The partnerships between health centers and youth associations are mutually beneficial relationships. EFA commits to providing ongoing assistance to the HIV+ youth associations and supporting HIV education campaigns in the community through EFA’s Peer Educators.  As most health centers currently have the capacity to conduct only seasonal education campaigns around events such as World AIDS Day, partnerships provide a valuable opportunity for health centers to expand the services that they can offer. Health centers in EFA-supported communities are now able to organize continuing community education throughout the year. In turn, the health center provides a meeting space for the association and health center directors commit to participating in association activities. In addition, health centers agree to provide short-term employment opportunities for association members during activities, such as national vaccination campaigns.

Each association elects two representatives to the Coordination Committee – one from the executive office and one from the general assembly of members- to represent their group during the quarterly meeting. The committee provides a forum for the association representatives to present their accomplishments and challenges to other network groups. Representatives are encouraged to solve problems together, learn from each others’ successes and challenges, and identify areas of collaboration among associations.

The Coordination Committee also provides a routine democratic and transparent venue for associations to interact directly with EFA regional staff, better implicating EFA’s beneficiaries in organizational decision making.

Birth certificates are essential to receiving access to government health care, education, and other civil opportunities. The association is providing short-term work to several members to assist in OVC identification. This collaboration was initiated by the director of the local health center.

Given her position at the hospital, she has been able to help to build a relationship between AWALLA and the local hospital, allowing a representative of the association to retrieve the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for members who cannot afford monthly transport costs to Kolofata. This new arrangement has made a significant difference in the health status of the AWALLA members.

After visiting four of EFA’s youth associations, the Project elected to provide two large grants of 4 and 6 million cfca respectively (~ $8,000 and $12,000) to the ASSYSGOD and AWALLA associations. The grants are intended to expand the association’s existing income generation activities, which were launched in July 2008 with seed money from EFA.

The ASSYSGOD grant will allow the association to expand and enclose their fields and to establish an irrigation system, providing the possibility of growing an increased variety of produce throughout the year. The grant will also provide the means for the association to launch a separate income generation activity focused on selling potable water to members of their community.

The AWALLA grant will also allow them to expand and enclose their community garden. In addition, the association will be able to build a warehouse to store their produce and purchase an industrial grinder. As a result, members of the association will benefit from their location in the market town of Banki by selling ground millet, peanuts and soy to market customers. Both grants will allow the associations to significantly increase the financial yield from their projects. The affiliation with UNDP also provides the possibility of future support for new associations.

During this time of celebration and giving, we thank you for thinking of EFA and helping us to make strides in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Best wishes to you and yours for 2009 from your friends at EFA International!

ABEPSA members with charcoal for sale.

Each association was responsible for proposing an activity relevant to their community. Once the proposal was reviewed by the EFA regional staff, the Executive Office was given a small amount of money to launch the project. The associations will spend the next few months working with the EFA staff and their Technical Assistant to establish an operational budget and management plan for the IGA. Once fully functional, the IGA is intended to be a self-sustaining economic enterprise for the members of the association.

Each new association proposed a slightly different project, depending on the local needs identified by the group members.

ABEPSA is located in the Domayo neighborhood of Maroua, the capital of the Extreme North province in Cameroon. As Maroua has a lively market culture, the ABEPSA members opted to start an industry selling maize, millet, peanuts and rice.

ASSYSGOD is located in Godola, a small village 15 km outside of Maroua. Potable water is a permanent need in the villages of the extreme north, so the ASSYSGOD members opted to sell potable water to community members in Godola and its neighboring villages. In addition to generating income for the association, the potable water project assists the members to promote public health in their community, as water-borne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid are constant problems in the region.

The members of AWALLA chose to use their seed money to start a community garden, where they are cultivating beans, soy and other grains. As AWALLA is located on the Nigerian border, the members benefit from a strategic geographic location when attempting to sell their crops. The community garden also provides the members of AWALLA with crops rich in protein, which they can use to supplement their own diets.

The regional EFA staff will continue to monitor the success of the IGAs in the coming months and will provide the technical assistance necessary for the association members to create a sound budgeting and management system for their projects.

We’re pleased to share that, in March, all three associations received their certificate of recognition as legal associations in Cameroon. Later the groups officially signed a partnership agreement with EFA International, joining AJEPS as members of the HIV+ Youth Network. This summer, we will be sending volunteers to our regional office in Maroua, Cameroon, to assist with the implementation of group-led income generation activities for these new HIV+ youth support groups. These activities supply sustainable revenue for the groups and provide employment opportunities to their members. The revenue supports group operational costs and provides financial assistance for food and medication to members in times of need.

Aissatou Sali, one of EFA’s Youth Network Technical Assistants, during a session on the benefits of being a member of an association

This training was the first inter-association training that EFA International has conducted, and it brought together members from four associations of HIV+ youth from three different villages in northern Cameroon including AJEPS, and three new HIV+ youth groups: ABEPSA, AWALLA, and ASSYSGOD. Associations created their own 3-month action plans and disseminated copies to the other associations, so that overlapping and similar issues could be done in collaboration.

The three new groups left the training with increased capacity that will improve the operations of their organizations. The presidents of the associations learned how to hold a meeting and devise an agenda. The secretaries learned how to keep minutes for a meeting and write official reports. The treasurers learned how to manage expenses and deposits for their associations using a simple accounting register developed by EFA. The executive officers returned to their associations with a better idea of how to better help their associations.