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Dry season is December to March and equals nonstop 25 degree to 40 degree heat, cool nights and hot days, dry winds, everything in your house and car covered in orange dust, goats pigs and chickens scrounging in every garden for food, a lack of fresh vegetables, increased prices of 50% on everything, nonstop dryness, loads of fires, black ash storms all the time, washing dries in 1 hour, dry cracked feet, dry skin, moisture sucked from every part of your body, drinking loads of water, looking for every opportunity to get cool, wells dry up, water is scarce and sourced from river beds, a lot of construction is done and bricks are made! For the first time, Tamarind has made its own bricks! A lot of our farming is on hold. With no rain, irrigation is very difficult. Tamarind has some big projects coming and some of them involve construction. While we have not been able to employ people for farming, we have been able to employ men to lay bricks. There has been a team of 5-8 men working the brick process. 1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- They dig the soil They wet the soil Let ferment for one week Hand put the wet fermented soil into brick moulds and carry it to be laid in the sun Cover the bricks to dry Stack in a big mound Burn the bricks using firewood All this is done by hand; no machines. Tamarind is working hard at being self-sustainable in every way that it possibly can, so we can continue to Restore a broken country, Rebuild a culture and humanity, and Resource people to break the poverty cycle. Giving a Hand up not a hand out! Please join us in this journey with regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. Partner with us in this exciting, grass roots, Community Based Organisation. Much Love and kind regards, Chris and Sarah Ochaya

Our annual report for 2021 includes: Chairman's report Progress updates on all of our major projects Our finance report for the year Click below to download

Plant and Grow …. Start with one and then were some.... Tamarind is entering into a new season and the old is becoming new. We are casting our vision again and planting our feet solidly after 10 years’ work. At this time, we either make a choice to stop or continue. Tamarind will continue to RESTORE>REBUILD>RESOURCE the local community in northern Uganda. Tamarind has RESTORED dignity by providing full time, part-time, and contract work to over 50 people in the last 12 moths. Tamarind has helped businesses REBUILD, develop, and grow, even in financially hard times. We have done this by giving advice, coaching in business building strategies, supporting in tough times and encouraging them to keep going. Tamarind has given RESOURCES to farmers by educating them in cross cropping and seasonal planning and planting. Tamarind has moved into the local community to be amongst the local people where only a chain-link fence and a couple of banana trees separate us and our neighbours. We want to inspire people on the ground to be all they can be not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. We want them to have a wholistic view of living and livelihood. As we develop stronger relationships with people we work with, our neighbours, we share our spiritual walk with them and how a relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in living a whole life. We are so fortunate that the pandemic has not impacted us, so far, in the devastating and crippling ways it has in other parts of the world. We still have the opportunity to meet and greet people face to face, not in a large scale but in a one on one or small group setting. We take this opportunity to equip people physically through advice, guidance, and education and emotionally by listening and caring about their every-day needs, coaching them in ways to help themselves, spiritually discipling and praying for individuals. Tamarind is a wholistic community-based organisation that sees every individual as unique and full of potential to be all that they were created to be. A fully functioning, motivated, creative, self-sustainable soul that is aware that even though they are surrounded by poverty and constraints of poverty they do not need to stay in poverty—they have the resources to move forward in life. On a practical note, over the last 12 months Tamarind has managed to move into the Operation Centre in Bardege Te-Dam just 10 minutes out of town centre, which enables us work in the community with the people on the ground. In this community, we have demonstration self -sustainable projects in chickens, goats, basic cropping, small-scale orchid fruit trees, and we have just added rabbit rearing. We are teaching the community how to sustain their livelihood and do small scale business to generate income for large overheads such as school fees and medical. In addition to the Operation Centre, we have a 6-acre farm where we are teaching basic farming skills to a community in Pagak, 2 hours from the South Sudan border. Here we are also teaching demonstration self-sustainable projects in chickens and cross cropping. We also have a training facility and store house we would love to expand and use to its full capacity. I continue to work with women creating handmade paper bead designer jewellery. You can follow us on Instagram @thetribetamarind. Currently, we sell locally in cafes, a chain store in Kampala called Banana Boat, and a new shop in Gulu called Mtindo (which is about to launch in the USA). We are also selling to groups in Germany and the USA. Please continue to share and support our journey with us through prayer, finances, and telling our story. We would love to hear from you and are happy have online catch ups with anyone who would like to. Please contact us for a connect meeting where we would love to share our vision, connect with you and pray for you and your needs in this world changing time. Blessings and kind regards, Chris and Sarah Ochaya

One Step Forward and the Tribe will Follow Though the tribe has morphed and changed over the last 10 years, it is still a grassroots project, helping the few to make generational change in an in-depth way. We have front row seats, watching as the poverty cycle is broken in individual’s lives, not just in this lifetime but in the next generation to come. Justine has been working for the tribe for nearly 5 years and is one of the individuals that has been part of that change that will last. She is a mother of 4 children and the sole, steady provider for her family (her partner is in and out of work and not able to sustain a constant income). Through Justine’s faithful commitment to work for the tribe, she has been able to pay her children’s school fees and put food on the table. This generational impact means her children will have a chance to get a good job when they have completed their education. She is not only investing in their education, but is also teaching them to live a generous life and give to others in need. Recently, Eli (my second son) had a cold, Nickolas (Justine’s eldest son of 11) used 1,000 shillings (50 cents) he had earned to buy Eli some lemons to help him get over his cold. This small act of kindness and generosity spoke volumes to me. Those that have little give much, such a heart of compassion and generosity from a 11-year-old boy. This is the generational change we’re talking about in action. We hope the tribe has such an impact that as we take one step forward, others follow—changing generation after generation. If you would like to know more, we would love to connect with you and share our story and our vision. Join us on Facebook 9th July for an online presentation we will host. If you would like to join the journey right now and sow into Tamarind today, we will give you a tax-deductible receipt for end-of-year financial giving, which means the reaping will be two-fold —you will also be part of the change to help break the poverty cycle in Northern Uganda.

Water is an essential part of life that no one in the world can live without. We use it to drink so we can live. We use it to wash our clothes so we don’t get sick. We use it to brush our teeth so they don’t fall out! Most recently, we use it to sanitise our hands so we don’t get COVID 19. It is a common thread—a lifeline to the whole world. Tamarind is a small CBO (Community Based Organisation) that is a drop in the ocean of the needs in developing countries. We are not all things to all people, but we do develop lasting relationships with community to see change in the individual so they can impact their sphere of influence. Tamarind has 2 water projects, one in Sir Winyi Tito School and one in the Bardege Te-dam community. This week we are focusing on the refurbishing of both pumps because they both need repairs and maintence. If it is the end of financial year for you, please take note that Tamarind Australia has tax deductibility and would be more than happy to give you a receipt for any donation over $2. Kill two birds with one stone by donating to Tamarind and getting a tax-deductible receipt while helping fix an essential life-giving water source for a community of over 500 people. Partner with us, and be a part of the change to break the poverty cycle in Northern Uganda.

Left to right- Top: Joseph, Brian (aka Man), Robertson, Sampson Bottom: Justine, Sarah, Chris This is us! Tamarind Team People in our community are working on our Demo Farm, Operation Centre, and in the Tribe bead workshop. This photo is us! I must say, when I look at this picture, I am reminded that I am the only international on our team, but I don’t feel like it. After living here for 10 years, I do sometimes forget that I am from another country! I reflect on my wedding vows and the passage that was read from Ruth 1:16 “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God. I am reminded that these are my people and we serve them and our God together. Since we love the same God it breaks down cultural barriers. We have a hard-working, dedicated crew who serve and give beyond their capacity most of the time. We are blessed to have people stay with us long-term and commit to the vision. Tamarind - Restore Rebuild Resource Breaking the poverty cycle

Justine, our Tribe bead-workshop manager, just had a baby girl! We are so excited to let you know that on the 12th of may at 7:30 pm, Aber Sarah joined us. Justine and her family gave me one of the greatest honours here and named their little girl after me! Aber is the Acholi word for beautiful, and it was given to me back in 2010 when I was working in the IDP camps helping people come to terms with their trauma from the war. It is such a blessing to be involved in the lives of our staff and see them grow in faith and develop to become all God has for them. I have seen Justine grow not only her family, but also the lives of all her children. She has 3 very well-behaved boys who go to school, and I believe they (including Aber) will grow up breaking the poverty cycle, get jobs, and have a good work ethic because of her. Well done, Justine, for being a super mum in all that you do and providing for your family. We look forward to continuing to work with you. I’m so excited I get a mini me to snuggle! (hee hee) Sarah

What we have been waiting for! Though there has been a world-wide pandemic, Tamarind has seen a harvest, and for that, we are so thankful. The Demonstration Farm has grown and is harvesting Beans Maize G-nuts - (small peanuts) The OC (Operation Centre) has grown and is harvesting Beans Sweet Potatoes All of these crops are staple foods in Uganda and the core of many dishes. Though we have seen a harvest, we had to work hard to get there because it is not just about what we reap but what we sow and the conditions under which we do so. There are so many correlations between the simplicity of farming and the personal reflections on the soul and ones being. In reflection, Tamarind has seen the steady growth and its involvement in community development. Individual lives have been changed, whether in ever so slight ways or huge shifts in mindset. It is not our intention to push people to a place they don’t want to go, to over water and cause roots to rot, but we want to create the right environment for the best growth possible. Before the seed can be sown, the ground needs to be prepared. The way that happens in Uganda by the everyday farmer is usually by hand and hoe. This physical labour is a reminder of the hard work that needs to be done to prepare for the precious seed. The preparing of the soil and removing unwanted weeds and stones is a key to the kind of crop the farmer will reap, parallel to how we grow personally. Sowing of the seed is necessary for anything to grow! The soil and water nurture the seed. The season and weather also play a part in the seed’s growth. In Uganda, things happen very naturally, which means crops are watered according to the rain, and insects and disease are great in quantity, bringing constant challenge. Just like in life, there are so many things we cannot control, things happen naturally even though we try to manipulate the outcome by our own devises. There is plenty of room for development and advancement, but the balance of simplicity and life needs to be a part of the equation for a healthy crop. Harvest is the fruits of labour and depends on how we prepare and sow. The quantity and quality are determined by the seasons, soil, and challenges, just like our quantity and quality of life. Who we are is affected by what has happened up to this point, the seasons of life, the place we are rooted in, and the challenges that are put in front of us. What we do with the harvest is up to us.

Power to the people!!! Here in Uganda it’s not a given that you have electricity. A large part of the population do not have it. Tamarind wants to bring power to part of the Bardege community. Some of the total costs have been raised our final Goal is only $1300. Help us bring a basic need to some of the people in northern Uganda. If you are able to donate to this very worthwhile cause, all donations are tax deductible.

From our home to yours THANK YOU for all your support in thoughts words and deed. We are so grateful that you care about breaking the poverty cycle in Gulu Northern Uganda. To those that have recently donated; thank you for you generosity. To those that faithfully give month in month out; you are champions. To those that want an opportunity to make a difference and change lives; don't hold back! T H A N K Y O U !

In the Gulu community, there is no local source of clean water. This causes children and women to take on a 10km walk every day in order to get something as simple and vital as water! This water is not just used for drinking and cooking, but it is also used for such everyday tasks as washing and cleaning. With the construction of a Borehole, the community will be able to access water, close to home, everyday. The attached photo is just a small glimpse of the families that will be effected when the borehole is completed at the Operations Centre. Our projects work with real people, teaching them real skills to rebuild, restore and resource their lives.

I am an Aussie Gal that headed to Uganda Africa in 2006 to help Orphans and Widows. To Africa with Love! And in Africa I found Love! Love the people, love the country, and fell in love! Now I am running a Community Based Organization called Tamarind with my Husband. In 2010 as we worked with survivors of war we saw the need in the community for Business Development and Self Sustainability focusing on equipping the locals within their community, through training so they can be empowered and then provide for their own families. A hand up, not a hand out! Currently we have started to build a house/office. Operation Centre Tamarind is underway! You might be asking what is this Operation Centre for?? Good question! It will be used for Offices, Volunteer Accommodation, Bead Workshop, and Directors housing. We believe that we need to put a stake in the ground to show the community that we are serious about supporting them in – REBUILDING LOCAL COMMUNITY FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY, RESOURCING LOCAL COMMUNITY FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY and RENEWING LOCAL COMMUNITY FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY. As part of this Centre we want to provide the community with a shared Bore Hole. Most locals in this area get water for drinking, washing dishes and clothes, and bathing from a dirty stream near by. The nearest Bore Hole were you can get clean safe water is 4 kilometres away. Help us help them! We want to start the Bore hole next week so don't delay and donate away! Sarah Ochaya