Since 1981, the African Food and Peace Foundation (AFPF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Boston, MA, has been dedicated to promoting community-initiated rural development projects in Uganda through established partner organizations.
AFPF contributes financial and strategic resources to these projects, focusing on sustainable development and education in rural Uganda.
Our Mission
The mission of the African Food and Peace Foundation is to provide financial and strategic resources to support sustainable development and education in rural Uganda.
AFPF's primary role is to support the ever-expanding reach of URDT and ARU through fundraising, advising, networking, international visits, and deep personal friendships that tie communities in America and Uganda together.
History of AFPF
In 1981, the African Food and Peace Foundation was established to support significant, long-term development in rural Uganda by partnering with local Ugandan initiatives.
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The two organizations have had an excellent working partnership for over forty years. Leaders of both organizations sat on each other’s boards as co-creators.
Through fundraising with our community of friends in North America, we have supported development innovations by empowering rural communities in Uganda to create peace, health, prosperity, freedom, and happiness for themselves.
Key Initiatives and Programs
AFPF is actively involved in initiatives such as the URDT Institute, the African Rural University for Women, and pupil-managed school farms, collaborating with local communities to enhance visibility and impact.
Through its commitment to a two-generation approach to development, the foundation has significantly contributed to transforming lives and promoting gender equity in rural areas.
To realize this vision, AFPF provides financial and strategic resources to support sustainable development and education in rural Uganda.
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AFPF has been a significant source of funding and support to URDT. At the same time, they launched their various programs and institutions, including African Rural University (ARU), Africa’s first all-women’s university with a rural curriculum.
URDT Institute
Founded in 1983, the URDT Vocational Institute enables young men and women to explore various trades and develop entrepreneurial skills.
The goal is to cultivate well-rounded young entrepreneurs who spark the local economy.
African Rural University (ARU)
African Rural University (ARU)-an all Women's University has received the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Non-Profit Contribution to the Community at the 4th Cycle of the Zairi International Awards for Excellence in Higher Education (2024-2025) held in Dubai on October 1, 2025.
It is the first of its kind in East Africa.
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At the core of ARU’s model is the Visionary Approach.
Upon completion of their studies, All ARU graduates have ready work opportunities in rural transformation as Epicentre Managers with our Mother Organisation (URDT).
As Uganda’s only all-women university focused on rural transformation, ARU is dedicated to uplifting women through education and developing change agents to create positive impacts in Uganda.
ARU Satellite Approach
ARU's footprint spans 20 districts in Mid-Western Uganda, fostering entrepreneurship, visionary leadership and dignified work in construction, agriculture and tourism.
These Epicentre Mangers have enabled over 100 community-based groups to establish sustainable farming businesses, improve the standards of living and protect the local natural resources.
This Program is implemented through The Satellite Approach.
This hands-on approach ensures that young people receive practical and relevant education while contributing to the economic growth of their communities.
URDT's Satellite Approach comes with numerous benefits.
Young people benefit from its mentorship, and the ability to earn while they learn, facilitating smooth transitions into the workforce.
On a broader scale, the approach promotes community peace and stability, generates local revenue through taxes, establishes accessible training centers, and aligns with the government's skilling initiatives for a prosperous Uganda.
Pupil Managed School Farms
Using a two-generation approach to education, the PMSFP aims to enhance income and nutrition for pupils in 22 primary schools in Kigali.
KKCR Community Radio
KKCR significantly transforms mindsets and knowledge, attracting over 3 million listeners.
A community radio station run by volunteers is helping with livestock in Uganda
Community Transformation Ecosystem
Epicenter Strategy
ARU graduates may obtain post-graduate positions as Epicenter Managers, helping rural people identify projects to improve communities.
Grassroots Approach
Powered by children and families who create visions of the lives they want to live, and then they achieve those goals and teach others by example.
Visionary Approach
Principles of creating, systems thinking), that enables whole systems or integrated methodology for individuals and collectively work to the realization of what they truly care about.
Impactful Programs
Using the creative process and systems thinking, we train, teach, and support individuals in these target areas.
URDT empowers rural communities by teaching them to harness their innate creativity to improve their lives.
The change-makers in these communities are primarily girls and women trained as rural transformation specialists and young men and women who benefit from vocational education to learn a trade and launch their businesses.
The methodological departure in a paradigm shift from traditional Problem-Solving to Creative Orientation has defined the partnership.
Dr. Mwalimu Musheshe: A Champion of Education and Community Development
Dr. Mwalimu Musheshe co-founded URDT in 1987 with a vision-driven, value-based approach to community development, helping to empower rural communities through education and transformative projects.
Building on this success, he later established the African Rural University, where as Vice Chancellor he has championed practical and contextual education through programmes such as the “Technologies for Rural Transformation” degree.
Dr. Mwalimu Musheshe, PHD, the Co-Founder of URDT and Vice-Chancellor of African Rural University (ARU), officially received his Award from Kabalega Foundation, which was awarded to him on Saturday during the Royal Dinner Ceremony in commemoration of 100 Years of Omukama Cwa 11 Kabalega.
The prestigious recognition was conferred during the LEAP 2025 - LSDB Educational Awards Programme, held on September 24 at the LSDB campus in London and streamed virtually to nominees across the globe.
This recognition is a testament to Mwalimu Musheshe's exceptional leadership and continuous contribution to higher education.
URDT's Core Values and Philosophy
URDT's fundamental mission is to enable people of Uganda to recognize and embody shared vision, values and work together to create for themselves Peace, Prosperity, Freedom, Health and Happiness as they discover that they are key to their own development.
URDT embraces the Ubuntu Philosophy: “I am because you are.”
This philosophy underscores interconnectedness, empathy, and collaboration. It harmoniously aligns with the concept of co-creating positive change within communities.
Internship Program
The AFPF Internship program gives aspiring professionals the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of fundraising, marketing, event planning, and non-profit operations.
We also offer the unique opportunity to work within the international sector, investing in the empowerment of women and girls.
Fourth-year African Rural University students are deployed as apprentice Epicenter Managers across Uganda’s rural sub-counties.
They live in the homes of former or current URDT Girls School students.
The student interns lead Community-Based Participatory Action Planning workshops, train farmers in organic practices, and facilitate projects from installing clean water systems to launching youth skilling initiatives.
Each ARU intern is mentored by two faculty members (one of whom is a Traditional Wisdom Specialist, knowledgeable about the local culture) and an ARU alumna serving as an Epicenter Manager in that District.
This "learn-work-earn" model ensures that students graduate with measurable impact portfolios, not just academic transcripts.
They submit detailed reports about their community projects to graduate.
