The deaf and the community they live in will never be the same. KAMBARA Deaf Development Project (KDDP) was the silver lining on a dark cloud among the deaf community in western Uganda. It was a breath of fresh air, air that reignited the deaf movement in the western Ugandan districts of Mbarara, Isingiro and Kyegegwa.
KDDP was a result of a partnership initiated in 2000 between ActionAid and Uganda National Association for the Deaf (UNAD). Back then it operated in the then Kabarole and Mbarara districts hence the acronym Kambara.
The project is operational in 12 Sub Counties including four in Mbarara (Nyamahende, Rubindi, Rugando and Bugamba), three in Isingiro (Kabuyanda, Nyakitunda and Kikagate) and five in Kyegegwa (Hapuyo, Mpara, Kasule and Kyegegwa) districts.
The overall aim of the project was to “build the capacity of the deaf to be able to access opportunities and demand for their rights to improve their social and economic welfare.”