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Cameroon Report 2009

A late Happy New Year to all!


At the beginning of this New Year, the whole world is in a financial crisis. The rich are becoming richer and for the poor the tunnel becomes narrower and narrower.
This is not new; however, only the pace of things has become more rapid. The rich will survive the crisis, but many poor will not. The crisis will pass but many Africans would have lost families and valuable top soil due to their inability to manage farming and food systems.
The whole world is in the midst of an ecological catastrophe. In Africa the sell out of nature by egoistic politicians, destruction of the rainforests and the displacement of its inhabitants is a point of no return in Cameroon. Not even the government is well protected against the destruction. What we need now are effective and lasting sustainable projects run in collaboration with those in the West who care about a better world.

Africa in Miniature


Cameroon is a rich country. Everything that one can imagine under the sun in an African country, here one still finds. Tropical rain forests and incomparable biodiversity. Two of the three African great apes, forest elephants and many other threatened animals and plants are still here in the Cameroonian part of the Congo basin. The remaining rain forests are millions of years old and offer unique biodiversity.

The north of Cameroon is the native haven of elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, zebras, lions, leopards, cheetahs and antelopes.
Fruits and vegetables grow naturally in the southern part of Cameroon in rich diversity and very good quality. Tropical wood, bananas, coffee, cocoa, tea, and rubber are export commodities. Nevertheless, tropical wood and bush meat are commodities that are fast running out. The sub soil abounds in resources like oil, aluminium, bauxite, iron and preciousminerals.
If one compares Cameroon to a European country which lacks raw materials, one would think that, with diligent exploitation of the rich natural resources everyone in Cameroon would be wealthy. Unfortunately 40% of Cameroonians live below the poverty line.

What is not right here?
Cameroonians are peace loving people; even though most people are poor.
Life in the big towns is very expensive.
Cars, refrigerators, pharmaceuticals, cooking oil and most basic necessities – things which are common place and absolutely normal for Westerners cost triple the price paid in Europe. Medicine is a luxury and the pharmaceutical companies eat fat on our poverty. Edible oil, canned food, cheese and many natural items of daily life in European super markets cost three times as much here. However, vegetables and fruits are available in varied choices, of high quality and are cheap. A Cameroonian pineapple is incomparable in taste to the ones sold in Europe and costs four times cheaper.
If we compare the prices of commodities with incomes, Cameroon is an expensive country.
One of the main reasons is neo-colonialism and unfair trade, in addition to corruption practiced in high places which gives people few chances.

The Natural environment which is so important for subsistence has been robbed of its valuable aspects. The rain forests alone which if well managed is able to nourish millions of its inhabitants has disappeared to only a section and hunters shoot the still remaining wild animals to satisfy the bush meat market. Many species are in the final phase of extinction. Cameroon’s coastal waters are over fished by the Chinese. The exploitation of the country’s wealth in favour of multinationals and a few super rich in power is in its final phase. The far cry for all young people is that Cameroon is on sell and its natural beauty and riches are in danger in every sense as the youth are deprived of their right to development.
HISTORY
Germany was the first colonial power to annex Cameroon on 5th July, 1884. In 1918, after the First World War, the French and British took over power. In 1960 the French part of Cameroon became independent and one section of the Southern Cameroon joined La Republic du Cameroon through a plebiscite while the other section joined Nigeria.
Behind the word Colonialism was severe exploitation and domination.
Today the remaining resources of the country are like in a self service supermarket.
In today’s world the new concept is neocolonialism and it has global economic power and the power to exploit the planet even further without any conscience no regard for the future. The Cameroon government is corrupt and dependent on the economy of the West.
Over 60% of the Cameroonians now believe in Jesus Christ and that does not make a lot of difference.
There is a lot to be done to save lives but nothing is being done to change the situation.
In the western world economic problems are a public concern. In Cameroon the common man can not understand what went wrong or what is going on. Everything is shrouded in government secrecy and propaganda.
We live in a globalized world, so they say but , everything is exaggerated by the media and seen only from the stand point of the rich that no one seems to see the danger any more.
One would imagine that the herald of the disaster is ringing a bell in the worldwide climate change for every one to hear but time passes on!
Better World Cameroon has taken a home grown initiative called *Ndanifor Community Garden Project which uses market based urban farming as a precursor of entrepreneurial organic gardening targeting “at risk” youth populations. The garden’s underlying philosophy is: Respect Nature, Respect yourself and respect others. The project has initiated an ecological rehabilitation movement in Cameroon to change young people’s lives. The project is reconnecting youths back to the land as a source of livelihood. The Ndanifor 5 acre piece of land is a portrayal of gardens as a democratic space and gardening as an activity that brings diverse groups together in mutual self interest. In the city of Yaounde, the garden offers an opportunity for poor families and youths in the community to help themselves cope with the present food crises. The purpose of the programme is to teach agriculture and gardening but most importantly the goal is to teach good work ethics that translates to many forms of employment. The tangible nature of gardening allows participants to see the rewards of one’s labour, the benefits of team work and the importance of commitment and patience. The garden is also highly valued as a resource for the education, recreation and socialisation of children. It has given hope to those without hope. It has given food to those without food and brought knowledge of development to those without development.
This experiment has clearly demonstrated that many young people who are in destitute circumstances as a result of the hard times are ready, willing and anxious to work. We believe that this participatory experience that connects young people in the cities, especially children, to the soil and plant and animal life can be expanded to become a model for adaptation and mitigation of climate change world wide.

What is needed?
We need people who support us with voluntary work.
We need financial support.
We need help for marketing and fund raising.
http:// www.betterworld-cameroon.com
Email: foundation@betterworld-cameroon.com
Phone mobile: +237 77 89 15 80
Joshua Konkankoh, Project Coordinator.



BETTERWORLD CAMEROON INITIATIVE FOR AFRICA
Community partnerships
to fulfil youth aspirations
Preamble
BetterWorld Cameroon initiative for Africa is a Cameroonian Youth initiative for change of attitudes towards Africa. Africa has problems, yes, but it also has incredible spirit in the face of its difficulties. Solidarity, love, hard work, laughter, celebration of life, intelligence and determination to move out of its present situation are positive aspects amongst the younger generation. International ‘AID’ in its present form according to us nurtures the situation that keeps communities dependent. Sustained intercultural community partnerships can bring the needed change in attitude to make this shift from aid to development on a more equal and dignified basis”.
The Challenge
1. Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Britain said that Africa was “a scar on the conscience of the world.” Conventional approaches adopted by African governments, with assistance from the G8 and EU, have not yet been successful in transforming the continent from a zone of poverty and conflict into one that is prosperous, safe and strong. Lasting change for the better is yet to come. The Millennium Development Goals provide a sharp focus for action.
2. The challenge BetterWorld Cameroon is engaged in is to generate ideas and take actions which will bring about positive change among the youth who can lead us into a “better future”. Given the limited impact of conventional development policies to date, alternative, less conventional approaches like the home grown Ndanifor Outline Business Plan (here enclosed) could also be addressed as one approach of a North South community partnership
3. With our proven record of success among grass roots youth associations, our objectives of generating “new ideas and action”; “challenging unfair perceptions”..; and “helping to fulfil African aspirations through indigenous knowledge systems could be a positif concept at the heart of partnerships.
The Vision
That every community in Cameroon has a partnership
for learning and development with a
counterpart community in the developed world.


The Background
Pressure for change comes best from experience and contact with the problem. One of the most dynamic partnerships that can provide a clue to future potential in communities a living relationship with communities through partnerships in health, education, technology and culture can play a leading role in an exchange of friendship and expertise.
Community partnerships between communities in Developed countries and Africa , based on mutual respect, learning and development, would build confidence and bring about significant and lasting change
1. Partnerships between communities in the West and their counterparts in Africa can enhance the life of Africans and help them fulfil their aspirations. They could also raise awareness and learning in the northern partners. The North has as much to gain as the South.
2. Partnerships between communities in the United Kingdom and Uganda, for example, and between France and Mali , have proved their ability to widen people’s choices. For decades in some instances, the partnered communities have been combining their efforts to meet the African partner’s basic needs in health and education, water and sanitation, and for income generation. They have helped to promote good governance, address local environmental concerns and assist in post-conflict confidence-building for peace and security e.g. in Sierra Leone. Each partnership is unique but each brings about change from the grassroots upwards – in the most powerful way we believe.
• By visiting Africa western partners can learn from the extraordinary work grassroots organisations are doing, raise awareness of the social impact of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and both can then in a position to support the development of palliative care in many diverse ways.
• International development’ is too important to be left in the hands of politicians alone. Civil society organisations if engaged could add to greater North-South dialogue.
For more information, contact:
Joshua Konkankoh
Project Director, BetterWorld Cameroon
E-Mail betterworld2000@yahoo.co.uk
www.betterworld-cameroon.com
BetterWorld Cameroon
BP 30801 Yaoundé Cameroon
Tel237 77 89 15 80