Programs

There is a growing reception to Jesus in Africa. The Lord has blessed many people in Uganda with His Word and a hunger to know more. As GIDCCO grows, so does the need for adequate space. At the present time the church services for GIDCCO are held in a small hut. Many times it is held under a mango tree.

There is also a hope to build an orphanage and school with the same mission; to take kids off the streets and provide them with shelter, food and the hopes of an education. There are countless orphans, and not enough orphanages to care for them. The orphanages that exist are overcrowded and underfunded, but are performing incredible work. Entire villages have been decimated by the scourge of AIDS epidemic, creating a seemingly endless stream of needy children. Having come from the same background and growing up an orphan himself, Pastor Fred Mwanje i have a deep desire to provide such a place as this for Gods children.

Pastor Fred Mwanje and the team at GIDCCO are praying to buy a 4 acre parcel of land. On this land will be a new Church, resource center, orphanage and school. We'd love for you to be a part of this exciting movement. We understand that the needs of GIDCCO are many, and may seem overwhelming for some. Please know that for many God will call for a specific purpose, and not to meet every need. Pray if this is a part of your calling.

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men". 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

HIV/AIDS Intervention and Vulnerable Groups welfare Programs. Community Development and Empowerment Programmes. Gospel Missions.In the past gidcco has initiated a number of interventions to address the problems faced by the community through various activities which include; provision of formal and vocational education to orphaned children and widows, participated in training the community on HIV/AIDS awareness, initiating a pig project for widows of Mayuge village, renovation and construction of a pit latrine for Nsango rehabilitation center among other activities. Our interventions create positive impact on the grass root populace because the methodologies we adapt are bottom – top approach.

The Children of GIDCCO

"Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14

We currently have a database of 434 children in our organization that need regular monthly support. One of our intended goals with the children is to identify the orphans that are in great need and require immediate action. We seek out the community for the immediate relatives that are still living; it can be an Uncle, an Aunt, a Cousin... we evaluate the situation, find out what the relatives think is best for the child before any action is taken.

Together with the relative's input and taking in consideration the child's preference, we decide whether this child is able to live with the relative. Another option would be for a widow or suitable family that are willing to adopt a child. The child will re-locate to their home and they will then become the guardian and will be responsible for training/guiding the child.

Many times when a parent is sick and dying from AIDS/HIV, the oldest child becomes the parent. They are no longer able to go to school and must care for the dying parent as well as work and take care of the younger siblings. This in most cases is the standard for living in Uganda.

The next consideration deals with the childs education, and if the child should go back to formal education (which is normally the case with younger children and teenagers who were in school at the time of the death of the parents). Vocational training is offered for teen youths that are capable and enthusiastic about the program.

The Widows

Who's Responsibility ?

"so that the Levites and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."
Deuteronomy 14:29

Widows make up a large part of our community as well. Most had husbands that died of HIV/AIDS, and may test positive themselves. Many have small children in the home, struggling, with no way to take care of them. One particular example that touched us was a widow whose was husband died a few years ago leaving her with 3 children. This whole family of 4 lives in one room. In this same room they have a few chickens, a sheep, This same room is used as a kitchen at night.

Our first action is to bring medical care and basic needs into the homes of those effected with HIV/AIDS.

Through constant prayer during our regular meetings, the Lord spoke to us on ways we could generate income for the widows. We are working on being able to provide vocational training for 100 widows. We were blessed with a social worker that went into the community with us, saw the need and was then able to provide the start up funds we needed. The training provides a one year program to learn skills like; tailoring, making arts & crafts, literacy, computer knowledge, small scale, group and individual financial and business management.

Vocational Training

What does the future look like?

Due to the high demand for computer skills in many companies in the Ugandan community, it became apparent that this should be a top priority in vocational training. Most employers said they didn't have time to train on job because it is not cost effective. For so long, people in this community have had to travel as many as 60kms to the capital city to have small services done for them for lack of skilled people in this community. Document bureaus and many other places can only employ someone that has a skill that is relevant to the job.

With a blessing that came in as a donation, we were able to buy a few used computers to get our program started. The youth are given a variety of computer skills that are viable in this area as well as others. This gives them positive self esteem, and puts them in a better position to find work and lead productive lives in their communities.Classes are open from Monday to Friday, 9.00 am -5.00 p.m.

Vocational training is offered to youth and widows from all academic backgrounds, abilities, races, tribes, languages and religious beliefs. Orphans and widows are offered the training at no cost, helping them acquire work with the skills they have learned. A small fee is requested from community members that are not in our program and wish to partake in the training classes. This fee is applied to our ministry funds and goes back into the training program or other pertinent needs within the organization.

HIV/Aids Mobile Clinic

While caring for the children, it became obvious to us that we need to develop a mobile clinic program that cares for patients. A few of the children have lost one parent to AIDS, and in many cases the other parent is infected with the disease too. When they finally get weak and are about to die, a child in such a home becomes the husband, the father, and the mother. This child has to care for the dying parent in addition to going to school and caring for her/his younger sisters and brothers. In a situation like this, there is usually no money at all, so the dying patient can't even afford the simplest medical treatment, like skin ointment or drugs for cough.

These conditions normally attack these patients and weaken them further, leaving them with a very short time to live. While visiting in these homes, we felt deeply in our hearts the need to start a mobile clinic. With almost no funds, we decided to start by counseling these patients. We used public transport, and each volunteer paid their own fare to the project area. Later, the entire staff began collecting money amongst ourselves as a step of faith to buy simple drugs to give to these patients.

Thank God one of our staff members was an enrolled, qualified nurse. We are involved in teaching the communities heightened awareness of HIV/AIDS, what it is, how it is spread, and how people can protect themselves from getting infected .
We do not have a facility as yet for inpatient care with a committed team of trained staff. We hope you prayerfully consider using your gifts in this area.

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