“YADEF Presentation in the North West & South West Education Cluster Coordination Meeting – Friday 30th June 2023 at UNIECF Office Buea, Cameroon” by EBONG Lovert EWANG

Following the crisis in the North West South West regions of Cameroon, the education sector has been heavily affected with many children out of school for over 6 years now. Children and teachers have been brutally murdered, schools burnt down and meanwhile kidnapping of pupils, students and teachers have become a routine issue condemned by many human rights activist and education promoters. The insecurity in crisis affected areas does not permit parents and care givers to enroll children in school. Massive displacements continue to occur due to unexpected attacks and armed fighting including explosives. However, some Divisions and Sub-Divisions are relatively calm and favourable for schooling especially in urban areas but a good number of rural schools are still closed down completely. And just to note that even those who have been displaced and now in peri-urban and urban areas still face a lot of challenges to access education. The education Cluster was activated in the NWSW regions of Cameroon to coordinate the Education in Emergency (EiE) and support crisis affected children in various ways. This Education Cluster is being coordinated by UNICEF and other International NGOs running emergency education programs like Plan International Cameroon with other local NGOs (supporting education) and religious establishments offering formal education through mission schools (being part of the Cluster). A lot of advocacy has been ongoing by humanitarian actors for an urgent cease fire and a chance for education. Many hold and support the view that education cannot wait and therefore children should not be target in armed conflicts. In highly crisis hit communities, access to education is a big challenge with civil society and religious institutions developing mechanisms like e-learning, radio education and other informal approaches (community learning space) to bring students and pupils to light and prevent a catastrophic illiterate generation in Cameroon. In line with this, education Cluster partners for years have been supporting crisis affect children to access education through; donation of school materials, payment of school fees, advocacy, establishment of birth certificates, and other learning support like e-learning, informal learning space, children friendly centers, early childhood development etc. UNICEF on their part has been contributing greatly with emergency education support throughout Cameroon with other partners. And considering the local expertise of local NGOs, UNICEF has been partnering with some local NGOs to jointly do the work, reach out to more children and create meaningful impact. Prior to joining this education Cluster, YADEF has been providing emergency support to crisis affected children in Kupe-Muanenguba Division one of the areas heavily hit by the crisis. YADEF is also running a free ICT training program and providing e-learning support to children, donating school materials, establishment of civil documentation to children whose parent’s homes were burnt down, counseling, orientation and various academic trajectories for displaced students and children and many more. With the recommendations from a local collaborating organization, YADEF was encouraged to join the education Cluster coordination platform in NWSW region. This according to the collaborator promotes a harmonized and coordinated response, builds capacity, eases partnerships, promotes communication, avoids duplication of resources and promotes a better response, material, technical and financial supports to partners when available and much more. With all these highlighted benefits of Custer coordination, YADEF saw the urgent need to join. And without delay, YADEF through the Partnership, Laison & Resource Mobilization/Projects Officer manifested interest. An email was sent to the Education Cluster Coordinator (UNICEF & Co-lead Plan International Cameroon) and with the wonderful track record, wonderful work of YADEF an invitation to do a presentation in the monthly coordination meeting for June 2023. According to an email from the Education Cluster Coodinator (UNICEF) this presentation was to be presented on PowerPoint slides and not more than 10 minutes with the following thematic; brief highlight about YADEF organization, Strategic Education Objectives, and achievements in the Education sector. Below is a summarized report of the presentation from YADEF by EBONG lovert EWANG; PRESENTATION! Who we are? YADEF is a non-governmental, apolitical non-profit, women led & youth founded development Association advancing and promoting the sustainable development Goals in Cameroon. YADEF pays key attention on the plights of rural & urban communities within Cameroon in the domain of access to quality education & ICT, poverty & hunger, social protection & human rights. YADEF is rooted in three (3) pillars – We Educate – We Protect & We Empower targeting principally children, boys, girls, women & persons living with disabilities in rural communities. Using a very innovative and data driven response, YADEF mainstreams research in her programs and projects to better understand impediments of development in communities within our areas of response. We also use results; data from these field studies/research as vital instruments to design innovative models and to advocate for change in regulatory frameworks including increased involvement & engagement of youths, women, girls, boys & indigenous people in decision making & nation building processes. With the increasing global uncertainties causing unsettled lives, YADEF works to reduce vulnerability of people affected by crisis and natural disasters especially in the SWR of Cameroon – reaching out to the neediest with fundamental life-saving emergency response. We vision to build an inclusive society where people are educated, protected and empowered to live prosperous life in natural friendly ecosystems. We are open to work closely with other key development actors including engagement in partnerships to create more sustainable impact in the communities we work in. We do well to keep our advocacy very strategic, promoting and respecting accountability & due diligence, asking tough questions, requesting, demanding and championing for change in the rules of the game – those “rules which keep poor people poor”. Our Vision ‘Secure an inclusive society while empowering youths to fly to a world of opportunities’ Our Mission “Nurturing talents and initiatives, removing constraints and impediments, stimulating sustainable actions and promoting development – Acting and reacting proactively not just about today and tomorrow, but about days, weeks, months, years and centuries to come – with endless commitment to championing & amplifying the fight against socio-economic and political discriminations, social vices. This is what defines what YADEF aspires and vision to achieve. We‘re open to partnerships: synergies and movements which are inclusive and exclusively void of gender bias and leave no youth action behind. We strengthen the capacities of the youths strategically, enhancing their skills to leverage ICT while mobilizing the goodwill and support of the international community and the youths themselves. We appeal and call on all development stakeholders to join us and be part and parcel in building and empowering vibrant – versatile youths, the pillars of our economy”. What we do? YADEF’s four (4) main areas of intervention;  Promoting access to quality education, increasing access to information & ICT Dev’t  Poverty & hunger including building skills, enhancing livelihoods for the poor  Promoting respect of Human Rights & increasing protection of civilian population  Gender Based Violence (GBV) response Considering the development challenges affecting vulnerable population in Cameroon, YADEF also runs four (4) community development programs;  Promoting Housing, Land & Property (HLP) rights of crisis displaced people  Promoting safe mobility and reducing road crashes & fatalities  Peace & social cohesion ; building bridges to unite local people in solidarity  Environmental sustainability smart initiatives ; WASH, pollution, tree planting & environmental education, environmental development, environmental disaster/hazard mitigation YADEF believes that in a world where boys & girls, women & men face so many challenges and threads of harm including climate shocks, it’s our responsibility to ensure that we, as an organization, do exactly all we can do to increase safety and enhance people’s life. We have a zero tolerance rate to sexual exploitation and other work misconduct. As such, we want YADEF to reflect the identity of Cameroon while offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of gender, race, religion, disability, belief or sexual orientation. YADEF is rooted with an inclusive culture and do our best to strive to create a working environment that ensures every team, in every community is endowed in diversity of people, ideas. In summary this is who we are but each day, we strive to become a better part of who we are and what we can do as an organization. Our Approach Our approach is “Educative, blended with research and action”. We believe that knowledge is power and power brings change. How young people can use quality education and ICT to transform their communities positively for sustainable development. YADEF aspire a society where morally educated, empowered youths feel protected and get engaged actively in piloting the affairs of our inclusive communities. We promote and enhance quality education for youths – a system where the skills and capacity of youths will be tailored towards problem solving, a system where youths will be able to articulate ideas and choose trajectories of life enhancement which will be beneficial for personal, professional development and for the positive advancement of society for the good of all. We also question existing status-quos, educating, enlightening and building capacities of communities to be able to get out of poverty creating systems – those systems that make poor people poor – those systems which keep poor people poor. We apply a holistic response, involving all youth actions and initiatives, leaving no one behind. We educate rural communities and employ collaborative management of our projects and programs with these target communities to achieve desire goals and objectives. We also add flexibility in these programs acknowledging that we work with diverse population & communities from different backgrounds and in different situations. YADEF EDUCATION PROGRAM AT YADEF, we believe that access to opportunities in future depends on inclusive & quality of education received by children and youths of this present generation. YADEF Education Strategic Objectives; • To offer an opportunity for rural children to have a taste of inclusive & quality education • To bring ICT closer to rural children & youths while enhancing their skills to leverage ICT and gain access to learning and academic opportunities and information • To encourage and engage more girls & youths into IT & Science related professions • Enlighten, educate and build the capacity of children and youths to respond to challenging situations affecting school children; violence, rape, road safety education, hate speech, hygiene and sanitation education EDUCATION INTERVENTIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS Late 2021 & 2022 • Establishment of 89 Birth Certificates for children of Mburoro Indigenous Group of Muanenguba Settlement, Bangem in partnership with the Divisional Delegation of Social Affairs Kupe-Muanenguba • 67 children & youths trained on ICT from ages 9 – 13 years, 14 – 17 and youths from 18 – 25 (in secondary schools) Key training indicators  9-17 years (computer basics, ICT tools & communication, e-learning, educative cartoons etc.)  14-17 years (basic computer operations, ICT tools & communication, e-learning etc.  Youths 18-25 years ( computer operations, Microsoft bundles, internet usage on education including research, downloading, social media & hate speech, emailing, internet of opportunities (jobs, scholarships, universities, etc.), e-learning including TV, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, YouTube self learning, basic graphics design, etc. • Capacity building & increasing access to information  Academic orientation & career pathways for youths – post secondary school  Post secondary school trajectories for youths  Enlightenment on Science & ICT  Access to information for rural farmers; prices,  Awareness raising targeting parents on importance of e-learning ( effect was an increase in enrollment) • Donation of school materials to 47 vulnerable children in collaboration with Divisional Delegation of Social Affairs in 2022 • Revision classes for GCE OL & AL In line the 2023 session of GCE in, YADEF – trained one (1) female student of G.B.H.S. Bangem and we are hoping to see a positive outcome of her results come August 2023. We also offered free revision exercises in subject like Mathematics, Economics, Geography, Chemistry, Physics, History, and Literature in English through YouTube learning & downloading of digital Textbooks (as many students could not afford textbooks especially Literature Novels) Planned Programs  Operation Back to School 2023/2024 support for “less-privileged children, orphans, IDPs & returnees ” in Kupe-Muanenguba (Bangem, Tombel & Nguti), Melong & Loum and Limbe 1 & 3 (August, 2023)  Scaling up of free ICT training program and e-learning in Tombel and Nguti  Awareness raising on e-learning including importance of education especially – the girl child  Our Local Education Collaborating Partners We have been able to create this impact thanks to the wonderful collaboration from these local agencies;  Divisional Delegation of Women affairs Kupe-Muanenguba ( civil documentation and distribution of school materials  Sub-Divisional Delegation of Youth affairs, Bangem  Bangem Municipal Council  Ave Maria Catholic Church Parish, Bangem Challenges  Access to funding and support  Lack of ICT learning equipment and materials  Challenging environment – internet services  Lack of computer foundational knowledge – as we came across children who have never seen a computer before Other support received used in strengthening programming YADEF has recently been capacitated on the following domains and one of our post-training initiatives is to strengthen our programming. So far we have been privileged to be trained in the following domains and we hope apply this knowledge in our education programming. These include;  Training on mainstreaming protection needs of adolescent boys and men in programming by “GenGap” – May 2023  Call to Action (CtA) on the protection against Gender-based violence in emergency ( on the 29th of June 2023 at Parliamentarian Flats Buea – YADEF represented by her Coordinator Through the application of knowledge from these trainings, YADEF is able to mainstream protection; GBV and child protection in community education programs. Another other vital component of our education and capacity building is on reducing raod crashes and fatalities with school settings. YADEF Education Program Design & Coordination Team  Dr Jean Baptiste FANKAM FANKAM. Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa – fankamjeanbap@yadef.org (Programs Development Officer, YADEF)  Mesape Jojoe Eseh – jojoe.eseh@yadef.org ( Coordinator of Education & Capacity Building)  EBONG Lovert EWANG – lovert.ebong@yadef.org (Project, Partnerships & Resource Mobilization Officer, YADEF)  Nkumbe Anna Nzong – anna.nkumbe@yadef.org (Research; Education & WASH, YADEF)  Njumbe Desire M. njumbedesire@yadef.org Coordinator of Programs, YADEF  Njuntsop Rita Njuntsop – njuntsop.rita@yadef.org (Communication Officer, YADEF)  Zumbi Calvin – zumbi15calvin@gmail.com IT Engineer, YADEF Behind every project there are always great people. Become one of these ‘Great People’ by supporting our programs; materially, financially, or technically. You can also support us to reach out to more vulnerable and crisis affected & displaced population in the SWR of Cameroon. Leave us a message at info@yadef.org or call us via (+237) 672 631 947 or visit us online at www.yadef.org or better still you will be welcomed during working hours at our head office at Bangem Town, Bangem, Kupe-Muanenguba Division, SWR Cameroon. Join us in promoting access to Quality Education for under-privileged children in the South West Region of Cameroon info@yadef.org Thank you ALL… Organizer/Host: UNICEF Location: on-site (UNICEF Field Office, Buea & online) YADEF Presentation Presenter: EBONG Lovert EWANG, Projects Officer, YADEF lovert.ebong@yadef.org