SODEI visits Little Learners, a school for underprivileged kids located in Mutengene Southwest Region, Cameroon. Little Learners was founded on passion and the love to serve and care for the underprivileged in the society.

We met the founder who also hails from a similar background; she was raised by a single mother due to passing of her father at a tender age. She grew up with the determination to secure a good livelihood for herself and a family which is why she is passionate about educating children who find themselves in similar desperate circumstances. The founder who doubles as a nurse and teacher,decided to blend both skills to be able to care for and educate these little learners. She set up a small medicine stall from which she gets finances to run the school.

The school is running on very limited financial resources. The medicine stall is unable to cover the cost for rent for the school premises, payment of teachers, providing learning materials, food and basic needs for the children. Some of the children who have lost all family members use the school as shelters. The school receives no public funding; yet the number of children with the need for living spaces has been on the rise as a result of the civil unrest in the area.

It was a traumatic experience for the SODEI team members who could not hold back tears listening to the stories of these little ones. Their stories were heart-wrenching, majority of them being orphaned, living with a relative or foster parent. They range from abandonment, loss of parents and displacement as a result of the crisis. Amidst the hardship these kids display unimaginable resilience. They manage to be in good spirits and excited at the opportunity to learn.

Their stories

Most of the children are orphaned or abandoned by parents and living with relatives or well-wishers.

Little Favour is 6 years old, orphaned from birth and nursed by her aunt. Unfortunately, her aunt died during the crisis leaving her on her own. Little Learners managed to provide he a temporary accommodation hoping one day a good Samaritan will take over the responsibility. She needs love, care, shelter and support with her education.

Audrey is orphaned and living with her grandmother who works with the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) Tiko Banana farms. Unfortunately, as a result of the crisis, work has been suspended leading to loss of salary. They both urgently need help for subsistence and for Audrey to be able to pursue her education. Many other kids in Little Learners suffer the same fate as Audrey. Parents who use to work with the CDC have been badly affected by the crisis. All of them have lost their jobs and source of income as a result of the suspension of work in the banana, rubber and palm plantations.

Faith is 9 years old and the eldest of three who lost both parents. They are raised by their grandmother who struggles to make ends meet for the entire family. Faith loves to go to school, she believes with an education she will be able to secure a better future for herself and siblings. She needs help to be able to pursue this dream.

Among the stories is one of displacement. Anabel and her parents are IDPs. They ran from a village called Kwa-Kwa where they lost everything. Michael’sparents died in Ekona as a result of the crisis, he moved to Mutengene with his sister and they have both been out of school for two years. Wisdom and siblings left Ekona where they lost their house to fire as a result of the crisis.

The stories of Destiny and Richly is that of disability and lack of proper care. Destiny is 9 years old and visually impaired, she can’t see clearly. Her parents cannot afford the means to take her to a specialist for consultation and treatment. At this tender age, attention needs to be paid to her condition before it becomes worse.

Richly is crippled from birth. He lives with the mother after being abandoned by the dad. He has difficulty walking to and from school and finds it difficult to be active amongst peers because of the lack of proper disability friendly facilities.

At SODEI we strongly believe in the importance of access to education in all circumstances including in times of conflict. We believe education is the strongest weapon to break the cycle of poverty.

According to Aristotle,” Education is the creation of sound mind in a sound body.” It can be termed as the basic needs of one’s life. Educational methods include; storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and direct research. It can take place in formal or informal settings. It plays a very important role in people’s lives; it gives us knowledge of the world around us, and changes it into a better place to live in. Education helps in build tool in our hands to ensure significant improvement of life, to stimulate economic growth, to unlock our potentials and bring about the innovation we need to build more resilient and sustainable societies. Chimombo points out education’s role as a policy instrument, capable of instilling social change and economic advancement in developing countries by giving communities the opportunity to take control of their destinies.

The 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights enshrines education as a human right. It states in its Article 26 (1) “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory…” (2) “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace”.

The international community has continuously advocated in support for education through various initiatives. The UNESCO led ‘Education for All’ campaign was aimed at meeting learning needs of children, youths and adults by 2015. Its goals included expanding childhood care and education, free and compulsory education for all, learning and life skills for youths and adults, achieving gender parity and equality, and improving the quality of education.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nation General Assembly in September 2015, calls for a new vision to address the environmental, social and economic concerns facing the world today. This Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including #SDG4 on Quality Education. Before this period a very small minority of boys attended schools, but by the start of the 21st century, majority of children in most regions of the world are not attending school. Today, according to the World Bank and UNESCO, 262 million children and youth still do not attend school, 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic Math; less than 40% of girls in sub Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school and some 4 million children and youth refugees are out of school. It is the responsibility for every society to provide education for every child with no one left behind.

On December 3rd 2018 the United Nation General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe 24th January starting from 2019 as the International day of Education. This is to celebrate the role of education in development, calling on various nations to provide quality education so as to achieve sustainable development by 2030. The day is celebrated with a focus on improving the universal quality of education and for various public and private organisations to observe the day to promote education as a fundamental right.

At SODEI we believe in the power of education as the key instrument to unlocking the potentials of the younger generation and the vehicle for driving peace and sustainable development in local communities. We believe in fostering the goals of ‘Education for All’ aimed at meeting the learning needs of children, youths and adults.

On Friday the 14th of December, SODEI undertook its first education program in #Buea the Southwest region of #Cameroon . In line with its Education and Training project SODEI’s Buea Youth Action Group alongside one of SODEI Buea School Clubs launched the first #Schools4SDGs Campaign. The campaign recorded a huge success with 200 Forms 1 and 2 students in attendance.

The program was intended to educate the students on the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focusing on SDGs 4 and 5 on Quality Education and Gender Equality respectively.

Students were educated on the background of the SDGs, followed by in-depth discussion on goals 4 and 5. The session was interactive as students participated in group discussions.

It was concluded by a quiz with winners awarded token prizes ranging from books, calculators, pens, rulers, Math sets, etc. The school administration appreciated the initiative and encourage SODEI to carry out more of such campaigns with their students.