CENTER FOR COMMUNITY HOLISTIC ENGAGEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION ACTION (COTA) is Women Led Organization (WLO) with currently five (5) staff and six (6) board members with 90 percent of the staff and board members being women. It was established in 2017 as a livelihood group located in Yinga 1 village of Imvepi parish, Odupi Sub-County, Arua District (now Terego District). Initially, the organization was involved in such as farming (goat and poultry rearing), environmental protection (tree planting/growing, soil erosion conservation and advocacy against bush burning), hygiene and sanitation promotion activities for both refugees and the host communities in Imvepi, and peace building/peaceful co-existence between the refugees and the host community.

The organization has been in existence for over 8 years due to the prevailing constitution, hard work, teamwork towards achieving the set organizational goals with support and supervision of the board members. The organization successfully secured five years project of Strategic Partnership Agreement II (SPAII) early 2023 from ActionAid International Uganda and because of its fruitful implementation, COTA was added a top-up package of Loss and Damage (L&D) fund, and these are being implemented in Imvepi refugee settlement particularly in zone 1, 4 and the host communities.

The main goal of COTA is to improve the livelihoods of the community through unity and development, as reflected in its motto, “WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.”