ASDHI Background
Established in 2005, Africa Social Development and Health Initiatives (ASDHI) is a community-led organization founded by people from the fishing communities in Uganda. The formation was inspired by the need to tackle AIDS problem, which was affecting the community and families of the founders. The founders wanted to honor and emulate the late Sr. Olive Digan’s commitment to community service and social change. Sr. Olive was an Irish Franciscan Missionary Sister who dedicated her life to serving prisoners, the sick, and the poor in Uganda and other African countries. Her work restored hope, human dignity and promoted integral development and social justice among prisoners, the poor and disadvantaged.
At the time, the founders were working with HIV and health service organizations targeting urban and peri-urban communities, leaving the fishing communities where they were born and raised underserved. To honor and celebrate Sr. Olive’s life and address the lack of health and social services, they formed ASDHI.
ASDHI’s initial activities were implemented in the fishing communities of Ssi-Bukunja sub-county in Buikwe district. The focus then was on mobilizing and educating communities about HIV/AIDS and referring them for treatment and psychosocial support services. As time passed by, we realized that AIDS is inextricably linked to lack of education, limited income generation opportunities; lack of saving, investment, and profitable market opportunities, environmental degradation, and lack of family planning, maternal, and child health services.
ASDHI currently implements holistic and integrated community development activities targeting families with vulnerable and orphaned children in fishing and rural communities in Buikwe, Mpigi and Mubende districts.
Our Primary Focus
- Health, which includes HIV prevention and treatment, family planning, maternal and child health, hygiene and sanitation;
- Enhancing assets and livelihoods through economic empowerment, promoting quality education and livelihood skills, revitalizing agriculture and linking farmers to markets, environmental conservation and protection
- Promoting human rights, which entails advocacy against sexual and Gender-based violence, empowering families and communities to protect the rights of children and access legal services.
Objectives
- Increase access to, demand for and utilization of quality HIV and AIDS services among fishing communities
- Scale up access to and utilization of good hygiene and sanitation interventions in fishing communities
- To increase access, demand for and utilization of sexual, reproductive, maternal, and child health services
- To improve food and nutrition security for households in fishing communities
- To empower households in fishing communities to engage in activities that sustainably improve t11heir livelihoods security, conserve and protect the environment.
- To promote quality supply and demand for formal education, business, technical and vocational education in fishing communities
- To empower families in fishing communities to prevent sexual and gender-based violence, protect children’s rights, and access to legal services.
Our Partners
