Mission

Our mission is to inspire, engage and empower children and young persons in Cameroon by increasing their chances to succeed through education.

We do this through mentorship, skills training, education support, research, and advocacy to promote equitable access to quality education.

We also create spaces and platforms to foster participation in youth and community development activities.

Vision

A society where children and young people have equitable access to quality education and opportunities, where they can confidently participate as agents of change and development while making positive contributions to decision-making in their homes, communities and nation.

History

SODEI is a registered Non-Profit Organization founded in November 2018 in the wake of the conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon and the devasting impact on the welfare and education of children and young persons within the region. SODEI is registered as a charity in the UK and has sections in Cameroon and Norway. Most of our operations are currently run in the Southwest Region of Cameroon, with the intention of expanding to other regions progressively.

SODEI was founded by Cameroonians of good will, concerned about the repercussions of the growing socio-political and security crises in the country on the access to education for young persons. Boko Haram had constantly attacked the border towns in Cameroon from neighboring Nigeria and even imposed a ban on education; the Eastern region was also suffering a spill-over effect of the conflict in the CAR which affected young person's right to education adversely and the crisis in the two English-speaking regions of the country which not only affect access to but the quality of education.

Our Philosophy

We believe that Education has a vital role to play in the creation and sustenance of a culture of peace, resilience and sustainable development in every society. In the wake of the regional and local conflicts affecting the right to education in Cameroon, it was imperative for strategies and initiatives to be elaborated and adopted to come to the aid of young Cameroonians who had limited or no access to a quality education. It is on this basis that SODEI saw the need to create a platform to engage young people in self-development, the expression of thoughts and visions/dreams for their lives and active participation in youth and community development activities while advancing their right to education through research and advocacy.

We believe young people can tap into their own unique talents when inspired. They tend to express their views and perceptions clearly, develop their personalities and know what motivates them to achieve excellence. We aim to inspire young people to develop a sense of purpose, empathy and social competence which will help them to achieve higher academic performance and actively contribute to the well-being of their greater community.

Mindful of the “no one will be left behind” pledge in the 2030 global agenda for sustainable development, we decided to engage ourselves in a citizen’s mandate to positively impact quality education for the young people by developing relevant thematic clusters and mobilizing our resources towards the realization of the SDGs. Ensuring that children and young people acquire different kinds of literacy skills, improves not only their own economic prospects, career choices, health and well-being but also those of their families, communities and countries.

Our Values

Honesty – Good Governance – Partnership & Involvement

We are committed to putting children and young people’s rights and well-being at the core of all our work. We are people-driven - our associates inform us, help us define our priorities, and enable us to achieve our goals. We are a partnership organization - we seek external alliances to enhance our impact on the lives of children and young people. We are a learning organization - we continually monitor and appraise what we do and strive for excellence in all our work. We are an inclusive organization – we include the voices of young people into the decision-making processes of our organization. Our ‘Be the Change’ Movement SODEI is youth inspired, youth driven and youth led. We are committed to non-discrimination on any grounds be it age, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation

What We Do

SODEI advances new and innovative methods of acquiring and using information to boost creativity, potential and purpose in young people in Cameroon.

Our approach to learning is oriented towards skills development, entrepreneurship, and empowerment of young people. Our youth resource and vocational training centres in Limbe and Bangem provide opportunities for skills training and mentorship for young people.

Our research and advocacy work helps to create awareness and promotes equitable access to quality education.

Our work is inspired by our commitment to push young people to discover their talents and abilities as well as to create and make use of opportunities. We believe when young people discover their “spark”, they effectively tap into their own unique resources. Communication, motivation, determination, passion and social competence are all qualities which youths need to achieve personal development and to contribute meaningfully to the well-being of the greater community

SODEI is committed to promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030. We believe that the SDGs provide a new opportunity and renewed commitment for more robust approaches in tackling the challenges of the 21st Century.

SODEI’s four core programs areas: – Learn, Speak & Play (LESPLAY) – Youth Mentorship a Empowerment – Young Women and Girls’ Empowerment and STEM.