Learn More About the Wambale Mission
Wambale, Inc. was formed to provide the assistance necessary to create a sustainable living environment for the people living in Father Francis Mayinja’s villages. We will accomplish this by providing a combination of the basic needs of education, water, agriculture, sanitation, and medical clinic facilities.
To this end, Wambale, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) corporation was created, dedicated solely to continuing this effort.
Charitable organizations are scrutinized using standard financial auditing measures to assess their impact and effectiveness while providing accountability to their donors. From 2015 to the present, Wambale, Inc. is proud to disclose a consistent stewardship accomplishment:
89% efficiency performance ratio
This directly reflects the actual funds deployed for charity work in Uganda.
With a sustainable living environment in place, these villages will become model, replicable communities within the region!
Board of Directors:
Father Francis Mayinja
Father Francis was introduced to Father Brian Morrow in 2005 during a visit to the United States for a conference in Colorado Springs. Fr. Francis was hosted by Fr. Brian, who at that time was the pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish in Longmont. Fr. Brian and Fr. Francis recognized the opportunity to create a relationship between the parishes where God’s desire for us to love one another can be put into action.
Fr. Francis, a native of Uganda, is instrumental in bringing a substantial improvement to the basic living conditions of the people of his country through the gifts, talents, and expertise of many generous individuals from Colorado and across the United States.
Education is the key solution to the improvement of many adjacent difficult factors in the lives of the Ugandan people. However, in order to provide that education, some of the other basic necessities of life require attention first. Clean water, sanitation facilities, medical clinics, agricultural solutions, and schools all contribute to the solution and physical well-being of the Villagers. The Catholic faith, spiritual growth, and sacramental nurturing are all intertwined in various facets of the Wambale Catholic Mission.
Fr. Francis, a liaison in Uganda through the Wambale Catholic Mission, has been continuing to provide solutions and support to the people physically, practically, and spiritually. And all outreach and prayers are deeply appreciated.
Jim Hepp – Director Emeritus
Jim was one of the original founders who formed Wambale, Inc., in 2006. The primary goal of Wambale has always been to support Fr. Francis’ efforts working with the poor people in Uganda by providing a sustainable living environment for the people living in Fr. Francis’ villages. The Wambale objective is to support the basic needs of education, water, agriculture, sanitation, and medical clinic facilities.
After 17 years of actively supporting Fr. Francis through the Wambale Catholic Mission effort, Jim passed away early in 2022. His dedication, abundant generosity, and philanthropic spirit are truly missed and will remain with all of us at Wambale for a lifetime! Please visit his Memorial page to learn more about Jim Hepp.
Father Brian Morrow
Father Brian was introduced to Father Francis Mayinja in 2005. At that time, Fr. Brian was the pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Longmont and hosted Fr. Francis during his visit from Uganda to the US. It was a wonderful opportunity to ‘adopt’ Fr. Francis and the Wambale community as brothers and sisters in faith.
Fr. Brian believes living the virtue of charity includes providing financial support, giving our brothers and sisters hope by helping with education, sanitation facilities, medical clinics, and most importantly, praying for their spiritual growth and well-being.
Ron Elsis
Ron met Father Francis back in 2006 while Father was making one of his first visits to St. John The Baptist Church in Longmont, CO. Ron was very moved by the plight of the children and the lack of basic water, sanitation, education, and medical needs being met. Ron truly believes that charity comes from the heart and the surrounding community.
Ron has over 30 years in a variety of business management experience that he brings in to the table in helping run Wambale, Inc.
Scott Dunn
Scott graduated from the University of Colorado in 1988 with a B.A. in History and Political Science and earned his Juris Doctor in 1991 from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
After law school, Scott served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1992-1995. During his time in the Navy Scott served primarily as a Defense Counsel in Courts-Martial. After completing his service in the Navy Scott moved to Longmont. Scott’s practice focuses on real estate, business law, land use, estate planning, and general and commercial litigation.
Scott is the Chairman of the City of Longmont Planning and Zoning Commission. He also serves on the Board of the John Paul II Adventure Institute and the governing board for the John Paul II Outdoor Lab and Camp Wojtyla. His expertise is offered to the Wambale Mission in the realms of land use, planning, business law, and general litigation.
Dwight Hanson
Dwight Hanson is a Licensed Civil Engineer and had traveled to all of the sites supported by Wambale. Previous projects have concentrated on providing safe drinking water to clinics and schools.
The current project is to build out St. John’s Primary School at Wambale so there will be enough students so it will be self-sustaining. To do this Dwight has been working with the Administration, Faculty, and the Villagers at Wambale to design a self-supporting school and safe water supply system for the Villagers.
Frank Pratte
Frank is a Licensed Electrical Consulting Engineer who has visited and worked at our sites in Uganda for upgrading photovoltaic power systems, facility design, lightning protection, radio systems, medical equipment, and education of students and staff in energy usage.
Frank’s avocation is agricultural and horticultural applications and had been involved in soil testing and water systems. Frank is semi-retired and devoted to the Wambale Mission effort.
John Williams
John Williams was the spearhead of the St John the Baptist Catholic Church Food Bank in Longmont from 2002 to 2019. From a fledgling closet-size operation to an integral, vibrant, essential ministry, John was the administrative lead and co-ordinator of volunteers that made the Food Bank a reality. Its success required dedication, prudence, perseverance, and empathy for all involved.
Over the course of those 17 years, John actively offered his insight and experience to the Wambale Catholic Mission Team. After his retirement in 2019, his Wambale support has continued in the form of prayers, generosity, and encouragement. His contributions have been immeasurable.
Jan Landers
Jan first met Fr. Francis during his early visit to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in 2006. In 2017, Members of the Board presented the need for a website and a more fluent communication solution for Fr. Francis to share progress news and needs from Uganda with Wambale donors.
It was a natural fit. Jan built the website and began compiling the donor contact list facilitating effective communication with all those who so generously support Fr. Francis and his mission efforts.
Jan has experience in traditional and email marketing and the web development industry. Jan is semi-retired and dedicated to the Wambale Catholic Mission effort.