PSJ's programmatic initiatives have responded not only to the immediate development and humanitarian needs of vulnerable local communities they serve through direct service delivery, but also seek to tackle the root causes of their exclusion and marginalization, including lack of capacity, feeling of powerlessness, and lack of voice to shape public policy especially at the local level. PSJ’s initiatives to put communities they serve in the ‘driver’s seat’ of their own development are twofold. The first involves strengthening the functional and technical capacities of citizens of local communities to deliver services to their population. The second initiative uses human rights framework to promote awareness of rights as well as empower communities to engage in advocacy to demand for social services and provision of rural infrastructure.

One of the strategic objectives of PSJ’s community health program is to empower and build the capacity of communities in Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) to reduce deaths due to malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia. In order to achieve this, PSJ began training of local people from within communities they serve, as village health assistants and community volunteers.  In the past six years, the organization has trained over 250 village health volunteers and 228 community HIV peer educators. For each village served by PSJ, at least two health volunteers are trained. Parts of the volunteers’ responsibilities include providing treatment for common ailments such malaria and diarrhea, and training parents in their respective communities on how to recognize common illnesses in their household members. Each local health volunteer is provided diagnostic tools and treatment supplies to conduct rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for suspected malaria cases, and initiate treatment once the cases test positive. This enabled early treatment especially for children under five who bear the greatest morbidity and mortality burden of malaria due to late initiation of treatment parents to start malaria treatment immediately, even before they reach the nearest health facility.