School is starting!

Education in Cameroon is not for everyone... it is expensive to send a child to school. People have to pay school fees, buy uniforms, books, school shoes, badges, school bags, exams fees... and not to talk about taking care of the health of children. RUDEC came up to seek ways to support these children. 

photo by Yuri Wahl Valle

This Monday, School has started and therefore bags and textbooks have been delivered to our orphans on Friday. In these days we were busy paying their school fees, packing the bags, and accompanying children to school.

 

Meanwhile the school preparations were running we had visitors from the U.S. They have continously sponsored 10 children at RUDEC. 

Todd and Shaun from „Cameroon One“ have been visiting Bamenda and Belo to see how everything is going and get to know better RUDEC and it’s work. Their plans in Cameroon were to create a network with another project in Bamenda that is called "Mankon children’s home". 

They have furthermore promised to see what they could do to sponsor more children at RUDEC. We are very happy about this news as we are always looking for new sponsors! Thank you!

 

 

 

RUDEC has not relent its efforts to reach out to children that they sponsored in the remote villages around Boyo division. Joshua visited Makwa Anabel who was discovered by a pastor about her drop from school because she got no person to pay her fees because the mother is widow twice,being a small farmer in a remote village of Bolem, filled with frustration, she was looking at where to have support to give hope to Anabel. RUDEC's focus on educating a child caught up with her and visited them with one of its volunteer Kelly, she decided to sponsor Anabel. Our visit this time was to see how she is doing and progress in school. She came 2nd position in a class of 56. We gave her school bag, books, paid her fees and a toothbrush

When there is hope there is a way

  We from RUDEC have some news: Summer School has finished now!. John, Pierrick and Ida, have been teaching for the last ten weeks and enjoyed it very much to teach the kids and have learned a lot from them ourselves by teaching as well. It was quite a challenge to keep around 30 kids of all ages from 5 to 15 interested in our subjects day by day but it has been very fruitful for them. The subjects taught primarily included maths, English, geography (including some lessons on natural disasters) and French.

 

Now the children will go back to school on the 2nd of September 2013 and RUDEC is preparing everything for the orphans to be ready on their first school day: New bags, school books and notebooks have been bought and sorted for every child and are waiting in the RUDEC office to be distributed.

John is going to leave us this week and goes back home after 3 months to complete his Disaster Management degree in England. It has been a very enjoyable and interesting time with him here. Although his presence here will be missed, we are very happy that he will continue to support RUDEC’s work through sponsoring one of our orphans.   

Photo by Yuri Wahl Valle

But we have good news to tell you as well: 3 new volunteers from Germany are going to arrive on the 17th of September to support RUDEC in the after school programme. It will be their first community learning experience, and we are excited to share it with them!

More good news is that Princess Martha, the youngest orphan in the RUDEC programme, is doing fine again. She has been to the hospital because of dehydration, but with the support of RUDEC and the Belo Health Centre she has recovered and is in good health again.

 We want to say a big thank you to all the RUDEC supporters, sponsors and volunteers out there wherever you are; without you RUDEC couldn’t exist and work as it does now!

And of course, we are always looking for further support on our current projects:

You can actively be helping us by donating to sponsoring a child, volunteering, spreading RUDEC’s work amongst your friends and helping us to build a new volunteer house for RUDEC to be able to host more volunteers at the same time, and to also host guest for future ecotourism opportunities in and around Belo.

Support us here:

www.rudec.org (our website)

www.indiegogo.com/projects/rudec-volunteer-house 
(Crowdfunding website for the new volunteer house)

Help Remedy become a school teacher

Meet Remedy. She’s 17 years old and lives in Belo, Cameroon. Remedy is one of the 55 orphans RUDEC supports through its Orphan Education and Care program. 

Remedy lives with her grandmother and has two brothers, one older and one younger. Sadly, Remedy’s mother, who was a single mother at the time, passed away seven years ago, so she has lived with her grandmother since. Along with her grandmother, Remedy also lives with her aunt and three cousins. 

Her grandmother supports the family through farming, mostly just to feed the family and there is not much left over to make any income.  Remedy's grandmother works hard to support her family, but being older has failing health and has lost almost all of her eyesight. Getting enough food, let alone helping Remedy with her education and healthcare needs is beyond what she can provide.

Generally, Remedy and her family eat what they farm, which includes corn, yams, potatoes, beans, guava, mango and papaya. When they have money they buy rice, oil salt and spices. 

Remedy is in Form 3 of secondary school and she hopes to one day become a teacher. She just recently moved up to Form 3 and we are really proud of her for working hard in school.

Teachers play an important role not only in a child’s life, but also in the lives and development of communities. Remedy will have a great opportunity to help others in her community when she’s able to achieve her dream. 

While RUDEC supports orphans, we do not run an orphanage. Children live with their extended families in Belo and its surrounds. We think it is important for children to grow up in secure, family-based environments with their relatives or caregivers. RUDEC provides access to education, food, nutrition and healthcare services. We help families with things like school and exam fees, textbooks and school uniforms and food assistance.

We make sure children stay health and provide access to vaccinations, HIV/AIDS screening, dental/eye checks and emergency help. We also give children support in education, whether that's through school, technical college or an apprenticeship, which enables children to choose their own futures and fulfill their personal aspirations.

You can help support Remedy by sponsoring her for just 36 euros per month or 437 euros per year. Your sponsorship goes towards providing Remedy with her basic needs as well as giving her a brighter future. Sponsor Remedy today (link to: http://www.rudec.org/node/16).

For more information about RUDEC's Orphan Education and Care program, visit the RUDEC website (link to: http://www.rudec.org/orphans).

RUDEC Extension in livelihood and conservations support in rural areas

One of the main objectives of RUDEC Cameroon is to empower communities in the rural settings on income generating projects and beekeeping is one of the projects that since 2002 carried out trainings with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on beekeeping from Bayang-Mbo Sanctuary, 2011 it was extended to Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary and in 2013, we are in the Takamanda Mone  Landscape Project to train communities where gorilla guardians are from on beekeeping.

The RUDEC team of consultants led by Joshua Chiamba left Belo to meet with a WCS car from Limbe that will take us to the training ground. We got off at 5a.m and reach

Bamenda but 9am since we had to wait for the taxi always to full. Reaching the counter, Joshua had forgotten his identification card behind. He left Bamenda for Belo back again to get the identification card. Wisely as he was, he had to call his wife to send it through a taxi that he would collect on a nearby park at Bambui. He got it by midday and was back at the bus station that we had to take to Mamfe.

The road network from Bamenda through Bali, Batibo then Wedikum that has a boundary with South West region has a good tarred road by a Chinese company that we couldn’t have the name. From the high mountains we could see palm trees that started indicating to us that people around produce palm oil. We

reached by 3:45pm and were welcome by the great heat and all people saw us as strangers in the land.

We went on a motorbike to the WCS and Forestry rest house that we were welcome by a young girl. She opened the doors and let us in and we left our luggage and hurry out to look around town. Soon we saw coconuts at a roundabout and since we don’t have them at Belo, each of us had one each, break them and asked for a knife that we clean them, wash and started eating. We walked into town and bought handkerchiefs to clean off the waste water from our faces. We saw meet with the WCS project manager that was coming in from Limbe that same day. We left and look for food ate and make plans for the next day trip.

The next day we took off at 8am and got food in town and started our adventure into the forest were every village that we pass, children shouted “Wildlife” and when you shake hands to say bye bye, they are very happy. We approach a river that does not has a bridge and I was wandering how we saw cross. The WCS car which is a Land Cruiser of Japanese origin made its way toward the floor of the stream. The skillful driver(Victor) used his experience and we crossed the river. There we got words like “Akwaya motor di swim wata”(Akwaya car swim in water).We all made prayers that rains should not fall so that the river

should not over flood. The road was Bumpybut with 4x4 car we move on and on until we reach the training village of Mbu. Here children and adults like photos especially when you take and show them how they look.

The participants arrive too on this day and we ate and drink palm wine together. The village people gave us food again and welcome us into their village. This village could have about 250 inhabitants all of them hunters and farmers. Most of the houses here thatched and beds mould with mud to for a bed and they add a mat to it and it’s very comfortable to sleep. Here in this village men and women watch in the streams at different sections.

We started training on 3 day with all 10 villages working with gorillas attending. We had a total of 29 participants. We access indigenous knowledge about beekeeping and went with the training and at each stage we had practical. At the end of four days effective training, each participant went home with a hive, bee suits and working tools to help them train other people in their village and make more hives.

The field manager of WCS took the participants to take care with equipments and when the reach their various villages should present them to their chiefs and let them decide where to keep them safe. He also told

them that all the equipments are a sign of encouragement and they should show love by training others in their villages so that they could also use the materials donated by WCS and CMS.

At the end of the training period we had a party with the participants and the villages. We had palm wine and “disco”(music) played by village chairman is the richest person in the village. Many people in the village said this was more than the Christmas parties in the village. This also means they villagers were happy.

We hope to continue to train these communities when we have the means and partners that have interest in beekeeping should join us in our struggles as we strive to tackle conservations in our little corner.

                                                       

Sarah and Leanne tour the North West with RUDEC

 Sarah and Leanne tour the North West with RUDEC

I had always wanted to see the mountainous beauty of North West Cameroon. I had heard stories of endless savannah stretched across rolling hills and soaring peaks, of mythically-loaded waterfalls and volcanic crater lakes hidden amidst dense forest. I’d heard travellers’ tales of Fon palaces and small villages that could be hiked to and explored by foot or by motocylcle. So, when my friend Sarah decided to come visited me in Cameroon, I knew exactly the region we should go travelling in!

 And I wasn’t disappointed. We spent three days in Belo, a small town about 15 minutes from Bamenda and used it as a base to explore and weave our own stories of a magically beautiful place. Thankfully, we had heard about RUDEC from a friend who had travelled with them over Christmas and had been in touch with Joshua who turned out to be a real gem of a guide.

What I discovered during our brief stay was that everything I’d heard about the region was not an exaggeration!

Day 1: Ndawara Tea Estate

When we arrived in Belo, we were warmly welcomed by Joshua who lead us to the cosy volunteer house where we ate breakfast, chatted and got to know each other. After resting a bit we, we headed off on our first excursion: a trip to a tea estate on a neighbouring mountain peak. Not wanting to hike all the way up the mountain, we took motorbike taxis up the rocky road through magnificent scenery: bright green hills with dramatically dropping cliffs and misty, blue mountains in the distance.

Being the tea-lovers that we are, Sarah and I both found the (free!!) tour of the tea estate fascinating. Dismounting the bikes, we were hit by the sweet smell of tea all around us – a smell we have been used to encounter only in our tea-cups! Joshua took us first to meet the manager who answered some of our questions, showed us some pictures and passed us on to our guide for the morning. We were then shown how the tea was dried, shredded, oxidised and packaged, and when we left we were given free boxes of tea to take home.

                

We hiked from the tea estate back down to Belo – a hike of about 4 hours through the same magical scenery we had witnessed on the way up. Fortunately, we missed the rains that day (thankfully, it was still only the beginning of the rainy season), but that evening they poured down and we had the joy of listening to it from the cosy abode of our beds, with hot cups of fresh tea!

Day 2: Mount Oku Crater Lake

The bike ride to the lake took us over soaring peaks, down into lush valleys and through tiny mud-hutted villages, past farmers in their fields and tumbling waterfalls, over peaceful rivers and across grassy plateaus. In all honestly, I have never been on a more beautiful bike ride in all my travels. I barely noticed that it lasted for two whole hours (one way) and that the pathway was often bumpy and muddy; I only had eyes for the landscape.

We reached Lake Oku in the late morning, where we bumped into the brother of a friend who also happened to be travelling in the area. The peaceful blue-green waters of the lake, surrounded by forest, made for a restful picnic spot and the three of us ate, dipping our toes in the cool waters, while Joshua narrated the stories and myths of the sacred lake and its spirits. He then took us up to a viewpoint from which we could see the lake stretched out amongst the forest below. Up there in the cool breeze, with that view before me, I was pretty sure I would never see anything as beautiful in the rest of my travels.

Day 3: Mbingo Waterfall Hike

Both Sarah and I had thought that nothing could beat the scenic ride to Lake Oku. We were wrong: the following day we encountered scenes that surpassed everything we had witnessed before. Joshua took us and Sean on a 6 hour circular hike to a nearby waterfall. Part of the journey included a stretch of hiking along a mountain ridge which overlooked Belo and its surrounding villages on one side, and wild grasslands with Fulani cattle herders and wondering horses on the other.

   

At the waterfall, we picnicked and swam in the cool waters. Climbing over rocks, we made our way to the foot of the waterfall where a sweet pool welcomed us. After about an hour of swimming and resting, we started the hike back to Belo.

Thanks to RUDEC

All in all, our stay in Belo was made as wonderful as it was because of the efforts of Joshua and RUDEC. Throughout, Joshua was a reliable, knowledgeable and safety-conscious guide who made all our excursions flow as easily as the rivers. By ourselves, we would not have been able to negotiate all the transport, find the right paths or learn about the area as we did. "See our tourism  page at www.camast.com by Joshua"

We also found the volunteer house warm and welcoming. For only 2000 CFA per person per night, it provided a homely sanctuary for our time in Belo and also the opportunity to meet other volunteers working in the area and listen to their stories and knowledge. What’s more, we were also offered help in the form of a cook and someone to wash our big load of dirty travellers’ laundry, for which we were only asked to give a donation. 

Yet perhaps the best part of travelling with RUDEC is knowing that our guide and accommodation money is all going to a good cause. During our time in Belo, we learnt a lot about RUDEC and the work it does, met the people behind it and saw its impacts; I’m happy that I was able to support an organisation that I respect while having a quality vacation at the same time.

Thank you, Joshua! And thank you, RUDEC! We look forward to coming back for more.

By Leanne (SA) and Sarah (UK)

A DREAM COME TRUE

RUDEC Cameroon stared in 2006 and now has more than 55 orphans on its list. These orphans live with their extended families in outlying villages. RUDEC through its sponsor an orphan project, want to help orphans reach their aspirations of education.

To do an effective job and maintain our presence in the lives of these children we need to visit the homes and communities where they live.  The staff and volunteers of RUDEC reach out to children because they want to see how they are doing in school and at home. The purpose of the project staff visits are to get them to hospital, if they are sick, pay schools fees and exam fees and surprise school visits to check on school attendance. This had been done on foot for the past 6 years.  RUDEC, volunteers and partners were struggling to have a means of movement and the mountainous terrain and long distances make visits difficult.

A widow, who saw our struggles, told us that she has an old motorbike that could help us reach out to areas of our activities if we could pay for it. We quickly accepted the offer and started sharing with our volunteers, partners and friends who knew how it was hard for us to reach the children without a means of movement. Couple with the facts that hiring a bike was not easy when we have emergencies and doing work at our conveniences, CameroonOne decided to pay for the bike that would help us reach our objectives.

Getting this bike has cut down the money we used to hire a bike for home visits, payment of school fees and hospital visits. It will make it possible for RUDEC to have closer communication with the rural families we are aiming to support, thereby increasing our effectiveness.

Thank you to everyone who has helped

Extending Our Reach

One of the main aims of RUDEC is to help orphaned children continue with their schooling, especially those living in a rural setting. Sometimes this is hard to achieve because of lack of funds, difficult accessibility and the problem of identifying those in need. If you were just to arrive in rural areas and start inquiring too many people would come forward, and the problem would come in selecting those most in need.

The other day Joshua was approached by a pastor as he was walking in town and the pastor told him about a widow who was determined to send her children to school but was really struggling with paying the fees. She lived in a village almost 2 hours drive from Belo. The pastor was impressed by the character and determination of this woman and appealed to RUDEC to help.

Josh and I decided to take a trip to visit the woman and assess the situation. We had to take a shared taxi to a town 25km away, called Fundong. Taking a shared taxi in Cameroon is an interesting experience, a small 5 seat car, is expected to carry 8 people!! 4 in the back, 2 in the passenger seat and the driver and 1 more passenger on the driver’s seat! This always makes for a fun journey, especially when the boot is overloaded with any manner of things, from chickens to petrol and the roads are steep, curvy and potholed, none of which hinder the driver in his attempts to drive as fast as possible! Just another day in Cameroon.

Once reaching Fundong we had to get a motorbike taxi to take us the rest of the way. The “roads” were extremely steep, either dirt or stone tracks which were sometimes so steep we had to get off and walk up. The scenery was stunning and the undulating landscape of the hills spectacular. We passed through many small villages of traditional mud brick homes, some with the original thatch but some with the more practical zinc roofs. Everywhere we passed, people waved and smiled and news spread fast of the “whiteman” in the area!

We had a few days of unseasonal rain this week, which was good for our journey as it meant the dust in the air had reduced, meaning we had a much clearer view of the scenery and we didn’t get covered in red dust whilst on the bike. However it also washed away some parts of the trail and made other parts very muddy. Our bike rider was extremely good, which was fortunate, as otherwise I think we would have fallen a few times.

The village we were visiting is called Bolem, it has a population of around 1200. All people in this area live without power and running water. They have to trek 2 to 3 hours to reach the nearest town for most supplies. There is no phone network, unless they reach the top of some of the surrounding hills, but they can only charge phone if they walk to town. Most people live as subsistence farmers, growing small amounts of crops for self consumption. Any excess can be sold or traded with neighbours. It is a hand to mouth existence, which is why many struggle to pay school fees for their children, meaning that many just drop out from school and will continue living the same kind of life as their parents.

We arrived at the compound (family dwellings) of the lady in question, Matilda, by 9am. We were warmly greeted by her and her elderly parents. Josh, myself and the driver were welcomed inside and given the traditional staple Cameroonian food to eat, being “fu fu” corn and green vegetables. The compound consisted of 4 mud brick homes, set around a dirt courtyard. Matilda’s home is a traditional 1 room house, with a fire pit in the centre for cooking and beds around the sides. 5 people live in this room, Matilda, her 3 daughters and her mother. They had to share 3 beds. The room is very dark and everything is black because of the cooking that takes place on the open fire. There are guinea pigs in the room on the dirt floor, which the family raise and then eat. They have to store everything they need to live in this one room. But despite it being cramped, it is clean and tidy. It is a really privilege to be welcomed into somebody’s home and to see a completely different way of living.

Matilda has 3 children, she had been widowed twice. Her middle daughter, Annabel, is 15 years old and has been going to school up to form 1. She is a very bright girl, who is consistently top of her class and who enjoys school. She wants to be an accountant. This year, however, Matilda has struggled to pay the 30,000 Francs (around 37GBP or $60) for the year’s school fees and Annabel has been chased from school on many occasions in the past term.

We went to visit the school, GTC Bolem, which is in the most stunning location, high up in the hills, on a small plateau with amazing views. The school is quite small with only 72 pupils from Form 1 to Form 4. GTC stands for Government Technical College. The school only has 2 classrooms. We were warmly welcomed by the new head teacher, who was just appointed 2 days before we arrived. The school is lacking in almost all areas and resources are almost non-existent but the pupils and teachers are keen and enthusiastic.

Annabel and her mother were very happy when we paid the school fees for this year. Annabel promised to keep working hard and to make the best of this opportunity. I was very impressed by Matilda’s spirit and determination that her children go to school, despite herself never having completed primary school. She wants them to have more opportunities in life than she had. It is always nice to meet people who have such a spirit and because of this I decided, through RUDECs sponsor a child program, to sponsor Annabel’s school fees until she completes her schooling. The cost of a year’s school fees is what we might spend on a night out back home and hopefully it can make a big difference to Annabel’s life and through her, her family.

The journey back down the mountain was just as beautiful, exciting and adventurous but I went down with a much better understanding of the kind of life, the Kom people of these hills live and the challenges they face every day, but they do this in a positive and heart-warming way.