By Bakah Derick
Hope for the
Needy Association HOFNA-Cameroon a Bamenda based not for profit
Non-Governmental Organization NGO has rounded up a four day Girls Leadership
Boot Camp in Bamenda. The four days come together bringing girls from the North
West and South West Region from August 17 to 20, 2017 had as theme “Inspiring
the next generation of female leaders.”
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Executive
Director of HOFNA Christelle Bay
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Yaa Viban Board Chair of HOFNA who is also
former cultural specialist at the US Embassy in Yaounde who addressed the girls
at the opening justified the boot camp telling this reporter “the idea behind this boot camp is that for women
to lead we need to start inspiring the next generation of leaders. We have
realized in our work that there I a big gab when it comes to women acceding to
decision making positions and we realize that to be able to break that we need
to start training the young girls in early age so that they can start seeing
themselves and perceiving themselves as leaders. They have it in them but we
just need to harness the skills that they already have so that they start
having a different mindset to become enablers in the society; to become drivers
in the society; to become doers’ movers and shakers. So we need to start making
them think in that direction.”
During her address to the youths, the Board
Chair encouraged the girls to get role models stating that “the role model
effect is the key to inspiring the next generation of female leaders” since
many role models can be seen in communities so the girls can be encouraged to
be like them. Yaa Viban expressed the
hope of building a full program for the girls that will last for three weeks
during the long holiday since the just ended boot camp is the pilot phase.
While encouraging the girls to be creative in their thoughts, Yaa urged the
girls to be enabling factors in their communities by being decisive in their
action and taking risk towards their future.
Throughout
the camping period the participants received staying in schools/going back to
school, His or her/addressing Gender based violence, making good decisions,
communicating with others/adults/effective social media use, healthy friendship,
the power of self-confidence and overcoming your fears by eminent specialists
amongst them Jannet SHE, Programs Manager HOFNA, Justice Kimbeng Glory Hig
Court Bamenda, Adulkarim Ali CEO IRTECH, Comfort Mussa Journalist and Founder
of Sisterspeak237, Rev Fr Francis T, Princial ST Paul’s College.
Amongst the practical activities during the
boot camp was painting for Tolerance coordinated by Community youth and arts
center a Bamenda based painted and artistic structure led by well-known painter
and artist Bobo linux. Production of local detergents also featured as one of
the activities intended to empower the girls economically. Presentation of project ideas by participants
intended to highlight the best project initiative by the participants with some
voted outstanding.
Reproductive health education came on focus with
Ada Mbah founder mother of Hope Cameroon educating the girls on “My body is
changing-Am I normal, how does pregnancy Happen – how to communicate with a
partner- preventing unwanted pregnancy and STI/HIV.” Theresa Morfaw used the
gathering to empower the girls with ideas on championing rape culture.
The Executive Director of HOFNA told the press
at the close of the opening ceremony that the girls were selected due to their
drive for leadership. Hear her “earlier we were looking for girls who have
leadership skills and who are also not sleeping in schools. So what we did was
we launched a call for application. It was online, in churches talked to
parents…..we asked them what they think about leadership, what their vision is
, how they want to see themselves in future…. From their responses we were able
to choose….so the girls we have here are girls who have shown some degree of
community service, engagement in their community, some leadership skills either
in their schools or communities.” As to the future of the girls after the boot
camp Christelle Bay added “we have mentoring scheme. The girls are going to be
assigned mentors who are going to accompany them through their leadership
journeys and to ensure that they realize their dreams and besides that someone
trained them on local detergent production, entrepreneurship, designing so that
some of them might want to build their skills on that and use that to generate
their income and we are going to accompany them. It is pilot phase nd next time
it will be a three days program and this is leading us to our girls’ academy
program. It is just the beginning and we are hoping to work with many other
groups of girls not just this one so they become who they actually are supposed
to be.”
As an NGO, HOFNA has as mission Empowering
the most disadvantaged and susceptible youth and women to achieve lasting
positive change in their lives with focus on Leadership, Development, Education
promotion, Advocacy on sexual and productive Health/right and related issues
and Environment protection and sustainable agriculture
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