Organization Objectives

IDAAC’s mission is to empower individuals, particularly those living with HIV/AIDS, with the information, knowledge, and skills that will enable them to fight poverty and overcome the challenges of HIV/AIDS in a gender-sensitive way. Its goals are to:

• Mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in Iganga, Bugiri, Mayuge, and Namutumba Districts
• Support socioeconomic capacity building and initiatives in communities in Iganga, Bugiri, Mayuge, and Namutumba
• Enhance programs that will empower communities (especially marginalized groups such as Orphans and Vulnerable Children [OVC], People Living With HIV/AIDS [PLWHAs], and widows) to protect and secure their rights
• Enable OVCs by training them in apprenticeship skills, peer education, counseling, and behavioral change communication
• Expand IDAAC’s capacity to effectively and efficiently implement planned activities

Program Information

1. Community Capacity Building

One of IDAAC’s main objectives is to work with organizations to mobilize members, provide support and supervision to new groups, hold trainings, conduct community outreach, and provide community-based workers that link villages with larger organizations. Some of its programs include training, resource provision, skills development, psychosocial support, and health services.

Opportunities

• Assist in training community outreach workers in areas of technical expertise, including:
  • Nutrition
  • Income-generating activities
  • Agriculture
  • Farming
  • Microfinance
  • Life skills
  • Youth development
• Research counseling techniques for home-based care in rural communities affected by HIV/AIDS, including strategies that empower caregivers and OVCs
• Facilitate capacity-building sessions for new, grassroots associations. Topics include, but are not limited to:
  • Strategic planning
  • Communication skills
  • Basic governance
  • Financial planning and management
• Mobilize resources to assist communities in initiating income-generating activities
• Assist in the development of marketing materials and documentation for IDAAC and its partners
• Create and design an IDAAC website

Requirements

• Background in education, community development, training, agriculture, organizational development, business topics, and/or relevant fields
• Knowledge in marketing, graphic design, and outreach
• Excellent interpersonal communication and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and in a group
• High level of personal initiative
• Experience working with vulnerable groups
• Patience, understanding, and sensitivity toward communities affected by HIV/AIDS
• Interest in advocacy

2. Community HIV/AIDS Initiatives (CHAI)

IDAAC supported 84 CHAI groups in 2005 through mobilization and sensitization. It provided technical support to these groups to enable them to apply for IDAAC funding in their own districts. These initiatives include:1) Sensitization Against HIV/AIDS, 2) School Visits, 3) Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) Support, and 4) The Get On Board Program (GOB) (Funded by AAIU, IDAAC spearheads the GOB campaign in Eastern Uganda through mobilization, radio talk shows, jingles, and voting in schools and the community).

 

Opportunities

• Promote effective trainings and workshops in the villages by working with community outreach workers
• Organize community outreach sessions to villages
• Conduct needs assessments and evaluations for program development and expansion
• Create performances that further outreach such as drama, music, and dance
• Assist with the development of the radio program, talk shows, advertising, public service announcements, etc. to promote HIV/AIDS issues and health-related topics
• Assist with the peer education program by using youth development theory

 

Requirements

• Experience in training, counseling, social work, public health, and/or related fields
• Background in program development and/or strategic planning
• High level of personal initiative
• Ability to work independently and in a group
• Knowledge of peer education and life skills tools
• Interest in working in rural communities
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Patience, understanding, and sensitivity toward communities affected by HIV/AIDS
• Program development experience and knowledge of strategic planning steps

 

Program Supervisor (All Programs)

The coordinator will supervise the work of FSD interns/volunteers, and will carry out a monthly monitoring and evaluation to ensure that they are on track.

Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant will be proportionate to their level of experience. Participants who are new to development work may predominantly support and assist current project agendas, while those with much applicable experience may be able to assume greater responsibility. Research projects are strongly encouraged by this organization to support each program’s objective because minimal resources are currently allocated for research.

Working Conditions

The IDAAC office is located about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Jinja Town in Iganga. This little bustling town is developing rapidly. The communities are in very rural areas with poor access and roads. FSD participants will be working in the office for staff capacity-building trainings and organizational development. For outreach, site visits, monitoring programs, and other evaluation assessments, they will work in the villages. The work schedule will vary often, so flexibility is required.

Organizational Background

Five medical staff founded IDAAC in 1991 as a response to the increasing challenges brought about by the then-new AIDS disease caused by HIV. IDAAC initially started as an AIDS clinic, offering basic counseling services to AIDS patients. In 1992, Bugiri Hospital volunteers wanted to team up with the work of volunteers at Iganga Hospital. At that time Iganga, Bugiri, and Mayuge (IBM) were all in one district known as “Greater Iganga,” hence forming Iganga District AIDS Care (IDAC).

In 1997, during an Annual General Assembly meeting, delegates in an organization review changed the name from Iganga District AIDS Care to Integrated Development Activities and AIDS Concern (IDAAC). From then on, IDAAC’s mission, vision, goals, and mandate expanded in scope. IDAAC’s vision is of a healthy society of men, women, and children who are able to economically sustain themselves as well as articulate and demand for the protection of their rights.

Some of IDAAC’s long-term goals are to:

• Carry out intensive fundraising from all possible sources to support the marginalized groups of people like PLWHAs, OVCs, women, and children.
• Seek possible alternatives to certify development partner requirements to enable timely funding.
• Lobby for the integration of peer education into Ugandan school curriculum.

 

About IDAAC’s Clients

IDAAC covers three districts—Iganga, Bugiri, and Mayuge. Each district is positioned strategically to ensure that the poor HIV/AIDS-affected people benefit from available local resources in their own districts.