Tusonge children escort board member Becky Berg and Fredrick Otukuro, Tusonge’s Africa Director, on a tour of their boarding school.
Boca Raton, FL – Orphans and poverty-stricken children in Kampala, Uganda have new friends in the Lake Worth, Florida Rotary Club, and a 14-year-old girl is getting a quality education.
Last winter visiting Rotarian Kathy Musgrave from the Olathe (KS) Santa Fe Club spoke about her involvement in Tusonge Children’s Ministries in Uganda. She and her husband Bill spend their winters in Florida where Kathy has become very active in the Lake Worth club. They made a presentation about how they and a small group of Kansans stepped up five years ago to take over a children’s charity and choir that went bankrupt.
Mrs. Musgrave explained that the children stayed with them and members of their church while touring the U.S. in 2015. “The children were beautiful, smart and kind. We fell in love with them. When we found out that their sponsoring organization was failing we didn’t want the children to be sent back on the streets. That’s when we formed our own non-profit and named it Tusonge which means Moving Forward in the language of Uganda.”
Today, Tusonge cares for 36 children. Their stories are heart breaking. Some are orphans from HIV. Some girls were rescued from sex traffickers or were about to be sold off to men they’d never met. One set of siblings saw their mother’s hands chopped off by a jealous husband.
The now live together in a 2,000 square foot house on the outskirts of Kampala–a sprawling city of over 4 million. “The girls share two bedrooms upstairs and the boys are in the converted one-car garage,” Kathy said. “The couple who looks after them share their bedroom with their two children. It’s cozy but it’s a house filled with love. There’s indoor plumbing, clean running water and a safe place for the children?”
The children are enrolled in a boarding school where they receive a quality education that will prepare them for the future. Many of the children are ranked in the top 10 percent of their class. Like all kids they dream of being doctors, mechanics, teachers and one girl says she wants to be President. Who knows?
After hearing the Musgrave’s program the Lake Worth Rotary Club voted to sponsor a girl named Tracy. Their $1200 annual sponsorship pays for her room, board, schooling, health care and other essential needs.
“Tracy is a delightful 14-year-old,” Mrs. Musgrave said. “She’s doing very well in school and is a great role-model for our younger girls. We were thrilled and shed a few tears when the Lake Worth Rotary made it possible for her to go to school. Thanks to Rotary, she has a great future ahead of her.”
More about Tusonge, its future and ways to donate can be found at www.TusongeMinistries.org.
Kathy Musgrave is surrounded by some of the Tusonge Ministries children on a recent trip to Uganda
The mother of Luke, a Tusonge child, gives a chicken in thanks to his sponsors. The mother’s hands were cut off by her jealous husband
Lake Worth Rotary Club is sponsoring Tracy, left. She and her friend Shakira are among 36 Ugandan children sponsored by Tusonge Ministries
Tusonge Group
Tusonge Children’s Ministries supports these and several other Ugandan children. Learn more at TusongeMinistries.org