The Leti Foundation for Africa-Uganda, a nonprofit founded by Father Leo Tinikatumire, seeks to make a positive difference by promoting bonds of unity and care among people of goodwill who have been diversely endowed. Those who can, share their money, talent, and goods to promote education, training, and public health in Isingiro, Uganda. Leti Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) in the State of Illinois. All donations are deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Father Leo was born and raised in Isingiro, a rural community in southwestern Uganda, close to the border with Tanzania. He was blessed with the opportunity to attend primary school and then the seminary, after which he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Mbarara, Uganda. Later, his bishop sent him to the United States for advanced study at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, where he earned a PhD in theology.

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The community where he was born and raised has few natural resources, although its people are energetic and generous. Their situation was made worse by war against the dictator Idi Amin, who for nearly ten years made the Isingiro area a battlefield. After Amin was defeated, political instability led to ongoing violence, again focused in Isingiro, which was used as a recruiting and training ground.

Father Leo, one of the area’s most educated citizens, seeks to help his people, especially the young, fulfill their promise. Those who live in Isingiro make a living through subsistence farming, much of the work done by hand. They must travel away from their region, usually on foot, for health care and education. So when the elders of the community asked Father Leo to start a school for the local children, he answered their call.