Tobin - Uganda Visitors

La Colombe has been helping to support ECHOES (Educating Children and Communities for Health, Opportunities, Enlightenment and Survival), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based outside of Philadelphia, since 2007. With the money generated by the sales of our Afrique blend, we have been able to pay the salaries of the matrons at Trinity Children’s Centre, a primary school where approximately 400 of the enrolled 1200 students board. Many of these boarders are orphaned children – a few are refugees from Sudan.

We have also more recently been funding the rebuilding of the boys’ school dormitory after a disastrous fire leveled the facility in February 2013. Trinity Children’s Centre was founded by Reverend Romans Serunjogi and his wife Sarah, who started by teaching six children in the backyard of their house in 1986 and have also gone on to develop Centenary High School, which offers a full six years of education to its students, and Double Cure Medical Centre, a small clinic hospital.

Dr. Nakitende Lydia Kintu is their eldest daughter and Director of the Double Cure Medical Centre as well as Assistant Manager at her parents’ two schools. She recently came to Philadelphia with her husband, Brian Kintu, to attend ECHOES’ big auction fundraiser on Friday, May 2 at the Desmond Hotel in Malvern, which was emceed by La Colombe co-founder Todd Carmichael and his wife Lauren Hart. Before the event, Lydia and Brian visited our roasting facility in Port Richmond, and was given a tour by La Colombe COO Tobin Bickley (above). They observed the production of our tasty Uganda – Bulaago coffee that Todd had sourced on his Travel Channel show, Dangerous Grounds. Lydia also shared with us some photos of the progress that they’ve made with Trinity Children’s Centre’s boys’ dormitory, which you can view below. It was certainly a pleasure hosting our very special Ugandan friends.

Trinity - 1

Trinity - 2

Trinity - 3

Trinity - 4

 

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