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HISTORY
You Touch Africa arose from an idea of Claudia Nagyivan Flach who was inspired by the efforts of Fr Arbo Lekule, a missionary priest from Tanzania based in London, and his friends. Fr Arbo and friends had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money and renovate the rundown village clinic in memory of his mum Odilia Lucas Lekule who died there in 2001. The money raised was ten times their target. Hence, their passion and commitment to bring about profound changes in the lives of Africans elsewhere.
The founding trustees and associates visited and lived in Africa, and got involved in the lives of the people. They were touched by the Africans resilience and efforts to overcome poverty. The trustees and associates first established lasting bonds with the local people through human solidarity and then through the charity, assisted them in development projects which they would like you to be a part.
Most of the founding trustees and associates were of a group that embarked on a sponsored climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2002. Initially the goal was to raise money for the refurbishment of Makomu Hospital in Fr Arbo Lekule’s village. In 2005 Claudia visited Tanzania with Fr Arbo and filmed a documentary “Father Arbo Goes Back to School.”
In 2007 You Touch Africa was established as a trust and in 2008 it was registered by the UK Charity Commission, with a registration number Reg. No: 1123085.
In 2020 You Touch Africa branched out to the United States and was incorporated in October 2020 as You Touch Africa-USA Inc., a registered 501(c)3 corporation FEIN 85-3826728.
Both organizations operate as legally separate entities, ensuring compliance for charitable organizations as defined by the individual countries. With Father Arbo serving on both boards, we coordinate projects and ensure no overlap of project funding.
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