History
The home was inaugurated on 19th of September 1970 . It was founded by the Diocese of Rwenzori Church of Uganda and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal as a concept which was borrowed from the Sanyu Babies Home in Kampala that was under the Namirembe Diocese Church of Uganda (Anglican). The idea started as a result of the increasing number of orphaned children in the Tooro region due to the political instability which engulfed the country at that time. It was observed that there was no single organization which took care of the welfare of such children most of whom ended up dying.
It was established through the joint and generous effort of local personalities, Sanyu Babies Home (Kampala), Church of Uganda (Rwenzori Diocese) which donated the piece of Land where the home is situated, the Catholic Church (Fortportal Diocese) and a number of other local voluntary organizations through Toro Joint Advisory Welfare Council.
The establishment of Toro Babies Home was possible due to the substantial financial support from a group of Girl Guides and Scouts from Norway who were approached by the first matron Ms. Ell Rodd who was of Norwegian origin. Her personal effort and the contribution made by the Norwegian Girl Guides and Scouts led to the construction of the buildings which are still housing the Home today. Ms Ell Rodd in her 90s today is still living in Stroud-England and we have kept a close contact with her, she remains a loving mother of Toro Babies Home. The concept of supporting the Babies Home was later adopted by Bishop Festo Kivengere who became a strong fund-raiser through his organization African Evangelistic Enterprise (AEE).
Before the intervention of TCCC, the daily running of Tooro Babies Home had been facilitated by the local community, the African Evangelical Enterprises (AEE) and some well-wishers although the year 2000 saw a great financial difficulty which greatly affected the running of the Home as the quality and health of the children. The coming in of yet another Norwegian Ms. Gerda Lillian Rongevaer with her team under the organization Tooro Child Care Centre (TCCC), gave relief and hope to the children and the running of the Home. Tooro Child Care Centre has led the fundraising campaign since the year 2004 to date and have consistently funded activities and daily running of the Home.
Today, Toro Babies home is registered under the board of trustees as the owners (two Bishops of Rwenzori and Fort portal Dioceses) and they appoint seven board members from both the Anglican and Catholic churches and also on the board, the Chairperson Local Council 1 of the area where Toro Babies Home is situated and the district probation officer are part of the board of governors representing government, making a total of nine board members. For the daily running and administration of the Home, the board appoints a full time matron and her deputy.
