CCDO was officially founded in 2005 by a passionate young man at the age of 21. Community Child Development Orphanage (CCDO) was founded in 2005 by 21-year-old Wagidoso Dan. Dan grew up seeing orphaned children in his community, and as a teen, their faces stayed in his mind while he was away at boarding school. When Dan was 16, he saved school pocket money to buy clothing for those children during
his breaks from school. Eventually he used his Fine Art certificate to support children. In 2003, at age 19, Dan returned to his parents’ home, where they took in 12 girls. They also rented a home for 11 boys, who were under the care of a Matron. At 20, Dan created a small campground for tourists to stay and go on tours with hiking and waterfalls. This was not a success, so he moved on to his next idea, Wagimel Uganda Safaris. This business was going strong for several years until they were forced to stop due to COVID-19. Dan had continued to take in more children, placing them in community member’s homes for several years. Most of these children were orphaned due to HIV/AIDS or alcoholic deaths. The numbers reached 77, in addition to the original 23. Despite his hard work, expenses were too great, so in 2005, at 21, he founded and became the director of CCDO. He then could request help from charities who helped grassroots organizations. In 2012, project promoters donated 1.5 acres of land, and Dan found a mission group to help build dorms. The legal process took several months to get through, and in 2013, a Canadian Charity, Love is the Answer, hired local Ugandan engineers and builders to build bathhouses, boys’ and girls’ dorms, and a primary school. In 2014, all 100 children moved into the orphanage. CCDO is a Christian Ugandan nonprofit registered charity, taking care of 100 children, ages 3-18+. Children live at the orphanage until they have adequate training, and their housing is arranged. CCDO’s primary school is staffed with 8 teachers and Dan intends to add a secondary school soon. This will allow them to be better stewards of the money being used for school dues. To support Dan and his orphanage, several of his staff members have chosen to work without pay. Due to the high unemployment rates in Uganda, Dan has temporarily moved to the U.S. to generate income to send home, which has finally allowed him to pay his staff. Dan acknowledges that he could not have done this without God, the support of his family, friends, community, and many volunteers from all over the world. His achievements and continuous goals are clear evidence of this remarkable young man’s devotion. As founder and director, Dan has more than proven that Community Child Development Orphanage is a worthy cause to financially support.
