Humanitarian Association, SEKTEURA has launched a new project to educate and empower children and young people during school breaks in Yaounde, Cameroon.
The newly launched project dubbed in French: “Vacances Responsables et Citoyennes”, is a holiday training program recently in Yaounde, Cameroon by the international association SEKTEURA.
As described by members of the international association SEKTEURA, it is a holiday responsible and citizenship program that brings together close to 30 children and young people of the Essos neighborhood in the Yaounde 5 sub-division.
The key objective of this project set in motion is to fight against idleness during holiday periods and help children brace up challenges for back to school, as humanitarian association SEKTEURA strives for the well-being of underprivileged children and vulnerable families.
Parents and children targeted for this maiden project are registered in the “Realengo” Prize initiative that seeks to compensate yearly with packs of gifts best pupils and students of the Essos neighborhood.
According to Pascal Modo, Coordinator in charge of Programmes at SEKTEURA, this laudable initiative aims to educate young people on some social ills that plague society; to tackle drug consumption in the youth milieu, and empower them in income-generating activities.
Pascal Modo equally outlined the fact that children taking an active part in this project were schooled on the scourge of drug consumption; they were initiated to the drafting of curriculum vitae and applications for holiday internships and are continuously assisted by the staff of the association.
He said several other activities were set up by SEKTEURA, yet as holidays unfold, children will also be trained in singing and other recreational activities such as football.
To launch the project dubbed: “Vacances Responsables et Citoyennes”, top on the agenda was the educative talk on drug consumption organized on May 3, 2024, at “Ecole maternelle Essos Marche”, with the main speaker, Jean-Claude Messomo.
The more than two-hour educative talk was addressed mainly to parents. They were better informed on the different types of drugs consumed by young people nowadays; the way many get in touch with drugs; the negative impacts of drug consumption and how to sensitize young people who consume it in their surroundings.
This session was also an open opportunity to give tips to parents in order to guide their children not to fall prey and to advocate for more repressive measures that will greatly help to eradicate the scourge in households.
Speaking to his audience, Jean-Claude Messomo who is a former drug consumer and today promoter of an agency fighting against drug consumption said, that once a child is already addicted to drugs, there is no need to protect him/her.
He cautioned parents on the attitudes most of them adopt in protecting their children which to him is a form of encouragement.
Jean-Claude Messomo, promoter of the agency known in French as “Actions Contre les Drogues” insisted on the fact that a child who consumes drugs has to face some difficulties that will boost his or her psychological transformation.
Moreover, in an interview granted at the end of the educative talk, Mr. Messomo seized the occasion once again to advise young Cameroonians not to destroy their future with drugs. As a victim, he freely confessed that he went through all types of traumas in life and even in jail and today regrets it.
At the end of the session, parents in a cross-interview praised the initiative of SEKTEURA and expressed the will for more educative talks.
Basile Mengo, an expert in the domain of health and parent who took part in the session emphasized the need to tackle this illness around school campuses, drinking spots, and other friendly sites where drug traffickers have laid their nests.
Apart from the educative talk held with parents, the staff of SEKTEURA also organized on May 4, 2024, a session with children. They were deeply sensitized to the issue and the impacts that drug consumption could have on their lives were highlighted.
Another key activity covered in the course of this project is the training workshop on some income-generating items.
The children and young people of SEKTEURA were gathered on Saturday 18th of May 2024 on the same site in a bid to upgrade their skills in manufacturing soap, vinegar, menthol, and bleaching water.
For more than 5 hours, close to 25 children and young people brought together for this exercise received basic notions and skills to manufacture these items.
As indicated by the team of SEKTEURA, this entrepreneurial activity was put in place as a means to help children prepare for their back-to-school 2024-2025.
In building skills to manufacture these products, some of these youths will be able to sell them and gain some money to curb their educational needs.
Brad-Ephraim Djoussa, was one of the participants of this workshop. To him, this training has helped in order to put into practice a course he learned in school and he will be able to develop a lucrative activity during holidays.
The 15 years-old student of “Premiere C” in the francophone sub-system of education said though the training workshop was insightful and he learned how to manufacture all the four products mentioned, he is more interested in manufacturing bleaching water and menthol which can be easily sold out daily.
To sharpen the skills of these children and young people, Mrs. Wandji Chantal Epse Njomou, promoter of local development association, ADECASS in its French acronym, was convened by SEKTEURA.
The expert expressed her satisfaction as the participants easily assimilated the lessons and showed concern during the practical sessions. She said with these four products, the participants can earn money during these three months’ holiday period.
Mrs. Wandji Chantal Epse Njoumou went further to outline the necessity to upskill young people during holidays. She made mention of several lucrative avenues that should be explored for the development of the environment and the country at large.
In less than three weeks, “Vacances Responsables et Citoyennes” has proven to be an impactful project that comes in to reinforce the multiple actions conducted so far by SEKTEURA. Though in its starting phase, the project has given a contributive and positive push to the education of children and young people of the Yaounde 5 sub-division.
The move initiated by Leopold Fanguem, founder and promoter of SEKTEURA is not only a means to combat poverty in underprivileged families and needy households but it is a way to encourage children, and young people to hustle hard to achieve their objectives in the future.
Mr. Fanguem Leopold, as one who grew up under precarious conditions in the well-known Essos neighborhood, tries in return to alleviate the poor living conditions of several children in his home country.
“Access to education for all children in the Essos neighborhood” is one of his priorities through the humanitarian and non-profit association SEKTEURA.
The founder and promoter of SEKTEURA believes education is the strongest weapon in life. According to the young Cameroonian based in Germany, the development of a nation comes from the type of people who govern it. And to attain a hopeful development standard, the country needs learned men and women, the reason why, he and his teammates accompany the government of Cameroon to build a strong society with educated persons.
International association SEKTEURA created in December 2018, is a Germano-Cameroonian organization that promotes education for all; and stands beside underprivileged families, needy children, and vulnerable groups for philanthropic actions. SEKTEURA also plays a vital role in underground communities to accompany the government in achieving Sustainable Development Goals notably goal number 4.
Elise Kenimbeni
