Foundation for Sustainable Community Based Development (FSD Jinja-Uganda) supports communities in achieving their goals through asset-based development and international exchange in Uganda.

VISION: FSD Jinja-Uganda envisions a world where all people have the opportunity and capacity to direct economic, social, and environmental resources toward sustainable outcomes that improve lives and communities.

MISSION: Empower underserved communities with sustainable solutions, while training future leaders in grassroots development strategies.

OBJECTIVES:

• Support communities in achieving community-driven development goals through global learning exchanges. FSD Uganda fosters structured volunteer and internship opportunities with NGOs and CBOs throughout Jinja, Uganda.
• Link development practitioners and students with communities in order to learn and gain hands-on experience supporting community-based development while fostering positive community outcomes.
• Raise awareness of social-economic challenges in Uganda and support communities, students, and volunteers in gaining the skills necessary to find sustainable solutions to community-based development issues in both local and cross-cultural contexts.
• Build a network of development students, professionals, persons, and institutions to advocate the promotion of community-based development.

VALUES:

• Prioritizes the asset-based approach to development work: We begin by listening to the priorities set by our community-based partners. We then identify and utilize existing assets and capacity to address those priorities.
• Build Capacity: We strengthen the skills, competencies, and abilities of our community-based partner leaders and of our student and professional volunteers to amicably work together towards a common goal.  Our program is structured and guided by ethical development principles. Program participants are oriented on the culture, language, and local concerns;  they are also trained in basic development technical skills: community assessment, program design and management, monitoring and evaluation, and project reporting.  Community members are trained to support volunteers and interns as well as guided in best practices of development work.
• Promote community ownership: We partner with leaders, organizations, and stakeholders committed to change, action, and social justice. We stress community ownership and participation before launching initiatives.
• Emphasize learning and reflection: We emphasize the application of critical thinking for volunteers and interns as a way to understand the logical connections between ideas, theory, and practice of change, action, and social justice. We support continuous reflection on technical and cross-cultural experiences and their implications for both personal and community growth. We share our experiences and learn about the complexities of development with friends, family, and colleagues. We promote cultural exchange and sensitivity, encouraging a reflective approach to navigating cross-cultural issues, confusions, and tensions.
• Generate enduring results and impact: We ensure that outcomes of our support have long-lasting benefits for community partners by using effective and appropriate participatory approaches to ensure that our initiatives outlast our involvement.
• Lobby and advocate for development: We relentlessly build a network of students, professionals, passionate development advocates, and community partners to advocate and lobby for the advancement of professional learning in the context of promoting community-based development.
• Promote reciprocity: We operate on the founding principle that producing strong community outcomes with transformative learning experiences is at the essence of our mission. We bring together communities and development participants to build understanding and inter-cultural relationships as a foundation for a stronger social and developmental agenda. We base all partnerships, strategies, and decisions on the Fair-Trade Learning concept that we must be ethical and reciprocal in our planning, implementation, and outcomes.