Uplift participant Shivan Ainomugisha (above right) is pursing higher education and dignified, fulfilling work and serving as a role model.

The Minister of State for Tourism, Honorable Susan Nakawukyi, invited the Batwa to participate in the World Tourism Day on September 27 in Mbale and Kampala.

The Kellermann Foundation works with over 50 international and local partners in its mission to provide hope and health in Uganda. These partnerships cover the whole spectrum of life, including healthcare, education, homes, land, agriculture, spiritual care, social work, and the journey to self-reliance. This summer, we heard from two of our international partners after their field visits to Bwindi. Learn about our partnership with Haileybury Youth Trust.

The Kellermann Foundation works with over 50 international and local partners in its mission to provide hope and health in Uganda. These partnerships cover the whole spectrum of life, including healthcare, education, homes, land, agriculture, spiritual care, social work, and the journey to self-reliance. This summer, we heard from two of our international partners after their field visits to Bwindi. Learn about our partnership with REACH Bwindi.

Since their eviction from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in 1991, the Batwa have quite often been onlookers watching the work of professionals brought to Bwindi to help with community development. This trend is quickly changing with the addition of more robust educational opportunities which help the Bawta arrive fully at the table of opportunity.

Uenize Fabiah, pictured above, was knit together by a loving God who embodied within her everything she needed to live a healthy, meaningful life. With the enormous responsibility of raising and providing for her family, she began each morning with the same question-—How will I feed my children today? 

Franswaz is a 32-year-old mother from Kihembe Settlement on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Like many women from the Batwa indigenous community, Franswaz grew up marginalized, facing deep-rooted challenges and limited access to education and income-generating opportunities. Despite these obstacles, she always carried a quiet strength, resilience, and a desire to learn.

This November, we celebrated several stories of growth, from the growth of gardens to nurturing parents—signs of progress and seeds of flourishing. In a small corner of Kitariro Batwa settlement, a quiet transformation is taking place.

As has been the case for many people, our adventure in Bwindi started with a brief conversation with Dr. Scott Kellermann. When we met Scott in February 2023 at our hometown of Houghton, NY, we did not know that in southwest Uganda, Dr. Scott has rockstar status, is known and loved by multitudes, and that his work among the Batwa is the stuff of legends—dangling IVs from ficus branches to bring medical care to local communities

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18

Cindy and Jim Waits are 1 Timothy 6:18 people. They have been involved with the Kellermann Foundation for over seventeen years, and throughout these years they have done good things, been generous, and willing to share.

Dr. Verena Geissbuhler is a beacon of hope for many women who have struggled over the years. She has restored their hope and dignity. For the past 13 years, BCH has worked with Dr. Geissbuhler to extend free surgical repair services to women from the Kanungu District in Uganda and across the country.

Born premature 6 years ago, Tabitha is a testimony of resilience and the efforts of the Bwindi Community Hospital pediatrics ward, specifically the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Elizabeth and Jonah are the first female Batwa nurses at Bwindi Community Hospital. They studied at Uganda Nursing School Bwindi with support from the Kellerman Foundation, challenging common stereotypes about the Batwa people. For most of their education, they have been supported by the Kellermann Foundation through the Batwa Development Program.

Bwindi Community Hospital proudly receives the prestigious Heroes in Health Award (HIHA) for Best Quality Service Delivery in 2024, presented by UPMB for embracing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in healthcare. Dr. Scott Kellermann, the hospital founder, received the Lifetime Achievement Award as well.

Their feet were moving, dresses were swaying and voices were rising in a crescendo of words of welcome. “We are so very happy to welcome you today!” The repeat of harmony drilled down into me, and I believed that in fact these children were “so very happy” to welcome us this day. Their joy-filled message was no forced march on uninterested children. This message had been inspired within them and delivered to us, visitors from worlds away.

Heidi Steinecker recently came to Bwindi Community Hospital as part of her dissertation research on barriers to infection prevention and control in rural hospitals.

Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) has successfully launched a new patient management system (EAFYA) along with a new advanced electronic medical records system (Uganda EMR+), a major leap towards modernizing healthcare delivery in southwestern Uganda.

Public sector partners leading the implementation at BCH included The Ministry of Health, Uganda (MOH) together with the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB). Of all private facilities in Uganda, BCH, a rural, private, not-for-profit facility, was the first to be given the EAFYA system, thanks to UPMB.

Non-profits working in developing countries have long used creative financing to help enable sustainably economic means by which to address poverty. The Kellermann Foundation is no different, however, the challenge of helping the Batwa people adopt creative ways of sustaining themselves is a long-term project in which small victories are always celebrated. One such success has been a microloan program that started this summer with a conversation among Batwa settlement elders in a community called Kitariro.

Sarah’s Story

The impact of the maternal health services at Bwindi Community Hospital is profound. One notable success story among many is that of a twenty-four-year-old mother named Sarah, who benefited from the improved maternal healthcare services at Bwindi Community Hospital.

My name is David Brubaker. I am a family doctor from rural Western New York state in the United States. I am in Uganda for this academic year on a Fulbright Grant, teaching Anatomy and Physiology to future nurses and clinical officers at the Uganda Nursing School – Bwindi. I first heard about Bwindi Community Hospital and its associated training programs from Dr. Scott Kellermann, the hospital’s founder, who visited my hometown and told me about their origins and the excellent work they are doing in an underserved part of the world…