A Professional in Community Services
Community service has become a culture and habit for some professionals and students in Wollega University. We are now proving that we can influence the community and bring practical changes. We want to share what the Public Administration instructor (Dr Kannan Ambalam) in Wollega University has done with his Master of Public Administration (MPA) students and the local community at Demeksa Kebele. The course taught by this instructor is named Development Administration. He related the course with the practical problem he observed in Demeksa Kebele. People have been suffering from the lack of bridge and pure drinking water for centuries. The instructor, mobilizing his students and the local community, constructed two bridges and one water spring as part of his course. What does this teach us? We could say many things for the programs we are running in the University. We have 97 programs at the moment. We learnt that if the 97 programs relate at least one course to the practical problem of the community, we can really bring dramatic change very soon.
The inaugural ceremony of this water spring was organized at Damaksa Kebele of Digga woreda on 14 March 2017 (Tuesday) in the presence of the University administration, the local community, students and kebele leaders. The spring will benefit nearly 100 households, both from Damaksa Kebele and the nearby areas. Besides it will be useful for the School, Church, Farmers Training Centre and Health Post.