The motto of the Royal Life Saving Society, Uganda is: "Whomsoever you see in distress, recognize in him a fellow human being". This ethos has kept the Society going in very difficult circumstances.

RLSS Uganda traces its origins to the 1960s, when a British police officer, John Beaden, built a training pool at Kibuli Police Training School. The Amin regime and civil strife interrupted the work – and the voluntary basis of the Society has limited its capabilities since its revival in 1983.

However, in 2012 the few active members decided to register the organisation as a Civil Society, aiming to bring basic lifesaving skills to vulnerable people.

The Society's aim is to contribute to the reduction of drowning in Uganda by increasing water safety awareness, training lifeguards, introducing life saving as a sport to enhance young people's skills, and to provide life saving services as required.

Lack of their own infrastructure, and reliance on volunteers (whose time is necessarily limited) has led the Society to focus on training organisations such as the Police. But – with the support of partners like the Commonwealth Life Saving Society and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – a proposal has been developed which, once funded, will address these major challenges.