The Steve Willis Memorial Fund is a special cause that’s very close to the heart of The Red Chilli Hideaway, Uganda’s premier budget tourism provider! A proportion of all our sales goes towards the fund and we organise regular fund-raising activities, which in the past have included parties in Kampala and Murchison, a Scottish Ceilidh, a stand-up comedy show and a massive run/cycle all the way from Red Chilli Murchison to Red Chilli Kampala – 300km!
Where do the funds go?
The vast majority of people living in the area surrounding Murchison Falls are still drinking out of traditional water sources, which are very often little more than a stagnant pool or spring. As a direct consequence of this, disease is rife. The Steve Willis Memorial Fund seeks to help those living in areas that were afflicted by the LRA, by providing clean drinking water and providing education in hygiene and sanitation. Working hand-in-hand with The Water Trust, a US based charity with offices in Masindi and Bweyale, The Steve Willis Memorial Fund has so far sunk over 40 boreholes and funded borehole rehabilitations in villages, schools and health centres. Our most recent project was a new water point with hand pump for 978 pupils at Runyaya Primary School, Kiryandongo, which was completed in August 2025. In 2024, The Steve Willis Memorial Fund donated over US$23,000 towards the cost of drilling and piping for a huge solar-powered motorized piped water scheme, which now serves 5,237 people across 6 villages and two primary schools in Masindi and Kiryandongo districts.
So who was Steve Willis?
Steve was born in the UK on 29th August 1967. He came to Uganda in 1995 with the Foreign Office but decided to leave the diplomatic service rather than return to London a few years later. Steve and his wife, Debbie, set up the fledgling Red Chilli Hideaway in Kampala in 1999 and they opened the Red Chilli Rest Camp in Murchison in 2002. On 8th November 2005, whilst responding to a distress call from a group of explorers in the north of Murchison Falls National Park, Steve and his party were ambushed by LRA rebels, and he was tragically shot and killed.
It was so typical of Steve that he should risk his own safety to help someone he believed to be in distress. His humanitarian gesture cost him his life and deprived his family of a husband to Debbie and a father to Joseph (then aged 2) and his then unborn daughter, Zoe. Debbie continues to run the Red Chilli Hideaway today and raising money for others whose lives were also affected by the LRA is an important way of keeping Steve’s name alive, as well as helping some desperately needy people in northern Uganda.
What can you do?
Simply stay at Red Chilli, play a game of pool, swap a book or buy some of our local crafts and you will be contributing towards the Steve Willis Memorial Fund. Keep a look out for special events or ask us about any up-coming fundraising events too! If you wish to make an independent donation, please get in touch and we will very happily pass on bank details – many, many thanks!
