Our Story

CDC began in Yei, South Sudan, when a group of young community leaders started a local radio and cultural awareness programme called Roro Loka, meaning “Voice of the Land.” It celebrated cultural diversity, encouraged peaceful dialogue, and talked openly about the challenges people faced, through civic education, media and public awareness.

The founders were worried about fading cultural values, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, environmental damage and conflict. They believed communities could meet these challenges if they were informed, connected and listened to.

The programme’s success, and growing demand from community members and local leaders, led its founders to create a broader organisation. In 2015, the initiative became Community Development Centre (CDC), with a simple purpose: to work for community development. In 2016, CDC was registered with the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission of South Sudan.

When conflict escalated in 2016, it disrupted CDC’s work and displaced many of its staff and the people it served. CDC kept going. In September 2016, it established its Uganda Country Programme, becoming one of the first refugee-led organisations to serve fellow refugees there. In 2017, it extended its work to the Democratic Republic of Congo through Centre de Développement Communautaire (CDC–RDC).

CDC now works across South Sudan, Uganda and the DRC, with a few recent engagements in Kenya. Our programmes cover peacebuilding, livelihoods, health, education, cultural heritage and community empowerment, and communities still lead each of them.