The war from 1990 to 2000 was led by the rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who severely affected the village of Kisanga, where houses, families, animals and property were looted by the rebels. According to the UN, most of the rebels are Islamists who want to introduce Sharia law in Uganda.

The survivors are suffering from the psychological trauma of their war experiences and the community continues to face poor sanitation and health services, hunger and poverty. The village community of Kisanga has since suffered the consequences of poor education, as schools were destroyed by the war, and poverty, as most families survive on less than 1 USD and one meal a day.

In 2007, a group of community leaders from Kisanga village approached Ms. Mbambu Jackline, a student who had just completed her bachelor's degree in community development at a national institution, Makerere University, to find lasting solutions to the orphanage crisis, health crisis, inequality and food shortages in the rural community.  Ms. Mbambu Jackline shared the idea with her colleagues with whom she had graduated and decided to jointly establish an organization called Reach The Poor (REP) through which they would develop and implement initiatives to improve the needs of orphans and the vulnerable using sustainable local solutions. Mrs. Mbambu Jackline died in a road accident in 2013, and the organization continues to work towards achieving its mission and goals.