Moses Okode, a teacher by trade and local representative for Soroti Community Development Effort,(a registered charitable indigenous non-governmental organization based in the Soroti District, Uganda, describes himself as a person who "can make bridges where there are no rivers, a down to earth man, and God fearing." These qualities serve him well in a region,Serere village, negatively impacted by HIV/AIDS, and where he serves local orphans. Serere is one of the poorest villages in Uganda where orphans and school drop-outs abound.
According to Okode, the primary goal of the project is to provide sustainable education for the 50 children, who are the main beneficiaries of SCODE located in Serere Village.
He said the organization uses a holistic approach in community development. Okode pointed out there are currently over 500 orphans living in the village, as well as a paucity of resources to support them.
He noted the problem of HIV/AIDS scourge and poverty in the community, has posed a threat to the development of the society and of the country at large. According to a World Bank report on HIV prevalence, Uganda has remained one of the worst affected countries by HIV/AIDS. The report went on to note HIV prevalence was unacceptably high at 8% in the adult population. Since the onset of the epidemic, about 2.2 million people had been infected, 800,000 had died, and over 1.1 million children had been orphaned. AIDS was the leading cause of adult mortality and responsible for 12% of annual deaths.
Finally, the World Bank report pointed out that the socioeconomic consequences of HIV/AIDS have devastated every aspect of national development, imposing a mounting burden on households, communities and the society.
Soroti Community Developemnt Effort (SCODE) has been operating for six years, and despite the obstacles facing the community, the overwhelming number of orphans, and limited resources Okode said SCODE intends to achieve improved livelihoods of the rural people in Soroti District, and continue to work toward the well-being of the community. Okode said the organization was started once the severity of the problems in the village were examined more closely. "A problem was identified, members mobilized to start an NGO, and they contributed membership fees, and the constitution was made. Soroti Community Development Effort (SCODE) was registered in the Republic of Uganda under the NGO’s registration statute," he said.
Okode said a key person in the organization who continues to offer support is Alaso Alice Asianut."She is an Ugandan,graduated with A B.A in Education from Makerere University, she served as a teacher of Geography in Teso colllege Aloet, and she also served as a district gender officer in the Soroti district. In addition, she again served as a coordinator PEARL (program for enhancement of adoloescent reproductive life) in theSoroti district. At the moment, she is the woman representative member of Parliament in Soroti district.
She and other members were motivated by the need to reconstruct the social, economic status of the Soroti district which had been destroyed during the period of insurgency in the region," he said. Some of the challenges the organization faces in being able to do its work, is related to the lack of mode of transportation for monitoring field activities, and lack of computer equipment for the purpose of database management. Yet, Okode said SCODE will move ahead with its unique approach to participatory planning and monitoring of the project activities.
John May, a demographer for The World Bank noted that population growth has had negative effects on the development agenda. In an interview he went on to say:"It’s a challenge for major reasons. First, rapid population growth puts a lot of stress on ecosystems. Many different issues such as food security, land tenure, environmental degradation and water supply do have a demographic background. Civil strife is also often caused by population pressure on scarce resources. Secondly, rapid population growth impacts on the economy because governments need to provide human capital investments for their population — education, health, etc,". he noted.
Okode explained that the mandate of SCODE is rural development and also includes: working towards access to safe drinking water and sanitation, food security, and environmental and agricultural programs.
To learn more, visit: http://www.nabuur.com/en/village/serere