CAMGEW AWARDED THE EQUATOR PRIZE

Global Rehabilitation Services Report Sept 2019

REPORT SEPTEMBER 2019

 50 children came for treatment during the long summer holidays, including some who continued from the previous period especially those who need long term treatment. That is why some names are repeated in the two lists below. Of those who continued treatment, most of them successfully completed their treatment and went back to school normally to the satisfaction of their parents. Although the treatments are completed, we still give two to three months’ rendezvous to make sure the deformations do not restart, in which case we intervene to avoid waste of effort and money spent in the treatments.

The number of children coming indicates that the new Centre is being easily located since we moved. There were difficulties initially for some people to find the location.

EVENTS

GLORES was once more invited to the Bafoussam Annual Development Conference. This is an indication that GLORES is getting known for it’s development efforts in the area of social services in the Bafoussam community. The GLORES cultural group graced the occasion with traditional music to the satisfaction of everyone.

We purchased a lawn mower to reduce the expendure on hiring a gardener.

OTHER ISSUES

We noticed that water pressure in the pipes is low and a plumber advised us to raise the water reservoir a few metres up to solve the problem. Arrangements were made to do the work as the dry season starting in October. This is not a problem to get too concerned about but will make the use of water in the building more convenient.

We will organize an information meeting in GLORES new Centre in October during which we will invite some prominent personalities in Bafoussam  and the FIOH Network. This will serve as information meeting about disability, the work of GLORES and it should serve as a fundraising occasion.

SOME OF THE CHILDREN BEING TREATED

 

 

Mothers of two children being treated both taught how to work with children at home

 

 

 

 

Nembot, a 7 year old boy with fractured femur, immobalised in plaster

Foudyceu, a 5 year old boy with cerebral palsy undergoing ambulatory training

Check, a 4 year old boy with varus knees underoing preparation for splints

Donfack, a 5 year old boy with windswept deformity successfully treated using splints

Demanou, a girl with valgus knees before and after treatment

SCHEDULE OF CHILDREN BEING TREATED:

SCHEDULE SEPT 2019

Please support the work of the Future in Our Hands Education and Development Fund whose aim is to help and empower some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people by:

• UK residents can provide long term support by completing the FIOH FUND DONATION FORM and sending to the address shown on the form:
• Direct grant to the charity’s bank account or by cheque to:        Bank account details:
  Co-operative Bank
  IBAN: GB07CPBK08929965050707
  BIC: CPBKGB22

Cheques should be made payable to the
Future in Our Hands E&D Fund
—————————————————————————-

Fundraising to help the work of the charities would be greatly appreciated

Future in Our Hands Sierra Leone Report Sept 2019

Achievements

For the period January – September 2019 FIOH SL undertook the following activities:

Regenerative agriculture

Rice permaculture farm

Training farmers on ridges construction

Vegetable farm inspection

                  Agro ecological training on compost making

Establishment of village savings and credit associations

Training meeting on share purchase and loan disbursement and repayment

Nutrition

Training on baby positioning during exclusive breast feeding

Training on methodologies to ensure a balanced diet for pregnant women and lactating mothers

Future in Our Hands Sierra Leone
37 Lunsar Road
Makeni City
Northern Region
Sierra Leone

 

 

Integrated Agricultural Association

Integrated Agricultural Association (I.A.A) is a Cameroonian non-profit, non-sectarian and apolitical Organization founded on the 5^th of March 2016 by the founder Dungrila Pascal Mbimenyuy to  promote social, economic, and environmental well-being by:
(i) helping to create “sustainable economic development in rural communities in Cameroon,
(ii) empower and train youths and women-owned producer cooperatives, and
(iii) educate Cameroonians about the importance of organic farming and organic food.

I.A.A is a Youth led Organization with a main focus on empowering farmers through organic food production and commerce.
I.A.A also transforms subsistence farms into profitable businesses by helping smallholder farmers access good training, affordable capital, quality inputs and better crop prices.
I.A.A is passionate about creating social change and  has over two years of experience in nonprofit leadership with a focus on smallholder farmer empowerment, defending indigenous minority rights, education, health care and community development.

Specific Objectives.
To build and strengthen the capacities of peasant farmers through local trainings on cultivation and marketing techniques.

• To ensure the greater involvement of the youths in agriculture through sensitization, trainings and support.
• To promote innovative ideas among farmers which are concerned with soil management.
• To alleviate poverty by working in collaboration with communities and implementing programs and projects that increase their income through the encouragement of collective production and marketing among farmers.
• To strive for socio-economic empowerment of the disadvantaged farmers and other community member groups through improved agriculture.
• To promote farming practices that lead to sustainable agriculture and meet the needs of small scale farmers. That is, discouraging the use of chemicals and encouraging natural farming.

Area of Action: North West, Southwest and West Regions of the Republic of Cameroon and beyond.

Target Groups: Peasant women, Children, Youths, Farmers and Persons living with disabilities.

Values

• Competence
• Accountability
• Justice and equity
• Democracy
• Citizenship
• Responsibility
• Admissibility

Approach
We seek to meet our objectives in two different ways. The kinds of approaches we use are as follows:-

• Participatory approach.
  We Provide an enhanced and alternative local livelihoods, including sustainable agriculture and value-added products to support local economies, which engages all stakeholders in the community and other development groups. We foster civic engagement of communities through creative facilitation and other methods of stakeholder involvement (such as, public meetings and community-mapping exercises).
• Systematic approach.
  We collaborate with like-minded organizations worldwide and create possible partnerships, which can help us mobilize resources needed to address community challenges. These include financial, human and material resources. We collaborate with technicians and development agencies as well as community development associations to help us attain our objectives.

PROGRAMMES:
Integrated Agricultural Association (I.A.A) is working under eight different programme areas which include:

AGRICULTURAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.
I.A.A helps to transform subsistence farms into profitable businesses by helping smallholder farmers access good training, affordable capital, quality inputs and better crop prices. She also launches food safety awareness raising campaign to educate the public in nutrition.
Many farmers’ livelihoods are stable but vulnerable. When working with these communities, we use conservation agriculture techniques and territorial value-chain development. The goal is sustainable growth while building stronger production and marketing groups, and creating market links between producers and buyers. Our approach enables farmers to access and manage financial services and improve their use of natural resources. We also strengthen the capacity of farmers and field agents to help them plan businesses and evaluate profitability. With our experience, farmers can connect better to markets and use technologies that raise yields. To help farmers and field agents succeed, we developed a digital tool kit called ICT4Ag Suite which facilitates training, business planning, and monitoring and evaluation, making it easier for farmers to grow their businesses.

METHODS USED.
Territorial approach to value-chain development: We work with farmers to identify and develop products that have potential for local, regional and national markets. We emphasize improving farmers’ production and market opportunities, but we work to improve the entire value chain so it will function more efficiently for all stakeholders. This process increases production, strengthens services for business development, improves post-harvest utilization and builds better market engagement.
Conservation agriculture: In response to global climate change, we help farmers learn techniques for conservation agriculture, which is the foundation of climate-smart agriculture. Techniques include using cover crops, planting with green manure and “no till” practices, conserving water and using native varieties of crops to manage pests. These approaches increase productivity, decrease costs and improve soil fertility.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT. We organize meetings to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the local environment and adopting strategies to deal with a changing climate.  We carry out tree planting exercises and train local groups and families to establish tree nurseries to supply tree seedlings to the local community, with the aim to foster community engagement in afforestation. We train more than 5,600 people each year in tree planting and care and work with school children to educate them on the importance of trees to the environment and the value of agro-forestry. We also conserve biological diversity, indigenous forests and maintain ecosystem services (water, soil, and carbon sequestration).

EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING.
We provide scholarship opportunities for children from low income families and marketable skills for those with special needs.
We provide vocational training to children with disabilities and support them with equipment to set up workshops that will enable them to be economically self-reliant, participate in community activities and be socially recognized.
We promote ICT and quality education both in urban and rural communities by equipping schools with computers and books libraries, construction and equipping school classrooms as well as the provision of sanitation equipment and water.

HEALTH EDUCATION.
In Cameroon the rural population does not have access to quality health care and services. The situation remains the same in public hospitals everywhere in the country. The rural population travel an approximate distance of 25 kms or more just to have medical attention, while those visiting public hospitals complain about poor approach by medical personnel. I.A.A strives to overcome these health disparities by training community health workers, building the capacities of hospital personnel, refurbishing and constructing community health facilities and offering nursing scholarship to rural youths especially those coming from poor families.

WATER AND SANITATION.
In Cameroon, water crisis has become the order of the day both in urban centres and rural areas. This is a critical issue that affects mostly women and their children which have had severe consequences on their lives, notably; education and health. Children stay away from school just because they don’t want to carry water on their head every day. And women travel 5 kms or more to fetch dirty water. I.A.A provides access to safe and clean water (water pumps and distribution systems, well drilling, bore holes, spring capping).

HUMAN RIGHTS.
I.A.A is working to advocate for peace through peace building initiatives and humanitarian response, defending children against trafficking, early marriages and forced labour and ensuring that the rights and dignity of women, children and persons living with disabilities are protected and fulfilled.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT.
Women are often marginalized, less educated, lack access to finances, collateral security and are not always able to participate in decision making processes locally. Opportunities on entrepreneurship, capacity buildings and access to land are always limited. Where these facilities are available, they are not reliable, affordable and accessible. They suffer from domestic violence and their girls fall victims of child trafficking and early marriages. These situations are common in rural areas in Cameroon and elsewhere in the world. I.A.A is empowering women with micro- business skills and supporting them with startup loans for new businesses and improve existing ones. I.A.A assists women with entrepreneurial skills through micro-business training and financing so that they can be able to build wealth for their families and participate in nation building.

APICULTURE
Bees are important insects that play an important role in the environment by increasing ecosystem services through pollination. It remains imperative to understand and manage pollination services; farmers in rural communities have the potential to substantially increase their crop yields and income, as well as safeguarding micronutrient supplies from foods such as fruits, nuts and vegetables. This has important implications for food security, poverty alleviation and global health. However, promoting bee farming increases pollination services and provide progress towards several important UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is important that development and environmental outcomes are closely aligned, such that there is a long-term sustainability. Beekeeping, pollination and ecological farming are important goals of development and environmental protection.

APICULTURE AND FOREST GOVERNANCE PROJECT
We train forest communities in sustainable forest management. Many of these communities depend on agriculture for their livelihood which often results in the destruction of the forest for farm land. We train these communities in bee farming and foster their engagement in aforestation as alternatives to protect the forest and fight poverty. We provide opportunities for rural people in tree nursery management, planting and care, and in agro-forestry techniques. I.A.A. distribute forest seeds, agro-forestry seeds and bee farming materials as well as locally manufactured bee hives to vulnerable people. The goal of this project is to promote apiculture as a strong financial incentive for rural people to alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity.

The objectives of this project are as follows:-

(1) Teaching beehive construction, apiary set-up and maintenance, honey harvesting and tree-planting.

(2) Establishment and capacity building for community-based beekeeper cooperatives.

(3) Establish a honey shop and marketing hub; give advice and training about honey marketing.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES.

• Improved honey-based livelihood opportunities.
• Community led sustainable management of honey bees.
• Increased levels of understanding of different issues relating to honey bees from biological, economical, policy and social viewpoints.

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROJECT
In Kumbo, Secondary school girls become pregnant as a result of lack of understanding about family planning. This is also because the information on reproductive health is not widely disseminated for better access by young girls and women of reproductive age. School girls’ records show poor academic performance as a result of menstruation. During this period, these girls stay away from school because of stigmatization and lack of basic menstrual hygiene information and the school administration do not make available a safe environment for these girls to take care of the menstrual situation with dignity. Married women deliver children too close as a result of lack of reproductive health information and family planning which result in poor health, and unsafe abortions. I.A.A has designed this project to increase access to reproductive health information among school girls and the women of Kumbo.

I.A.A set-up workshops throughout Kumbo with different groups of individuals in order to discuss reproductive health, and address the questions of the participants. The workshops involved secondary school students (one for male students and one for female students), sex workers, and local communities. For each workshop, every effort is made to make the participants feel that they are in a safe environment.

All workshops usually start with an open question session to answer the sexual health questions of all participants. In addition to these workshops, radio talk shows are held in local languages, which also include a call-in question and answer session.

PROJECT GOAL.
The overall goal of this project is to increase access to reproductive health information by providing young people with the knowledge and skills to promote their health and well-being as they mature into sexually healthy adults.

OBJECTIVES.

• To work with community leaders to widely disseminate reproductive health information among young girls and women.
• To increase access to comprehensive reproductive health services.
• To address stigma and discriminatory social norms related to menstrual hygiene management with health providers, media, parents, teachers and wider community stakeholders.

Integrated Agricultural Association
Foncha Street, Nkwen, Bamenda
Nw Region, Cameroon, Central Africa

EMail: integratedagriculturalass@gmail.com
Tel (+237) 682 v98 51

Perhaps Our greatest achievement ?

Alfred Wingo GLORES and FIOH Fund

Takeo timeline

Takeo is a three and half year old girl with spina bifida.  She is under treatment with splints and this will probably have to continue for the rest of her life.

Her splints will need adjustment and replacing as she grows older. This is Takeo when she first arrived at GLORES rehabilitation Centre

The  following video shows her under treatment with splints and intensive physiotherapy

Takeo May 2019

                           Takeo walking unaided for the first time and now able to walk to school

Please support the work of the Future in Our Hands Education and Development Fund whose aim is to help and empower some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people by:

• UK residents can provide long term support by completing the FIOH FUND DONATION FORM and sending to the address shown on the form:
• Direct grant to the charity’s bank account or by cheque to:
•   Bank account details:
  Co-operative Bank
  Account no  65050707
  Sort Code  08 92 99

—————————————————————————-

Fundraising to help the work of the charities would be greatly appreciated

Global Rehabilitation Services Report – January 2019

GLORES TREATMENT CENTRE FOR DISABLED CHILDREN

REPORT – January 2019
Although the civil conflict in the country is not affecting the West Region of Cameroon, the project co-ordinator, Alfred Wingo, had to help his family located in the Northwest Region who were forced to move to a distant location because of the conflict.  He located them by having to travel through the bush by foot and motorbike.  He found them suffering from a shortage of food and other necessities. They are now out of danger.

Treatment of disabled children
There has been a steady flow of disabled children being brought to the centre for treatment. Currently 24 children are being treated (14 males and 10 females). The most common disabilities involve deformation of the lower limbs. Two with cerabral palsy  are currently resident at the Centre undergoing long-term treatment.

 

One of these, Nsah R,  was brought to the Centre with completely contracted limbs, very hyperactive and spastic.  The parents had spent a lot of money on unsuccessful treatment at several hospitals beforehand.

 

 

 

The mother brings him every two months and he stays for one month each time. She is taught practical exercises to perform at home.

His treatment is progressing well and he is now able to stand up straight with support.

 

 

 

 

 

GLORES seeks to correct deformities in youths and adults despite the added difficulty as people get older. In the picture above Tchoutchoua G. is underoing stretching treatment by Alfred.

 

Left: Dsomu Z. is another child with cerebral palsy periodically resident at the centre during treatment.

Centre left: Matie W. undergoes stretching in preparation for splinting.

Centre right: Tuedom M. on microwave diathermy.

Right: Sibefo F. wearing splints.

Fouapong M. with congenital lower limb deformity before treatment and with new calipers during treatment. Fouapong is starting to walk unaided.

A local honour for Alfred Wingo

In recognition of his work he has received a local honour and has been named as a notable. The inaugural ceremony took place in the village in December 2018.

 

The entire village was there to witness the event which ended with him joining a traditional dance with other notables. His award was presented by the Chief of Bafoussam at his palace.

 

 

 

 

The Chief of Bafousssam can be seen here dancing at a cultural event with music provided by the GLORES Music Group.

Alfred was one of the organising committee with the Regional Delegation of Social Affairs for the International Handicap Day which took place on 2^nd Dec. 2018.

In addition to financial support, the FIOH Fund has sent Alfred   a flash drive, a book on basic prosthetics treatment written by disabled people in Mexico and the book ‘Where There is No Doctor’.

During 2018 eighty new children came to the centre and 60 received treatment. See schedule below:

Please support the work of the Future in Our Hands Education and Development Fund whose aim is to help and empower some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people by:

• UK residents can provide long term support by completing the FIOH FUND DONATION FORM and sending to the address shown on the form:
• Direct grant to the charity’s bank account or by cheque to:        Bank account details:
  Co-operative Bank
  IBAN: GB07CPBK08929965050707
  BIC: CPBKGB22

Cheques should be made payable to the
Future in Our Hands E&D Fund
—————————————————————————-

Fundraising to help the work of the charities would be greatly appreciated

Global warming – the tipping point

The world is now entering a critical era in which a tipping point could arise beyond which human beings will lose the ability to stop runaway global warming.
What are the feedback processes that cause accelerated warming?
First it is necessary to understand that the build up of greenhouse gases can create feedback mechanisms – some with warming and others with cooling – effects. The important point to bear in mind is that the warming effects outweigh the cooling ones. As the quantity of greenhouse gases builds up in the atmosphere this causes effects that increase the warming. The warming itself causes effects which increasethe warming still further. The main effects are summarised below:
Rising CO2 will cause acidification in the oceans killing
plankton which sequesters carbon dioxide thus increasing CO2
concentration in the atmosphere.
Vast stores of methane (a greenhouse gas 24 times more potent than CO2) are trapped or ‘frozen’ in crystal lattice form in sea bed deposits. Rising temperatures in the oceans would release methane into the atmosphere. Methane will gradually break down into CO2 and water vapour, but CO2 has an atmospheric life measured in centuries or even millennia.
Methane is also trapped in large expanses of frozen tundra and this would be released with thawing.
As temperatures rise, the concentration of water vapour in the atmosphere rises. Water vapour is itself a very powerful
greenhouse gas. So this is also a strong and rapid feedback
process.
Increased water vapour would also cause cloud formations that have both warming and cooling effects, the overall impact of
which is uncertain. However, warmer cloud systems would
increase the energy and impact of storm events.
The effect of melting ice would be to replace a white shiny
surface which reflects heat back into space with a dark surface
absorbing heat.

Human activities, including deforestation, present farming practices which break down soil carbon and convert it to CO2 and involve large amounts of fossil fuels, industrial processes and transport using fossil fuels, have already raised the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere above the level which scientists believe will cause catastrophic climate changes. This is above the level that would make a 2˚C temperature rise causing such changes, inevitable. The recorded level of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2006 has been measured at 420 ppm and the rate of accumulation (now at 2 ppm per year) is
accelerating. Hence the feedback dynamics outlined above indicate that not only is it an urgent necessity to stop the use of fossil fuels, but also to adopt measures that would remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Reducing personal carbon emissions

The figures shown below give an approximation of what average reductions in energy (and hence carbon emissions) might result from UK individuals by taking the following actions:

20 kWh/day – Put on a wooly jumper and turn down your heatings thermostat (to 15 or 17 deg C say). Make sure the heating is off when noone is in the house.

35 kWh/day – Stop flying

20 kWh/day – Drive less. Drive more slowly, drive more gently, car pool, join a car club, walk, use trains and buses. Use an electric car.

4 kWh/day – Change lights to fluorescent or LED

20 kWh/day – Dont buy clutter. Avoid packaging.

10 kWh/day – Eat vegetarian six days out of ten.

5 kWh/day – Eliminate draughts.

10 kWh/day – Double glazing.

10 kWh/day – Improve wall, roof and floor insulation.

8 kWh/day – Solar hot water panels.

5 kWh/day – Photovoltaic panels.

10 kWh/day – Replace fossil fuel heating by ground-source or air-source heat pumps.

The figures above illustrate the importance of reducing travel by car and plane.

 

FIOH Fund Newsletter – Winter 2017

Alfred Wingo,the founder and director of GLORES, is shown here with one of the children being treated.

NEWSLETTER – ISSUE2 – WINTER 2017

FIOH FUND NEWSLETTER 2 – WINTER 2017

This newsletter summarises and illustrates some of the activities which have taken place in a new treatment and rehabilitation centre established in the Cameroon with the financial support of the FIOH Fund. The centre is run by Global Rehabilitation Services (GLORES), a local NGO, which moved from its former rented accommodation in April 2017.

 

Please support the work of the Future in Our Hands Education and Development Fund whose aim is to help and empower some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people by:

• UK residents can provide long term support by completing the FIOH FUND DONATION FORM and sending to the address shown on the form:
• Direct grant to the charity’s bank account or by cheque to:        Bank account details:
  Co-operative Bank
  IBAN: GB07CPBK08929965050707
  BIC: CPBKGB22

Cheques should be made payable to the
Future in Our Hands E&D Fund
—————————————————————————-

Fundraising to help the work of the charities would be greatly appreciated

Disability survey – West Region of Cameroon

Survey of disabled children in West Region of Cameroon

There appears to be little statistical information on disabilities in the West Region and few facilities for treatment. In 2010 the FIOH Fund provided a grant to the non government organisation Global Rehabilitation Services (GLORES) to carry out a comprehensive survey in all 8 divisions of the Region. In the  survey below a total of 10,493 disabled children were identified and 21 different types of disability.  Over 75% of those surveyed did not go to school and most were from poor families. Many villages are very difficult to access during the rainy season.  Most of the children had valgus or varus deformities.  The most common causes of disability were malnutrition, lack of health care services and societal beliefs that disabled children are possessed by evil spirits. Parents are sometimes ashamed to have disabled children which are then hidden away out of public view. There were some cases of children being drowned by witch doctors who had claimed they would turn into snakes as soon as they entered the water.

GLORES DISABILITY SURVEY 2010

In 2012 Global Rehabilitation Services evaluated 1058 children in the West Region of Cameroon, 1,012 of which had disabilities.  126 of these received treatment at the organisation’s centre in Bafoussam.

A table showing the results of the survey can be seen here:
glores-table-of-disabilities-2012

 

Please support the work of the Future in Our Hands Education and Development Fund whose aim is to help and empower some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people by:

• UK residents can provide long term support by completing the FIOH FUND DONATION FORM and sending to the address shown on the form:
• Direct grant to the charity’s bank account or by cheque to:        Bank account details:
  Co-operative Bank
  IBAN: GB07CPBK08929965050707
  BIC: CPBKGB22

Cheques should be made payable to the
Future in Our Hands E&D Fund
—————————————————————————-

Fundraising to help the work of the charities would be greatly appreciated