a primitive fire for drinking, cooking and bathing. This year, in partnership with WestGate Church (San Jose, CA) we were able to work through Ugandan churches to construct three wells in Mbale. The boreholes are effectively providing clean water for more than 2,500 villagers in Ntungomo and Kachonga , and for 700 parentless children at the
Impact Child Care Orphan Home. In addition to WestGate Church, Tukutana thanks Living Water International for training our staff to oversee construction, mobilize church leaders and communities, and provide financial, hygiene and sanitation education for the people we’re serving. By “working together ... with hope” we are helping chi ldren s tay in school , preventing disease, bringing communities together and rejoicing in God’s provision for our friends in Mbale.
Throngs of children (allowed to slip out of classes for the occasion) and more than 300 villagers gathered in the hot sun to watch the drilling process. There was much rejoicing when the rig hit water several hours later!
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This water source is owned by Impact Child Care Orphan Home
We will “Work Together … with Hope” to:
Maintain and repair this water source entrusted to us.
Keep this area clean.
Keep animals away from this area.
Serve our community.
Glorify the Lord.
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John 4:14
Psalm 115:1
PHOTOS (Top Left - C l o c k w i s e ) : 1 . Preparing Tukutana p r o d u c t s f o r s h i p m e m e n t . 2 . Tukutana trunk sale a Pink in New York 4. Volunteers, Bethany and Chandler, help package Tukutana merchandise. 5.
SOWING CHANGE
Tukutana’s “Sowing Change” program helped a growing number of women earn income for their families this year. In addition to our handbags, made from African fabrics, we added recycled paper-bead clutch purses and jewelry to our inventory.
The bead clutches are made by three sisters living in a rural
Uganda village. The girls have no running water, no electricity and no fashion magazines but they managed to design lovely clutches that have proven popular in market testing in the U.S.
Our ladies’ products are currently available at Uganda’s leading gift shop, Banana Boat, and in a handful of stores in
Uganda the United States. We will soon launch a Tukutana online marketplace. So please stay tuned!
Thank you friends and retailers for supporting Tukutana through your purchases!
Equipping Women Strengthening CommunitiesThrough Social Enterprise
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TUKUTANA PROGRAMS 2012
Wasswa Robbins with Maria Cisneros, Owner of Ecologie, an eco-forward lifestyle boutique in Larchmont, NY, that carries Tukutana products AND Sseko sandals.Sseko’s founders, Liz and Ben Bohanan, are on Tukutana’s advisory board. Tukutana is privileged to learn from a company with a sound business model that’s radically empowering women in East Africa. Learn more: www.ssekodesigns.com
T h e S w a h i l i w o r d kipaji means ...
1 ability, talent2 gift, present3 donation
The Tukutana Kipaji Project brings this word to life by teaching impoverished women a talent - to sew - and then arranging for them to give a portion of what they make away to people in need.
Our friends with Emirates Airlines join with us to give by bringing bags of donations -- from around the world -- for Tukutana and leaving them with the general manager of the Munyonyo Commonwea l th
Resort where the crew stays. Tukutana collects the donations and distributes them to orphan h o m e s , c o m m u n i t y - b a s e d projects, hospitals, villages and schools across Uganda.
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The beneficiary projects
that received supplies and resources from Tukutana in 2012 included:
The African Children’s Choir, Dwelling Places, Serving His Children, Molly and Paul Or phan Schoo l s , Retrak , Cornerstone Development, African Renewal Ministries,
Agape Ministries, Cherish Uganda, Fr iends Or phan School, Mulago Cancer Ward, Inter nat ional Hospi ta l o f Kampala, Another Hope, God’s Purpose Orphanage, Loving Hearts Babies’ Home, Savior’s Orphan Home, Africa Greater Life Mission, Living Hope O r p h a n s ’ S c h o o l , G o d ’s Purpose Orphanage, COBAP, Naki toma and Munyonyo Community Projects, Refuge and Hope, Rise and Shine Nursery School, Nakitome Primary School, and Frontline Ministries.
PHOTOS: Tukutana is honored to support R i s e a n d S h i n e N u r s e r y S c h o o l . whose 350 students meet inside a mud-walled, thatched-roof b u i l d i n g w i t h n o electricity or running w a t e r. W e e n j o y regular visits to Rise and Sh i ne ’s r u r a l village where we help tutor chi ldren and provide them with much-needed pencils, papers and books.
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Cultivate a Talent, Share it with Others
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Dear Roxanne and Tukutana,
Thanks so much for the wipes and formula, we really needed them. Israel (the awake kid) was born to a former street girl who was rehabilitated and on a visit home was raped- Israel is the only good thing that came from thatevent. His mum is now 16 and is back in school and so happy. She visits him on the weekends.
Shaban (the sleeping one) lost his mum last month. He is now a total orphan but has young relatives who love him very much. We will settle them together once they finish school.
Daily at Dwelling Places we see stories of fear and desperation turn into stories of hope and inspiration - thanks for being part of that!
Until every child has a chest to rest his head on,
Kristen Fry, Dwelling Places Advocacy & Networking
Beneficiary Project:Dwelling Places
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“Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.” Psalm 69:32
Critically acclaimed singer/
songwriter Randall Goodgame
composed Slugs & Bugs to bring music to kids that is both
ridiculously silly and deeply meaningful.
In 2012, Tukutana had the
privilege of hosting Uncle Randy (as our kids call him) and
“Slugs & Bugs Live” in Uganda!Boys and girls in schools,
slums and community programs throughout Kampala were delighted to sing along with “Uncle Randy” and use lyrics he taught them to memorize the
books of the Old Testament and sound Biblical truths. Our Tukutana Kids even had the opportunity to record a song with Uncle Randy. They look forward to sharing it with you soon! The Slugs & Bugs "Under Where?" Tour is currently traversing the United States, with new songs, new videos, and new ways to have a great time. Randall Goodgame is h e l p i n g u s m a k e a difference in East Africa by giving proceeds from Slugs & Bugs concerts - booked through Tukutana - to our ministry.
If you’d like to bring Slugs & Bugs to your church, school or event, please send us a note: [email protected]
Thank you, and thanks Uncle Randy for pouring into our kids’ lives.
[Randall Goodgame has released six solo recordings, and has written many songs for other artists, including VeggieTales, Jason Gray, and 17 songs fo r t h e aw a rd w i n n i n g b a n d Caedmon's Call. When he's not on the road, Randall lives in Nashville TN with his wife, 3 kids and a schnoodle.]
ARTIST PARTNER
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Slugs & Bugs In Uganda!
PHOTOS: Slugs & Bugs’ R a n d a l l G o o d g a m e recording “That’s the Old Testament” w i th the Tukutana Kids!
S U P P O R T T U K U T A N A ’s m i n i s t r y i n U g a n d a b y booking a Slugs & Bugs Concert. To l ea r n how, email:[email protected]
TUKUTANA PROGRAMS 2012
www.tukutana.org(c) 2012 Tukutana
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!