AIM Uganda, formerly Rakai Orphans Development Initiatives (RODI), is a grassroots organization operating in Southern Uganda in the Kyotera and Rakai Districts. This area of Uganda is ground zero of AIDS. Since the disease was discovered in 1982, more than a million people have died, leaving behind more than 1.2 million orphans. In Uganda, HIV/AIDS has significantly reduced life expectancy, depleted the labor force and reduced food security. Many children are being raised by elderly relatives and these children often have no choice but to work as laborers, rather than attend school. Many communities are trapped in cycles of poverty and disease. The goal of AIM is to transform the lives of these young people and their communities.