It was already the fifth time Manuel went to Uganda. At the airport in Entebbe two of his Ugandan friends were waiting for him to take him back to Fort Portal. Fort Portal lays in the very west of Uganda and is surrounded by a wonderful landscape. That is where he had a meeting with Joy for Children, a Ugandan Organisation that organizes sponsorships in Fort Portal.
Manuel knew many of the children from this area, going back to his first stay in Uganda. Tugende Together began with Manuel’s desire to pay for school fees, uniforms, books and other scholastic materials for some of these children.
Originally, many of these kids were in a corrupt orphanage and were abused. They were beaten, had to work in poor conditions and did not receive the assistance and nurturing they were supposed to get. Manuel decided he could not look the other way and instead advocated for their basic rights. Even if it cost him much time and energy, what he went through to give them a better life was worth it. After agreeing with Joy for Children, he left Fort Portal and travelled to the northern part of Uganda, which is an amazing area, but difficult to access. Then he spent some valuable time in the capital city Kampala in order to connect with people, gather information and look after some children that Tu-To supports there. Finally he and his friend Geofrey went to see his family close to Kaliro in the east of Uganda. They brought supplies for some of the local children and were even able to take a girl from Geofrey’s neighbourhood into the sponsorship programme. After getting everything done he set out to accomplish, Manuel left the country without any regrets but with a greater desire to do more on his return.