A centre built where technology, wellbeing and community meet
JM Centre for Community Engagement and Research is a Ugandan NGO founded in 2026 and based in Kansanga, Kampala. We work alongside communities to remove the barriers that keep families and young people from thriving.
Most development problems in Uganda are treated one at a time. We read the problem differently.
A young person without digital skills is sent to a computer class. A person in distress is referred to a clinic that may be hours away and short of staff. A child at risk waits on a system that is already stretched thin. JM-CCER was founded on a different reading of the problem. These needs are connected, communities already hold much of the answer, and the right combination of evidence and technology can multiply what a community is able to do for itself.
We bring in-demand digital and AI skills, accessible mental health and psychosocial support, strong child safeguarding, climate resilience and rigorous research together in a single, community-led model. We train local people to lead the work, we ground every programme in evidence, and we use technology to reach further than any single office could on its own.
We are young, but we are not starting from nothing. Our work is led by one of Uganda's most experienced social work professionals and is already backed by partnerships with more than six universities and institutions. From this base in Kampala, we are building toward national reach.
Our Vision
Empowered, supported and resilient communities that work in an inclusive way and use their own resources to drive their long-term development.
Our Mission
To support individuals and communities facing systemic, economic and environmental barriers, and to harness community resources through culturally inclusive interventions for sustainable community wellbeing.
What we set out to achieve with communities
We work collectively with community members to address the social, economic, environmental and cultural challenges that shape their welfare.
- 01
Strengthen the resilience of individuals, families and communities through mental health tools, and through training caregivers and local structures to nurture, protect and care for vulnerable children, youth and refugees.
- 02
Close the digital gap and prepare the workforce for changing technology by equipping people with in-demand computer and AI skills.
- 03
Strengthen community structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, so that every child is safe and well.
- 04
Support community members to make informed, independent choices about the care and education they need to manage their reproductive health safely.
- 05
Generate evidence-based solutions to social problems by studying behaviour, attitudes and social conditions in a systematic way.
- 06
Promote inclusion and full participation for persons living with disabilities, so they can take part, thrive and contribute.
- 07
Bridge the gap between academic theory and real practice through hands-on skills, professional networks and structured internships that build career readiness.
The principles that guide every decision
Service
We exist to be genuinely useful to the communities we work with, measured by what changes for them.
Ubuntu
We are because others are. Care, sharing, respect and compassion guide how we treat every person.
Social and Environmental Justice
We stand with the people who carry the heaviest burdens, and we work to shift the conditions that put them there.
Human Rights
Dignity and rights are not negotiable. They are the floor under everything we design and deliver.
Collective Action
Lasting change is built together with communities, not handed down to them.
How we work, and why it lasts
When we equip communities with skills, mental health support and protective structures, ground that work in evidence, and extend it with technology, communities gain the means to drive their own development.
Community-Led
We train local residents as facilitators, peer supporters and community child defenders. The people closest to a problem lead the response, which builds trust and keeps the work alive long after a project ends.
Evidence-Driven
Research and monitoring are built into our programmes, not added afterward. We design from data, learn as we go, and can show partners what is working and what is not.
Technology-Enabled
We use digital tools, AI and online channels to reach people far beyond a single office, to lower the cost of delivery, and to give communities skills that open real economic opportunity.
Ubuntu-Rooted
Care, sharing, respect and compassion are not slogans for us. They are working principles that shape how we protect children, support wellbeing and treat every person we serve.
We do not deliver services to communities. We build the capacity of communities to deliver for themselves.
The experience behind the Centre
John Mary Ssekate
Founder and Board Chairman
National Coordinator, NASWU
JM-CCER is founded and led by John Mary Ssekate, a professional social worker whose career sits at the centre of Uganda's social work and child protection systems. He serves as the National Coordinator of the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda, the body that represents and regulates the profession in the country. Earlier, as the Association's Capacity-Building Officer, he led the training and mentorship of early-career social workers across every social work teaching university in Uganda, as well as frontline practitioners in agencies and NGOs.
His work reaches from the classroom to national policy. He has supported refugee children through the Dream a Difference project, served as a Co-Investigator on the REFLECT research study, and sits on the Inter-University Council for East Africa technical committee standardising social work education across seven member states. He is a member of the National Child Protection Working Group, the Ministry of Health psychosocial support pillar and the Ministry of Education stakeholders' committee. This combination of practice, teaching, research and policy is the foundation JM-CCER is built on.
Education and appointments
- BA Social Work and Social Administration (Hons), KIU
- MA Project Planning and Management
- Case Management for Children Exposed to Violence, Makerere
- Certificate in SRHR, Makerere School of Public Health
- National Child Protection Working Group, MGLSD
- Ministry of Health psychosocial support pillar
- Global Social Service Workforce Alliance
- International Federation of Social Workers
Let us build resilient communities together
We welcome partners, funders, institutions and volunteers who share our belief that communities can drive their own development when given the right tools, support and evidence.