History of the Association´s origin

Thomas Langsch met Emmanuel Musoke from Uganda in 1993 and was his until 1995 during his training as a printer in Munich at the vocational school. In the course of this time, a great bond developed between the two – also through private contacts.

After Emmanuel Musoke's return to Uganda in 1995 and his marriage to Goretti Namuyomba, he worked in the printing house of the diocese of Masaka. Goretti Namuyomba was working as a nurse at the time. Very soon they began to take in AIDS orphans in their home.

In 2000, Thomas Langsch started the "Bottle Deposit Project", in which he collected bottles that had not been returned in the classrooms of his school and transferred the bottle deposit he received for them to Uganda.

After Emmanuel Musoke's return to Uganda,  the following other projects were quickly realized:

• Setting up a "corner shop" to sell everyday necessities such as flour, notebooks, soap, etc.
• Purchase of a plot of land by Renate Blank for the purpose of reforestation for the preservation of the tree population, which is endangered by the need for firewood.
• Expansion of the children's aid project.

The close contact with Goretti Namuyomba Musoke and Emmanuel Musoke is one of the reasons why Thomas Langsch and Renate Blank did not slowdown in their commitment to Uganda, but continued to look for new ways of productive cooperation. In 2006, they fulfilled their wish to get an on-site impression and travelled to Masaka/Uganda. Here they were able to convince themselves that the administration and the use of the funds by the local staff were optimally secured: It was used in a balanced way to build an orphanage, to support the poorest families and to all other projects.

It is thanks to the great social commitment, the organizational talent, and the excellent contacts of Goretti and Emmanuel that more and more families are able to live a financially independent life. The establishment of an internet café, a barber shop and a knitting mill created jobs, which in turn helped to provide for more families.

In order to ensure the continuation of the work in the future, the Association "Hand in Hand for Uganda" was founded in April 2009. As a future partner in Uganda, Ms. Betty Nakajigo completed a German course at the Goethe-Institut in Kampala. She then visited Germany for the first time in August 2011. Here, the possible development of the cooperation was discussed and planned together with her.

The following decisions were made in partnership:

1. The initial project with Goretti Namuyomba and Emmanuel Musoke will no longer be supported. The Association's goal of "helping people to help themselves" is achieved. The project is supported by many other supporters.

2. With Mrs. Betty Nakajigo, the Association will start new projects. The plan is to build an education and community center with an adjoining model garden / agriculture and the possibility of later expanding it to include a pre-school and primary school. (see project "Training and Meeting Centre")