Plan International, stakeholders evaluate successes, challenges of AVENIR project.

This was the core of a workshop that took place at the Plan International Head Office in Yaounde yesterday. 

The seminar was oganised with project partners such as the French Development Agency, AFD; Cameroon Education For All Network, CEFAN, and the Amicable des Jeunes Solidaires de la Briqueterie, AJSB.

Participants shared highlights of the road covered in the last 36 months of the project. They looked at successes, challenges and how to handle such in the future.

Beneficiaries of the project also used yesterday’s brainstorming session to showcase their skills and products, which are the fruit of AVENIR.

Speaking at seminar, the Programme Implementation Manager of Plan International-Cameroon, Ongono Fabien, saluted achievements recorded.

Comparing the records of Phase II and phase I of the project, Ongono said “at the end of phase I of the project, we discovered there so many shortcomings especially at the level of employment”. Then, he said most of those trained were unable to earn a living.

To address this, Ongono said they launched phase II “with emphasis on education, social inclusion and entrepreneurship”.

Through the concerted efforts of partners, Ongono detailed that they were able to put in place development strategies for primary and secondary school learners in the Yaounde II and VII councils.

Beneficiaries of this phase, he indicated, gained skills in tailoring and catering. They noted that they have also been provided required equipment to start their businesses.

The first phase of the project spanned 2017 to 2020. It was implemented in the Yaounde II Council area. It saw the reintegration of 165 children, including 78 girls, into the formal education system.

During this period, the success rate at the end of primary school exams rose, Ongono said, rose from 74% to 95% in the Yaounde II Council area.

As part of the project, some 126 youngsters, 79% of whom were women, gained access to vocational training. With this, officials said the focus of phase II saw the tailoring of training to meet the needs of the job market.

He disclosed that, the Yaounde II Council was chosen because they found out it had the highest number of youths who were not in school.

Ongono said the situation was partly due to the influx of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs of the Anglophone crisis and Central African Republic Refugees.

Understanding phase II

The second phase of the project, he said was launched in 2020 and is expected to end on May 30.

This phase targeted 38 primary schools and four secondary schools in Yaounde. It also targeted empowering 100 to ease their socio-economic. 70% of these were supposed to be girls.

As at yesterday’s meeting, the program, officials noted, had improved the learning environment for 8,000 students in 38 primary schools and four high schools with specific interest in reaching out to 4,200 girls.

Mayor’s representative lauds strides 

A representative of the Mayor of Yaounde II, Ngah Gael, lauded the initiative and thanked Plant International-Cameroon and its partners for empowering young people. The project is co-financed by Plan International France and the AFD. It has as overall goal quality general and vocational education for vulnerable young people.