Rhema Development Foundation · Uganda
Development
that puts people
at the centre.
RDF is a not-for-profit organization established to empower disadvantaged communities to live secure, healthy and productive lives, with a strong focus on vulnerable children, women and youth in Eastern Uganda.
Community · Systems · Opportunity
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From RDF · Latest updates
What we're doing. What we're learning. What we're building.
Explore the latest from RDF — our work, perspectives, field experiences and the people and communities at the centre of it.
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01 / THE ORGANIZATION
Built from the ground up.
RDF was legally established in 2014 as a Community Based Organization and transitioned to a national NGO in 2019. We hold Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), granted in 2025.
01Who we are
Rhema Development Foundation (RDF) is a not-for-profit organization focused on empowering disadvantaged communities to live secure, healthy and productive lives. Its stated focus includes vulnerable children, women and youth in post-conflict and disaster-affected communities of Eastern Uganda.
Established2014 as a Community Based Organization
National NGOTransitioned in 2019
International statusSpecial Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2025
Registered addressPlot No. 7, Sumwoto Rd, Kapchorwa Municipality, Kapchorwa
02Governance
We are governed by an eleven-member Board of Directors — six women and five men — drawn from relevant organizations, academic institutions, faith-based institutions and cultural institutions across Eastern Uganda.
The Board's stated responsibilities include policy formulation and enforcement, recruitment of the Executive Director, approval of annual work plans and budgets, approval of financial audits, strategic direction, and oversight of funds and project activities.
03Mission & direction
We exist to empower disadvantaged communities to live secure, healthy and productive lives. Our work brings community action together with health, rights, inclusion, capacity building and systems-level change.
04Experience
For more than a decade, we have adapted, implemented and scaled evidence-based interventions that address stigma and discrimination, particularly around HIV and intersecting vulnerabilities.
We work with people living with, vulnerable to and affected by HIV/AIDS, including LGBTQI+ people, transgender people, men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, people with disabilities, women and girls and other key and vulnerable populations.
02 / EVIDENCE OF WORK
Experience, made visible.
These figures reflect the scale of our implementation experience across the programmes in which we have worked.
30K+
Beneficiaries reached through scaled interventions
Across our programme experience
8
Drop-in centres and safe spaces established
Reported as part of stigma-reduction and integrated services experience
60
Healthcare providers and administrative staff sensitized
Across our programme experience
36
District coordination meetings supported
Across our programme experience
AScaling evidence-based interventions
We have scaled interventions from one initial sub-county to three districts, reaching more than 30,000 beneficiaries. We have also integrated stigma-reduction modules into national healthcare worker training curricula and used routine Stigma Index assessments to adapt our interventions to local contexts.
BInstitutional and health-system work
Reported experience includes sensitization of healthcare providers and administrative staff, support for patient charters, confidentiality protocols and anonymous grievance mechanisms, and engagement with law-enforcement systems to reduce barriers to health-seeking.
CCommunity-led mobilization
We place affected populations at the centre of intervention design and mobilization, working through peer-led networks, community structures and local partnerships to build lasting ownership and sustainability.
03 / WHAT WE DO
We work where people and systems meet.
Our work is about more than delivering activities. We work to remove the barriers that keep people from living healthy, secure and productive lives — and to strengthen the communities and systems around them.
01
HIV, stigma reduction & health
We work to make health services safer, more respectful and more accessible to people whose lives are affected by HIV and stigma.
+
What this means
Health is not only about reaching a facility. It is also about whether a person feels safe enough to seek care, speak openly and return when they need support. We work to remove the stigma and discrimination that can stand between people and the services they need.
How we work
We combine community engagement, peer support, stigma-reduction education, safe spaces and engagement with health workers and institutions. We work at the individual, community and institutional levels because stigma rarely exists in only one place.
What we want to change
We want people to experience health services with dignity, confidentiality and respect — and for the systems around them to become more responsive to the realities of the communities they serve.
02
Women, girls & young people
We create space for women, girls and young people to participate, make informed choices, access support and build opportunity.
+
What we see
Age, gender, poverty, disability, health status and social expectations can overlap to limit a person's choices. Young people and women can face barriers that are invisible until they prevent someone from accessing care, education, protection or opportunity.
What we do
We strengthen community networks, create supportive spaces, encourage informed participation and connect people to the services and relationships they need. We listen to young people and women as participants in change, not simply as recipients of programmes.
What we want to change
We want women, girls and young people to have stronger voices, safer pathways and greater ability to shape the decisions that affect their lives and communities.
03
Mental health & psychosocial wellbeing
We treat wellbeing as part of the whole person — connecting emotional support, community belonging and access to appropriate services.
+
What this means
Mental wellbeing is shaped by relationships, stigma, safety, economic pressure, health and the environment in which a person lives. Our response therefore looks beyond a single diagnosis or service point.
How we work
We strengthen supportive community environments, connect people to appropriate services and build the confidence and capacity of people who are already close to the communities they serve.
What we want to change
We want people to be able to ask for help without shame, find appropriate support earlier and live within communities that understand mental wellbeing as part of human wellbeing.
04
Rights, inclusion & protection
We work to remove the social and institutional barriers that prevent people from living with dignity, safety and full participation.
+
What we stand for
Every person should be able to access essential services, participate in community life and seek protection without being diminished because of who they are or the circumstances they face.
Where we act
We engage communities, service providers, government actors and other institutions where attitudes, procedures or systems create barriers for vulnerable and marginalized people.
What we want to change
We want inclusion to move from principle to practice — reflected in the way services are designed, people are treated and institutions respond to those who need them most.
05
Community power & stronger systems
Lasting change happens when communities have a voice and the systems around them have the capacity to respond.
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Community ownership
We involve people in understanding problems, shaping responses and strengthening the local structures that will carry the work forward.
Partnership
We connect community knowledge with government, health institutions, civil society, faith and cultural leadership and other partners whose roles matter to sustainable change.
What we want to leave behind
Our ambition is not simply to complete activities. It is to leave stronger relationships, better-informed institutions, capable communities and approaches that can continue beyond a single project.
04 / OUR APPROACH
From listening to lasting capacity.
Our work is grounded in community participation, systems engagement, evidence, adaptation and sustainability. This is how we move from activity to lasting capacity.
01
Listen
Understand lived realities, barriers and local priorities.
02
Co-design
Place affected communities and partners in the design process.
03
Act
Translate evidence and local knowledge into practical intervention.
04
Measure
Track implementation, outcomes and signals from the field.
05
Learn
Adapt approaches as evidence and context change.
06
Strengthen
Build systems and local capacity for continuity.
01Community-led implementation
We place affected populations at the centre of intervention design and mobilization, supported by peer-led networks, local structures and strong partnerships.
02Systems thinking
The programme experience described by RDF extends beyond direct beneficiaries to health facilities, government departments, law enforcement, community structures and policy environments.
03Evidence and adaptation
We use evidence-based toolkits and routine Stigma Index assessments to continuously adapt our interventions to changing local contexts.
05 / CURRENT WORK
Turning ideas into change people can feel.
Our current work brings community action, health systems, rights and evidence together around problems that cannot be solved from one level alone.
01 · Our focus
Reducing stigma where it actually happens
We are building approaches that reach beyond awareness. We work with people, communities, health providers and institutions so that stigma is recognised, challenged and reduced in everyday life.
02 · Our method
Put communities in the room
People affected by a problem should help shape the response. We use peer leadership, dialogue, safe spaces and local partnerships to turn lived experience into practical action.
03 · Our systems work
Make institutions work better for people
Change must reach the places where decisions and services happen. We work with health facilities, government and other institutions to strengthen responsiveness, confidentiality, accountability and inclusion.
04 · Our direction
Build what can last
We want every intervention to leave something useful behind: stronger people, stronger networks, stronger local capacity and systems better able to respond long after an individual activity ends.
06 / PARTNERSHIPS
Change is collaborative.
We work across government, civil society, international organizations, community networks, faith-based organizations and cultural and religious institutions because lasting change requires coordinated action.
01Uganda AIDS CommissionPolicy alignment · anti-stigma · systems mainstreaming
02Ministry of HealthClinical integration · training · psychosocial support
03Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social DevelopmentSocial drivers · protection · vulnerable groups
04Ministry of Education & SportsYouth-focused work · schools · adolescent support
05NAFOPHANU & civil-society partnersCommunity-led advocacy · peer support · stigma index
06UNAIDS · UNDP · WHOTechnical assistance · frameworks · global practice
07Community, faith & cultural institutionsMobilization · local leadership · social norms
07 / ENGAGE
Let's build what lasts.
For programme collaboration, institutional partnerships, project enquiries or organizational information, contact Rhema Development Foundation.
Registered address
Plot No. 7, Sumwoto Rd, Kapchorwa Municipality, Kapchorwa, Uganda.
ContactExecutive Director · Programme Manager
Institutional identityRhema Development Foundation (RDF)