Nairobi, Kenya  ·  Refugee-Camp & Community Education Programming
"My mother left for work before sunrise every day and still fell further behind — not because she lacked effort, but because no one had ever taught her mathematics. That observation became a conviction, and that conviction became a career."
Program Manager

David Oduor Ochanda

Project & Programme Manager — Inclusive Education & Community Development

Specializing in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda & refugee-camp programming (Kakuma & Kalobeyei). Five-plus years designing data-driven, community-rooted programmes for underserved and refugee youth.

ochandadavid2000@gmail.com +254 795 063 917 linkedin.com/in/davidoduorochanda
Get in touch Download CV (PDF)
Portrait of David Oduor Ochanda
David Oduor Ochanda
5+ yrs
Programme & community development experience
3,500+
Learners supported, incl. refugee cohorts
$5,000+
Grants & resources secured (KES 650,000)
100%
Child safeguarding compliance
What I Do

Programming built from the ground up, not the top down

A short positioning statement, and the day-to-day work behind the numbers.

I am an Education & Community Development professional with 5+ years of experience designing inclusive, data-driven programmes that empower underserved youth and refugee populations — from digitising community libraries across 30+ sites in Nairobi's informal settlements to classrooms in Kajiado, Mombasa, the Mt. Kenya region, Arusha (Tanzania), and specialised refugee-camp programming in Kakuma and Kalobeyei.

My work sits at the intersection of programme management, monitoring & evaluation, and EdTech integration — translating donor requirements and community needs into delivery plans field teams can run, and turning field data into decisions leadership can act on.

  • 01Design and manage multi-site education programmes reaching 3,500+ learners, including specialised refugee-camp initiatives across 11 sites within the Kakuma refugee complex and Kalobeyei settlement
  • 02Develop grant proposals and secure donor funding, including $5,000+ (KES 650,000) from the Desai Memorial Foundation, while upholding rigorous financial transparency and stakeholder alignment
  • 03Digitise community libraries and integrate EdTech tools across 30+ sites in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda via participatory community workshops
  • 04Implement child safeguarding protocols with 100% compliance across all partnering communities and refugee sites
  • 05Utilise advanced M&E and data frameworks — including UWEZO assessments and real-time progress monitoring — to turn collaborative field data into strategic decisions and course corrections
Core Competencies

Stakeholder engagement, data, and delivery — mapped to impact

How programme skills translate into field results, with the tools and frameworks behind each one.

Refugee-Camp Programming
Kakuma & Kalobeyei frameworks, contextualised EdTech, localised onboarding
Directing education programming across 11 sites within the Kakuma complex and Kalobeyei settlement, extending digital platform access to 400+ refugee learners.
M&E & Data Frameworks
Progress monitoring, impact evaluation, UWEZO Assessment Tool
Instilling data-driven accountability and real-time feedback loops, with 60%+ of participants advancing to higher literacy/numeracy levels.
Stakeholder Engagement & Community Collaboration
Participatory workshops, volunteer coordination, local partnerships
Building trusted alliances with local communities and coordinating 100+ volunteers, increasing cross-collaboration by 38% and youth participation by 28%.
Community Library Digitisation & EdTech
SmileyTutor, SmileyLibraries, virtual learning hubs
Digitising libraries across 30+ sites in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda through co-design; scaling digital literacy to boost engagement by 42% and retention by 33%.
Grant Writing & Financial Accountability
Proposal development, transparent budget tracking, institutional donors
Securing critical funding and resources, including $5,000+ (KES 650,000) in books/library materials, while maintaining rigorous financial compliance.
Programme Case Studies

Three programmes, three different problems solved

Each uses the STAR-L framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Learnings), built around a stated Theory of Change. Click through for the full detail.

Refugee-Camp EdTech

SmileyTutor Multi-Site EdTech & Refugee-Camp Digitisation Rollout

Kakuma Refugee Complex & Kalobeyei Settlement, plus Tanzania & Uganda. Extending gamified digital learning to 400+ refugee learners.

Read the case study →
 Adult Literacy · ToT

Kajiado Women Empowerment & Schools of Hope Initiative

Kenya & Tanzania, including Kajiado, Kibera, and Mathare. A Training-of-Trainers model reaching 1,650+ women and 200+ men.

Read the case study →
 Grassroots to Registered CBO

YouthRise ChangeMakers — From a Community Library to a Registered CBO

Mathare, Nairobi. Co-founded and direct an 8+ year initiative now reaching 500+ children through 3 institutional partnerships.

Read the case study →
Sites & Settlements Reached, by Programme
Kajiado Women Empowerment (ToT sites) 9 Kakuma & Kalobeyei refugee sites 11 ChallengeAid informal settlement sites 6+ of 9 SmileyTutor digitised libraries 30+

Site counts shown are each programme's own reported figures and aren't cumulative — some sites overlap across programmes.

"The strongest programmes aren't the ones with the most sites on a map — they're the ones where a facilitator in Kajiado can run a session the same way, to the same standard, whether or not I'm in the room that day." — on why the Training-of-Trainers model sits at the centre of this work
Recommendations

People who've worked alongside this work directly

Four highlights below; the full set — including peer and leadership perspectives from an international cohort — is on the Recommendations page.

Financial Accountability

Judy Wanja

"He's thorough in tracking program spend, quick to flag discrepancies, and always professional... It's genuinely refreshing to work with a program lead who takes financial accountability as seriously as program impact."

Field Delivery

Fatuma Mola Abdi

"He's someone who follows through, communicates clearly, and genuinely wants the team to succeed. I'd gladly work with David on any project again."

Community Grounding

Bayard Nguerekoutou

"David brings a grounded, practical perspective shaped by years of real community work in Kajiado... He's collaborative, dependable, dynamic, and genuinely invested in the people around him."

Programme Leadership

Sophia Kamwaweru

"David's dedication to inclusive education and stakeholder engagement is exemplary... His management of multi-site EdTech initiatives, community library digitisations, refugee-camp programming, and adherence to rigorous safeguarding standards have transformed learning outcomes for thousands of vulnerable youth."

View all recommendations →

Let's talk about your next programme.

Open to Program and Project Manager roles in inclusive education, community development, and refugee-camp programming — across Kenya, the wider East Africa region, or remote-first international teams.