What happens when leaders choose to walk alongside one another?

Find out below in this month’s update as we follow the story of Tito, Cosmas, and Kato, to see how their collaboration is multiplying leaders across South Sudan and Uganda.

Never Walk Alone.

Pause and Reflect…

Three Stones, One Fire.

In 2002, while teaching at a school for street children in Nairobi, Cosmas, current Executive Director of African Leadership South Sudan, was shot in the chest during an armed robbery. After surgery, he spent 48 hours in a coma. As he began to wake, he heard a woman praying over him and calling on the name of Jesus.

That woman, a prayer warrior with a hospital visitation ministry, continued to walk alongside Cosmas after he left the hospital, leading him to faith in Jesus and discipling him in his new walk with Christ.

Years later, Cosmas found someone else willing to walk alongside him: Tito Oturo, African Leadership's Continental Coordinator.

During a recent conversation, we asked Tito and Cosmas what collaboration means to them and why it matters. Cosmas described it with a picture familiar across Africa: three stones supporting a cooking pot over a fire.

"If you remove one stone, then there is no success. The balancing is based on the support of those three. Collaboration means putting our efforts together to propel us ahead."

One stone alone cannot hold the pot. It takes the strength and support of all three.That became the story of Tito and Cosmas.

Tito became more than a colleague. He became a mentor, coach, and friend, challenging Cosmas to grow in his faith and leadership.

"When I'm about to quit, that is the time when he comes to my rescue," Cosmas shared. "He always looks at things from different perspectives."

"I'm not a director," Tito explained. "I'm a coach."

As Cosmas put it, "The coach doesn't go in and play football. But he has all the experience, all the expertise, and then he gives it to the player."

Through Tito's investment, Cosmas learned not only how to lead, but how to invest in others.

Cosmas teaching a leadership class in South Sudan.

Three stones holding up a pot, a traditional cooking method across Africa.

His Chains Led to Change

On January 31, 2022, Cosmas and Tito met Pastor Evarest Kato on the very day Kato was released from prison after serving three years.

Kato had been falsely accused of murder and sent to prison facing a possible death sentence, leaving behind his eight children and pregnant wife. Yet, during those three years, Kato found a mission in an unlikely place. He began preaching and discipling other inmates, seeing the prison not only as a place of confinement, but as a place where God had given him an opportunity to serve.

When Kato was released, Cosmas saw something unique in him.

He encouraged Kato to look at his years in prison not as wasted time, but as a season God could use. He challenged him to write down his testimony and reflect on what he had learned.

Cosmas had experienced what it meant for someone to invest in him. Now, he was doing the same for Kato.

Together, they began an African Leadership class inside the Pagrinyang refugee settlement in Adjumani, Uganda. That partnership eventually led Kato to establish Forget the Past Ministry, bringing the mission he discovered in prison into two correctional facilities in Adjumani District: Olia and Openjiji.

Tito (left) Kato’s wife, Kato, and Cosmas on the day of Kato’s release.

Kato and his wife reunited after 3 years!

The Impact Multiplies

Through Forget the Past Ministry, Kato has reached more than 2,000 inmates with the Gospel and impacted more than 70 prison wardens. Through evangelism and discipleship, inmates have been equipped to share God's Word throughout the prison wards.

The impact has extended to the wardens, too. Rather than simply guarding prison cells, they have been encouraged to help mentor prisoners toward becoming law-abiding, productive members of their communities.

Former inmates have returned to communities across Uganda and South Sudan as changed individuals with purpose. Some have even gone on to plant churches and serve their communities, carrying the Gospel and the story of their own transformation with them.

Tito invested in Cosmas.

Cosmas invested in Kato.

And Kato is now investing in others.

The three stones Cosmas described have continued to multiply. Each leader strengthens another, and each person reached has the potential to reach someone else.

Tito and Cosmas have learned that leadership is not meant to be done alone. This is the hope of African Leadership: that leaders would not simply be equipped to lead, but equipped to walk with others and invest in them.

What began with one person walking alongside Cosmas has now reached refugee settlements, prisons, churches, and communities across Uganda and South Sudan.

One leader walks with another. And together, the impact keeps multiplying.

Kato (left) and his team prepping for a day of ministry in a Ugandan prison.

Tito with Kato in Uganda.

Kato (right) and a ministry volunteers at a Ugandan prison.

Leaders like Cosmas and Kato continue serving their communities because people like you stand with them.

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Field Updates

📍DR Congo

The World Cup has provided a welcome moment of unity and joy in the occupied zone that Jeremie described as “one drop of joy in an ocean of pain.” Jeremie and his team traveled to Kibumba to harvest potatoes with students who have been learning both agriculture and the Word of God. Classes continue across the region, though economic challenges have made it difficult to provide manuals, Bibles, and basic necessities. As the Ebola outbreak continues to cause concern in eastern DRC, the team is taking precautions and working to protect staff and students.

📍 Uganda

Graduations continue across Uganda, including a recent graduation of six students near Gulu. Farmers are preparing for a second planting season after some crops were damaged by unfavorable weather. The country has also been affected by growing political tension and fear surrounding reports of abductions and the treatment of human rights activists and opposition figures. Leaders are asking for prayer for peace, security, and protection for the people of Uganda.

📍 Malawi

African Leadership Malawi recently celebrated the graduation of over 20 chiefs in Dowa, where chiefs gathered with one another and shared powerful testimonies. Classes continue to progress, and leaders are praying that these chiefs will use their influence to bring lasting change to their families and communities, showing a new way forward. Leonard has been supporting trauma healing classes across the region, helping teachers grow more confident in guiding others toward healing.

The People Walking With Us

Pray With Us

Pray for safety and peace

Pray for Asrat and his family as his children spend the next two months at home, and for safe travels as he attends graduations across the region. Pray for the many upcoming graduations and for peace and stability in northern Ethiopia, where tensions remain high.

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

Pray for endurance and health among our network

Please pray for continued protection over African Leadership Congo staff, students, and communities amid the Ebola outbreak, for wisdom and safety as they take prevention measures, and for healing and peace for those affected, especially in Bunia and Beni.

🇨🇩 DR Congo

Pray for stability and harvest

Pray for continued peace and stability as South Sudan looks toward December elections, and for no fighting in the months ahead. Pray for farmers whose crops were damaged by extreme heat, for successful planting and harvests, and for God’s provision for communities facing food insecurity. Pray also for continued protection from Ebola.

🇸🇸 South Sudan

Pray for wisdom and growth

Please pray for our leaders and ministry partners in Sierra Leone as they continue serving their communities. Pray for wisdom and opportunities to reach more people with access to leadership classes.