Dear RG supporters and friends,
We are humbled and grateful for each of you and the part you have played in transforming the beautiful people of Uganda through this ministry, Restoration Gateway (RG). In light of the recent correspondence you have received from the US board and stateside executive director, we believe you deserve clarification regarding RG. We want to be very clear that this letter is to convey truth. Our hearts are to cover all involved, provide transparency and bring honor and glory to Jesus.
We obeyed an invitation by God in 2005 to move to war-torn northern Uganda to help provide Christ-centered restoration to the people, including a multitude of abandoned children. We want to assure you that RG has not veered from this purpose. Our ministry is facing challenges, but the children are and always will be of the highest priority to us!
To understand these challenges, it is important to recognize the governing structure of our ministry. RG is connected in practice to two boards for two separate non-profit organizations: the Ugandan board and Restoration Development Foundation Incorporated, RDFI (US board). The Ugandan board has sole authority to govern Restoration Gateway on the ground in Uganda, while the US board’s primary purpose is to manage donations and make them available to the ministry. In fact, prior to 2022, the US board has generally not sought to take action to change or give direction regarding the management or operation of the mission in Uganda. The US board was not set up for that purpose and does not hold that authority. We believe the current communications and demands by the US board are beyond their scope of authority and in direct conflict with the authority of the Ugandan board. Following these recent communications from the US board, two of six US board members subsequently resigned.
The claims made in the recent US board’s “accountability” emails were based on a private investigative report commissioned by the US board. In response to this report, three swift actions followed: 1) we placed four employees accused in the report on suspension (and they remain on suspension while investigations are ongoing) while two others were initially suspended and then later allowed to continue work under specific conditions which were also agreed upon by the US board, 2) we promptly notified the appropriate Ugandan government authorities, and 3) the Ugandan board, with the agreement of the US board, hired a licensed third-party investigative team to review the allegations in the report and to determine whether they are true.
The Ugandan government, as well as the licensed third-party investigators commissioned by the Ugandan board, have discovered serious concerns regarding the integrity and legality of the findings and methods used in the US board’s initial investigation. In addition, to date, none of the claims in the US board’s report have been substantiated. The health and safety of the children at RG is our utmost concern. If any claims are substantiated, immediate action will be taken, and any prosecution would be fully supported by RG and the Ugandan board. We leave these probes in the capable hands of the government and licensed private investigators tasked with examining these serious allegations and will rely and act upon their findings if they are presented.
We believe you should know that the US board has refused to send your donations to RG for the past three months. We have used our own personal finances to continue to care for the children and workers. The President of Uganda has also committed to provide two months of relief funding (the President’s two letters of support are available, if you desire to receive them). Since investigations are ongoing, we do not feel it is appropriate that funding for children and workers be suspended. Unfortunately, while your donated funds are not reaching RG Uganda, we currently have no way of providing options for tax deductible donations to reach the ministry. However, as many of you have communicated to us, if you desire to continue to support RG during this time, please contact us directly at contact@restorationgateway.ug.
We know you may have other questions, and we will be happy to provide any details that we can. If you have reached out with questions to the email address provided in the recent US board’s “accountability” emails, please know that we have no access to any of your questions or any responses you may have received. If you would like to reach out to us for further clarification, including a more detailed response to the recent US board’s “accountability” emails, again, please contact us at contact@restorationgateway.ug and we will gladly provide these details to you.
It is with humility and heartfelt gratitude to each of you that we send this email.
Sincerely,
Tim and Janice McCall
