CDCB has recruited, trained, and deployed volunteer youth peace activists from three towns: Shashamanne, Arsi Negele, and Batu Town administrations with support from USAID/OTI three months ago. The idea was that these volunteers would promote peace in these towns using different strategies like peace activism by organizing youth networks on telegram on one hand and undertake innovative projects which could be used as a tool of promoting peace on the ground on the other hand. Consequently, the volunteers have performed amazing jobs by financial, technical, and capacity-building supports from CDCB in the last three months. In order to review the projects, the center has organized a community project review on May 6, 2021, on which a community team including the CDCB team, USAID focal person, concerned officials from the town administration, and individuals who render financial support for the volunteers have participated.

Following the establishment of ‘Walda Baraarsa Hara Dambal’ with equivalent meaning -Association for Saving Lake Dambal on March 7, 2021, CDCB has again organized a workshop that brought the three major stakeholders (Community Association, Private Sector, and Government officials) together on March 13, 2021. The workshop has aimed at creating a forum on which the community association:

It has been more than one and a half years since Center for Development Capacity Building (CDCB) has started implementing a UNDP Ethiopia Funded project entitled “Protecting Lake Dambel (Ziway) through Community Based Integrated Watershed Management”. Since the commencement of the project, CDCB has undertaken various activities like stakeholder analysis, launching workshops, various training, community, private sector, and local structure inclusive dialogues on how to concert efforts to save the lake. Not only these but also it has selected areas for protection and buffers zone developments, organized youth for seedling preparations, seedling plantations, and organizing community’s cooperative.

CDCB is conducting a two-day training under the title “Designing and Implementation of Project Using Conflict Sensitivity Approach” for volunteer youth peace agents who have been engaging in peace Building activities for the last 45 days. During the two-day training sessions, volunteer’s reports will be presented, proposals for the next forty-five days are appraised and the appropriate one is selected in addition to training delivered on project cycle management and conflict sensitivity approach of implementing projects. This training was delivered for Shashamane and Arsi Negelle youth peace Agents from March 1-2 and March 3-5 respectively. It is now underway starting from today March 5, 2021, stays for two days ending on March 6, 2021, in Batu (Ziway) town, at Oromia State University.

CDCB has been implementing a project entitled “Strengthening Women and Girl’s political Engagement and Mobilization” in collaboration with the Women, Youth, and Children office of Berrek district, with the support of the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The center has delivered TOT training for selected leading women on “Human, Democratic and Women Rights” and the leading women have been leading community dialogues that have been conducted at the community level with women and girls in more than ten Kebeles for the last two years.