About Us

Our Logo and what it stands for

The logo is symbolic of all projects in Kidera and in the Tororo region. The Tororo Rock on the right is the symbol of Tororo and, at 1,384 m high, can be seen throughout the district.

The colours represent the different priorities:

pink – based on the school uniform of Kidera Primary School, stands for education
yellow – economic empowerment of the community, especially women and young people
red - health/medical care
green - modern agriculture
blue - water and energy supply
purple - future projects and scaling-up

On the way between the projects, knowledge is gathered and leads everyone to the goal: Building a Future to Stay at Home.

About Kidera

In Kidera, a village in Eastern Uganda near the Kenyan border, approximately 5,000 people live in 1,200 households in the poorest of conditions.

More than 3,500 people are subsistence farmers. Women (60%) are largely responsible for agriculture and often bear the sole responsibility for family and children.
1,200 are young people between the ages of 18 and 30 – youth unemployment and youth crime is one of the biggest problems.

Education, training and economic empowerment are therefore the most important priorities to enable the people of Kidera to improve their own living conditions.

The Story of
Sam and Norah Owori

Sam and Norah were born in 1940 and 1943, respectively; in Kisoko sub-county, Tororo District in the Bukedi sub-region of Eastern Uganda. They got married on 25 April 1970 and were blessed with three sons, namely Stephen, Bonny and Daniel. They were married for 47 years but had known each other for well over 60 years. 

Sam was a banker with vast experience in corporate governance. He attained his first degree in economics and political science from Makerere University in Uganda. He went on to attain a master’s in business administration, a master’s in law and employment relations and several postgraduate diplomas and certificates from institutions in Tanzania, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, including Harvard Business School. Norah who trained as a teacher taught English to secondary school students for many years.

Sam was inducted into Rotary in 1978. He served in a number of capacities during his illustrious Rotary career, including President of the Rotary Club Kampala, District Governor, Trustee of The Rotary Foundation and Rotary International Director. At the time of his death in July 2017, Sam was the Rotary International President-Elect. Norah on the other hand was a member of the Inner Wheel Club of Kampala. Years later, she joined the Rotary Club of Gaba.

Sam was revered in Uganda and beyond as a person of high integrity. He dedicated most of his life to Service Above Self. Norah followed in her husband’s footsteps. Together, they brought hope and happiness to the underprivileged.

Sam and Norah were also passionate about empowering women and girls. They chose Sam’s ancestral home of Kidera as the site for this project. To this end, Kidera - Adopt A Village will be among many projects that will be implemented in Tororo to honour the memories of these two wonderful Rotarians.

About Stephen and Daniel Owori

Stephen Owori is the eldest son of Sam and Norah. He is also Sam’s heir and the current Chairperson of the Samuel Owori Trust.
Stephen completed his earlier education in Uganda. In 1992, he proceeded to the United States for further studies. He enrolled at Drexel University in Philadelphia where he attained a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a second bachelor’s degree in political science. Upon graduating from Drexel, he worked for Apple Vacations, one of the leading tour and travel operators in the United States, for close to a year before returning to Uganda.
Between 2002 and 2020, Stephen worked for MTN, the largest telecom company in Uganda, in different capacities. In 2021, he joined the National Bureau for NGOs, the regulator of NGOs in Uganda, where he headed the Development Unit until 2024 when the entity was mainstreamed into the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Stephen is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Tororo Sam Owori where he serves as a member of the board. He has attended several Rotary District Conferences and Rotary International Conventions.

Daniel Owori was born in Kampala. He attended tourism and hospitality Institutes in Uganda and Switzerland where he worked at hotels in Geneva. Thereafter he taught English in China also attending universities in Xi'An. He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Gaba since 2022, the club in which his mother was also active.

Since the start of the Global Grant project ‘Kidera - Adopt a Village’ in 2022, Stephen and Daniel Owori have worked closely with Doris and Judith and all project partners to set up and successfully implement the ‘Sam Owori Projects’.

The first steps are the hardest, many more will follow.

About Doris and Judith

Doris Steinmüller-Nethl was born in Germany in 1963 and studied physics in Innsbruck, Tyrol. Together with her husband, a native of Tyrol, she took the risk of self-employment in 1994. The high-tech company is now active worldwide and Doris is head of the research and development department. She has three adult children and is a member of the Rotary Club Innsbruck Alpin since 2006, serving as a community service and foundation officer since 2008.

Judith Köck was born in Mödling, Austria, in 1968, but grew up in South Africa. She studied microbiology in South Africa and has been back in Austria since 1991. After retraining as an interior designer she discovered her passion for designing Penthouses and freelances for interior designers that specialize in hotels. Judith has two adult children and is a member of the Rotary Club Kitzbühel since 2019. She is responsible for international service since 2021.

Judith and Doris met in 2021 for the first time to start the Rotary Global Grant Project ‘Kidera - Adopt a Village ’ and have been working closely with the people of Kidera since then. They are in daily contact with the team in Kidera and Tororo via chat, email and regularly in online meetings, organise fundraising and manage the projects together with the stakeholders - in particular with Stephen and Daniel Owori.

Together with the nurses Heidi Bachler and Johanna Astl from Fieberbrunn/Tyrol, Judith and Doris travel to Uganda twice a year to support health camps, help to drive the projects forward, and find out what further steps are needed for the people to secure their future in their own country.

Rotary Clubs involved

When the Rotary Global Grant (GG21260190) project ‘Kidera - Adopt a Village’ was approved by The Rotary Foundation in 2022 with the host club RC Gaba and the international club RC Innsbruck Alpin, the starting signal was given for the ‘Sam Owori Projects’. This GG was supported by District 1920 and many Rotary Clubs in this District and beyond.

Past District Governor Barbara Wolf-Wicha, a friend of Sam and Norah Owori, introduced the project idea ‘Kidera - Adopt a Village’ to District 1920, and Doris and Judith have carried the fire with great dedication and enthusiasm.

RC Innsbruck Alpin (Doris) and RC Kitzbühel (Judith) have launched many new projects in close cooperation with the people of Kidera. They were actively supported by RC Bonn-Rheinbogen, RC Tororo - Sam Owori and RC Kampala.

A great network was created that, through cooperation with many other groups (Rotaract Kitzbühel, partners and supporters) and many volunteers, made it possible to make Kidera a better place on this earth.

Partners and supporters

The projects and activities could only be carried out successfully because many people and organisations work together and support them - financially and on the ground, hands-on.

A big ‘Thank You’ to all of them!

The two project leaders, Doris Steinmüller-Nethl and Judith Köck, personally contribute a large share of the donations and are particularly grateful for the excellent cooperation with the two nurses Heidi Bachler and Johanna Astl.

The four women visit Kidera twice a year and have now built up a trusting relationship with the community members and the school.

In addition, some of the supporters and wonderful cooperation partners should be mentioned at this point:

There are still a great number of donors not explicitly mentioned here.

At this point, we again express our heartfelt thanks to everyone.