NIHSED NGO

The Ngunchang clan is located in the South-West province of Cameroon. It makes up part of the buffer zone of the Korup National Park, which is the oldest pristine park in Cameroon. The clan is made up of twelve villages, namely: Abat, Akak, Bajo, Bakut,  Bashu, Bayib, Bayib Oseng, Bakogo, Okoroba, Ossele, Mbida and Mbagati . Being part of the buffer zone of the Korup Park means that the villagers have to limit their hunting and some of their agricultural practices, like slash and burn farming. These limitations on what the villagers can do or not do has affected their incomes and has also had a rippling effect on their health and socio-cultural development. With limited income, parents find it difficult to send their children to school or buy their school needs. Income shortages have made some teenagers especially girls to run to the cities for prostitution. This has resulted in some of them returning to the villages with deadly diseases such as AIDS and other STDs. As a result of these deadly diseases, there has been an upsurge of AIDS orphans.

On the other hand boys who are attracted to the cities with no skills find themselves unemployed, and are ashamed t  return to the villages. Some of them may end up joining dangerous gangs while some just prefer to stay in cities idling instead of returning in the village, where they will have a more meaningful life. The older ones are unable to pass the culture to the young, since they are all running to the cities.

 The Ngunchang Initiative for Health and Socio- Economic Development is therefore hoping to empower the villagers and create opportunities for the youths to stay in the villages and help build their future.

1.2.      Name and Creation:

The development initiative mentioned above will be called Ngunchang Initiative for Health and Socioeconomic Development (NIHSED), and will comprise all the 12 villages  of the Ngunchang clan, namely: Abat, Akak, Bajo, Bakut,  Bashu, Bayib, Bayib Oseng, Bakogo, Okoroba, Ossele, Mbinda and Mbagati NIHSED will be a non-profit organisation and will be based in Buea , the South West Region of Cameroon

1.3.      Mission Statement:

      NIHSED primarily seeks to focus on the needs of disadvantaged women, men, children and the youth that make up the Ngunchang clan. NIHSED will help these villagers realise the dream of having equipped health centers, where they can be treated initially before they can go to a hospital in the nearest town. NIHSED will place all the AIDS orphans in the target villages that do not have a guardian with a foster family that will take them in. In turn, NIHSED will help meet the basic needs of these orphans.  NIHSED will help some of the disadvantaged women start a petty trade that can help them generate an income, thus helping them to gain financial autonomy that will enable them assist their children better.  

1.4.      Programmes:

Our activities are divided into six main programmes namely:

Environmental Education Programme:  As its name suggests, this programme is aimed at educating the villagers on environmental issues, such as endangered species, dangers of slash and burn farming, how to protect their water sources etc.  We hope to partner with some non-governmental organisations already educating on environmental issues to carry it out, in the hope of not reinventing the wheel.

Economic Empowerment Programme: Economic autonomy is very important for any development Endeavour. The villagers’ sources of income are through cash crop cultivation (cocoa and coffee) and poaching. Poaching was the most important because it was done year round. The meat was sold for money and some was used for food. Because the villagers are not supposed to do poaching anymore, their only source of income is selling their harvested cocoa and coffee, which is done seasonally. The economic and empowering programme will therefore provide alternative sources of income. We hope to educate the villagers to rear domestic animals like hens, fowls, goats and pigs. We plan to donate to each household a piglet, a hen and a fowl; which they will rear to eventually produce more offspring. They will also be able to sell some of these. We plan to also give some seed money to women in very poor households to start a small business. The amount given will depend on the household size.

Health and Wellness Programme: This programme informs and educates the villagers on the prevention and cures   of some of the prominent maladies, like AIDS, malaria, dysentry to name but a few. We also endeavour to make the villagers aware of some of the resources the government makes available for them if any. The people working in this programme will also ensure that the health centers created have the basic first aid materials they need.  This programme will be responsible for making sure that the created health centers have at least one trained nurse. It will also provide some over- the- counter drugs that the villagers can use. From time to time NIHSED will team up with some health experts to do door -to-door vaccinations of infants when need be.  

The AIDS orphans Programme: This programme as its name indicates will identify and care for all the AIDS orphans in the target villages.

We will place them families that will provide nurturing for them. We will also care for their school needs and all their daily needs. We will also link these orphans with any services the government provides that might benefit them in the long run.

Education and Literacy Programme: Education is very important for development. The purpose of the education programme is to encourage youths to have  interest in schooling. We hope to give incentives to well deserving students. At the end of every school year we will give prizes to the best students. These prizes will include: textbooks for the next class, uniforms, pens, pencils etc. Our long term goal will be to give about  five yearly scholarships for high school students, worth about 100 dollars each.  This programme will also help to inform and encourage parents to appreciate the importance of allowing their daughters to go to school. A special incentive will also be given to the girls who come to school.

Cameroon has an illiteracy level of about 40 percent. The twelve villages that we are targeting have a higher illiteracy level of 60 percent. In addition to concentrating in the youths, we will also help organise adult classes in the villages. These classes will emphasize on teaching basic writing, reading and spelling to adults.

Computer skills will also be taught to both men and women including the youths of both sexes. Priority will be given especially to the youths who will eventually use the skills for job opportunities. We hope to teach them how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, FrontPage and Publisher.

The education programme will also educate the villagers on gender issues so as to do away with harmful gender stereotypes that will hinder development and self- sufficiency. An example of such is the stereotype that the woman’s place is in the kitchen. We will therefore endeavour to make the villagers to see the opportunities in educating their daughters as well as their sons.

From time to time we also hope to organise legal clinics. These legal clinics will be based on educating the villagers on some basic laws governing their activities, bearing in mind that ignorance of a law is never an excuse. The issues we hope to focus on will be:   .

Volunteering Programme: Volunteering is the best way we can give back to our communities. We therefore hope to build a volunteering spirit. We will encourage the villagers especially the youths to volunteer in cleaning the health centers, the school compound, the village square, etc. NIHSED will also use   volunteers in helping with its activities. The volunteering programme will also link our volunteers with other organisations that need volunteers. We hope that through the volunteering programme, the young and old will learn hands-on skills that will help the community be a better place. This volunteering will enable the volunteers to create contacts that might lead to future employment.

1. Objectives :
2. Most of these villages do not own health centers and lack the first aid materials. We intend to create village health centers and constantly supply these health centers with the basic first aid materials they need. We will also provide some over- the- counter drugs that the villagers can use.

• We will also look after the AIDS orphans by helping to place them with some families in the villages and also take care of their school needs and daily needs. We will endeavour to link them with the government social agency (Ministry of Social Affairs), so that they can also benefit from any assistance the government can provide.
•   To provide alternative sources of income to the villagers.
• To encourage and promote the education of both boys and girls. We will also teach basic computer skills as part of our education programme.
• To provide adult literacy classes, this especially will target women.
• To educate, inform and disseminate information on possible development ventures which youths could take advantage of and improve on their living conditions.
• To educate all the villagers on environmental issues and legal issues that directly affects their daily activities.
• To carry out sustainable campaign against activities which are harmful to the environment and promote the conservation of the tropical rainforest and its resources.
• To disenclave some of the Ngunchang villages by making them have an economic impact in the development of  Manyu Division.

Our long term objectives will be:

• To eventually be able to upgrade and /or build health centers in all the 12 villages making up the Ngunchang area.

1.7.      Membership:

Membership to NIHSED is open to every person both at home and abroad who is interested in the development of the Ngunchang clan. Any person wishing to become a member is expected to pay a membership fee of 2.000 FCFA ($ 4). In addition to this, all members will donate an annual fee of 3.000 FCFA ($ 10) for the activities of NIHSED. Membership cards will be printed and sent to new members.

1.8.      Contact:

For administrative reasons, the office of NIHSED has moved to Buea. This will enable the ease and effectiveness of communication (Phones, fax, internet etc). The base in Buea will enable proximity to the administrative capital of Cameroon. The distance from Buea to the target villages is about 300 miles (7 hours drive).

For now you can contact NIHSED by email or phone.

Email:  Email:ngunchanginitiativehealthandso@gmail.com

Phone:  237680518839