Kambata Development Network

Some people have suggested that introduction of family planning programs would be a viable solution for the development crisis in the Kambata region. While population policy could be one of the remedies in the future, the current social and economic crisis have already reached a catastrophic level. It appears that there is not an easy fix or a single solution to the current environmental, social and economic crises unless a multi-faceted rehabilitation and development programs are initiated in the short and long run.

KDN asserts that investing on the people, its physical infrastructure and environment is a viable strategy to avert the crises, and focusing investments on these important areas would help creating a sustainable development in the region in particular and Ethiopia in general. It aims at providing vocational training to the youth who can create jobs, not seek for jobs. This requires the commitment and cooperation of the local people, government, and non-government agencies. To achieve the goal of a sustainable development, KDN is committed to work in tandem with the local people and in cooperation with the federal, regional and local government. KDN also seeks to collaborate with the non-government agencies that are willing to help the rural poor and those operating legally in Ethiopia.

The Network shall use whatever strategies it deems appropriate to the achievement of its mission and that may be lawfully undertaken. Specific strategies to be pursued in the short-term and long-term include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Promotion of reforestation and resource conservation methods.
Development of cottage industries and employment generation schemes, including training the youth in modern farming techniques, industrial and information technology.
Recommending viable strategies that help mitigating scarcity of farmland and population pressure.
Providing micro-credit to rural women and rural artisans such as fugas (potters), tummanos (black smiths), weavers, etc.
Undertaking field research on development issues and publishing the results in the Network’s newsletters and annual reports.
Raising the public health awareness of fatal, contagious and incurable diseases.
Supplying teaching material, such as books, videos, magazines, laboratory and computer equipment.
Providing scholarship and financial assistance to students, educators, and prospective immigrants to USA.
Organizing educational seminars, workshops, and conferences from time to time.
Inviting scholars and other informed persons to talk on topics covering the history and culture of Kambata and its people, current affairs and other issues of special interest to members of the Kambata community at home and abroad.
Assisting local efforts in the construction of bridges, roads, water wells, schools, health posts, and other rural infrastructure.
Promoting rural technology including improvement of rudimentary enset decorticating devices

Short-term Plan

Within the following 12 months, KDN aims to support schools by providing educational resources that help improving the quality of education in Kambata. The immediate goal is to donate educational materials by the start of the 2002-2003 academic years to selected secondary schools. Depending on the needs of the schools, the materials include:

Reference materials - encyclopedia, dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, and subject-area reference books, etc. that can be placed in school libraries or resource centers (if they have any) and used by teachers and students.
Science Lab equipment - materials needed to conduct biology, chemistry and physics experiments.
Audiovisual equipment (overhead projectors, transparencies, markers)
Selected educational videos & audio cassettes, and
Used or low-cost desktop computers and software.

KDN hopes that most of these materials can be obtained free from donors based in North America, Europe, Africa including Ethiopia, and other regions. The educational materials can be directly shipped to the benefiting schools from the US or other sources after each school identifies and prioritizes its needs.