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About Us

Who We Are...

Over 30 years of war of Karamjong cattle raiders, LRA rebels’ activities, and South Sudan war led to many child-headed families many of which were internally displaced to live in difficult lives in the camps. LISCOD is focused on helping people recover from post war traumas.

For nearly 20 years of helping the victims of LRA war find hope through Christian counselling, evangelism, livelihood empowerment for the war-torn youth and women, relief services to the windows and elderly among others, the founders have developed understanding and experience in transforming lives of the the people experiencing hardships.

We’ve developed a high-impact methodology that empowers orphans and most vulnerable children and youth to break free from trauma and poverty. With your support, children receive access to health care, educational resources and life-changing programs in safe, clean spaces.

Our development ideology represents a holistic approach to post war trauma community development and underscores the thematic integration of food security and agribusiness, livelihood empowerment, education for the orphans and most vulnerable children, conflict prevention and peace building, governance and policy advocacy.

Our Objectives

Core Objectives

1: To provide leadership mentorship, discipleship and coaching to young men and women in schools, colleges, universities and higher institutions of learning for transformation.

2: To be a missionary organisation to vulnerable children, orphans, child mothers, women and windows of this nation and the world at large.

3: To lead in involving the communities to become great stewards of the environment through engaging and promoting climate smart technologies, agriculture and renewable energy.

4: To actively engage in the prevention of HIV/AIDS among youth by advocating for the promotion of abstinence from sex till marriage and faithfulness in marriage values.

5: To strengthen organisational development and establish Lighter Initiative Clubs for effective, competent and sustainable youth service deliveries.

6: To offer child and orphan care services to the most vulnerable.

7: To conduct research and disseminate findings in order to influence public policy.

8: To offer scholarships to underprivileged children/students at all levels of education.

9: To equip the youth with leadership and entrepreneur skills.

10: To provide youth education and empowerment services.

We can Change everything together!!

Mission

A world free from extreme poverty.

Vision

Holistic care with compassion.

Purpose statement

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Our Core Values

Core Values

Compassion

Our charity's work is driven by compassion, and we're dedicated to helping those in need.

God fearing

Our work is grounded in faith and a deep sense of respect for all people as children of God.

Team Work

Collaboration and teamwork are essential to achieving our mission and making a meaningful impact in the world.

Stewardship

We take seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us, using them wisely and effectively to achieve our goals.

Our History

Light Initiative for sustainable Community Development was started by madam Catherine Odong Akia during Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war in 1988 and her both parents were killed by karamjong cattle raiders leaving her and her six siblings orphans. Together with her siblings were taken up by their relatives only to use them in domestic work without enabling them have even basic formal education.

Instead of getting comfort from their relatives, they were subjected to manual labour and denied opportunity to formal education. Day and night Catherine prayed for God to open the door for her to access formal education and in 1990, FAWE and Gulu NGO forum paid her school dues till she completed her education. Unlike her, her siblings didn’t get an opportunity to access formal education.

Like her siblings, thousands of LRA victims were left traumatized by their experiences the atrocities that occurred. The traumas are deep enough that it will take a long time to heal. Unfortunately, the organisations that were supposed to support and heal the community are only using traumatized people for their own selfish gains.
Having been supported by an organisation for education while others were left aside, Catherine felt a strong need to use whatever God would give her to touch and transform a life.

She started by supporting four orphans in 2004 by paying their schools fees but due to limited resources, she couldn’t add on. She later discovered that she couldn’t manage to raise enough money to pay more school fees and provide more basic needs to the orphans and most vulnerable children, she embarked on mobilizing the youth and women into farming groups, savings and lending groups and skilling them to enable them become more self-reliant.

She now uses her limited finances from her salary and her projects, such as bee keeping, poultry, piggery and two cows to continue mobilise more youths and women, skilling them, paying professionals for counselling and guidance to the victims who badly got traumatized.

It is this small resources and support from her members and friends she uses to build hope in a people who were traumatized by rebels who could kill parents and cook them for their children to eat. Her mission is to continue mobilising support to make sure that her community regains hope and rebuild themselves for social-economic development.

Our Development ideology

Ideology...

Lighter initiatives for sustainable community development Uganda. (LISCOD) development ideology embodies of holistic approach to post war community development.

It stresses the thematic integration of food security and agribusiness, livelihood empowerment, education for the orphans and most vulnerable children, conflict prevention and peace building, human rights, governance and policy advocacy supported by action oriented programs and Christ like compassion. Out of this comes mental healing from war traumas, completion of formal education by the OVC, increased household income, civic competence and improved livelihood for the widows and elderly.

The ideology builds on the following

Theory

When the orphans and most vulnerable children are looked after through taking care of their personal care including mental health, school fess among others, an open space for the would be street children and the community mischiefs will reduce increase. This will give them a chance to live again and become productive citizens in their communities. Since most of them are a result of atrocities caused by the war, they will easily get integrated into communities.

When windows, women and youth are economically and socially empowered and provided with knowledge in household agribusiness farming technologies and skills, they will actively participate in the economic production of agro-based goods and services which will ensure food security and be able to look after their family members. They will participate in the money economy and eventually develop their capacities to provide formal education to their children and relatives.

When war victims are involved in discipleship programs, peace conferences, and church work, they will find the love and compassion of Jesus which will help them easily integrate in communities where their former tormentors (returnees) live. The forgiveness nature of Jesus would enable them live happily with them and unite in fighting any tendencies that would spur such wars that afflicted them.