Team strategy

Victim Empowerment Networks and teams (VENT)

VENT addresses the effects of injsutice and is the main processing unit for initiating teams of ACTS. After which, economic empowerment follows in other thematic areas. The general objective and aim of VENT is to continouosly operate a facility that fosters and supports efforts of holistically restoring victims of social injustice (including defiled, abused, abandoned and devastated women and youths (DADYs). The main objectives are: 1.To periodically counsel and train victims in order to psychosocially rehabilitate and skilfully equip them, 2.To establish self-motivating community-supported initiatives that economically support, occupy and empower them. The first objective involves the following activities: a) Annually search, defend and counsel as many victims as possible, selecting some, through set criteria, for further development and possible engagement/employment, b) Annually facilitate referrals of at least victims with peculiar psychosocial, health and legal cases to relevant institutions or other support systems, c) Organise  comprehensive trainings for some victims per year to gain practical  skills along their  feasible interests and talents. The second objective involves the following activities:a) Initiate and oversee operations of community-supported initiatives (such as nursery schools, farm stores and clinics) through participatory approaches to economically occupy and empower victims as direct stakeholders. b) Acquire more equipments for small scale partnerships with victims that can offer specialised services. For instance, restored trained victims can be given machines to use with agreements to share proceeds with the project. Thus, victims are not only psychosocially restored but also skilfully equipped and empowered; enabled to form healthy, diversified and sustainable team networks that enhance community development. It is through this effort that victims are fully networked and occupied to lead independent lives. At some stage, the above restoration needs to apply to offenders (especially ex-prisoners) who badly need being prepared to re-enter communities after serving their prison terms and/or sentences.

From the above, programs and teams are developed along themes below and each of the restored victims fitted within any of them as a partner and/or employee.

The Education theme and teams

Community foundation schools set up in recognition of the fact that while there is free Universal Primary and secondary Education in Uganda, the government does not fund nursery schools. However, the policy framework within which kindergarten and vulnerable children are handled is in place and conducive. It has also been noted that children who go to schools without receiving proper foundational nursery care and education find it difficult to settle into primary and secondary school to learn. They can also be disruptive in the classroom and damage other children’s ability to concentrate and learn. The result is that children go to next classes with big learning gaps which make getting the most out of their education opportunities virtually impossible. Further, many drop out of school because they cannot afford even the basic requirements of being retained in schools because they are poor or  orphans. The Ministry of Education and Sports accepts the fact that children who do not have proper care and support and who don’t begin from nursery school are a problem and drastically affected in learning programs. Hence, the initiation of projects in this area fits very well in the learning programs and also supplements government efforts in learning programs. With this, community members are mobilized so that they put together what they have to care for their own children in organized institutions. Communities thus need this service. Our restored members can provide this service at a fee; a source of income to them.

The Agriculture and environment theme and teams

Agriculture is the main economic activity on which most Ugandans depend or derive their livelihood. Most parts of Uganda have very fertile soils that can support crop farming. There are also some vast lands where commercial farming can take place. However, most Ugandans depend and are carrying out only peasantry agriculture. ACTS accepts some of these farm products as payment for  services such as nursery education (school fees). In additions, victims who can practice it are supported to do so  with a commercial outlook.

Similarly,today’s environment is being affected greatly by human activity. Trees have been cut severally without replacement plans  by communities. This has led to climatic destabilizations and disruptions in other sectors such as farming. ACTS is currently having a project of tree planting, in which case, we encourage our teams to plant trees in homes and expand the same to the neighborhoods. We buy seedlings and take them to the willing team members so they can plant and care for the trees as they grow.

The Health theme and teams

Health is a very important aspect and service needed by any community. Uganda employs a dual health service delivery approach (government free service and private service). Within this framework, our restored members who take a health focus operate health clinics and drug stores in villages and hard to reach areas at a fee. Currently, Dr. Bwonya, one of ACTS’ trustees operates an eye clininc. The charges are considerably low because of the charity nature of ACTS’ founding bases and principles.

STRATEGIC PLAN

African Community Teams Support (ACTS) was established in 2009 to care, empower and make peace among marginalized community members in Uganda. It was mainly formed as a charity organization to organize, support and utilize the unique potentials of individuals while working in teams. Prior to this strategic plan, ACTS operations were largely guided by short term priorities with minimal in-put from stakeholders and community members. This plan has been developed basing on wide consultations with members of the board and other collaborative groups. The purpose of this strategic plan is to:
Ø Focus on the selected priorities and improve teams members’ livelihoods.
Ø To improve understanding about ACTS programs for the coming five years.
Ø To ease the planning procedure in ACTS by following it (the strategic plan).

The Vision of ACTS is to have an “Empowered, healthy and peaceful people”
Its mission is to: “Provide support, linkages and/or opportunities for individuals and/or groups to enhance their empowerment, health and rights enjoyment”

In order to realize its mission, ACTS will pursue the following Strategic Objectives;
. To organize ACTS membership and teams to enhance development in communities
. To fundraise and organize resources within and without communities
. To streamline the program areas so that they are logically implemented

More specifically, for a period of five years, ACTS will pursue the following program objectives in order to contribute to the achievement of its objectives, mission and vision:

x To mobilize membership such that they all understand ACTS’ mandates.
x To organize and make institutional and structural developments necessary for ACTS to operate smoothly, including resources mobilization for its projects and operations.
x Identify and put in place different projects in line with its mandated thematic areas as below:
o Justice and rehabilitation: To holistically address injustices and suffering caused by imbalances in society and calamities such as corruption, repressive cultures and natural disasters.
o Health: To improve the health conditions of communities in Uganda through establishment of health units to extend and avail treatment for various ailments in hard to reach areas.
o Education: To empower people with knowledge and skills to use the available resources and/or opportunities to enhance productivity and offer services to their children, the future leaders.
o Agriculture: To make linkages in terms of markets for peasants to be able to realize value from their farm products

To support the achievement of the above mentioned program objectives, the following additional organizational and institutional capacity building objectives will be pursued;
i) Improve the capacity of ACTS’ human resources so that the organization is able to deliver its services efficiently and effectively.
ii) Increase awareness of the vision, mission and program priority areas for ACTS amongst key stakeholders over the next five years.
iii) Enhance resource mobilization activities in order to improve the financial base of ACTS to be able to implement its programs

The detailed plan and budget can be availed on request.
Kind regards,
Management