Many people are victimized worldwide especially in third world nations like Uganda.Some give up with life in general & working in particular. African Community Team Support (ACTS) envisions turning despised persons who are victims of violence, exploitation & marginalization into community vital service providers by not only rehabilitating but occupying them in meaningful employment. ACTS wishes to establish, guide and sustainably support teams and individuals; thereby institutionally, structurally, resourcefully and legally enabling them to offer services that empower and improve their lives and those of their communities and environments. The solution essentially turns social human rubbish into sell-able gold; and challenge victimization by the power of non violent economic psychology.Those owning nothing become owners of businesses and enterprises.

Problem

Victimization in Uganda, just like in other developing nations is high according to save the children.Over 70% of the girls drop out of school and are victims of forced early marriage & rape. The demographic health surveys reveal that over 68% of married women are domestically bartered. These groups of victims (school dropouts, girls and bartered women) lack the economic power to counter such injustice. They are at the mercy of their elders and husbands in regard to survival. There is thus need for them to be restored through counseling (need for recruiting a counselor), to be trained in easy skills but that are required in by many in communities (need for training facilities and equipment), to be facilitated to initiate and run businesses and live independently (need for initial financial support).

Solution

ACTS not only restores but also economically empowers victims, thereby addressing the cause and perpetuating factor for violence. Most efforts tackling violence, marginalization and exploitation tackle effects at the expense of root causes. The judicial system punishes offenders as health institutions treat the physical and medical effects on victims. Many NGOs advocate for and psycho socially rehabilitate victims. Nothing is done about causes like unfair attitudes and low socioeconomic statuses of victims, who are always left as vulnerable as before. Even punished offenders find them still helpless. Yet there exist opportunities to transform their helplessness within their own communities. Uniquely, we envision addressing both effects and causes by rehabilitating and empowering victims; turning them into service providers, business partners and indirectly paid by communities themselves. This gives a psychosocial vaccine against violence and victims’ vulnerability through peaceful changes in socio-economic power relations and indirectly incapacitating unfair cultural beliefs. African Community Team Support (ACTS) mobilizes some of them in teams and supports them to determine their destinies and those of their environments.

Example

We identify, defend and counsel victimized community members, selecting some for further training and possible engagements/employment in teams; Facilitate referrals of those with peculiar psychosocial, health and legal cases to relevant institutions or other support systems; Organize comprehensive trainings for selected beneficiaries to gain practical skills (nursery teaching, child care, hair dressing and farm management) to work in teams; Mobilize community members to support the established integrated community centers (integrated with clinics, nursery schools and farm stores); Organize trained individuals into teams and register them into ACTS’ structures to operate as affiliates in the established centers; capacity build teams on institutional, structural and operational frameworks; Publicize and/or market teams’ services in the media, website or otherwise; and Create linkages and collaborations for teams to learn from each other and/or others.

Marketplace

Other NGOs in the area are addressing some of the effects. Because, they mostly give hand outs in terms of money and food, many of the victims may opt for them. We emphasize provision of hooks than fish in this case. There are also schools that are initiated purely on profit basis and are doing well. These may out compete our envisioned schools that are run by despised persons such as school drop outs. We are however looking at areas where such schools are lacking or are very expensive for peasant parents; and we allow in-kind payments such as crops which we can sell ourselves.