Community Development and Child Welfare Initiatives

I am John Segujja in Uganda working as Executive Director of CODI.  CODI is "Community Development and Child Welfare Initiatives" a child focused governance and human rights organization working with the communties in Luweero district of Uganda to build the ordinary citizens' civic competence to demand for quality education and hold leaders accountable to meet the MDG targets on primary education.  The organization is a member of the Uganda Coalition of Millennium Campaign hosted by Uganda National NGO Forum which is the platform of NGOs and other civil society organizations in the country.  CODI conducts campaigns for good governance and promotes and protects the rights of the girl children to remain in school.  Since 2005 the organization has participated in MDG campaigns in Luweero district of Uganda involving ordinary citizens, school children, the political leaders and service providers.

Uganda government initiated a Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme which has resulted into many children  enrolled in primary schools.  The government also nurtures a decentralization form of governance where local leaders are entrusted with funds to manage primary education.  A lot of funds are sent out by government to support schools to enrol and educate children but much of funds are diverted by the managers in schools and therefore the quality of education remains poor.  The preblem at hand is not the corrupt officials managing schools - but rather the excessive docility, powerlessness, indiference and glorification of the corrupt by the citizenry.  Lack of knowledge on the constitutional and human rights of the citizens contribute to the problem of public officers to shiphon money meant to educate the vulnerable children in schools.

What CODI is now doing is to create public awareness on the citizenry constitutional and human rights through social audits, dialogue meetings between the ordinary citizens and the political leaders to hold them accountable and deliver quality education services. This organization's primary problem is the transport to move its public address system and a group of puppeteers who go round educating citizens on their rights through puppetry shows.  We also use music to extend topital messages using a public address system which also needs to be upgraded to reach out to as many people as possible.

We are glad to access this website which can help in connecting different likemined persons and organizations to push for achievement of the Millennium Development Goal on primary education.  Of the many images we have on our work, the readers can look at these.  We can be contacted on telephone numbers +772-536136; +782-491699 email: codingo2001@yahoo.com or johnsegujja@gmail.com.