Outreach

The Ford Program seeks to build a community of solidarity across cultures and, together with institutional and individual partners, work to alleviate human suffering and make a positive, measurable and sustainable difference in people’s lives.

A top priority is to build international partnerships with institutions of higher education, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and intergovernmental organizations focused on promoting human development.  Such partnerships afford opportunities for Notre Dame faculty and students to engage—through collaborative, community-based research projects—in scholarship that directly impacts the lives of those in need.  This research not only addresses difficult questions but may also provide solutions to real-world problems.

Uganda partnerships

The program is focusing initial research and outreach efforts in Uganda, where Notre Dame has strong grassroots connections through the Congregation of Holy Cross and where the Kellogg Institute and the University have been sending students for research and service for several years. The program is in no way confined to Uganda and hopes to expand to other sub-Saharan African countries in coming years.

Ford’s work in Uganda has been strengthened by two evolving partnerships:

• The first is with Ruhiira—a cluster of eight rural villages—and Columbia University, Millennium Promise (an NGO), and the United Nations Development Programme. In Uganda, these three institutions oversee the Millennium Village Project, of which Ruhiira is a part.

• The second partnership is with the village of Nnindye and Uganda Martyrs University, the Catholic university of Uganda.