Redemption Song Foundation

RSF's mission is "Changing the narrative and trajectory for the indigenous Batwa people from victims to leaders. We work with and alongside the Batwa to pursue whole-person education, cultural and environmental conservation, and psycho-social support." Artisan Co-op Livelihood Project: We buy handmade baskets from local women at a fair trade price, and resell them in the US. All funds go back to RSF and community development projects for the indigenous Batwa in SW Uganda. Community Development: Under the guidance of the local Batwa village of Kalehe, we have gotten clean water to the village (2 taps stands piped via gravity water scheme from a freshwater spring in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park). RSF and the Batwa have built 4 brick homes for Batwa families. We've built and maintain a bridge across the Munyaga River enabling safe access to their village, offered pandemic food relief, and started an organic sustainable permaculture "Food Forest" project in the village, which includes animal husbandry (rabbits, pigs, goats), native and fruit trees, coffee arabica, and vegetables. Education: We provide educational opportunities to Batwa children through a sponsorship program. People sponsor a child, write them letters, and the children write them back! This covers their school fees, school supplies, transport to and from boarding school, uniforms, and more. We also provide ongoing tutoring in between school sessions for children in boarding school and day to day tutoring for day scholars. Additionally, we serve Batwa children weekly through an "Educational Soup Kitchen" program. They come to the RSF Community House, where we feed them a nutritious meal, teach them educational games, sports, hygiene and other activities. All of our children are from extremely underprivileged backgrounds and sometimes neglect, and as a result, we remove parasitic jiggers from their feet, and refer them to medical care for issues as needed.