Our Amazing Ugandan Staff

02 Feb Our Amazing Ugandan Staff

In an earlier blog I shared this picture of our Ugandan frontline staff.  These are the people that keep the love going all year long.  I wanted to introduce each one to you individually as they are all incredible gifts to the Village to Village Project program.

Olobo Michael is our Uganda Director of Operations.  He has been part of Village2Village Project in one form or another since the beginning. He was our first caseworker in 2003, and is a member of the Ugandan Board of Directors.  He leads the 31 member staff  with wisdom and compassion and cares about each and every child.  He is also well known in the community which is very important in a small African village setting just as it is in a small town in the USA. His experience as a small business owner brings tight financial discipline and planning to our growth. We are so grateful for the knowledge and heart that he brings to our organization.

Samadu Samuel (Sam) has been with V2V for over ten years and is our Program Manager. He has a special gift of connecting with children, and I sometimes refer to him as the Pied Piper.  He is kind and gentle and does a wonderful job of guiding our children of all ages.  Sam works very closely with our older students giving them educational and career guidance and does a lot of coordination with secondary schools. He is definitely a gift to our program.

Amuku Suzan joined the same year that Sam did, and has also worn many hats at Village2Village Project.  She is an incredible social worker and worship leader but she also has administrative skills.  She manages the finances and handles the accounting for the Ugandan side of the organization. For many years she managed the House of Love in Kampala but now she is in the village full time. We are so blessed to have Suzan on our staff.

Osia Betty volunteered with the organization many years ago and decided she wanted to serve as a social worker.  She went back to school to earn her degree and now serves as one of the senior staff on the Serere campus. She has a special gift when working with our children because she lost both of her parents when she was a child.  Betty is a great athlete and loves competing with the V2V Staff football (soccer) team. We are grateful for all that Betty brings to the program.

Eswagu Simon Peter is the Child Care Manager and works primarily on the Kateta campus. He will be celebrating ten years with Village2Village Project this  year.  The Kateta campus currently has 149 students and Simon Peter has done a wonderful job of managing the growth there.  Most of those children are under 14  but he has established a strong structure that has allowed he and the other Kateta staff to manage the chaos!  Simon Peter is a thoughtful and stable member of our staff who has shown great commitment to the organization, but also brings so much fun to the children! We are so glad to have him.

Inebe Esther is our first home grown staff member.  She joined V2V when she was 9 years old and graduated from University in 2019 with a degree in Rural Development.  She joined the staff in 2020 and serves mainly on the Kateta campus.  She also does quite a bit of work keeping the data on our children current and allowing us to provide sponsors with up to date information on their sponsored child..  As an alumni of Village2Village Project, she brings a wonderful perspective that adds depth to our staff team.  She is also much loved by the children and brings a lot of joy and energy to the organization.

Egadu Moses joined the Project two years ago when we were planning the new educational program.  His background as a degreed teacher has been invaluable as we have established the Village2Village Education Centre.  He vets all of our teachers and leads the interview process and also manages the curriculum and teacher training.  Moses also serves as a social worker primarily on the Serere campus so he too wears several hats.  Moses has a quiet easy going manner and has done a fabulous job of managing the Education Centre and guiding the students and the teachers through a very important first year.

Abuo Jessica joined in 2024 along with Moses and has made a commitment to the Kateta community. She is our resident Kateta manager.  Jessica has established her home there and spends all of her time at that campus.  She has built strong relationships in that community and is a wonderful resource to the other staff as well as the guardians and children in Kateta.  Jessica has a kind gentle spirit and has created a welcoming environment on the Kateta campus for each child and guardian.

Asianut Diana is our newest member of the social work team. She joined in January of 2025 and she has really rounded out our team.  Her degree in Communications from Uganda Christian University recommended her to us, but it is her strong social work skills that has made her so valuable to the organization.  She handles a multitude of tasks, not least of which is managing Mama Laurie and Auntie Annabel! She meets us at the airport and keeps our trip organized which is no small feat.  Her contagious joy, wisdom and kind ways with guardians and children alike has been a delight and we are so glad she has joined us.

Last, but absolutely not least, is Musoke Deo. Deo serves as our transportation director and has also been with Village2Village Project from the beginning.  He is based in Kampala where he is a trained taxi driver, but he provides his driving services to the organization whenever they are needed. Deo is an avid reader and knows more about Ugandan history and world politics than anyone I know, but he can also handle and maneuver our ancient manual transmission Toyota van like it is a small sports car.  He also has the skills of a social worker and is beloved by all of the children at V2V, from the youngest of our new recruits to the oldest alumni.  All of them have a favorite Uncle Deo memory and we are so fortunate to have him as part of the Village2Village Project family.

We also have a whole team of incredible support staff who care for our children as security guards and cooks, as well as 13 teachers that staff our school on both campuses.  They each deserve a whole separate blog of their own.  They add an additional layer to the all encompassing love and support we provide to the children of Village2Village Project.