The Trust takes its name from the kingdom of Busoga in Uganda.

In 1979 the Rt. Revd. Cyprian Bamwoze, then Bishop of Busoga, set up the Busoga Diocese multi-sectoral rural development programme (MSRDP) with the aim of bringing improved prosperity and hope to the people of his Diocese after years of political turmoil and anarchy.

The original sectors of the MRSDP included Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, Forestry, Veterinary Medicine, Medical and Family Planning. Unable to find suitable expertise in his own country, the Bishop turned to his contacts in the UK for help. His appeal led to the foundation of the Busoga Trust, a UK based charity which, though it has over the years helped with several of the original sectors of the MSRDP, has as its principal aims the raising of money for water development projects in the rural areas of Uganda with a major emphasis on sanitation and health education.

The Trust started its programme of constructing wells, protected springs, boreholes and rainwater harvesting tanks in 1984. In 1996 at the invitation of the Bishop of Luwero, the Trust extended its work into his diocese, in what was known as the former killing fields of Uganda. Since 1997, health, education and sanitation have become an increasingly important part of the programme to ensure the maximum benefit is obtained from clean water. Sustainability is a key emphasis and a system of local maintenance aims to achieve 100% functionality of all water sources, with the primary responsibility on the local committee who are responsible for their well.

After 2000 the Trust began to work anywhere in Uganda, tendering for work with both local government and private donors. The Trust’s policy is to establish long-term partnerships with major funding agencies as their local service providers. Currently the Trust has five such partners.

The Trust relies almost entirely on private sources for income in the UK that is schools, churches, trusts and, increasingly, individuals. In the past the Trust benefited greatly from funding by the UK government, the EU and Comic Relief, but funding priorities for these organisation has either veered away from water, sanitation & hygiene or the level of competition has increased to the stage where we cannot compete with the multi-million dollar, INGOs. The Trust has encouraged links between such groups as churches and schools in the UK and Uganda, and these have produced many long-term benefits to both parties.

The Trust in its present form was first conceived of in 1982 and we are proud to be celebrating our 30^th anniversary this year.