food and rural development foundation BUEA, CAMEROON
Quick Overview FORUDEF is dedicated to promoting the wise use of natural resources, the improvement of rural living standards and the building of local capacities through partnership, training, advocacy and the sharing of information in the Southwest region and beyond. The goal of FORUDEF is to build capacity at the village level to increase community access to resources and participation in the sustainable management of natural resource and community health, and to experience greater benefits in standard of living as a result.
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Country: CAMEROON Cameroon is a Central African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. It is nearly twice the size of Oregon. Mount Cameroon (13,350 ft; 4,069 m), near the coast, is the highest elevation in the country. The main rivers are the Benue, Nyong, and Sanaga. After a 1972 plebiscite, a unitary republic was formed out of East and West Cameroon to replace the former federal republic. Bantu speakers were among the first groups to settle Cameroon, followed by the Muslim Fulani in the 18th and 19th centuries. The land escaped colonial rule until 1884, when treaties with tribal chiefs brought the area under German domination. After World War I, the League of Nations gave the French a mandate over 80% of the area, and the British 20% adjacent to Nigeria. After World War II, when the country came under a UN trusteeship in 1946, self-government was granted, and the Cameroon People's Union emerged as the dominant party by campaigning for reunification of French and British Cameroon and for independence.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Accused of being under Communist control, the party waged a campaign of revolutionary terror from 1955 to 1958, when it was crushed. In British Cameroon, unification was also promoted by the leading party, the Kamerun National Democratic Party, led by John Foncha.
Cameroon Statistic
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Ugandan population: 20,549,221 Over 7 Ethnic group s Indigenous Beliefs: 40 % Christian: 40% Muslim: 20% Life expectancy: 55.02 years
France set up Cameroon as an autonomous state in 1957, and the next year its legislative assembly voted for independence by 1960. In 1959 a fully autonomous government of Cameroon was formed under Ahmadou Ahidjo. Cameroon became an independent republic on Jan. 1, 1960. In 1961 the southern part of the British territory joined the new Federal Republic of Cameroon and the northern section voted for unification with Nigeria. The president of Cameroon since
independence, Ahmadou Ahidjo was replaced in 1982 by the prime minister, Paul Biya. Both administrations have been authoritarian. With the expansion of oil, timber, and coffee exports, the economy has continued to improve, although corruption is prevalent, and environmental degradation remains a concern. In June 2000 the World Bank agreed to provide more than $200 million to build a $3.7 billion pipeline connecting the oil fields in neighboring Chad with the Cameroon coast. In Aug. 2006 Nigeria turned over the disputed oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon —Nigeria had been resisting the World Court ruling since 2002.
Health Statistics HIV rate: 5.3% in 2009 Infant mortality rat e: 58 per 1,000 children 19 physicians per 100 ,000 people in 2004
Organization: Food and rural development foundation The Akwaya area of the Southwest region in Cameron was designated as a Sub-division by the government in 1963. Since then it has remained largely under developed, having a marked absence of basic social amenities. Poverty, illiteracy, disease, child marriages and the unwise use of natural resources, especially fauna, are some of the plights of the people. Access into the Sub-divisional headquarter is by foot and in addition about ninety-nine villages in the Subdivision are accessed only by footpaths. Children trek between six and twentyfour miles to attend school in some areas and where the schools exist they are poorly constructed and/or poorly furnished and equipped. Main sources of water include rivers, streams and springs and safe drinking water is hard to come by in some areas during the dry season. Hygienic conditions are deplorable in most villages, many of which lack basic toilet facilities thereby increasing the incidence of diseases. Malaria, HIV/AIDS and poor nutrition constitute health hazards in the area.
FORUDEF Overarching Goals 2011-2015 FORUDEF has developed a strategic plan taking into consideration the envisaged activities, resources and challenges in its working environment. The following strategic areas of intervention have been identified as priorities in the next five years: Goal 1: Promotion of sustainable natural resource management Goal 2: Promotion of the domestication of non timber forest products Goal 3: Promotion of sustainable agriculture Goal 4: Promotion of community health Goal 5: Promotion of local economic development through improved transformation and marketing of forest and agricultural products These interventions will be carried out primarily within the Southwest region of Cameroon.
The main income sources of Akwaya people are small-scale agriculture, collection of nontimber forest products and hunting of wild animals. Other land uses in the area include the presence of at least one protected forest (national park, forest reserves) as well as a number of forest management units earmarked for commercial timber exploitation. Local people’s capacities are generally not adequate to understand the complexities of natural resource management and to engage in the management of available resources with international NGOs, commercial timber exploiters and other stakeholders involved in natural resource management in the area. To increase their access and benefits accruing from the management of agricultural and other natural resources there is need for coaching, capacity development and improvement of basic social amenities. It is in response to these needs that a group of people came together in 1998 to discuss the plight of the rural masses in Cameroon, especially about the people of Akwaya Sub-division, giving birth to FORUDEF. The Food and Rural Development Foundation (FORUDEF) is a non-governmental organization with headquarters in Buea in the Southwest Region, Cameroon. The goal of FORUDEF is to build capacity at the village level to increase community access to resources and participation in the sustainable management of natural resources, community health and livelihood improvement, and to experience greater benefits in standard of living as a result.
FORUDEF is guided by the following values: •Sustainability: FORUDEF believes that its work should be long lasting in effect, and be continuous and replicable in the long-term without external supports or implements. •Capacity Building: By increasing the skills and knowledge of the target population, FORUDEF aims to increase their ability to overcome poverty through their own means, and gradually decrease reliance on the expertise of FORUDEF and other organizations. •Education: FORUDEF values training, information dissemination, and skill development as a means of inspiring development. Educational tools both build capacity and can be passed on to other generations. •Empowerment: In order to be effective, responsibility for development strategies must be given to the target population, and their participation must be an essential component of all initiatives. FORUDEF values partnerships with local communities, which precipitates the exchange of information and ideas, and leads to empowered, self-sufficient communities. •Justice: FORUDEF believes in the equal opportunity and rights of every individual, irrespective of race, religion, gender or status, and believes that there is an obligation to ensure that areas of injustice are addressed and rectified. FORUDEF is committed to being a voice of justice in the Southwest and working to ensure that all Cameroonians are treated equally.
Areas of Intervention and Programs: Community Health - The Akwaya region's acute lack of basic amenities such as health centres and personnel, sanitation facilities, and unsafe drinking water presents serious health challenges. These are further intensified by the high incidence of malaria and HIV/AIDS. FORUDEF has been involved in responding to these needs in a number of ways, namely, through HIV/AIDS preventative education, the distribution of antimalarial products, assistance to orphans and vulnerable children of HIV/ AIDS and their caregivers, and small-scale improvement to sanitation facilities, such as the establishment of community pit latrines. FORUDEF is also pioneering the first nutrition program in the area. Beekeeping - Beekeeping is a sustainable, environmentally friendly, organic and viable way for communities to earn extra income in the Southwest. The Southwest province offers a huge, and mostly untapped, potential for honey production, and
FORUDEF has made this a prime area of targeted growth. FORUDEF has implemented many workshops on training individuals to become successful beekeepers, and capable of training others to follow in the trade. FORUDEF has supplied hives to start-up projects, and the tools neccessary to maintain a thriving beekeeping operation. Microfinance (Agri-Credit Fund) - The Agri-credit Fund (AGRICREF) is the microfinancing division of FORUDEF, established in 2006 to provide credit, micro-finance, business training and support to communities and Common Initiative Groups in the Southwest. AGRICREF has supported and facilitated many entrepreneurial initiatives, with an exclusive focus on environmentally friendly and sustainable projects and an emphasis on partnering with women. Natural Resource Management - The dense forests of the Akwaya region are a source of livelihood and resources for its residents. However, the over-use of forest products such as timber and wild crops, as well as harmful cultivation practices, specifically, slash and burn clearing, threatens the natural environment. FORUDEF promotes the wise use of land and forest products, and encourages sustainable
clearing and harvesting through training in new techniques while raising awareness of these resources finite nature. Promotions of Sustainable Agriculture - Agriculture is the backbone of local communities in the Southwest; however, in the majority of villages it is very rudimentary and most farmers function out of a position of subsistence. FORUDEF shares resources, information and expertise with farmers with the goal of improving crop yields while also encouraging the implementation of sustainable farming techniques. FORUDEF has conducted many workshops and training sessions focused on this objective, and continues to offer onsite instruction in sustainable agriculture practices. Economic development and Income generation FORUDEF assists in the formation of Common Initiative Groups in the communities in which it works, to encourage economic development and increased entrepreneurial activity through collective action.
Why work with university students?
“Working with university students will bring us knowledge how to do old things in new and more impacting ways. Furthermore, this will expose the organization to current practices in nutrition and other health issues, as well as provide the opportunity to share know-how. University students will bring greater and improved dynamism into our organization.”
GROW IDEAS “Students will help to facilitate our nutrition program (through training workshops and onfarm demonstrations). Their presence will arouse more interest in our work and increase participation by the local communities.” NCHO MOSES TABE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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country resources CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html International Human Development Indicators http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/ cmr.html Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/africa/cameroon World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int/countries/cmr/en/