Mental Health · Substance Use · Youth Resilience — Uganda

Hope cannot wait
for infrastructure.

Across Uganda's cities, refugee settlements, and remote fishing communities, people in crisis face one reality: care is too far, too expensive, too foreign. Tumaini delivers trauma-informed, culturally rooted healing — from our hub in Bulaga to the most remote corners of the country. Your donation keeps our teams in the field.

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  24/7 Helpline •   Walk-in Drop-in Center •   Mobile Teams Across Uganda •   No One Turned Away
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Why Tumaini Exists

Too many families lose hope — not because healing is impossible,
but because care was out of reach.

Across Uganda — in homes, refugee settlements, and remote fishing villages people in mental health crisis, trapped by substance use, or broken by trauma face the same impossible choice: find a hospital that doesn't exist nearby, speak a language they don't know, or afford care they cannot pay.

Our Answer

While others wait for perfect hospitals, we go to the person in need (House Calls, Community Outreaches).
Because ekitibwa (dignity) is not a slogan. It is the first thing we restore.

How We Live This Every Day

We do not wait to be found.
We come to you.
We do not let stigma, distance, or poverty be a barrier.

We go.

The Distance Barrier

Specialist care is concentrated in cities. Rural communities, refugee settlements, and remote areas are left behind.

The Stigma Barrier

Mental health and addiction carry deep social shame. People suffer in silence rather than face community judgment.

The Cultural Barrier

Western clinical models dismiss traditional healing and family structures — the very foundations communities heal through.

We are not a Western model dropped into Uganda. We are obuntu in action, where a recovering youth finds a mentor who speaks his language, and where ekitibwa is not a slogan but the first thing we restore.

— Timothy Kalungi, Team Lead & Psychiatric Clinical Officer

Serving Kampala, Jinja, Gulu, Mbale, refugee settlements (Bidi Bidi, Nakivale), and hard-to-reach communities across Uganda.

Our Charter

A Uganda where
no one is left behind.

Tumaini Rehabilitation Center provides accessible, trauma-informed, and culturally grounded services across substance use, youth resilience, and mental health.

We meet people where they are — from urban streets to rural villages — walking alongside them through integrated clinical care, traditional partnerships, and community-led support.

Guided by obuntu (shared humanity) and a relentless commitment to equity, we empower individuals, strengthen families, and equip local leaders to build a just and compassionate society.

Ekitibwa, emirembe, and hope — woven into everyday community life.

Three Paths, One Journey

We don't sort people into boxes.
We walk three paths together.

Every service — at our hub in Bulaga or through mobile teams in the field — is guided by one principle: meet people where they are, with care that speaks their language.

Substance Use Services

  • Clinical detox + family elders (abakulu)
  • Addiction assessment treatment and management
  • Faith/Traditional healer collaboration
  • Stigma-reduction via radio & drama
  • Community-based recovery and reintegration support
Learn about recovery with dignity

Youth Services

  • Whole school Trauma and Mental Health Informed Training
  • Street outreach — Kampala, Gulu, refugee settlements
  • Trauma-informed creative arts: drumming, dance, storytelling
  • Obuntu mentorship + vocational training
  • School re-enrollment support
Meet youth where they are

Mental Health Services

  • House calls
  • Family counseling and therapeutic services
  • Marriage counseling
  • Random and scheduled drug testing
  • Task-shifting to train bazukulu (community health workers)
  • Mobile clinic outreach to remote areas
Explore mental health equity

Measured in People, Not Checkboxes

The numbers behind obuntu.

85%

of clients report improved family relationships

70%

of youth re-enrolled in school or vocational training

120+

community health workers (bazukulu) trained and active

Quarterly participatory reviews • Annual impact assessment with community leaders • Independent evaluation every 3 years. We are accountable to the people we serve, not just donors.

  Help Us Reach More People

The Tumaini Difference

What makes us hard to ignore.

Five principles that separate us from conventional care.

True One-Stop-Shop

Primary care, mental health, vocational training, and legal aid — co-located under one roof. No wrong door.

"Nothing About Us Without Us"

Certified peer recovery coaches at every level — from intake to leadership. Lived experience is our credential.

Outcome Transparency

Annual client-centered reports tracking housing, employment, and family reunification — not just numbers.

Preventive Outreach

Schools, faith institutions, marketplaces — we show up before crisis, not only after it.

No-Wrong-Door Financial Model

Sliding scale fees, grants, and philanthropy. No one is turned away for inability to pay.

From Lived Experience

From the darkest place
to certified counselor.

Gerald walks beside you — because he has been there. Drugs, lost hope, a dark future. He chose to transform, found his purpose, and now walks back into that trap to pull others out.

"There was a time when life was a mess — lost hope, dark future. I chose to transform, got to know my purpose, and now I walk back into that trap to pull others out." — Gerald Rukundo Kaka, Counselor

Video coming soon
media/videos/gerald-story.mp4

The People Who Stayed

We are not an idea.
We are people who stayed.

Meet the team behind the mobile clinic, the helpline, and the healing circle.

Marion Bakeiha — Researcher, Behavioral Change and Women's Mental Health

Marion Bakeiha

Researcher · Behavioral Change & Women's Mental Health

"The mental health journey often begins at home — in how a couple speaks to each other, in how a parent sees a child. I specialize in strengthening those first relationships."

Couple & family relationships • Parent–child connection • Safe spaces for women

Gerald Rukundo Kaka — Counselor

Gerald Rukundo Kaka

Counselor · Spirituality as Core

"There was a time when life was a mess — lost hope, dark future. I chose to transform, got to know my purpose, and now I walk back into that trap to pull others out."

Spiritual counseling • HIV & addiction complications • Acceptance as step one

Timothy Kalungi — Team Lead and Psychiatric Clinical Officer

Timothy Kalungi

Team Lead · Psychiatric Clinical Officer & Global Mental Health Specialist

"While others wait for perfect hospitals, we go to the person in need. Because hope cannot wait for infrastructure."

Clinical oversight • Mobile outreach strategy • Elder & healer partnerships

Ismail Kizungu — Senior Laboratory Technician

Ismail Kizungu

Senior Laboratory Technician · 10+ Years

"Accuracy, safety, and reliability — that's how I serve the healing. Behind every diagnosis is a sample handled with care."

Laboratory procedures • Quality control • Equipment maintenance

Peace Mutesi — Medical Clinical Officer

Peace Mutesi

Medical Clinical Officer

"I am a medical clinical officer by profession and am passionate about my work. Very eager to be part of Tumaini in transforming lives."

Clinical care • Patient advocacy • Health education

No Wrong Door

Whatever you need —
we have a way in for you.

Call, walk in, or ask for a mobile team. The same care. The same dignity. Every time.

Get Help Now →
Call or WhatsApp 24 hours, 7 days a week +256 747 953519
Walk In No appointment needed Sumbwe Community Hospital, Bulaga
Request a Mobile Team We come to your community Schedule a visit →
Support Someone Else's Access Donations fund sliding-scale care for those who can't pay Donate Now — Make It Possible →

Contact Us

Reach out to
Tumaini today.

Whether you need help for yourself, a family member, or want to partner with us — our team is ready to listen.

Call Us (24/7) +256 747 953519  /  +256 773 413097

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