Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: Africa, AIDS, Cameroon, Cameroun, Camp, Education, HIV, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Peace Corps, Peer Education, Post, Seminar, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Newly-trained peer educators, PCVs and guest speakers. Bamenda, Cameroon
After many months of planning, fundraising and recruiting, we successfully completed the Peer Education Camp! I’d like to extend a HUGE thanks to all those who contributed financial support through the Peace Corps Partnership — we couldn’t have done it without your help! Took a while for me to get an update here on the blog, so sorry for the delay.
The camp was a great success and was featured in local newspapers and broadcasts. What was also nice was that both youth and volunteers had a great time! The kids involved camped at a guest house at the training site and when sessions were not taking place we all participated in activities like frisbee, soccer, cards and boardgames. All of us PCVs teamed up for the various presentations, and we also supplemented the material with Cameroonian guest speakers. The young participants were model trainees and were very eager to learn all that was offered. They did very well, and their progress was measured through pre- and post-testing. The participants consisted of two youths (a boy and girl) each from eleven villages around the North West. We trained them on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, peer education and life skills topics, including some that were mentioned in my post Important project: youth peer education in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
Conducting a peer education session, Bamenda, Cameroon
In addition to teaching trainees all of the topics, we also did action planning, where volunteers worked with the kids from their site villages on strategies for how to implement the newly learned material in the field. At the end of the camp, trainee groups did mock-presentations on selected topics for their fellow trainees, PCVs, and invited guests, and then all peer educators were awarded certificates and T-shirts. Now that Phase 1 is complete, we will move on to Phase 2 of the project, in which we will individually work with the two youths in each of our villages to help them develop presentations and outreach programs on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness.
Action planning with trainees from Bamenda, Cameroon
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: Africa, AIDS, Cameroon, Cameroun, Camp, Education, HIV, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Peace Corps, Peer Education, Post, Volunteer, West Africa
We Teach: Youth HIV/AIDS Peer Education
Exciting news! We volunteers in the Northwest of Cameroon just had our Regional Project for 2011 approved to seek funding. We’ve been designing and planning the project since September. Now with all the logistical details and content sorted out, all we need is funding! Read about the Peer Education Program.
The Northwest Region of Cameroon has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country at 8.7%, and it is really important to promote awareness of the situation. We are targeting youth at the most critical ages of 14-18, and will give them the tools to go out and teach & inform their peers. Here’s more on the project:
The “We Teach” Peer Education Program is a collaborative effort of ten volunteers in the northwest region of Cameroon. Twenty students from ten villages will be invited to participate in the program. The program consists of three phases that all have the expressed goal of providing motivated youth with the life skills and knowledge necessary to become education leaders in their communities including their peer groups. Phase 1 of this program is a 3-day, 3-night workshop to be held in the regional capital. The lessons to be conducted during this workshop are as follows; Basic Facts about HIV/AIDS, Peer Education Techniques, Action Planning for Peer to Peer Sessions, Life Skills, Behavior Change and Communication, STD/HIV Prevention, HIV/AIDS Disease Progression and Support, and Culture and Stigma Surrounding HIV/AIDS in the Cameroonian Context. There will also be a day-long practicum in which the students will prepare and present various relevant topics to different groups in specific settings such as Youth Day, Health Clubs, School Gatherings and at the camp itself. Phase 2 of the program will involve each participant carrying out peer-to-peer training sessions in each of their respective villages. All participants will work closely with PCVs to organize and present peer-to-peer education sessions. Phase 3 will be a sustainability follow-up of the participants in their peer educator roles done by each PCV and compiled regionally. The data will be analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
Please try to spread the word about our project, or donate, so that we can help the children! Here you can donate to the Peer Education Program
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Teacher Training, Travel | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, Excursions, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Seminar, Teacher Training, Travel, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Delivering ICT Seminar in WUM, Northwest Region, Cameroon
A busy time it is, indeed. Just when I felt my responsibilities were waning slightly and I might begin to focus some of my time on preparing to return to the United States, I was given the opportunity to embark on a seminar tour to teacher training colleges in the Northwest. I had designed a program of ICT seminars a while back, and had done a few pilot programs, but had no way to fund the travel and expenses to take it outside of Bamenda. Recently however, my counterpart, the Inspector Coordinator of the Regional Inspectorate of ICT, a very dynamic woman, arranged for the seminar tour including all of the logistics. I was very happy to take the program on the road, and all in all, it’s been going very well.
So far, we have visited the towns of Ndop, Mbengwi, Foundong, Wum, and have more to go, delivering seminars on topics including Researching though ICT and Learning Through ICT. In short, I’m working with the student teachers to improve their ability to utilize Information and Communication Technology in the classroom to enhance the learning of pupils, as well as give techniques for internet research to improve the teaching process.
I’ve enjoyed traveling, as grueling as traveling can be in Cameroon, and have been taking in the new scenery, meeting new people and colleagues, and have been doing good work—so far I’ve reached over 1,000 student teachers!
Presenting to student teachers in Wum, Northwest Region, Cameroon
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post, Teacher Training | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Travel, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Last year around this time, I was heading back to the Government Teacher Training College (GTTC) in Bamenda, where I was working with the other ICT teachers there to give practical lessons to the student teachers (that is, teaching on actual computers rather than the blackboard). My help was needed in designing lessons that could accommodate all of the students in each class (50) using only 5 computers. I also participated in some seminars with active primary school teachers in the area, which I am continuing currently along with the newly appointed Regional Inspectorate of ICT.
The initial setup for the improvised “computer lab” was quite challenging (as the pictures show), but in the end, we had a functional learning space. At the time, we had to have the students carry all of the computer equipment from the library to a larger hall up the hill, which took a lot of time. Now however, the computers are in a permanent space—much easier. It’s amazing how many challenging situations I find myself engaged in here and think nothing of it. I’ve learned that one can overcome a lot if put to the challenge.
Extension cords coming from the library
Cords coming into the lab space
Student-teachers learning on the computers
Presenting at an ICT seminar for teachers
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post, Teacher Training | Tags: Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Volunteer, World Travel
View of Bamenda from Upstation
When I joined the Peace Corps, I could not have imagined that I would be doing my work over a larger geographic area than a small town or village. But sitting here in Bamenda planning ICT workshops for teachers and teacher trainees in a large area of the North West region, I’m finding that it is in fact possible, and even rewarding. It was only shortly after I finished the 2008-09 school year, having taught ICT in secondary school, that I was given the opportunity to move to Bamenda from the West, and open a new teacher training post in ICT. It took some time to set the initial building blocks to start the work here during the first year and there were many challenges—I’ve even extended my service! But with time and patience the work really took off.
The job here is no doubt drastically different from the one at my former post in the West Region. Especially since I moved from a French-speaking region to an English-speaking one! I’ve gone from the constraints of a rigid timetable and consistent class structure at a high school to a very independent workload that requires a lot of self-discipline and working at multiple sites. However, I still feel that sense of gratification after teaching a class, perhaps even more so than before since teacher trainees are so much more eager to learn! I’ve found it very interesting working at a higher level in the Cameroonian educational system. There are both pros and cons, but overall I feel I have more influence than before—which one could argue is better for development.
I maintain office hours at the Delegation of Basic Education and work closely with the regional delegate, inspectors and ministry officials on the direction of the ICT program at the primary school level in the NW, and the design of trainings and workshops in the greater Bamenda area. This also includes the design of ICT training booklets and the supervision of computer lab installations—one of which I have recently completed at the delegation. I also give workshops at Government Teacher Training Colleges (GTTCs) in the area, trying to deliver as much practical instruction as possible. Other activities I am doing include training active teachers in the use of ICT for their work, and there is also plenty of general training, computer maintenance and consultation work to do in the smaller towns in the surrounding area.
It is sometimes not hard to become overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done in what is now appearing to be a very short time, even though I have extended my Close of Service (COS). But with diligence, I think I can make an initial impact, and pave the way for volunteers who will be working on the same project in the future.
Filed under: Peace Corps | Tags: Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Travel, Volunteer, World Travel
Hello, and welcome to Year 3! I hope to write a bit about what’s going on here in Cameroon as I trek through my third year of Peace Corps service. Where am I in Cameroon? What am I doing exactly? Any exciting experiences? I’ll be answering these questions and many more, so stay tuned!
After a whirlwind trip to the States in August, and a non-stop workload after returning to Cameroon, things are finally settling down—or I should say, finding a rhythm at least. I am now three months in to my third year of service. Feels like I’ve only been here one month though. I thought time only moved really fast in places like the States, but I’m finding that it can move like that anywhere. What I’m trying to hold onto is that sense of the moment. Once we become invested in our calendars and what’s happening tomorrow, today ceases to exist. Well I never want to lose site of today.
Speaking of today, Happy Thanksgiving! My warmest wishes to everyone Stateside. Bon appetit!
Year 3 - Volunteering in Cameroon 