Brief summary on PACODET
Details of Organization
Name: Pallisa Community Development Trust (PACODET)
Contact Person: Stanley Okurut
Title: Director
Year: Established 1989
Status: NGO
Address: PACODET, PO Box 149, Pallisa
Telephone: 0772522548
Email: stanokurut@yahoo.com
Organizational Background and History
PACODET was created in 1989 by community members in order to provide integrated rural community health, food security and environment care development programs for an area of ten parishes with a population of over 100,000 people in Pallisa district.
Pallisa district is found in the north eastern part of the country. It is one of the poorest districts in Uganda,
The climate here, as in the rest of the country, is equatorial with moderate humid and hot climatic conditions throughout the year.
The whole of the district suffered from rebel activities but is now peaceful. The main ethnic groups here are the Iteso and Bagwere. Their main economic activities include growing of crops and rearing of livestock and poultry. Some fishing is also done. The main crops grown include tubers, cereal and legumes. Cattle, goats, pigs and all kinds of poultry are kept. All the major areas in the sub-counties are fairly accessible through its fair road network.
The district has a population of about 450,000 according to population census of 2002 with the growth rate of 3.4%; same as the national average. Over 90% of the population depends on rain fed agriculture, which is very vulnerable to impacts of adverse effects of climate change. The soils are fairly fertile.
Structure and Staff
PACODET is a community-based organization run by a general assembly constituted by individual members and groups from the communities that sponsor and support its activities. This membership is drawn from all over the country but is concentrated in the 10 parishes where PACODET is involved. The planning organ of the organization is called the Working Committee and is formed by two members, gender-balanced and elected from every parish, giving a total of about 23 people. The management organ is called the Management Committee; it is selected by the working committee from its own members. Other technical people are also co-opted into this committee.
PACODET has a total of 13 professional staff on a full time basis. They include the Project Director, Project Administrator, Tutors, Social Worker, Medical Officer, Midwife, Nurse, Accounts Assistant and Secretary. In addition to visiting doctors, there is currently a Peace Corps Response volunteer living and working at PACODET through July 2009. Non-professional staff include; three Nursing Assistants, a driver, watchman and cook. There are over 40 community volunteers involved in PACODET activities in their respected areas.
VISION OF PACODET
The vision of PACODET is that our communities are just, well informed, healthy and prosperous.
PACODET MISSION
The mission of PACODET is to stimulate and support communities attain a better quality of life.
PACODET’S STRATEGY
PACODET supports the community to access/own information, skills, social services, productive resources and markets for improving their health status, food and income security, and promote wise use of environmental resources in the area. This is done through resource mobilization and proper management; training/research; health service delivery; education support; provision of inputs and transport services.
ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES
1. Increase the quality and access of health and environment care in the community through training, IEC activities, health care outreaches and supporting food security activities in the community.
2. Management of a modern health facility that provides quality health care services for the people within and outside the project catchment area.
3. Access a full health care package to most vulnerable groups of the community i.e. women and children.
4. Improve referral of emergencies from the community to the health unit and to the higher health care institutions through improved communication, transport and community health emergency fund.
5. Improve planning by strengthening information management both at community and project level.
6. Raise additional resources to support actions towards the reduction of the health, social and psychological effects of HIV/AIDS among the people of Pallisa District.
7. Lobby and advocate for the rights of rural marginalized communities.
8. Inform policy actions and decisions at both local and national level through networks and information sharing.
Project Area
PACODET’s catchment area includes 10 adjacent parishes bordering Kumi district and stretching across Pallisa and Butebo counties. There are about 100 villages in these parishes, which include Kapuwai and Kadesok in Kibale sub-county; Kameke, Akisim and Kisiran in Kameke sub-county; Odusai and Chelekura in Agule sub-county; Kanyum and Butebo in Butebo sub-county and Kagoli in Putiputi sub-county. The project area consists of about 100,000 people, with at least 30,000 people of age range between 10-24 years. There are about 10,000 households and a quarter of them have orphans mainly as a result of HIV/AIDS. There are 30 primary schools, 3 secondary schools, and 6 health centers in PACODET’s catchment area. There are no vocational training schools in the district except for the nursing school that is being developed by PACODET.
PACODET ACTIVITIES
Environment: we carry out IEC in schools and communities, organise community discussion groups, and support selected activities for demonstrating wise use of environmental resources, especially the wetlands that are common in our area. We also lobby local authorities to promote wise use of environmental resources and engage the authorities in actually observing local environmental problems as step in discussing plans for corrective action. We participate in networks at district, national and international levels to share experiences and identify agendas for lobbying national and international policies. Some of our members have gained additional exposure through participation in research and consulting on environmental issues outside of our immediate operational area.
Income and Food Security: we assist farmers form small groups and train (both men and women) about issues related to soil management; integrated management of pests; proper management of crops, poultry and livestock. We have a collective marketing enterprise that facilitates access to agricultural inputs, and purchases selected local crops for storing and subsequent resale – either for profit that goes to organisational support, or for sale back to the community in drought years at a very nominal markup helping to ensure food security. Many of our farmers and farmer groups are involved in multiplication of high yielding and pest resistant varieties of crops and improvement of poultry and livestock keeping. The organisation has purchased a lorry that is also used to assist member farmers in marketing their produce. Over 200 farmers’ groups are participating actively in the income and food production in ways that are environmentally friendly.
Health: We built a dispensary unit, completed in 1992, and we upgraded our facility to a health centre (level 4) with some support from WHO. Our unit provides for treatment of the sick, immunisation, delivery of mothers; antenatal care and family planning; STI treatment; health education; and training of community resource persons. A local community health insurance scheme for in-patient care in the district hospital is in the making.
Lobby and Advocacy: We are involved in raising awareness of the rural marginalised communities on their rights. Hope to intensify in this area as more resources are realised.
Partnering Organizations
WHO Uganda Country Office, and Pro Victimis Foundation, Geneva have both provided support for the building and equipment of the health center. PACODET also gets PAF funds from the District Director of Health Services (DDHS) and the department of community based services in Pallisa. It is a member organization to Uganda Community Based Health Care Association, UNASO and to the district network of voluntary associations. Other institutions that have participated in PACODET activities include Creative Research and Evaluation Centre-Kampala and Child Health and Development Centre-Makere University. PACODET collaborates with Create in Kumi and has participated in CARE Eastern Uganda Family Health projects. It also works closely with the Pallisa AIDS Support Organization (PASO).
A Summary of PACODET’s Achievements
1989: PACODET was formed by community members in order to provide community-based integrated health, food security, and environmental development programs to local communities.
1990’s: A Community Health Worker training program was founded. The program continues to grow and trains about 180 primary health workers, from all areas of Uganda, each year.
1990’s: Over 200 small self-help groups at village level were formed and remain active in all the 100 villages of the project area. They are involved in a variety of income generating activities (IGAs) including the multiplication of high-yielding variety of groundnuts, and pigs have been given to vulnerable people for them to raise and sell.
Late 1990’s: PACODET led several food-security projects funded by COOPIBO Uganda that focused on training farmers on seed multiplication and improving small livestock keeping. Budgets ranged from 10-30 million Uganda shillings and benefiting a population of over 60,000 people. The projects were particularly successful in helping local subsistence farmers avoid famine by replacing the blight-affected locally grown cassava with a plague-resistant variety introduced from Nigeria.
2000’s: Establishment of PACODET Health Clinic and maternity ward with support from WHO Uganda and Pro Victimis Geneva with the following subsequent achievements:
• Vaccine-preventable diseases have been controlled through health education and immunization outreaches in the communities and schools.
• The villages covered have maintained up-to-date records of vital data for a period of over one year now. There is now data to analyze vital statistics in the community.
• Awareness on causes of maternal deaths has been raised and as a result, more women are going to the health units for delivery. Some mothers are sometimes accompanied by traditional birth attendants.
2006: The PACODET Health Center treated 2,332 children and 4,512 adults in basic health care for illnesses, surgical services, STI testing/treatment, family planning and prenatal care. There were 150 deliveries and over 4,000 children who received free immunizations. These services continue and the number of patients is increasing each year.
