History of HDCC

HDCC was the vision of Aloysious Kirangwa. Having survived on the streets as a teenager he was fortuitously rescued and sponsored to go to secondary school. He completed his studies successfully and went for further education studying civil engineering. It was here that he felt the desire to help young people in need; people who were suffering how he had suffered.

In his spare time he mobilized a number of street kids from where he had himself been on the streets, (Nnyendo, Masaka) and set about counseling and encouraging them and giving them literacy and numeracy lessons. To begin he would meet these young people under the shade of a mango tree in Lukaya on a part time basis. He later acquired land and using his skills and expertise, trained the students in basic construction.

Video Of Lukaya Town

The number of young people grew and Aloysious dedicated all his free time to work with them. Together they built a temporary workshop/classroom. By now (2001) his remarkable work had been recognized; Lukaya Town Council officiated HDCC and approved its operations.

Attracted to the project were friends of Aloysious' who shared his vision, some of them were vocational instructors and teachers; they invested their time by voluntarily instructing the students. But it went beyond this, for many of the young people HDCC was giving them real hope and the direction they so needed; they now had the self-confidence and belief to achieve great things.

These great things came in 2003; the defining year for HDCC. Not only did the organization gain community based organisation (CBO) status; an endorsement at the District level (Masaka District), but also accomplished a remarkable feat

With connections in Japan, Aloysious secured funds for the construction of a classroom and office block. With this investment Aloysious' vision became a reality. The students were able to build their own school - Lukaya Polytechnic!!!!

Video Of Lukaya Polytechnic

Under the direction of Aloysious and the other instructors (some of them were now working full-time), the students, former-street kids, built one of the finest buildings in Lukaya. How proud they could be. They were actively involved from the planning stages to the finishing touches; it is really their own school. They were empowered through learning the skills, laying the bricks and participating in building their future. It is quite remarkable; HDCC has empowered these young people and given them real hope when they were previously disaffected, vulnerable and living on the streets, they now have a bright future.