Our Impact & Heritage Preservation
What Yega Orutooro has built, and what comes next
Since 2021, Yega Orutooro has developed and published digital language-learning resources for the Rutooro language, including mobile apps on Android and iPhone, a structured beginner video course and online learning content.
5,000+
Android app installs on Google Play
2
Mobile platforms: Android and iPhone
15
Course lessons across 27 videos
Since 2021
Building Rutooro learning resources
Install figure as shown on Google Play, November 2026.
What we have achieved
October 2021
Published the Learn Rutooro (Yega Orutooro) app on Google Play, developed by co-founders Tracy Guma and Julian Businge.
August 2025
Published the Learn Rutooro app on the Apple App Store.
2026
Released the Beginner Rutooro Video Course: 15 step-by-step lessons across 27 videos, produced with Mirembe Faridah.
August 2026
Welcomed our first international course learner, from the United States.
November 2026
Launched yegaorutooro.org with a free sample lesson.
What our resources cover
- Pronunciation and the Rutooro alphabet
- Greetings and everyday phrases
- Family, home and community vocabulary
- Food, farming, animals and the natural world
- Professions and occupations
- Rutooro proverbs and their meanings
- Cultural items, traditions and Bible stories
- Quizzes to practise and test learning
How we protect quality
- Lessons and resources are checked by fluent Rutooro speakers before release.
- Audio is recorded by native speakers, so learners hear Rutooro as it is truly spoken.
- We share cultural knowledge with care and respect for its custodians.
- We report only achievements we can evidence.
What support would make possible
The following are planned activities that require funding and partnership. They are not yet delivered.
- Recording oral heritage: community-led recording of proverbs, stories, songs and sayings with elders in Tooro and the diaspora, before this knowledge is lost.
- Empaako learning resources: materials that help diaspora families understand and use the Empaako naming tradition, recognised by UNESCO as heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
- Family learning sessions: online and in-person sessions for diaspora parents, grandparents and children.
- A digital heritage library: an open archive of verified Rutooro words, audio and cultural knowledge.
- Improving our apps: updated content, native-speaker audio and wider device support.
- Measuring impact: learner feedback and evaluation to show what works.
Partner with us
We welcome cultural institutions, funders, universities and community organisations who share our commitment to keeping Rutooro alive.