KAMBATA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (KCDA) PROFILE
Name and Certification
Kambata Community Development Association (KCDA) is an indigenous, non-for-profit membership based Civil Society Organization /CSO/ that has been re-registered and accorded legal personality with registry number 1465 on 14/02/2020 as local development organization in accordance with the Civil Society Organization Proclamation No. 1113/2019. Since March/1993, Kambata Community Development Association has been devoted to improve the quality of life of a population of more than a million people for the last three decades. It has set seven program intervention areas for the holistic development of the zone community.
CSO staff focal point and alternate
Desalegn Lambebo, Executive Director.
Telephone: Office 0465540471, 0465540828
Mobile 0942444888,0920274091
Email: desalegnlambebo775@yahoo.com
Fax: 0465540013 P.O. Box: 86
E-mail: gogotacare2016@gmail.com,
Zewudu Alemu Deputy Director/Programs
Telephone: Office 0465540471, 0465540828
Mobile 0913193456
Fax: 0465540013 P.O. Box: 86
Email: heramozewudu@gmail.com
Background of KDA
Kambata Development Association(KDA) is located in South Nations Nationalities and peoples Region. It operates in all 7 Rural Woredas and 6 City Administrations that constitute Kambata Zone. Since its establishment, Kambata Development Association has been playing significant role in the development of the communities in the Zone. Kambata Development Association has been an active functional development actor of the area for the last 30 years. It has over 150,000 members that support the development activities of the organization with membership fee and volunteer services. Most of the members are mainly farmers and public employees who are the backbone of the Association since its establishment.
In the past three decades, besides implementing projects locally funded, Kambata Development Association managed to accomplish various national and international donor funded projects. Some of the donors were: CSSP, SEPDA, ESRDF (Ethiopian Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund), Irish Aid, Japan Embassy, IPHE /Integrated Population Health and Environment/, CCRDA, GTZ, Inter Aktion, American Embassy, Glimmer of Hope, JSI/JHU for which USAID is the prime donor. The Association developed and followed holistic approach of implementing different development programs/projects in the zone. Accordingly, the Association has rich experience in implementing donor and community funded projects that enabled it to ensure high involvement and strong sense of ownership of the target communities.
In the year 2016, Kambata Development Association had undergone through organizational diagnosis and identified areas to be improved such as: improving organizational capacity; program design and implementation; and community mobilization and fund raising. Subsequently, the organization had set a five years’ strategic plan for the period of 2017 to 2021 and had been striving to attain the planned strategic project objectives with a strong commitment and determination. Various project activities were carried out to attain the set goal and objectives. The activities brought positive influence towards the betterment of the society; increasing the quality of life of the people. Recently, Kambata Development Association has developed a five years Strategic Plan for the period of 2022 to 2026. The plan aims to contribute to the betterment of life situation of Kambata Zone people, reducing poverty and improving socioeconomic status of the community. The goal and objectives are defined in such a way to lead to the intended vision and accomplishment of the mission of the organization in a given period of time. Kambata Development Association envisions seeing a transformed community free from poverty. Its mission is to fill the development gaps and implement community felt needs mobilizing resources using maximum possible effort so as to improve the socioeconomic status of the people in the area.
The communities of the zone suffer from prolonged poverty mainly due to small land holding size at household level. This in turn resulted in low agricultural production and productivity, poor quality education provision, poor infrastructure facility, poor access to potable water, social backwardness, natural and man-made calamities, and so on. This strategic plan will address the key needs of the community which form the basis of all development through participatory, inclusive and effective means to bring about the life changing strategic actions.
This strategic plan will also contribute in achieving many of the globally agreed sustainable development goals (SDGs): reducing poverty and hunger, good health, quality education for all, ensure gender equality, clean water and sanitation, decent work, reduced inequalities, access to social protection and basic services, disaster risk reduction, and collaboration for effective resource mobilisation. During the strategic plan implementation; target population, community-based organizations, government structures at different level, civil society organizations, and private sectors will be significant partners.
The strategic plan embraces equality principles placing the communities at the heart of all interventions, promoting the active participation and inclusion of all members. It also gives a due attention for the accessibility, acceptability, affordability, and gender equality to achieve sustainable effects.
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN EDUCATION THEMATIC AREA
- Quality Education Program
Kambata Development Association underlines the importance of education for a holistic development of the nation. It strongly believes on that through Education our community would assure the overall development of its people. Education guarantees the better future of the existing inhabitants and its future generation. That is why Gogota Care as one of its major concern areas striving to improve Kambata Zone’s education performance and quality. Kambata Development Association in collaboration with Kambata Zone Administration and with other concerned stakeholders is investing its scarce finance, time and resources for the proper attainment its development activities. We are strongly working to improve the education quality of the zone. Higa Model Boarding school and Higa Sister High Schools in the Zone are under this target.
- Educational Ambassadorship and Public Schools Education Quality Improvement program
The Education Ambassadorship program purpose has become one of the key strategies to promote education quality in Kembata Zone. Kambata Development Association in collaboration with zone administration has facilitated the program for the four consecutive years in which many scholars, ambassadors, politicians, business people and professors have participated.
These people have been invited to share their life experience to students on Parents’ Day. They made a motivational speech to students, teachers and parents at different selected preparatory schools. Teachers and students with best performance have also been awarded and received the award from the Ambassadors. The Ambassadorship program has addressed a message to direct students to refrain from illegal migrations and human traffickers and brokers. Education Ambassadors mobilized all stakeholders to take part in the environmental protections by planting seedlings during the Parents’ Day and offered orientations to students and teachers along with all the stakeholders of education ambassadorship.
The following table shows the list of educational ambassadors that volunteer to improve the quality of education in our catchment area.
- HIGA MODEL BOARDING SCHOOL
Kambata Development Association has executed multi sectorial projects for the community in the last three decades. One of the major focus areas is the improvement of quality of education of the zone. Until 2016 our priority under the Education Program was creating access to education. By the collaborative effort of all development actors in the area, access to education was achieved, especially for primary and high school education. A tremendous change was achieved regarding access to education. For instance, there were only 3 high schools three decades ago when Kambata Development Association was established. Recently there are 45 high schools in the Zone. The situation in primary education was also same. Though access to education is not a significant problem in the Zone, the quality has significantly dropped which all stake holders agreed during the panel discussion held in Nov. 2017. Kambata Development Association introduced a project called Education Ambassadorship where high scholars, successful business men and women, high government officials, community leaders and known figures from different parts of the country volunteer to support the efforts of Kambata Development Association in all sectors of development. The first educational ambassadorship campaign was conducted in July 2016 during school Parents’ Day. The Educational ambassadors made motivational speeches, presented awards for best achievers and shared their experience for the students all over the zone. Panel discussion was held at the end of the campaign. Educational ambassadors, school supervisors, school principals, Zonal and Woreda Education department personnel attended the discussion. Survey findings, identified problems on the education system were presented by the concerned scholars and serious discussions and debates were part of the discussion. During the discussion it was indicated that the National and regional examination grade reports of grade 12, 10 and 8 was among the lowest in the region. Kambata Development Association took the lead to bring all stalk holders together to design a strategy to reverse the situation. As a result, Gogota Care in collaboration with the Zonal Administration and Education Department organized a training titled Quality and Result Oriented Education by the scholars from different universities in the country, namely; Prof. Aklilu Azazh, Prof. Aklilu Dalelo, Prof. Teketel Yohannes, Dr Amanuel Eromo, Dr. Daniel Desta, Dr. Kidanemariam Pawlos and Dr. Tagesse Daniel. These Educational Ambassadors produced the training manual and provided the training for the attendants. At the end of the training Education Quality Improvement project was launched in November 2017 which mainly involved volunteer scholars and education professionals.
One of the strategies set was to establish a model boarding school which can serve as a centre of excellence. The good practices of the school and lessons learned will be extended to the rest of the schools. After tidies ups and downs, Higa model boarding school was established by Kambata Development Association. Students with best academic performance join the school after serious screening, including entrance exam. The qualified students attend the education in a conducive school environment for their maximum academic excellence.
The humble beginning by Kambata Development Association to improve education quality became a huge movement that involved all stake holders and the community at large. As a result, radical changes came about in improving grade results of the students in the Zone. The results in national and reginal examination drastically increased two years after the project’s commencement. The following Higa Model Boarding School result clearly shows the improvement.
- Higa students National Examination result Grade 10 (2011E.C)
The school scored 2nd best result nationally in the year 2010 EC. Out of the 135, 1st batch Grade 10 Students that took National Exam:
- 82 students strait A
- 42 students 4 point
- 10 students 3.86 point
- 1 student 3.6 point
After Two more years, in 2013 E.C. the 1st batch 153 students took grade 12 national examination. 1st batch grade 12 students were among the top achievers nationwide. The result analysis is discussed here below:
- 39 students (25%) scored above 600 points and out of these students 8 of them are female students
- 114 students (75%) scored above 528 points and out of these students 38 of them are female students
- The highest result scored by our student was 632 while the lowest result scored was 528 points.
| Total number of students | Score/Results | Percentage (%) | Remark |
| 153 | 39 students score 600 and above | 25.5 | |
| 109 Students score 550 -599 and | 71.24 | ||
| 5 Students 528 – 549 | 3.26 |
A year later, in 2014 E.C. 121 students took grade 12 national examination. As well known the ministry of education implemented a new approach to stop exam cheating. The 2nd batch grade 12 students were among the top achievers nationwide. The result analysis is discussed here below:
| Total number of students | Score/Results | Percentage (%) | Remark | |
| 121 | 1 | 98 students score 350 and above | 80.9 | Directly Joined |
| 2 | 21 Students score below 350 and | 17.4 | remedial program | |
| 3 | 1 student | 0.8 | Did not take the exam due to illness | |
| 4 | 1 student | 0.8 | detained | |
- HIGA SISTER SCHOOLS
Kambata Development Association in collaboration with the Zone Administration ,Education Department and other Donors has been working to extend the best practices of Higa Model School to the rest of the schools in the Zone. To begin with, 7 schools are selected as Higa Sister Schools to work in collaboration with Kambata Development Association Education department. Education Ambassadorship committee is established to coordinate the project. Gogota Care Executive Director and Education program coordinator, Zonal Education department, Volunteer Education Ambassadors and woreda concerned bodies are represented in the committee to oversee and direct the progress of the project in all Higa Sister Schools.
The project is going on at all Higa Sister Schools and tremendous changes have come so far in identifying the problems and raising funds to address the problems. Prof. Akililu Azazh as a pioneer to the Education Ambassadorship Project and a board member has been voluntarily coordinating the activities. It is obvious that to improve the quality of education in schools it cost money. In the past budget year 2022 the EA committee came up with a very creative approach to raise funds to the Higa Sister Schools selected to pilot the Higa Model School approach. The Education Ambassadors were assigned to establish alumni associations at all Higa Sister Schools to mobilize funds and educational materials to help the schools provide a better service. As a result, over 7 million birr in cash and in kind was collected to capacitate the schools to provide quality education.
Public Schools Support
- 2855 OVC from grade 1-12 supported with scholastic materials.
- 65 university students from destitute families provided with financial support.
- 42 secondary schools provided with reference books.
- 16 elementary schools provided with reference books.
- 7 secondary schools equipped with computer lab.
- 15 schools provided with IT materials, copiers, duplicating machines, generators, etc. as per the specific needs of the school.
- 42 blocks of class rooms, library and administration constructed for different schools at the Zone.