About Us
Building cohesive communities through solidarity
Twakwakira / Welcome!!
Obuntu-led Community Initiative Ltd is a non-profit organisation that works with communities to support them in their initiatives of mutually helping each other.
Our Mission
Our mission is to build, promote and preserve cohesive communities where members work in solidarity to ensure each other's well-being.
Our Core Values
Ubuntu Philosophy
We believe in the African philosophy of Ubuntu - "I am because we are" - recognizing our interconnectedness and shared humanity.
Community Solidarity
We foster communities where members work together in solidarity to ensure mutual well-being and support.
Indigenous Knowledge
We value and preserve African indigenous philosophies and models of doing social work.
Intergenerational Connection
We create spaces that celebrate older people and bridge generational gaps through shared experiences.
Our Approach
At Obuntu-Led Community Initiative, we take a community-centered approach to addressing poverty and disadvantage. We work alongside communities, listening to their needs and supporting their own initiatives rather than imposing external solutions.
Our work is grounded in research and documentation of African indigenous philosophies, ensuring that our interventions are culturally relevant and sustainable. We believe that communities have the knowledge and capacity to solve their own challenges when given the right support and resources.
Leadership
Dr Sharlotte Tusasiirwe
The story of Obuntuled Community Initiative begins long before it became a registered charity in Australia. It begins in the rural villages of Western Uganda, where Dr Sharlotte Tusasiirwe grew up surrounded by community, laughter, and the quiet strength of families who carried each other through hardship.
As a child, Sharlotte walked the long, dusty paths to school, often with nothing but determination and hope in her pocket. She witnessed friends drop out of school because of poverty, girls forced into early responsibilities, and families struggling to navigate systems that did not reflect their rural realities. These experiences shaped her understanding of inequality—not as an abstract concept, but as a daily lived reality.
Years later, after moving to Australia and engaging deeply in social work, research, and community development, Sharlotte felt a persistent pull back to the communities that shaped her. She carried with her the spirit of Ubuntu: the belief that our humanity is intertwined, that we rise by lifting others, and that community is the heart of meaningful change.
Obuntuled Community Initiative was born from this calling.
Sharlotte envisioned an organisation that works with communities—amplifying local wisdom, restoring dignity, and creating opportunities grounded in culture and community leadership. Registered as a charity in Australia, Obuntuled builds bridges across continents, mobilising knowledge, resources, and partnerships to support community-led solutions in Uganda.
From supporting girls to stay in school, to strengthening families, to nurturing youth leadership, Sharlotte's work is guided by a simple but powerful promise: that no child's future should be defined by the inequitable circumstances they were born.
Her journey—from a rural village to international advocacy—is not just a personal story; it is a testament to what becomes possible when hope is met with action. Obuntuled is her way of giving back, honouring her roots, and ensuring that the next generation of Ugandan children can dream bigger, stand taller, and walk paths that once felt impossible.