Cross Cutting Issues

To DDS-NK, cross-cutting issues are topics that are important, they affect and cut across most if not all aspects of our program areas. DDS-NK focuses its attention on the following crosscutting themes: Gender and social Inclusion, HIV/AIDS, Peace-building, Community Mobilisation and Mindset Change, Advocacy and Evangelism.

1. Gender and Social Inclusion: For DDS-NK, gender as cross-cutting issue is based on acknowledgement that, men and women, boys and girls have different priorities, constraints and preferences with respect to their participation in development work. As such, women and men can contribute to, and be impacted differently by development interventions. Based on these tenets, DDS-NK will implement the next five-year strategy in a more gender sensitive and responsive manner paying attention to and closely monitoring participation of marginalized and vulnerable groups such as PLHA, PWD, elderly people and OVC. We pledge to make our program processes or activities implementation gender sensitive or responsive by incorporating gender lens, needs and interests, and eliminating gender discriminatory tendencies.

2. Peace-building: To support peace and stability in a continually fragile environment like in Karamoja, conflict sensitivity must be interlinked into our activities as possible. In this vein, DDS-NK program actions will always be informed by conflict analysis and the interaction that programs will have on this context. Throughout the 5-years, DDS-NK will mainstream peacebuilding messages in its community behaviours change intervention strategies.

3. Community Mobilization and Mindset Change: One the emerging barrier to uptake of development programs have been negative mindset towards development programs among the populates and this attitude can have far-reaching consequences on the lives of the people and society. In the next 5-years, DDS-NK aims to empower, link or refer families, communities and citizens of north Karamoja to embrace national values and actively participate and where possible contribute to existing sustainable developments efforts. DDS-NK will contribute to mobilize communities to changing their attitudes, norms, practices and behaviours towards development agenda. This initiative will help build capacities of communities to assess their needs, identify options for addressing them, prioritize, leverage resources, and create sustainable solutions.

4. Advocacy: For DDS-NK, Advocacy is a change strategy that will cut across the three results areas. We are dedicated to being part and or coordinate public support for the cause of ensuring that necessary resources, policies, bylaws/ ordinances and political will to address the effects of climate change in Karamoja region; food and income poverty. We will seek to promote joint planning and advocacy to ensure voice of all relevant stakeholders (especially the poor) is heard and addressed by governments, private sector players, civil society organisation and other international development agencies.

5. Evangelism: DDS-NK is a development arm of Church of Uganda – North Karamoja, as such, evangelism is an integral part of our program mission. We believe in empowering the poor and sharing the Gospel of Christ – this principle is based on the fact that a starving man cannot hear the gospel clearly because his needs for food overrides any other interest. In this vein, we are committed to delivering biblical strategies of human service together with social transformation throughout the strategic plan cycle.