2023 has been flying by. I can’t believe we’ve already reached the final three months of this year. There certainly hasn’t been a dull moment over the course of the last nine months.

This was my second trip to Uganda during the last quarter and both trips were filled with many moments of joy & anticipation as we celebrate all that God is doing and the abundance of growth and potential to come. The work of AsOne is certainly here and there are many stories of transformation yet to unfold.

Over the course of 2023 there has been a lot of growth. We’ve learned a lot as we’ve opened our new health centers, grown our staff by 65%, taken 120+ travelers to Uganda, and worked on major expansion projects throughout this year. God’s hand has been in and all over the work of AsOne in Uganda and we are running full-speed at all that is in store for our people to experience relational, spiritual, and economic transformation in their communities.

For this fiscal year, our Uganda revenue has covered 75% of all its operating, maintenance, and Uganda administration costs. We are thrilled by this progress: Our sustainability is up 13% from last year while impacting over 3x the amount of people across the country. I hope you enjoy reading all the updates about the work you are helping make possible.

Events Coming Soon

This month our AsOne events will be held soon in Sioux Falls, SD and Englewood, CO! We will be hosting our South Dakota event at the Museum of Visual Materials on October 26th and our Denver event at the beautiful Thomas Garage in Englewood on November 2nd. Our capacity for both events is filling up quickly, we would love for you to RSVP at: asoneafrica.org/events — it would be wonderful to have you attend!

AsOne Nursery & Primary School, Mayuge —Construction Progress

AsOne Nursery & Primary School — Mayuge, will open January 2024. We’ve received over 200 applicants for teaching positions and we’re anticipating a starting enrollment of 200 - 300 students. We have been able to purchase new vehicles for transporting students and have begun construction on the final building for this year, our Administration Block. Thank you to the many of you that are making this dream a reality.

You can learn more at asoneafrica.org/mayuge

AsOne High School, Kaberamaido — Construction Progress

The AsOne High School — Kaberamaido is coming up! This will be our third high school campus in Uganda. This school will be fed by our Nursery & Primary School in the community and will become one of the premier schools in Kaberamaido District. The school sits on a beautiful four acres of land and will be open for both day and boarding students. Kaberamaido’s Nursery & Primary School is our highest enrolled campus in the country and we anticipate and sense a lot of excitement from this community!

AsOne Bakery, Namayemba — New Location

The AsOne Bakery, Namayemba got a new location! We were able to purchase a new location in Namayemba town and move the operations of our Bakery team. This business not only employs 8 full-time staff but starting next year will provide vocational training to 20 full-time students to learn skills in catering, baking, sales, and business management!

New Tailoring Facility in Idudi

Thanks to generous donors we were able to purchase a new property in the community of Idudi that will become a tailoring production & training center. We will have 5 full-time staff and provide certified vocational training services for 20 youth in the community each year. Featured above are three of the new team members: Caroline, Florence, and Charles, that will help with the production, teaching, and management of this site. This facility will help make all AsOne school uniforms in eastern Uganda — in 2024 we are anticipating over 2,000 students just on the eastern side of the country! Here is the location of the Tailoring Center. Later this month they will begin making uniforms for the new schools opening and will continue to have strong business opportunities heading into 2024.

Leadership Conference, 2023

In July we hosted our annual Leadership Conference focused on Stephen Covey’s famous book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Churches and pastors from the U.S. joined as guest speakers and hosts for the conference. Over 200 community members from around AsOne communities attended a three day gathering dedicated to growing in their effectiveness as Christian leaders across the country. I cannot begin to express with words how exciting it was to have friends and leaders that have had such a deep impact on my life pour into the meaningful ministry and work many Ugandans are doing in their communities.

Culture Week in Uganda

At AsOne, we define culture as “the way we do things around here.” That can be either good or bad. We submit to Peter Drucker’s statement that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” We’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure that AsOne is an environment that reflects our values and an atmosphere that draws our people’s greatest potential. There are many challenging culture forces that can work against our best efforts; like systems of charity or dependency, corruption and scarcity, entitlement, or complacency.

We believe deeply in guarding our culture by celebrating stories of redemptive and mission-aligned actions by our team members as they seek to live lives that glorify God and help others flourish.

We spent a week in September celebrating our culture, celebrating our workers, serving in the communities, praying, worshiping, and celebrating the work God is doing through AsOne in Uganda.