VALUES

JUSTICE AND PEACE

One cannot truly exist without the other. Our ideas of justice are rooted in the Luo indigenous understandings of holistic community justice, in which victims and offenders are reconciled and social wrongs are made right through concrete action. Our perspective on peace is similarly holistic; it is not the absence of violence, but the total liberation from oppression and the restoration of all things.

NONVIOLENCE

We believe that humanity is on its way to discovering its most powerful weapon: nonviolent action. The "big names" such as Gandhi and Dr. King have popularized this global phenomenon, but most of the success stories have been achieved through groups of "ordinary people." Nonviolence achieves what guns, bombs, weapons, ideology, charity, and legislation cannot, and Africa has been a fascinating breeding ground for miraculous nonviolent movements, including Uganda.

ACCESS

The cycle of dependency, largely perpetuated unintentionally through goodwill, has allowed longstanding issues of poverty, hunger, poor public health, and the like to become all the more rampant. Although we appreciate the efforts of several NGOs and relief agencies, we heed the words of the great African author Chinua Achebe: "The real solutions lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary." Handing out food may solve hunger briefly, but promoting land access through nonviolent change is much more helpful. (In other words, don't just build a school - allow the most vulnerable to have the opportunity of contextualized education.)

THE POWER OF YOU AND ME

Everyone has unique gifts, abilities, assets, and experiences to be utilized for the common good. Solidarity Uganda values partnership with all people. Where one person can donate a dollar, another can donate an hour, and another can deliver specialized training. Everyone is good enough to be a part of this human community, and Solidarity Uganda wants to watch you grow as you join hands with us and help us do the same!

SYSTEMIC CHANGE

Making the wrongs of this world right is dirty work, because it deals with dirty systems that are often protected by dirty people. We recognize that systemic change will not occur without engaging social, political, ecological, cultural, economic, and international factors and redistributing the power associated with these factors.

SOLIDARITY AND DIGNITY

Every human should be treated humanely. That is why we don't post pictures of malnourished children so that our partners' hearts bleed and we can watch their donations trickle in. Our liberation is bound together, no matter how rich or poor, no matter how young or old, no matter what level of educational attainment. We all need each other. We must demonstrate humility, togetherness, and compassion (literally, "co-suffering") with those who are displaced from their food source and those who suffer from the ripple effects of corruption and alienation.