We believe that…

…if we raise the socio-political consciousness of individuals and the grassroots communities through training, skill enhancement, accompaniment and solidarity, we enhance the individuals and communities’ commitment to transcend psychological  oppression/dependency and support their resolve to take proactive action to transform their lives, communities and governance systems.

…when we support entrepreneurship and mobilization of local resources, we restore individual and community pride and dignity thus enhancing the capacity for homegrown solutions to problems and challenges.

…when we model a lifestyle and organizational culture that encourages critical attitude, spirituality, respect for religious affiliations/backgrounds and ideological orientation, gender equality, and commitment to reflection and social action, we enhance the transformation of ourselves, constituency communities, partner organizations, funding partners and above all, the global unequal  relationships, into more just and egalitarian relationships.

…when we constantly critique the dominant structures and systems and tax our imagination to evolve alternative structures and systems we connect to, and mobilize a critical mass to believe that an alternative world is possible and locally act towards a world where just and egalitarian relationships and systems are envisaged.

…when we root our work with the culture and political reality of the people then genuine political and social transformation can take place particularly when indigenous resources and youth creativity are tapped to respond to context specific problems and challenges including localized global conflicts.

To achieve these aspirations Ujamaa;

• works through community mobilisers recruited from and based in communities;
• challenges the political construction that emerged from Europe and was grafted on the rest of the world by post independence leaders;
• conducts research to give new meaning to ecology, politics, knowledge and democracy that can help in re-making the world;

• interrogates the tendency by the government to regard national parks, reserves, wetlands and un-alienated rangeland as their exclusive property that they can dispose of without regard to the public interest and rights of long established users and occupiers
• campaigns for society to retain overriding powers to ensure that those who own land use it properly and sustainably so that needs not just of present but future generations are taken care of;
• revisits  demands - just trade, recompense and reparations, enough food, free democratic elections, literacy - which barely 40 years ago were obvious to freedom fighters, but must today be long-windedly explained, justified and defended