About Qellem & KDAG
About Qellem
The Oda tree — a symbol of Oromo culture and Qellem's heritage
QELLEM is a western district in Wollega, Oromia, Ethiopia with very rich history and natural resources. Endowed with captivating forests, picturesque mountains and stunning falls like Qexo, Qellem ushers a landscape like no other.
Besides its abundant natural resources, Qellem has produced and continued to produce great minds — world class teachers, politicians, economists, accountants, preachers, religion leaders, astronauts, health professionals, doctors, engineers, historians, scientists, lawyers, mathematicians, architects, pilots, anthropologists and IT specialists — that have immensely contributed to the country and to the world. Qellem has produced heroes like Mako Bili, Oliiqa Dingil and prominent leaders like Jote Tullu.
Qellem's womb is not barren when it comes to conceiving and producing big minds and hearts and contributing them to the world. Unfortunately, not many of its children looked back to the land that nourished and raised them up.
Dembi Dollo (DD, as natives call it) is one of the oldest cities in Qellem. It was the seat of the governor of the western region. As Richard Pankhurst noted, Dembi Dollo was one of the 27 cities ranked to be 1st class township in all of Ethiopia. Pankhurst wrote that Dembidolo was "a great commercial center for coffee, where by the 1930's perhaps 500,000 kilos of beans, besides large quantities of wax and skins, were exported every year to the Sudan." Dembi Dollo and Qellem were much more celebrated and looked up to in the 20th century than today.
Besides being a commercial center, Dembi Dollo / Qellem features a captivating land cohabited by different ethnic backgrounds — including Italians, Armenians, Yemenis, Greeks, Sudanese, Somalians and Turks. The hospitality and generosity of the people of Qellem is priceless. Visitors stayed and embraced the culture and language of the region, and we all proudly became and called ourselves "Ijoollee Qellem" — children of Qellem.
Unfortunately, Qellem is neglected not only by consecutive Ethiopian governments but also by its own children. Currently, Qellem faces a variety of problems including healthcare, poor quality of education, lack of infrastructure and security. The saddest part is that Qellem is losing a generation or two to poor quality education.
We have decided to do whatever we can to lift up our beloved Qellem. We wanted to start small and go big. Our vision remains hefty. Together we think we will be unstoppable when giving back to mother Qellem.
Currently, we are working on two pilot projects designed to help students in Qellem from kindergarten to grade 12 by providing them with digital equipment and training teachers in how to use the equipment. Besides bridging the digital divide, we plan to ship library books to Dembidolo University, colleges and high schools in Qellem.
Mother Qellem is calling. Her children, Ijoolle Qellem, should listen!
About Us — How KDAG Got Started
Towards the end of 2018, a few Qellem diaspora in Minneapolis came together to brainstorm how we could give back to the community that raised us. We encouraged each other not to be overwhelmed by the multitude of problems Qellem faces, but to take a step in the right direction.
We agreed to form a nonprofit and nonpolitical organization and named it Qellem Development and Action Group (KDAG). Our mission is tailored towards helping students in Qellem achieve their potential by providing them with resources available to students in developed countries.
We are focused on becoming digital literacy advocates for at-risk populations in Oromia — helping close the digital divide gap in primary schools, universities, public libraries, hospitals, youth centers and prisons.
Throughout these processes and beyond, we are determined to bring all Ijoolle Qellem around the world to partake in the mission of saving the future generation of Ijoolle Qellem.
Major Events
KDAG hosted a COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund Zoom meeting to help Qellem fight the virus, bringing together community members from across the diaspora to coordinate relief efforts.
Find Us
Together We Are Unstoppable
Join us in giving back to mother Qellem. Every contribution — big or small — helps shape the future of Ijoolle Qellem.