FADO-T DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY:

FADO-T in its development efforts is employing a Christian Holistic Development Approach (CHDA) for the establishment of Shalom in Teso rural communities.  SHALOM is not simply peace construed as the absence of war, rather it is communities living wholesome and fulfilled lives with ability to contain situations of adversity or natural disasters without crumbling but surviving through them with increased strength.

Holistic Approach here, in short, means addressing situations in their entire constitutions (i.e. dealing with persons and/or communities as ‘wholes’ not segments) to create situations of “wholesomeness” or “lacking nothing”, or still as Jesus said “having no poor in community”.   

This approach makes sense especially where the aftermath of war traumas, and continuing disease epidemics (especially HIV/AIDS) and death, exacerbated by the general impact of severe poverty, take their toll on people and their communities.    

CHDA adopted here, involves, two aspects, first, addressing and meeting individual people’s whole needs to empower them for productive contribution to the empowerment of their communities. Secondly, viewing communities as whole entities, and addressing communities’ whole, needs to empower them, for they provide the defining abode or location as well as a thriving environment, which give individuals identity & dignity. FADO-T is convinced that meaningful Community Transformational Development must necessarily imply development of whole communities as opposed to simply targeting only some aspects (needs, groups or activities) of communities while leaving others out. Observation has it that where targeting has been, exercised, it has, more often than not, led to negative impacts like conflicts and community fragmentation and in general, has proved counter-developmental.  In community situations, individual people and their needs affect and are affected by all other community members and their needs. 

Wisdom derived from biblical fight against poverty (where Shalom is central as God’s ultimate aim for community wellbeing) portrays the vital role of an empowered community in the care for the vulnerable.  In the light of life experiences like caprices of fate and the corruption of the earth which create mayhem beyond the individual human effort, - for instance epidemics of diseases or pandemics that lead to deaths, war or rebel violent atrocities and terrorism, droughts, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, all of which are now of common occurrence globally – community responsibility becomes indispensable.  An empowered community takes responsibility to care for the victims, accepting them and compensating for their losses and suffering.  Such a community can provide mutual community concern and a favourable environment founded on social solidarity structures and good relationships expressed in brotherly love, selfless sharing and mutual respect.  This gives individuals a sense of belonging and security, which every human being, in normal circumstances, craves. Thus the most vulnerable and special cases of intense suffering can receive due attention within the context of an empowered community which in turn is basic to SHALOM in communities.