Overview

Our partner in Uganda is the Friends in Need Integrated Development Project (FINIDP), which is based in Mukono, 45 minutes outside of Kampala. FINDIP is a comprehensive community development organization led by Ahmed Zziwa, a lecturer at Makerere University (a leading institution of Ugandan higher education). We officially began our partnership with FINDIP in the spring of 2006, after developing a relationship with its leaders and visiting the communities where the organization operates. Working closely with FINIDP, OAA chose to focus the scholarship program on secondary education. The program has grown to cover 24 students who are attending four years of basic secondary school.

History and Background

FINDIP was founded in 2003 by a group of young Ugandan professionals who wanted to give back to the rural communities where they grew up. We came to know FINDIP during OAA’s trip to Uganda on the recommendation of a friend who had spent time with FINDIP as a volunteer. Our friend learned of FINIDP from the Rhodes Scholars Southern African Forum, which had previously funded FINIDP. After meeting with leaders in the development community in Uganda, as well as with other community-based organizations and leaders there, it became clear to us that FINIDP had a special combination of opportunity and skills that would allow them to make a significant difference in their community. We found that FINIDP’s demonstrated commitment to providing educational opportunities to children orphaned or otherwise made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and its unusual capacity for growth, made it an especially compelling partner for OAA. 

The Partnership

Our relationship with FINIDP embodies OAA’s two part mission: to directly fund educational opportunities for children orphaned or otherwise made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, and to provide consultative support for our partners’ comprehensive mission. With FINIDP, we are providing the financial support for 24 students in secondary school, covering the costs of academic tuition, counseling and transportation, along with other incidentals. We are also working with FINIDP to support its more complete organizational growth. This entails non-financial support that ranges from the preparation of grant applications to more ad hoc advice.

Leadership 

Our relationship with FINIDP is led by Scott Grinsell and Robert Schiff, both Orphans Against AIDS partners. Dan Sacks, a student at Haverford University, has led much of the consultative work.