One Village at a Time (OVAAT) is a strategic, community-led development model designed to enable sustainable rural transformation by placing people—especially children—at the center of change.

Grounded in Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), OVAAT works with rural communities to identify their own priorities, mobilize local and external resources, and drive long-term development through collective leadership, shared vision, and continuous learning—one village at a time.

At the core of OVAAT is the conviction that lasting development begins early in life. For this reason, OVAAT deliberately starts with Early Childhood Development and Early Education (ECD&E) as the foundation for broader human capital transformation, from which improvements in education, health, livelihoods, and social wellbeing grow organically.

Every story of change starts with one place choosing to believe it is possible.

For OVAAT, that place is Naigobya Village, Luuka District.

Founded in early 2016 by the community itself, OVAAT is community-founded and community-led. It brings together village elites and residents using the participatory learning and action model to drive their own future.

Today, development is taking shape. Villagers lead income-generating projects while protecting the environment – livelihoods that care for the land and for the children who will inherit it.

At the centre are children. That is why the community established the Early Childhood Development Centre in Naigobya, with support from Rotary Club of Kyandondo. Led by the community. Sustained by the community.

Naigobya is the first. The learning from here lights the way for the next.

One village at a time.