ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ENGLISH

2015 PeaceCorpsCameroon

Annual Report

Contents3 About Peace Corps Cameroon

4 Message From The Country Director

6 Country Programs 6 Agriculture 8 Health 10 Education 12 Youth Development

14 Initiatives 14 HIV/AIDS - PEPFAR 16 Stomp Out Malaria 18 Food Security

20 Cross Cultural Exchange

22 Our Partners

23 In Their Own Words

Contents About Letter Programs Initiatives Culture Partners VolunteersAnnualReport2015

2 | 2015 Annual Report

About Peace Corps CAmeroon


Peace Corps is an independent United States Government agency that provides volunteers to countries requesting assistance around the world. It has been operational in Cameroon without interruption since September 1962. The agency traces its roots and mission back to 1961 when then Senator J. F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. Shortly after his inaugu-ration, on March 1, 1961, President Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order and named his brother in law, Sargent Shriver, to officially lead the organization. Fifty-five years later, Peace Corps continues to promote peace and friendship through its three original goals:

1Help people of interested

countries meet their needs for

trained men and women

2Help promote

a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people

served3

Help promote a better

understanding of other peoples

on the part of Americans

Areas of Intervention

AD CE E LIT NW S SW W TOTAL

AGRICULTURE

EDUCATION

HEALTH

YOUTH DEV

TOTAL

5

5

8

3

21

3

1

3

1

8

4

5

3

1

13

0

0

0

0

1

15

13

12

2

32

1

2

1

1

5

7

4

11

0

22

9

8

4

1

22

36

38

42

10

126

Health

Agriculture

Education

Youth Dev.

[ ]

Peace Corps Cameroon | 3

Letter from our Country Director


I am immensely proud to present Peace Corps Cameroon’s 2015 annual report. Over 3,500 volunteers have served in Cameroon as we are now in our 54th year of operation without interruption. Some of our recent accomplishments include:

• Agriculture: Through training events and extension services, Volunteers worked closely with over 1000 smallholder farmers on improved integrated farming practices and farm business planning.

• Community Health: To avoid and combat malnutrition, 484 mothers received training on preparing nutritious meals for their children, and as a result, 240 mothers adopted practices to reduce the risk of diarrheal diseases in their children.• Education: Through student-friendly methodologies in the classroom, 3,731 students improved their proficiency and achievement in science, English and literacy.• Youth Development: Volunteers trained over 6,000 youths to help them foster a positive identity, use positive communication, and develop skills in decision making, goal setting and leadership.

• Stomp-Out Malaria Initiative: Peace Corps Volunteers reached over 11,000 community members to promote behavior changes to prevent malaria.

• HIV/AIDS – PEPFAR Initiative: Volunteers trained over 12,583 individuals in HIV prevention and successfully mobilized over 10,000 for HIV testing and counselling services. Volunteers also reached 416 or-phans and vulnerable children and their care givers, as well as over 1,281people living with HIV linking them to appropriate support and care.


Peace Corps Cameroon continues to provide highly motivated volunteers to support our host government partners, local communities, and non-governmental organizations in the areas of Agriculture, Health, Education and Youth Development. We thank each one for the excellent collaboration and strong support over the past year. We also thank the many host families that give so generously of themselves and their time to support our trainees when they arrive in Cam-eroon, as well as the community members who make the Volunteers feel so welcomed and at home in Cameroon. Just this year, we have adopted the slogan “On est ensemble”, meaning we are together, to emphasize the fact that we are not out here alone. Without the commitment of counterparts, host fami-lies, partner organizations and

the Government of Cameroon as a whole, we could have never reached our current level of accomplishment. We hope that this document conveys a good measure of Peace Corps Cameroon’s success in achieving development goals that are shared by the Government of Cameroon and by the Peace Corps. We also hope that it does so in a manner that is respectful of the culture and dignity of those served. We look forward to even a better year ahead in 2016!

Mark A. OrlicCountry Director


Agriculture


Peace Corps Cameroon Agriculture program activities in 2015 focused on increasing agricultural income generating opportunities for rural farmers.

Achievements• Over 1027 individual farmers were trained on improved vegetable garden production. 550 of them are implementing the techniques, yielding an adoption rate of 54%.

[ ]

• 980 rural farmers’ groups received training in organizational development with emphasis on income generating activities. Half of the farmers trained developed their activities into small business farms.


Cocoa growers see increased revenues through the mobilization of group resources

Cocoa, the primary ingredient in chocolate, is one of the main export crops grown in Akonolinga. While pric-es have climbed in international markets in recent years, many farmers in the community have not seen an ap-propriate increase in revenues. The problem is that the international cocoa value chain is stacked against the in-dividual farmer. For a chocolate bar that is bought for $5 in the United States, a cocoa farmer in Cameroon would receive 14 cents. To improve the lots of cocoa producers, Agriculture Volunteer Tait worked with 25 individual pro-ducers to form a cooperative and establish bulk sales. In their first harvest in 2015, the farmers sold more than four metric tons of cocoa and received an average of 7.6 per-cent more revenues than other growers in the community who operate individually. No one suddenly got rich, but that 7.6 percent in revenues is enough to send a child to primary school for a year.

Volunteer Success Story[ ]


Akonolinga, Center Region

Health


The main goals of the Community Health program are to improve mother and child health outcomes as well as prevent and reduce the negative effects of malaria and HIV/AIDS on the population. To achieve these goals, Peace Corps Volunteers carry-out activities aiming to increase community members’ knowledge on various health topics and to provide them with skills that will enable them adopt positive behaviors.

• 6,484 individuals can identify ways of preventing HIV and reject major misconceptions as a result of all relevant activities carried out by Volunteers on the

importance of voluntary counseling and testing on HIV/AIDS.

Achievements[ ]

• 5,589 individuals have adopted acceptance attitudes toward People Living with HIV in small groups or /and individual educational sessions.

• Through surveys and formalized home visits, Volunteers and their counterparts reported that 977 individuals and/or their families slept under a treated mosquito net.• 484 mothers were able to use available locally food and prepare nutritious meals for their children to avoid and combat malnutrition.

• With the assistance of Volunteers, 240 mothers have adopted practices leading to reduce the risk of diarrhea diseases in their children.


Volunteer Success StoryEncouraging HIV Partner Testing

Health Volunteer Ludi created a care group of fifteen mother leaders who acted as community-based health educators. In collaboration with the staff at her health center, she trained the mother leaders on various common health issues. In turn, the mother leaders shared the information in the community and reached over 150-200 people. As a result of this program, over 81 pregnant women were referred to the health center for their antenatal care. Out of those 81 women, 33 of them were ac-companied by their spouses for HIV part-ner testing.

[ ]


Ndom, South-West Region

Education


Peace Corps Education program has three main objectives: 1) Help teachers improve their student-centered instructional techniques. 2) Help students improve English language and science proficiency and develop gender aware leadership skills. 3) Enhance community members’ participation in their schools and students’ learning. In 2015, EducationVolunteers focused on two major areas: promoting literacy using specific approaches and promoting positive discipline in order to reduce gender-based violence in schools.

• 3,731 students improved proficiency and achievement in science, English and literacy (reading, reading comprehension and writing).

Achievements[ ]• 3,652 students improved leadership skills and demonstrated increased participation in class, clubs and extracurricular activities.• 635 community members were engaged by Volunteers and community–school linkages were strengthened through projects like soap making, school gardening, improved waste management system, and tree planting.• 187 teachers working with Volunteers improved their skills and practices in competency-based student-centered teaching techniques, and also increased the use of learning resources designed using local materials.• 93 teachers (32 of whom were trained directly by the Peace Corps) used alternative (positive) discipline methods as a means of curbing gender-based violence and corporal punishment, thus creating safer schools for students.


Putting learning in the hands of learners

“From my first day entering a Cameroonian classroom I noticed students being timid when faced with learning and educational tools. To try to help a little bit, I began looking for ways to bring the subjects back into the hands of the students. One of the easiest ways is through songs. I nev-er knew my students would love the song “Old McDonald” so much, and that ‘moo’ could be sung as ‘meow’. Just as successful as the songs has been using bottle caps to practice spelling and literacy. The importance of using what I call “Bottle cap Scrabble” is that it puts literacy, physically in the hands of students, and relieves the pressure of pen and paper. With the bottle caps it doesn’t matter if you have bad handwriting. The students love the game, and since I had them collect all the caps initially they are more invested in it. No one really wins at the game we play, but the pupils get to practice the complexity of English words. I have found that English retention rates are much higher in my literacy classes than even my normal lycée class-es. I attribute this to the relaxed nature of the class and enjoyment the students get out of singing and bottle-cap scrabble!” – Carl, TEFL Teacher



Beka Hossere, Adamawa Region

Youth Development


Through the Youth Development program, Peace Corps is committed to building the capacity of Cameroonian youths aged 10-25 to develop into healthy, responsible, and educated community members. To achieve this, Volunteers carry out formal and informal activities including: sports, arts and cultural activities, youth clubs and camps, education on HIV/AIDS transmission, prevention, and impact mitigation; training and discussions on sexual reproductive health, leadership and assertiveness skills. In the course of these activities, Volunteers lay special emphasis on promoting girl’s empowerment.

• 5,589 men, women, young boys and girls worked with 32 Volunteers and demonstrated accepting attitudes towards people living with HIV.

Achievements[ ]• 6,484 youths between 15 and 24 years trained by 52 Volunteers could cor-rectly identify ways of preventing HIV and rejecting misconceptions.• Through peer-led group education, 2690 youths adopted at least 1 new behavior to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs. • 1,287 youths trained by 28 Volunteers on decision making and critical thinking demonstrated improved decision making and problem solving skills. • 1,798 youths who worked with 31 Volunteers could describe or display three or more of their own personal strengths or assets as evidence of im-

proved sense of self-esteem. 12 | 2015 Annual Report

Hands-on youth entrepreneurship training

Youth Development Volunteer Victoria works at the local multifunctional youth center where she is helping to build the organizational capacity of the two-year computer and secretarial certification program for out-of-school youth. To strengthen her host organization’s efforts, Victoria in-troduced a youth entrepreneurship class, giving her stu-dents the skills they need to start their own businesses, and discussing other topics such as problem solving, good communication, and leadership skills. The class’s heavy emphasis on practice is designed to help the stu-dents each create a realistic business plan that they can use directly after graduation. Victoria also supervises an internship program for students entering their final se-mester. Each student has the opportunity to work for two months with host organizations in either the public or pri-vate sector, gaining invaluable professional contacts and experience.



Tibati, Adamawa Region

HIV/AIDS - PEPFAR


The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the U.S. Government initiative to help save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world. Alongside other PEPFAR implementing agencies, the Peace Corps contributes to the global US Government response to HIV. However, with its people-to-people approach, the Peace Corps plays a unique role in PEPFAR as it targets hard-to-reach populations and institutes change through sustainable community efforts. Peace Corps Cameroon HIV/AIDS initiative’s focus areas include: 1) HIV prevention with priority populations (youth in general, young women, orphans and vulnerable children); 2) Care and support of people living with HIV and those affected and 3) Deconstructing gender-related stereotypes known to be fueling the epidemic. Led by Volunteers and their counterparts, Peace Corps Cameroon supported HIV/AIDS sensitization in 6 of the 10 regions of the country and provided small scale funding for community driven activities.

• 12,583 individuals from our priority population were reached with an HIV prevention intervention including 6038 touching youth (in general) and 4645 adolescent girls and young women aged 10-24.

Achievements[• 1,204 individuals were reached with an activity or service that addresses gender-related prevention.• 1,281 persons living with HIV/AIDS were reached with nutrition support and linked to care and treatment services• 1,446 men and women were reached with education on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDs.

]

• 416 Orphans and vulnerable children were reached with a minimum pack-age of prevention and support interventions.


• 10,936 children, youths and adults mobilized for HIV testing by Volunteers and their counterparts, got tested and received their results

Volunteer Success StorySupporting orphans and vulnerable children

“Two main objectives surround this intervention: first to em-power care givers to support orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the community and secondly, to train orphans and vul-nerable children on life skills and economic strengthening. The first stage of the project was to count the number of orphans in the community. Since the beginning of the count, my coun-terpart and I have counted over 900 children, and we have not yet finished. This is a large number of orphans for a community with a general population of between 3,000-4,000 people. We were also able to register the number of adolescent mothers between the ages of 14-21. We organized a 4-day workshop to build capacity of community members on OVC support. To-ward the end of the workshop, we established a core group and executive committee. Some of these individuals will be trained to help facilitate meetings and plan activities for the chil-dren in the community.” – Shatianna, Health Extension Worker

[ ]


Binshua, North-West Region

Stomp Out Malaria


While available evidence shows some significant reduction in morbidity and mortality due to malaria, thousands in Cameroon are still dying from this preventable disease. The Stomp Out Malaria Initiative created in 2011, aims at revitalizing the fight against malaria and assisting the government of Cameroon in reversing these trends. Peace Corps Volunteers across all sectors continue to develop and implement creative evidence-based interventions that promote behavior change among community members. Some of these interventions include bed net hang up campaigns, malaria club activities, Grassroots Soccer games, malaria murals, wall of fame projects, training of community health workers and translation of malaria prevention resources into local languages.

• In 2015, Peace Corps Cameroon organized its first ever nationwide malaria competition to celebrate World Malaria Day. Through this competition, Volunteers implemented 395 activities and reached a total of 11,093 community members.

Achievements[

• 1,717 community health workers were trained to promote malaria prevention and care seeking.

• 8,960 individuals were reached with behavior change communication on malaria.

]

• 1,817 community members were trained on the use of insecticide-treated bed nets, with 977 reporting sleeping under a treated bed net following this intervention.


Volunteer Success StoryStomping malaria in Kugwe

In response to his household survey which uncovered that 48% of the Kugwe population had insufficient knowledge on the cause, transmission and prevention of malaria, Ag-riculture Volunteer Colin worked with a community health worker to design an innovative framework to promote be-havior change among community members. This frame-work included the painting of a malaria mural at the Kugwe market square. This market is one of the biggest in Bati-bo Sub-Division and attracts thousands of individuals on a weekly basis. The mural was unveiled on April 25th, 2015, which was both World Malaria Day, and Kugwe Market Day. During this ceremony, the community health worker educat-ed the population on malaria prevention. On this single day, 254 people visited the mural and listened to the presenta-tions. Countless others have since then seen the mural and learned from it.

[ ]


Kugwe, North-West Region

Food Security


The West Africa Regional Food Security Partnership (WAFSP) is a cross-sectoral program that aims at building community capacity at grassroots level in order to respond to food insecurity vulnerabilities such as malnutrition, food shortage and price increase. Food security activities focus on three main areas: food utilization, food availability and food accessibility.

• 144 farmers who were trained on composting, organic pesticide and pest repellant are applying what they have learned.

Achievements[• 37 micro enterprises received business development training in the form of trainee-managed small farms and small businesses.

• 30 individuals were trained on mushroom cultivation and health benefits; and mushroom processing, drying and juicing.

]

• 16 farmers were introduced to new technologies on modern beekeeping methods, building on their existing traditional knowledge with these enhanced practices.


Volunteer Success StoryPromoting organic fertilizer and pest management

While strides have been made in financing, growing and selling their produce together, many women farmers in North-West Cameroon lament lost soil fertility, detrimental pest infestations and the expense of chemical inputs. Agriculture Volunteer Clare and her counterpart, Mr. Amuh, were intent on finding low cost and low effort methods to address these problems. Using resources from a WAFSP sponsored training attended by Clare, as well as Mr. Amuh’s extensive agricul-ture and community development experience, the duo created the project on organic fertilizer and pest management. They promoted the project, and with the help of a Feed the Future grant, implement-ed their activities. 144 farmers from three villages in the North-West Region were trained in producing compost, organic pest repellents, and pest deterrents. All of the products used inexpensive local ingre-dients, illustrating the wealth of alternative resources to expensive chemical products.

[ ]


Ndop, North-West Region


“Help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the

peoples served”

GOAL 2


GOAL 3

Volunteer Colin was selected as a finalist in the 2015 Peace Corps

global Blog-It-Home competition for his efforts in sharing his experiences

through personal online blogging.

Volunteers Kevin and Jomara were awarded second and third place

respectively for their film submissions to Peace Corps global ‘Highlighting

Happiness’ video competition.

“Help promote a better understanding of Cameroonians on the part of

Americans”


Our Partners


In 2015, Peace Corps Cameroon maintained good relationships with long-term partners and, at the same time, formed new partnerships which we hope will be strengthened in the future.

Our gratitude goes to:• The communities in Ebolowa and Mengong who opened their homes to our volunteers during pre-service training.• Administrative and security authorities from the South Region. • The Cameroonian Government through our ministry partners and state-run institutions: MINSANTE, MINADER, MINEPIA, MINESEC, MINEBASE, MINAS, MINPROFF, MINJEC, NACC, and NMCC

• The United Nations agencies: UNFPA, UNAIDS, and UNICEF• International organizations and fellow Volunteer agencies: ACMS, CRS and KOICA• Cameroon Special Olympics movement.22 | 2015 Annual Report

In Their Own WordsContents About Letter Programs Initiatives Culture Partners VolunteersAnnual

Report2015

“This new generation [in Cameroon] wants to make an impact within their own coun-try. I am leaving on a very positive note—it’s a new Cameroon.”

“The most fulfilling part of my work has been starting my village’s first CARE Group and seeing how enthusi-astic the women in my community are to pro-mote healthy practices in their community.”

“I feel like my service here in Cameroon gave me a very real experience. Now that I am leaving, I feel like I can do anything and I feel very positive about where to go in the future because of it.”

“I had a really great experience here in Cameroon and [when] I finish my term as a PCV, I will have to take on the responsibilities of an RPCV—sharing my Peace Corps experience and the culture of Cam-eroon with friends and family at home.”

"In Cameroon, we live by a saying – On est ensemble. We are together. Regard-less of the circumstances, I am your brother, she is my sister, and we are together navigating through life's challenges and mishaps. It's victories and triumphs. We are united by joy and joy undoubtedly results in unity."

“The opportunity to serve people with my skills and talents is something I was always passionate about. Now, I’m one year in as a health volun-teer, and my community members have taught me that the quality of my service is not weighed in programs or activities, but in the lives that I en-courage and inspire.”

LARA

KYLE

LUDI

KEVIN

MARIA

SAM


@PeaceCorpsCameroon

facebook.com/cameroon.peacecorpshttp://cameroon.peacecorps.gov

REPORT DESIGNED BY PCV KEVIN TANG 2016

Documents

ANNUAL REPORT 2015 ENGLISH