Our Story
Preserving our language • Connecting generations • Celebrating Tooro heritage
How a shared concern for our children became a cultural education initiative.
Where it began
Yega Orutooro means, simply, “learn Rutooro”. It began with a question many diaspora parents ask: how do we pass on our language when our children are growing up far from Tooro?
The initiative was co-founded by Julian Businge and Tracy Guma, who saw that families wanted to learn but had few structured, accessible resources to learn from. They set out to build them.
What we have built so far
- A Beginner Rutooro Video Course, produced with Mirembe Faridah and available to learners worldwide.
- Our first international learner joined from the United States in August 2026.
- A Family Starter Pack in development, being checked by a fluent Rutooro speaker before release.
- Native-speaker audio recordings, so learners hear Rutooro as it is truly spoken.
How we work
- Accuracy first. Every lesson and resource is checked by fluent speakers before it is published.
- Respect for custodians. Cultural knowledge is shared with care and, where needed, with permission.
- Honest reporting. We only share achievements we can evidence.
Where we are going
We are building toward a wider cultural heritage library of proverbs, stories and traditions, family learning sessions for diaspora communities, and partnerships with institutions in the UK and Uganda.