One meeting out of many that I attended, still stands out.  ASSYSGOD, the association in Godola, is about 20 extremely bumpy miles north of Maroua.  Alim, Amada, and I arrived to the warm greetings of several members of the association including Mairamou, the female president of the group and also a local community health worker.  After an orientation to the group’s activities and finances, I was invited to see their enterprise projects; onion fields and grain storage.

As we wound through the small town, our discussion was interrupted by many greetings to Mairamou, and also children scurrying to cower in shadows and doorways as we passed – her humorous explanation was, “They all know me as the nurse who comes to give vaccinations!”  We arrived at a field of blue, knee-high stalks as far as the eye could see…Onions galore! Then we went to a small barn, and Miramou threw open the doors so that I could count all 32 huge bags of grain being stored until the price rose for re-sale at a profit.  I was astounded and delighted!

This group of about 15 women and men had, in just a few years since their group’s formation by EFA, turned a small grant that enabled them to embark on a collective enterprise, into two income generating machines!  ASSYSGOD now manages several acres of various crops each season: onions, tomatoes, couscous, millet, etc., and they buy and sell grain at a profit.  From the small initial grant, the group established and continues to increase their savings account (used  as insurance to take care of members and their families who fall ill, and to reinvest in new enterprise projects) to the point that they are now self-sustaining and even dispensing small amounts of profits to each member!  Members use their income to send their children to school, buy medications and food – all things that would have been impossible before their membership in ASSYSGOD.

Another day, almost all 52 Peer Educators came to Maroua to give their feedback on the community health talks they had conducted in the previous three months through the Trust Africa grant focusing on Sexual & Gender Based Violence (S-GBV).  I was completely overwhelmed with the Peer Educators’ (PE’s) gratitude for the S-GBV training sessions (given by EFA staff and the Peace Corps volunteer) and the fresh message they were giving to their male dominated communities.  The PE’s found the theme empowering and refreshing – and no wonder!  For once the focus was on the value of women, and of creating more balanced and equal relationships between men and women.  PE’s reported that members of their communities wanted to learn more about gender equity and wanted repeat community talks on the same subject!

My time in Maroua was short, but I was once again honored to work with Alim and Amada, the Regional Director and Program Manager, and again witnessed how tirelessly these two work on behalf of EFA International.  Peace Corps Volunteer Gena Barnabee (like each of the PCV’s before her) truly serves EFA International and beneficiaries, with passion and enthusiasm.  These three spend long hours in the office and also attend meetings that are hours and hours along bumpy dirt roads in 100+ degree heat, sometimes spending the night in villages with no electricity and little food, and they do it all with a smile!  I felt like a weak and too privileged person in their presence.  They are genuinely knowledgeable, thoughtful, and invested in their guidance roles for EFA International and the Youth Empowerment network.

Education and enterprise truly do fight AIDs. It may not sound innovative, but when you witness (like I did) the simplicity of the EFA model of content delivery and support, EFA’s strong partnerships with local government and health centers, and the unparalleled positive outcomes, you easily understand that EFA International is a unique resource for those who need it most.  And you are proud to be a part of it all!

Thank you for helping EFA come so far! Did you see the 2010 Annual Report? Without friends like you, we wouldn’t see the results we have already attained.  Can you help us take this a step further today?  Could you consider becoming a regular monthly donor?  Spreading the word of EFA’s good work, and continuing your valuable support, will ensure that EFA International is able to continue to support African youth in their want and right, to live positively.    Please support EFA International in the best way you can, today!

Kathryn McKissick
Secretary, Board of Directors

The HIV prevalence in women is significantly higher than in men within Cameroon.  In the north of Cameroon, where EFA focuses its efforts, the societal and traditional experiences that women face increase their HIV risk and exacerbate gender disparities.  To combat these challenges, EFA recently undertook a project to integrate sexual and gender-based violence (S-GBV) prevention education into its programming for EFA’s HIV-positive youth empowerment network.

This network promotes the value of “living positively” with HIV and AIDS while reducing stigma.  A critical part of this youth network are its Peer Educators, who are trained in HIV prevention, leadership skills, and community mobilization strategies. Thanks to a generous grant from TrustAfrica, nearly 50 EFA Peer Educators completed a three-day training this February covering topics such as “Gender, Violence, and HIV” and “Rights and Responsibilities related to HIV.” The goal of the training was to address social norms about gender and sexual relationships in ways that reduce violence, address stigma and discrimination, and set the foundation for gender equality.

EFA’s Peace Corps Volunteer Gena Barnabee, based in Maroua, reports that the Peer Educators “came away having learned a great deal about gender, violence and how these contribute to the vulnerability of women both in terms of HIV and AIDS, but also more generally in terms of how gender equality improves the lives of women, families and communities.”  During the month of March, EFA Peer Educators will work in their communities with the goal of educating 5,000 community members on gender and S-GBV issues and prevention.

The 2011 theme for International Women’s Day focuses on equal access to education, training, and science and technology.  Indeed, it is through training and education that EFA fosters the development of strong, independent thinkers who can help lead their communities towards social change.  In her post, “Time to Make the Promise of Equality a Reality” to mark today’s anniversary, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet writes: “The agenda to secure gender equality and women’s rights is a global agenda, a challenge for every country, rich and poor, north and south.”  Today, we invite you to join EFA and millions of others around the world in recognizing 100 years of International Women’s Day by supporting our work in Cameroon.

International Women's Day, Maroua, Cameroon, 2011. Photo by Lynne Wilkie.

EFA's 2010 peer education training started in January

MAROUA, CAMEROON – Peer educators trained in an EFA International-sponsored program have educated more than 6,000 people in Cameroon’s Far North region about HIV transmission and prevention. The January-June training involved 14 HIV-positive youth in a course about the virus’s biology, as well as how to prevent, transmit and live positively with HIV.

The program’s combination of education and follow-up evaluation empowered volunteers to speak openly about the virus in seven communities, in turn reducing stigma for themselves and HIV-positive persons in the future.

Of the training’s 14 graduates, 12 now are able to educate about and demonstrate how to properly use a condom without any guidance. While only about four trainees could define the meaning of HIV and AIDS at the program’s start, now nearly 11 are able to accurately describe the basics of the virus and disease.

Peace Corps Volunteer and EFA International’s Technical Advisor Caitlyn Bradburn implemented the training with the financial support of donors Amy Chesser and Nate Lewis. Their generous donation also allowed the program’s participants a chance to start small income-generating projects, including condom sales. One trainee even sold his 720 condoms in a single afternoon.

With the support of generous donors, engaged volunteers and motivated participants, EFA International is continually able to implement trainings that empower HIV-positive youth. The generally marginalized population now has a chance to come together in solidarity and educate their communities, fighting the HIV and AIDS epidemics each day.

Photo credit: Caitlyn Bradburn, 2010.

In addition to the education program, program beneficiaries receive hot meals on the weekends and other nutritional supplements during weekdays. All beneficiaries were also provided with health insurance during the quarter. In general, CSC has created a safe space where beneficiaries come even when formal programs aren’t scheduled, learning traditional Rwandan dance ,singing songs, or just passing time together. Next quarter CSC will also launch a mentoring and counseling program to provide beneficiaries with psychosocial support services.

I would be completely remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank my Peace Corps colleagues: Brian, Josh, Dan, Brad, and Phil.  They, with their counterparts, tirelessly facilitated 61 sessions over the course of the program. And not easy sessions, given the taboos that exist here and the topics being discussed!  In addition, we Peace Corps volunteers are all tremendously lucky to have Cameroonian counterparts, like Alim and Amada, who joined us in the facilitation and who drove the participants to consistently dig deeper into the issues at hand.    

 I thank you, all who have helped to make the Men As Partners program possible! Your generosity has not gone unnoticed! The participants thank you! And — by extension— their communities thank you!!

The CSC’s primary programs will continue to provide education, health, and nutrition services to children at the center.

• Individual: Helping HIV+ people to understand their disease and its implications means that they can live longer and healthier lives.  EFA’s work includes sharing information to help people make healthy choices concerning their reproductive health, and encouraging individuals to get informed about their serostatus.
• Family: Informed family members can provide better support to HIV+ individuals, help fight stigma, and have a better understanding that HIV is a disease like any other.  EFA’s work helps to prevent future HIV infections by preventing partner transmission, as well as MTCT (mother to child transmission).
• Community:  Knowledge of HIV prevention can help stop its spread in high risk populations.  EFA’s work also aims to reduce stigma in communities.
• National:  A better understanding of the epidemiology of HIV and a commitment to applying evidence leads to better focused and more effective public health programming. EFA’s work includes sharing information about the importance of national research and the need to reinforce laboratory capacity to manage individual cases as well as advance research. By improving local, regional, and national health care centers (primary, secondary, tertiary), HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care can be integrated more effectively.  EFA’s work promotes understanding about the increased prevalence of TB and other opportunistic infections among seropositive people and advocates for support from bilateral and multilateral donors.
• International: HIV affects economic and societal development.  EFA shares information about these effects and advocates for HIV+ persons in order to reduce stigma and promote continued research about the disease and its prevention, care, and treatment.

Education

In February, ROC paid school fees for all beneficiaries at the center. ROC also hired a dedicated full-time teacher who is now on hand every day to help the children with homework, to monitor their progress at school, and to provide supplementary classes in English, Math and Science. Curricula for the supplementary lessons were written with Rwandan National Curriculum goals in mind and were designed to support and expand upon lessons learned at school.

Nutrition

In January, representatives of Gardens for Health International volunteered their time to help the ROC staff to plant a new community garden at the center. As a result, ROC now has a large and healthy garden of cabbage, spinach, beetroots, carrots, tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, and peppers. Gardens for Health’s agronomist also led a series of educational sessions for the students about how to maintain the garden. A system is now in place to transplant the current plants into sacks (one for each child) and to distribute the produce, when it is ready, to individual children’s households. Since January, Gardens for Health has also been helping ROC to design a nutrition curriculum, which ROC’s teacher will be incorporating into the education program in the coming months.

Children are receiving clean drinking water every day from the Center, along with a protein-rich snack. In recognition of the community environment of ROC, nuts and bananas are bought from one of the mothers affiliated with the center. This is the first time that the children at ROC have had daily access to food and clean water.