THE SUMMER OUTREACH PROGRAM, MBENGWI

Just as it is the utmost priority of YAC, putting a small on the faces of some over fifty youngsters in Mbengwi council area during the summer holidays was just an accomplishment of one of the numerous tasks planned out by/for the organization in 2016.

The summer outreach program in Mbengwi was launched at the Njekwo community hall. The youths turned out in their numbers. We had no choice other than adding the number of participants to over 50. 20 youths were added to the 30 who had initially been registered by our volunteering team in Mbengwi to take part in the six weeks fellowship and training of junior secondary school youths in the Mbengwi council area, in public communication skills,(addressing a crowd and talking on radio) resilience building, and human rights.(child molestation/children rights) which was aimed at motivating them to identify aspects of their own internal motivation, cultural connections and spheres of influence that contribute to their positions as potential leaders.

During the launch, we had general introduction, where the participants introduced themselves and their various schools. We had debates, educative talks and artistic presentations, tackling the main program topics - Human Rights, Resilience Building and Public Communication Skills
Not only did the target group turn out enthusiastically in their numbers, their mothers and younger ones thought they could not pass the opportunity of sharing with the gift of love and knowledge which from that opening, had visibly come across as a lifetime opportunity.

 The first day gave us real hope that planning this program and sacrificing 6 weeks of our time, leaving Douala, all the way to the North West (Mbengwi) was worth the struggle.
The next six weeks of the program saw a lot of success, which was characterized by, education, empowerment and progress. We organized a radio talk show which aired four times, once every week, anchored by two of the participants; Amah from GBHS Mbengwi and Fon from CETIC Njindom. While on the 30 minutes talk on radio every episode, the anchors introduced talks on various challenging topics like child abuse and molestation, children rights, importance of education, domestic violence, child trafficking etc. It is baffling how the participants (Junior secondary school students) freely enlightened their audience on tough issues as such.
Back at the training center (MECUDA hall, Mbengwi), the participants were trained on how to seek help if the ever become victims of child violence. Within the 6weeks, they had workshops and training, three sessions every week, for 6 hours every session with short breaks. They were trained on Public communication skills (addressing a crowd, talking on radio and expressing themselves among their mates) They also had training on how to defend themselves in face of violence and how to seek help from public aid provisions. They were given addresses on various arms of the law which dealt with cases of child trafficking, abuse and molestation and how to contact them. They were taught their rights and the importance of the preservation of those rights. Above all, they were taught the importance of the consolidation of peace and good governance - to shun from every act of indiscipline that may jeopardize their future.
Being a topic that could not be bypassed or underestimated in this contemporary generation, sexual immorality was not left out. The participants were also called to engage in the fight to conquer HIV/AIDS by upholding good moral standards and sustenance. These rural children couldn't have had a better vacation.

The team almost shed tears as the last days drew near. It was an experience to behold with the children who had come from 5 different villages (Funam, Njekwo, Guneku, Njindom, Mbemi and Mbengwi) in Momo division to pledge their time to acquire intellectual tools that would build a better Cameroon.

. While our days in Mbengwi drew to the end, we discovered two vulnerable and pathetic cases which we could not by pass.

These four children had been abandoned by their single mother who had borne all four of them with different men. For over three months till the time our Volunteer workers alerted us about them, they had been living in an abandoned home all by themselves. The eldest, as seen in the photograph had been responsible for whether they ate or not. Some kind neighbors stopped by once in a while to give them food. and while we spoke to her, she revealed that within those three months, she had been raped twice by two different men, who broke into the building where their mother left them. YAC is taking serious measures to see how we can aid them through our volunteers in Mbengwi.

Afor (lady in the middle) is a teenage mother who was pregnant again through a rape incident. She is living in trauma and we are also working on her case

Above all, we had a memorable time in Mbengwi, time which will linger in our hearts and which we will always look forward to again.