Meet Raoul Mugosa

Director of Kwagala

From my perspective (Robbie typing as we update the website), Raoul’s my friend and brother—one of the best guys I know.

I met Raoul in 2012, two years after high school. My cousin knew him from her time living in Uganda in ’07. I didn’t know who he was when I called her to discuss her experience in Uganda. “You should totally stay with my friend Raoul. He and his family are the best. You will love him.”

And she was right. I took her word for it and booked a round-trip ticket for 10 months.

Raoul made me feel so comfortable. He greeted me with a big smile at the airport, and I recognized him immediately. He had two good friends with him, and it was hugs all around—as if we had all met before.

We grabbed our bags and off we went.

I had never been to Africa before, and the three-hour car ride from the airport through the middle of the night had my 20-year-old self thinking, “What did I just do?”

It was so different. So new. So exciting. Moments like that feel like you’re in the middle of a cliffhanger.

I lived with Raoul’s family. Raoul and his sisters are from the DRC. He moved with them to Jinja, where at the time, they lived just a five-minute boda (motorcycle taxi) ride from the town.

He currently lives a bit further from town with his wife and three kids.

I had a bedroom next to his. A hallway led to the living room and dining room, filled with Arsenal games and the loudest claps you’ve ever heard.

It was October, and during the first month, I heard of a vision Raoul had.

We were in his living room. I think he had been playing guitar, and I forget what I was doing, but we started chatting.

At that time, Raoul was working with a large organization in town that ran kids’ programs in the community every Saturday. It was a 20-minute boda ride, guitar on the back, toward Jinja, but you would cut right, cross a bridge, and then drive through beautiful Ugandan countryside for about 10-15 minutes (fact-check me, Raoul!).

He was the youth director and would lead hundreds of kids and youth in the most energy infused worship I’d ever seen.

During this season, he had an idea—an idea that I could tell, once we started talking in his living room, he had been mulling over for a while.

His idea was to start a home—somewhere that kids who found themselves living on the streets could go. A place that would provide food, shelter, clothing, and a family to belong to. A place where they would grow through attending school. Later, I learned his vision included employing social workers—a team to help find families and work toward reunification whenever possible.

At that time, I had been teaching computer lessons at an organization run by Raoul’s friend, who was one of the guys who came with him to the airport. While that had its time, I couldn’t believe the idea Raoul was sharing.

As the night went on, I realized it was not only an idea but something that was already underway. A constitution had already been drafted.

Raoul’s friend, whose organization I was working at, is a lawyer. He’s now in Kampala doing legal work for women fighting land disputes.

From the get-go, Raoul had a team—a vision written down in clauses.

“Oh man, this is happening.”

And so it did.

Now, 12 years after meeting Raoul—almost to the exact day—he is here in my city, my home, through the partnership of my high school, Redeemer Christian High, which has steadily helped keep Kwagala going since 2012.

In 2017, Malia and I moved back from Uganda, and we hadn’t seen him in person since.

Raoul, it’s so good to see you again. I can’t believe you’re here.

There’s so much I could say. The years you’ve poured into Kwagala—the sweat, the tears, the nonstop trips to government offices in Kampala, and the endless red tape that comes with running an NGO in Uganda.

Your relationships—the police, the government—consider Kwagala as one of the main organizations who stay above board. Kwagala is a go-to destination for advice and a place that officials trust as a result of your relationship with them.

The way you have brought Kwagala to where it is today is remarkable. You’ve poured your heart into something that has helped and will help so many lives.

It hasn’t been easy. It hasn’t ever been really. “Can this keep going?” . And I know you know Kwagala isn’t capped or anywhere close to a thriving organization or one that has come close to acting as a medium for supporting all of the goals you’ve outlined.

Land for example. Securing land to run community programs, build a home. Sustainability programs—such as gardens to provide groceries and sell goods—aim to develop a self-sustaining model that doesn’t rely so heavily on external support for its existence.

That’s been the dream for so long. It’s hard.

But you can anything. And hope this will be understood in this website bio. I hope you will be understood. Because when people see you, they will see what you’re about. What you’ve done and how you’ve gotten here.

What I love about Charity Water is their 100% well model. Because of how they set up their operating expense, as a donor you know that 100% of your donation is directly being used on the ground.

This same idea is what you get when partnering with Raoul, with Kwagala. While we don’t have the same model, for the last 12 years we have been transparent with what it takes to keep Kwagala running.

Raoul has steadily led Kwagala over the last 12 years, has big ideas that if understood and discussed, would impact thousands and thousands more of lives.

Raoul you have made such a difference. And while we are excited to see where and what Kwagala may grow to become you should be proud of what it is too. And I know you are.

A small but mighty force, in the pearl of Africa, that has impacted literal lives. Experiences.

Something that has genuinly helped people.

Live’s that were made even better as a result of Kwagala’s involvement.

And that’s what life is all about.

That’s Kwagala.

That’s Love.