The journey of starting Centre for Integrated Community Development-Uganda commenced with the Founder and Team Leader Jonan Nduhuura during his work as a professional social worker and an academician teaching in higher learning institutions in Uganda. Jonan was eager to create an organization that works with vulnerable and hard to reach areas that are always marginalized and excluded in development processes. He realized a great need to establish a strong holistic community development agency that contributes solutions that respond to the needs and problems of rural communities in Uganda especially in Buhweju District. Jonan mobilized passionate people who had interests for community transformation in order to develop resilient and progressive sustainable rural communities in Uganda.
In 2016, a baseline survey was conducted in Buhweju district, Greater Bushenyi and findings revealed that Buhweju district like any other local district was grappling with household poverty, gender inequality, early marriages and pregnancies, school dropouts, and limited access to social services. To respond to these rural challenges rural areas Jonan teamed up with other Co-founders such as Baron Ariyo, Mirembe Beatrice, Rebecca Rukundo, Banda Lawrence, Brian Ayebare and Obed Tumusiime, created a formidable force to create community based responses that improve the lives of vulnerable persons by mindset change, working with persons, community structures and institutions to create avenues for inclusive community transformation and bridging people to prosperity for sustainable development.
CICD- U initiated community based programmes to respond to issues that affect the well-being of people such as poverty, food insecurity, limited business opportunities for economic empowerment, environment, limited access to education and health care. Much of the work we began with was focused on vulnerable persons and communities through mindset change, knowledge sharing, school and community outreaches. In addition CICD-U work is now centered on human centered approaches that promote sustainable livelihood development, ecotourism and education by working with people to transform their lives and create platforms for personal growth, tapping into existing entrepreneurial avenues in a sustainable manner. Our dream is to have an organization that works with, empowers people and communities by creating lasting solutions together for socio-economic transformation.