Who we are

This blog will proved regular updates from the Ugandan Slum Dwellers Federation and their support NGO ACTogether as they undertake the largest slum dweller enumeration in Uganda's history.

Firstly, a bit of back ground...

The Ugandan Slum Dwellers Federation is the national urban poor federation of Uganda, which was established in 2002. The Federation is a member of the Slum Dwellers International (SDI) network and currently boasts 38, 000 members in six urban centres across the country.

All federations in the SDI network are collectives of slum dwellers whose main activity is the operation of savings and credit schemes. Leaders walk door-to-door gathering small change from neighbors, and conducting daily community needs assessments (asking each other how they are doing).

This process is designed to maximize the contact that people have with each other, enabling strong bonds to form around their shared identity as poor people. When people interact with each other every day - whether it be over savings & loans or the threat of eviction - their sense of being a community intensifies.

As members say, "Daily savings is a ritual that is not just about collecting money, it is about collecting people, collection information about their lives and learning how best to support them."

ACTogether are the support NGO for the Ugandan federation and was founded in 2006.

ACTogther prides itself on supporting the federation, so that when projects such as this large scale enumeration come along, the urban poor are able to enter into negotiations as an empowered and organized entity.

When communities change from recipients of aid to participants of aid projects, the result is win-win for everyone. As a result of the active participation of the slum dwellers, the policies become more pro poor, which in turn means the process will become more inclusive of the most marginalized members of society.