Our Case for Change
ARDHI was born from a crisis — the Kitezi landfill fire — which exposed deep systemic failures in land, food, health, and environmental governance. Communities were left without protection, rights, or support. That tragedy revealed what we already knew: these challenges are interconnected, and when one system fails, people’s lives and dignity are at risk.
We exist to make sure such neglect never happens again. ARDHI bridges the gap between community realities and national policy, turning grassroots needs into systemic solutions. By focusing on our five pillars — agriculture, waste, disaster preparedness, health, and land governance — we work to ensure that resilience is built from the ground up, and that every Ugandan has the right to thrive in a just and healthy environment
I will never forget the smell. Plastic, waste, despair — the air over Kampala during the Kitezi landfill fire carried more than smoke; it carried human suffering. Mothers feared for their families, elders felt abandoned, and youth saw no future in a world choking on waste. The system had failed them.”
Mr. Mwanje Nassir Founder & Executive Director of Ardhi Law and Policy Initiative“From that crisis, one truth became clear: land, waste, health, agriculture, and disaster response are not separate issues. They are interconnected. And only by addressing them together can we build resilience.”
“That night, the word Ardhi — ‘Earth’ in Swahili — came to me. Ardhi symbolizes our foundation, our shared responsibility. From the smoke of Kitezi, the Ardhi Law and Policy Initiative was born: to turn local struggles into systemic solutions, and to fight for a Uganda where every person can thrive.