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I am currently sitting in an apartment in downtown Kampala on the main road. Its very noisy when you open the door or the window, but its too muggy to keep them shut. Its 10 pm and I should really be going to bed, as I worked till 4.30am this morning and have been training from 10.30am till 8.30pm. However I wanted to seize this small amount of relaxed time to write down some of my experiences and to share my immense gratitude to you (and our other friends) who have helped finance this work - and who have made it possible for me to eat a good meal tonight, and to visit a hospital yesterday to buy some medicine without worrying that I'd run out of money. In my last visits I had spent all my savings, drawn our mortgage to the hilt, and used all $34,000 of credit cards I owned - in order to set up the Institute: to rent premises, furnish them, pay for advertising for our courses, for venues, for stationary (including the 25,000 pages of manuals, handouts, certificate forms, procedures, flyers, press releases and letters we made and printed), as well as for 3 computers and books for the library, and everything else needed to realise the dream of changing the outlook and approach of Uganda's managers, and to bring in a style of training which literally changes people so they, and the country's N.G.O.'s, Government Officials and Corporations become so effective that poverty will end and people will begin to lead more fulfilling lives. As you know, I had committed myself to doing everything I could to make that a reality - even though it meant eating $2 meals everyday - and losing 4 kgs each visit (on a body that's already on the skinny side of slim). Unfortunately, due to the stress of the work in my last visit - and from working through too many nights, I contracted an ugly boil (about 1" in diameter). I bought some cheap local antibiotics, but the boil got worse and my whole hand started swelling. So I went to a doctor who gave me a better antibiotic. Having spent all my money on the Institute, however, I had to ask the doctor if I could put some of the bill on credit. Fortunately this request was quite normal for a doctor working in Uganda and was cheerfully accepted. This time I've again found myself with an ugly boil (the size of a table-tennis ball cut in half - and very visible - on my cheek). So its wonderful to have your support - and to know that not only can I pay for everything the Institute needs to do its work well - but that I'll also have enough to pay for any medical treatment required. And I am truly moved with gratitude and appreciation that I can occasionally treat myself to an upmarket restaurant such as the one I ate at tonight, which gave me a vegetarian meal, a juice, a water, and a complimentary rose for just A$10.20. But of course of far more importance - and the deepest reason for my gratitude is what your support has allowed the Institute to do. I am also feeling very proud of the Institute's volunteers. A couple of days ago Robert (our manager) ran most of the training - and the stories he used, the exercises he gave people, and the reactions - of excitement, interest, laughter, and a real sense of camaraderie, showed that he had truly mastered the art of training, and was an example - in his training, his management of the Institute, and in his own life - of the excellence which he was encouraging others to tap into. And today Nassar (our longest serving volunteer) did some of the training. Prior to getting up in front of the group he was feeling quite petrified, but he knew this was what he was wanting to do - and so he pushed though the fear - and did a fantastic job. I hadn't really had time to congratulate him during the day, so I phoned him over dinner, coincidentally at just the right time for Nassar to proudly tell me that barely 5 minutes ago a participant had shared with him that his training had changed the participant's life. We've been training for almost 9 days straight - running a 3 day public course on Advanced Leadership (Level 1) and then going straight into a 6 day Training of Trainers program for 10 very active community leaders from the countryside who want to provide some of our training in their West Nile homeland. We also have 3 participants from the Advanced Leadership program who on hearing of this training immediately rescheduled their diaries so they could also attend the training. These include Mrs Oteba*, the head of Pharmacy for Uganda's leading hospital; Steven - who trains small-business leaders and has agreed to give the Institute 10% of his revenue in exchange for the right to run our program; and Stephen - who wants to expand his Adult Education N.G.O. (Charity) in order to reach most government, N.G.O. and business leaders in the districts near him, to mobilise people to attend our trainings, and to set up a College on 20 acres of land his organisation recently bought. Yet although we've been training for 8 of the last 9 days, the group are all saying the training keeps getting better and deeper - and that they don't want to leave. Indeed many have decided to stay for our Advanced Leadership - Level 2 Program next Tuesday to Thursday, and to return for our Personal Development training next month. All of this is possible only because of you and your support - so please accept my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation - not only from myself, but also on behalf of the hundreds of participants who have asked me to pass on their gratitude and appreciation for what they believe are life changing experiences and learnings. Thank you!! Love, * [When Tony was in Uganda in November 2001 he was told that Mrs Oteba had been promoted to by the Head Pharmacist for all of Uganda.] 
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