Strategies of the Major Interventions of HEfDA

Strategic issues

Empowering women to focus on “bigger picture” of gender equality, demand their rights and get
access to justice
Decision making power on resources and issues that affect their health and wellbeing
Life skills development to women: leadership, self esteem, self reliance, assertiveness
Prevention and mitigation of HPs and GBV
Administrative systems and finance management of the women saving and credit cooperatives
Capacity of women associations to reach out to most vulnerable and destitute women in the district
Strategic options/actions Social empowerment
Organize and Empower women to claim their basic human and democratic rights and access justice
Strengthen HEfDA skills training on empowerment of women – leadership development, self-esteem
to participate and claim their rights, entrepreneurship, food preparation, preservation and utilization
Mainstream gender in social and development work. Make gender analyses part of project cycle
management (PCM) and organizational capacity
Aapply HEfDA’s Gender policy and gender mainstreaming guidelines. Engage women and men
boys and girls in all project activities - empowerment of women and girls to enhance their decision
making and challenge the gender norms Prevention and Mitigation of Gender based Violence (GBV)

Identify the nature and magnitude of GBV, FGM, early marriage, abduction, rape, domestic violence
in different contexts (under different economic and religious settings)
Apply SASA! to analyze the power relations between women and men in decision making to end HPs, FGM and GBV
Strengthen the women associations, community based organizations (CBOs) and students clubs in schools to protect girls from GBV in and out of schools
Introduce community sanctions on perpetrators of HPs and GBV
Support the law enforcement bodies to be accountable and responsive to cases of HPs and GBVs
Enhance the participation and benefits of women under difficult situations
Give priority to destitute women; widows, single mother women, women with HIV/AIDS, women with disabilities, and victims of GBV and reproductive health problems in all social and economic

empowerment work of women
Women economic empowerment
Develop Strategic and business plan for Women Saving and Credit Cooperatives
Identify capacity/skills gaps/needs of women and provide need based skills development
Establish/strengthen the women saving and credit cooperatives/associations
Strategic issues

  • Attitudinal and socio-cultural barriers (perceptions and myth) to RH/FP services
  • Identification and support to the women with reproductive health (e.g. Fistula) problems
  • GBV and Teenagers pregnancy and associated problems in relation to girls education
  • Low capacity of health institutions to provide comprehensive RH/FP services
  • Strategic options/actions
  • Remove socio-cultural and attitudinal barriers for effective use of SRH and FP services
  • Foster changes in social norms and values related to family planning, gender and women’s health/
  • SRH.
  • Integrate prevention of HPs, GBVs, FGM into reproductive health services and mainstream into
  • social and development programs, schools, community life, religious teaching and development
  • work
  • Link family planning with environmental protection and livelihood security
  • Collaboration with local health office
  • Establish strong working relations and cooperation to promote RH/FP, treatment of survivors of RH problems, GBV and FGM and treatment to people/women with disabilities
  • Engage health personnel in the planning and implementation of activities related to water
  • development, sanitation, health of women, treatment of the elderly, OVC, etc.
  • Joint actions to reduce the spread of epidemics (e.g. experience of COVID 19)
Strategic issues

  • Rampant Female Genital Mutilation, child marriage
  • Child trafficking, labor exploitation, abuse/mistreatment
  • Unequal opportunities for boys and girls in education
  • Poor perception of parents/communities about education for children with disabilities
  • Inaccessibility and poor quality of education to children with disabilities
  • Strategic options/actions
  • Develop the capacity of HEfDA to effectively engage in issues of children and youth
  • Develop policy, strategy and guideline on vulnerable children and youth
  • Mainstream child rights & safeguarding in all HEfDA projects/activities - apply the child safeguarding
  • guidelines in all social and development work and at organizational level
  • Develop more projects in wider geographic coverage to reduce FGM, chid trafficking, early
  • marriage, child labor and exploitation
  • Introduce community sanction on families and custodians that undertake FGM, chid trafficking, early
  • marriage, child labor and exploitation
Strategic issues
Participation, academic performance, dropout, class/school completion
Rampant GBV - early marriage, abduction, sexual harassment,
Unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, scarcity of information on RH/FP services
Unsafe school environment – unavailability of water, sanitation, counseling and guidance
Absence of skills training to school dropouts for [self] employment and income generation
Strategic options/actions
Encourage and support girls’ school participation, support to improved academic performance and
reduced dropouts
Prevent and mitigate HPs and GBV (FGM, early marriage, abduction and other sexual and ammonal
harassments) in and out of school
Enhance the life skills development programs to girls (personal leadership development, knowledge
on sexual and reproductive health issues. etc.)
Mitigate teenagers pregnancy, unsafe abortion and associated dropout of girls from schools through
intensive Teen STAR programs in schools
Improve the water and sanitation facilities; establish Reproductive Health (RH) clubs and strengthen
counselling programs
Contribute to improve education quality in public schools
Improve the competence of the teachers through training, experience sharing, etc.
Contribute to improved facilities in the schools (renovate/construct/expand classrooms, libraries,
toilets, improve the furniture, develop water and sanitation)
Enhance community participation and contribution to schools and encourage local income
generation activities in schools,
Strategic issues
 Holistic youth formation – initiate youth friendly services
 Opportunities for life and vocational skills training
 Identification of skill gaps including market study
 Networking and linkage with youth training centers, CSOs, micro-finance institutions, universities,
Strategic options/actions
 Develop the capacity of HEfDA in holistic youth formation (social and ethical formation)
 Integrate/mainstream youth friendly approaches in social and development work\
Strengthen the Teen STAR approach in schools
 Strengthen the capacity of HEfDA College to provide high quality skills training
 Develop additional training opportunities in construction, tailoring, etc
 Strengthen the internship program – develop curriculum, link with other CSOs, follow up and
document the changes in the life of interns
Strategic issues
 Poor awareness, perceptions, myth about disability and persons with disabilities
 Self-esteem (self value, assertiveness) of persons with disabilities
 Skills of social workers to identify cases and provide quality CBR services
 Technical skills and economic empowerment of youth/persons with disabilities
 Networking with disability inclusive development organizations, medical service and assistive
devices providers,
 Advocacy and lobbying for the rights of persons with disabilities
Strategic options/actions
Comprehensive Community based Rehabilitation (CCBR)
 Improve the community attitudes and perception towards people with disabilities.
 Strengthen Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) with focus on children with physical impairments
 Promote and support inclusive education for children with disabilities- focus on participation and
quality of education.
 Encourage and support the participation (inclusion/mainstreaming) of persons with disabilities in
social and development work
 Enhance health condition of people with disabilities – provision of treatment for curable
impairments.
 Provide assistive devices and mobility appliances to persons with disabilities
Disability inclusive development approach
 Pay special attention to safeguarding/protection of children with disabilities from abuse, neglect and
exploitation. Pay special attention to safeguarding/protection of children with disabilities from HTPs,
FGM, GBV, abuse, neglect and exploitation
 Promote and support inclusive education for children with disabilities- focus on participation and
quality of education. Encourage and support students with disabilities to participate in school
students clubs
 Encourage and support the participation (inclusion/mainstreaming) of persons with disabilities in
social and development work. Conscious and intentional inclusion of the persons/families with
disabilities in community dialogue, training, conference, workshops, house-to-house visit by social
workers, health extension workers and community activists
 Strengthen disability inclusive development strategy in HEfDA. Mainstream disability in social and
development work and organizational systems Provide skills training to the youth with disabilities, create opportunities for employment and
economic empowerment Encourage and support women with disabilities to be members of the
women self-help groups and women associations
 Enhance the livelihood security of people with disabilities.
 Improve the quality and accessibility of infrastructure, facilities and services to people with
disabilities
Strategic issues
 Awareness on the trend and consequences of natural resources degradation (deforestation, loss of
biodiversity, soil erosion) and climate change
 Reforestation on degraded lands and mountains
 Massive soil erosion on slopes
 Water availability and quality, sanitation
 Scarcity of fuel wood, light sources
Strategic options/actions
Natural Resources conservation and development
 Promote and support afforestation programs –indigenous trees, highland fruit trees
 Link the natural resources development with population growth and associated pressure on land
 Strengthen family planning services to slow population growth; 1) break socio-cultural barriers to
RH/FP uptake, 2) empower women and girls to make decisions 3) mainstream SRH/FP in social and
development work
Rural energy options
 Promote rural energy sources/options (bio-gas, fuel saving stoves, solar options)
 Link bio-gas production with manure production and use manures for crops/vegetable production
Agriculture and food security
 Strengthen the capacity of HEfDA in sustainable livelihood security principles and practices
 Enhance knowledge and skills of small-scale farmers on conservation based agriculture and organic
farming
 Demonstrate improved agricultural technologies - high yielding crops, livestock and vegetables,
improved agricultural implements and farmers training,
 Broaden opportunities for diversified off-farm and on-farm income at household level
 Build the capacity of small scale farmers in value adding, marketing (linkage to agri-business)
 Strengthen the synergy of crop-livestock-vegetables and fruits production& productivity
Improve availability and quality of water
 Develop the capacity of HEfDA and the communities in spring development, water harvesting
systems and gravitational water supply schemes
 Develop guidelines for the water, sanitation and hygiene program and link with Harmee College
 Strengthen the collaboration with district water and sanitation/health offices
Strategic issues
 Documentation of achievements, experiences, changes/impacts,
 Capacity of technical and administrative staff in information management
 Learning and knowledge management in practice
 Knowledge and practice of Systematization of experiences
Strategic options/actions
 Enhance the capacity of technical and administrative staff in documentation of achievements,
changes, experiences, lessons
 Strengthen the data base management, learning and knowledge management
 Strengthen the culture of learning and knowledge management – production of handbooks and
guidelines on social and development work
 Develop guidelines on systematization, impact/change analyses
 Strengthen publication of experiences gained from projects
Strategic issues
 Governance structure and organizational systems (administrative and finance management
 Strategic, short and long term business plan
 Market study, innovation and competitiveness in the market
 Capacity to produce market driven good quality produce
Strategic options/actions
 Develop the governance structure, administrative and finance system/manual
 Develop clear short and long term business and operational plan
 Enhance the capacity of HEfDA/IGA to be innovative and competitive in the local market
 Develop the capacity of HEfDA College to guide production of high quality products
 Link IGA with the projects of HEfDA
Strategic issues
 Governance structure and management system (administrative and finance management)
 Strategies for fund raising from local and international sources
 Long and short term strategic and annual action plan
 Quality of fund and beneficiary management (resource utilization)
 Documentation (the process, impacts, changes) and information sharing – communication to
benefactors
Strategic options/actions
 Develop long and short term strategic and annual action plan
 Develop the organizational structure, administrative and finance management systems
 Develop strategies for fund raising from local and international sources
 Document the process, the changes/impacts on the life of the beneficiaries
 Non-interrupted information sharing with all stakeholders
Strategic issues
 Governance structure and organizational systems - transparency in administrative and finance
management
 Strategic short term and long term business plan
 Capacity to engage in market driven good quality product/service
 Impact analyses - documentation of changes in the life of members
Strategic options/actions
 Support the micro-enterprises to develop short and long plans
 Support the micro-enterprises to be innovative and good competitors in the market
 Assess skills gaps of the micro enterprises and provided need-based training.
 Link the micro-enterprises with micro-finance institutions
5.12 Develop the capacity of HEfDA to address emergency relief and rehabilitation
Strategies
 Improve the capacity of HEfDA to effectively respond to emergency situations such as COVID 19
pandemic, internally displaced people due to conflict/ political instability, drought and crop failure
 Facilitate emergency response programs in affected areas of the operational areas of HEfDA
focusing on rehabilitation and recovery
 Develop resilience of people to risk, shocks and minimize hazards
 Strengthen collaboration with the government and communities
 Develop emergency relief and rehabilitation part of the development work

Strategies for Organizational management and capacity development

Strategic issues
 Understanding [of the constituency] of identity and governance structure
 Accountability of HEfDA
 Composition, function and capacity of the members of the General Assembly and the Board
Strategic options/actions
 Enhance the understanding (of the constituency) of identity, governance structure and
accountability
 Strengthen the governance structure of HEfDA - review the function, composition and capacity of
the members of the General Assembly and the Board.
Apply the revised guidelines on the composition, responsibilities and function of the board
Strategic issues
 Development approach – community participation and inclusive development
 Complementarities and synergy of projects
 Capacity of the staff in planning, implementation, monitoring, documentation and reporting
Strategic options/actions
 Maintain community based and inclusive development strategy of HEfDA
 Mainstream/integrate crosscutting issues (gender, disability, child safeguarding, RH/FP,
environment) in all social and development projects
 Integrate/joint implementation of projects (complementary activities)
 Scale up the community activism in all projects
 Enhance the capacity of the staff in planning, implementation, monitoring, documentation and
reporting systems
Strategic issues
 Updated finance and human resources management manuals in line with government laws
 Capacity of the finance staff to fully apply Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
 Staff technical capacity gap assessment and training
 Regular financial monitoring of project fund utilization and reporting to the management, board and
the donors
 Property management/control, repair and maintenance
Strategic options/actions
Human Resources Management and Development
 Review the capacity, composition and commitment of the staff
 Review and revise human resource management system
 Develop clear and well organized performance evaluation system
 Facilitate short and long term trainings to the technical and administrative staff
 Develop fair benefit package and staff promotion system
Finance and property management system
 Refine the policies, guidelines, manuals for finance, logistic and property management
 Develop the capacity of finance staff
 Strengthen financial monitoring system
 Introduce internal auditing system
Review and adjust/revise the organizational systems regularly – listen to the call of the time
Capacity for project cycle management
Strategic issues
 Capacity to generate innovative development ideas and approaches
 Capacity to undertake situational analyses - identify needs, potential, strength, assets to plan
 Capacity to plan, implement, monitor, document, evaluate and report
Strategic options/actions
 Strengthen the capacity of HEfDA to undertake situational analyses - identify needs, capacity,
potential of the participants of projects
 Develop the capacity of staff in project cycle management, documentation, systematization and
communication/publication
 Develop the capacity of staff in inclusive development,
 Explore and adopt more innovative approaches to social and development work
 Produce guidelines/handbook in Afaan Oromoo on social and development approaches (e.g. GBV,
SASA, Teen STAR, RH/FP mainstreaming, disability inclusion, girls education, youth development,
etc.
6.4.2 Capacity for networking and partnership building
Strategic issues
 Partnership and collaboration with local government sector offices
 Collaboration and experience sharing with CSOs/NGOs
 Sustain/maintain partnership with the current donor partners
Strategic options/actions
 Strengthen/establish strong partnership and collaboration with local government sector offices to
enhance commitment, replicate and scale up good practices
 Encourage and support traditional/religious leaders and community based organizations (CBOs) to
be active partners in development work
 Strengthen/establish collaboration with local and international CSOs/NGOs to share experiences
and create synergy for more impact
 Maintain good rapport with current funding partners (DKA-Austria, Horizont3000, LFW, eRKo
Slovakia, CCRDA/David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Support Ethiopia, Beletu Foundation) and
explore for more opportunities to widen the donor base and expand the geographic areas of
operation
Capacity for Advocacy and lobbying

HEfDA stands for the rights of socially and economically marginalized individuals and groups. HEfDA
wishes to strengthen its capacity and systems for effective advocacy and lobbying in line with its social and
development work
Effective advocacy and lobbying include
 representation: speaking on behalf of the voiceless,
 mobilization: encouraging others to express their wish and need without fear
 empowerment: supporting the voiceless to speak for themselves.
Strategic issues
 System, structure, skill and experience in advocacy and lobbying
 capacity to identify issues, generate and present evidence for advocacy and lobbying
Strategic options/actions
 Build the capacity of HEfDA to engage in advocacy and lobbying on the issues that affect the life of
people
 Establish system/structure for advocacy and lobbying
 Learn methods to identify issues (evidence) and generate information for advocacy and lobbying
 Focus on environmental justice, rights of children and child safeguarding, equal opportunity to
women/girls, the rights of persons with disabilities, good governance and quality of basic services
Capacity for implementation of the strategic plan
Strategic issues
 Capacity of technical and administrative staff to understand, adopt and apply the strategic plan
 Organizational systems and capacity to fully implement the strategic plan
 Availability of resources to widen the scale and scope of projects and cover more geographic areas
Strategic options/actions
 Orient the technical and administrative staff on the content of the strategic plan documentunderstand,
adopt and apply
 Develop the capacity (qualification and number) of staff to use strategic plan document to guide the
content of social and development projects
 Review the governance structure, organizational systems and capacity to implement the strategic
plan
 Widen the donor base to secure funding for implementation of the strategic plan
 Exercise technical and organizational/administrative capacity assessment (at least once a year)
Visibility and Image Building
Strategic issues
 Visibility of the development work to the public and donors
 Documentation and sharing of achievements, experiences and changes
 Structure and Capacity for public relations
Strategic options/actions
 Create more visible image through proper labelling, publication and effective communication
 Make the achievements, changes, impacts known to the public at large
Strengthen the systems and structure for public relations through engagement media
Organizational sustainability
Strategic issues
 Capacity for developing grant-winning projects
 Maintain good reputation for transparent and efficient resources utilization and reporting
 Capacity for resources mobilization from local, national and international sources
Strategic options/actions
 Establish a system and strategy for local, national and international resource mobilization – develop
structure and capacity/competence for marketing
 Explore for possibilities to enhance local income generation,
 Maintain good rapport with current funding partners and explore for more opportunities to widen the donor base

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