Thousands of children in Cameroon wake up with no hope of a life-changing school day ahead, facing displacement, violence, hunger, ill-health and poverty as a result. Most of these children have not known the inside of a classroom for the past three years. Some children have not read a textbook or known the care of a good teacher for the past three years.

International organizations working for children’s rights and welfare such as UNICEF have estimated that upto 80% of schools in Cameroon are now closed affecting more than 600,000 children. While the situation has deteriorated into a humanitarian crisis, by drawing the attention of sympathizers on the plight of children and girls caught in the crossfire, we can make a difference for the forgotten children!

“We want our fellow Cameroonians to do their best to send our children #BACKTOSCHOOL,” said Gilbert Ajebe Akame – SODEI’s CEO and Co-Founder. SODEI is a non-governmental international charity catering for disadvantaged children and empowering youth in Cameroon and Africa. The organization believes in the power of education as the key instrument to unlocking the potential of young people and the vehicle for driving peace and sustainable development in local communities.

“Our stubbornness is failing humanity and the very differences are not just keeping our children out of school but adding to their vulnerability. Hence, we have made it easier for our youth to be radicalized and prone to all dangers associated to that,” explained Gilbert. “They are deprived of their fundamental human right as well as the support they need and deserve to nourish their beautiful minds. By all means, we have left them on their own with no awareness to discern good from bad.”

SODEI calls on all parties to the conflict to make a sincere effort so that:

• Every child has a free and uninterrupted access to education.
• Families, teachers and schools work together to put an end to education and learning becoming casualty.

In a recent interview in the US, the Bishop of Mamfe, Bishop Andrew Nkea, made commitments on behalf of the Church, that they are putting in place measures to guarantee the security of children who will attend catholic schools in the academic year 2019/2020.

This is the first time since the beginning of the conflict that such assurances have been made. We are deeply concerned and ask other institutions and stakeholders to follow this example, to take measures and make commitments for a safe return to school. We want the government to take concrete steps to provide maximum security for teachers and schools. We also call upon parents and the local communities to join efforts to ensure children’s unimpeded access to schools. Above all, we call upon children and young people who are active agents and arbiters of their destinies, to stand up and defend their right to education. Stand up like Malala Yousafzai did, raise your voices and defend your right to be in school.

On May 28^th 2019, SODEI Cameroon joined other organizations throughout the world to celebrate the World Menstrual Hygiene Day under the theme “It’s Time for Action.” SODEI commemorated this day with an additional theme of its own – “No More Limits”. Indeed, SODEI set out to make their voice heard and relentlessly raise awareness on menstrual hygiene through a pilot outdoor campaign organized at the Bota Custom Camps 1 – 3 Community in the Limbe Sub Division to educate underprivileged girls and women on menstrual hygiene and registered a success.

During this one-day campaign that held in the afternoon of May 28^th 2019, the SODEI team of volunteers presented a comprehensive lecture on menstrual hygiene. The lecture began with an interactive session where participants were given the opportunity to express themselves, share ideas, personal beliefs and experiences with managing menstruation. After the hour-long interactive session, participants were lectured on the physiology of menstruation, the menstrual cycle, body changes which occur during menstruation, the age of menarche, menstrual hygiene practices, management of dysmenorrhea, how to adequately use disposable and reusable sanitary pads and deconstructing erroneous beliefs on menstruation which effectively carried the message of the day which was, no more limits.

During the discussions, it was revealed that in the Bota Custom Camp community like in many others, issues concerning reproductive health including menstrual health are considered a taboo subject and most women and young girls shy away from such topics. This contributed to the high level of ignorance that exists among the women and girls in this community on menstrual health. Consequently, a generation of young women whose first reaction to their first menstruation is to be scared and ashamed, with little or no knowledge at all on how to manage their menstrual hygiene because of the myths which surround menstruation.

The SODEI Menstrual Hygiene event was thus timely in this community whose women and girls are mostly workers at the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), wives or daughters of male workers in the CDC. Participants were driven with enthusiasm as they received simple and practical explanations and their misconceptions corrected. Participants asked lots of questions and appreciated the answers given to them by the SODEI volunteers with applause. Female Volunteers on the SODEI team later on shared their own experiences of when they started menstruating and this was closely followed by experiences of 4 of the participants in keeping with the theme of no more limits, to make these women feel comfortable with discussing menstrual hygiene, no longer a taboo but a natural process experienced by every woman in the world.

The program ended on a merry note with the distribution of reusable and disposable sanitary pads made available by SODEI to the participants who demonstrated gratitude, joy and happiness not only for the little token they received but for the knowledge they had gained. The leaders of the local community extended an open invitation to SODEI to come and hold more educative programmes in their community.

Learn New Skills Starting 12th May, 2019.

PREREQUISITE: All mentees must have intermediate computer skills/IT knowledge

TOPICS

• HTML 5
• CSS 3
• JavaScript
• Bootstrap
• MYSQL Database
• PHP
• WordPress

REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION IS FREE!

For more information, Contact SODEI Community Centre,

BOTA FARMS, Limbe – Cameroon.

TEL: +237 653 013 559

EMAIL: mentoring@sodei.org

The true success of teaching and learning is when the potential of each student is unlocked, harnessed and redirected to be productive and gainful to society. The world is hungry for creative, innovative, productive and problem-solving people who will use every facet of their potential to solve the rising and fluctuating needs of this world.As a teacher you are only successful as to the extend to which each student under your mentor ship can live up to their full potential. We can sacrifice, we can go extra miles if only what we do is motivated from our heart.

A lot can be learnt from the Kenyan teacher who recently won a one million USD award as the world best teacher. Mr.Peter Tabichi is a science teacher in a remote village in Kenya who use 80% of his salary to support students from poorer families.More than 90% of his pupils are from poor families and almost a third of them are orphans or have only one parent. Drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, young marriages and suicide are common in his locality. Students walk 7km along roads that can become impassable in the rainy season to reach the school. Despite only having one computer, a poor intermittent internet connection and a teacher-student ratio of 58:1, Tabichi started “a talent nurturing club” and expanded the school’s science club, helping pupils design research projects in such quality that many now qualify for national competitions. He and his four colleagues also give struggling pupils one-one tutorials in Maths and Science, visiting student’s homes and meeting their families to identify the challenges they face.

Tabichi never thought he would receive an award; his aim wasn’t fame and money but to see young people given a chance to develop themselves and their community was his objective. Being in a remote area where there are no cameras, no reality shows or TV interviews, his greatest screen was what he saw in his mind, what he saw the pupils becoming. Many might have first thought he was stupid, but he saw what they couldn’t see. His believe in each of his student have seen him transform a school whose school drop out rate used to be alarming into an incubator of great scientists and engineers.Accepting the prize Tabichi said:

“I am only here because of what my students have achieved This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world they can do anything. Africa’s young people would no longer be held back by low expectations. Africa will produce scientists, Engineers, Entrepreneurs whose names will be one day famous in every corner of the world and girls will be a huge part of this story”.

His passion, drive and selfless motivation is what each one of us is to take as a food for thought. You are never too small to make a change and the world needs all of us to take considerable steps for the future generation and for the future of our planet.

At SODEI we believe in the potential of youths. Given a chance, and all the tools and support they require, youths in Africa can make a difference.

World Day of Social Justice is a day recognizing the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment.

SODEI recognizes and celebrates World Day of Social Justice in pursuit of our mission to combat poverty and eradicate unemployment in our local communities.

We believe in the need to create opportunities for youths in deprived communities. Our work in local communities in the Southwest Region of Cameroon involves empowering young people towards self-reliance, peace and sustainable development. Guided by Sdgs 1, 2 and 4, we promote education for self-reliance, run training and mentorship programs to assist young people to develop skills and be productive in their communities.

To commemorate this day SODEI Cameroon Section launched a talk shop involving youths of Bota Middle Farms Limbe on the ills of poverty and unemployment within the community. We equally brainstormed on ways to engage with communities and together combat these ills. The participants concluded that SODEI’s newly inaugurated community centre will fill the gap of the much needed resource centre for information sharing and orientation.

SODEI’s newly inaugurated community centre, Bota Middle Farms – Limbe, Cameroon.

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.