GLORES – PEOPLE TREATED BETWEEN JULY 2021 AND APRIL 2022

The schedule below shows details of the treatment of disabled people (mainly children) between July 2021 and April 2022 including the children that were still following treatment when the report of July 2021 was sent and what happened to them since then.  The children that were admitted for treatment after the report of July 2021 to date are also shown.

With the slow-down  of Covid-19 infections and the arrival of the new vehicle, the number of children coming for treatment has steadily increased. The vehicle donated by Survive Miva shown permitted us to reach distant villages that we have been unable to visit due to bad roads. In those villages we meet hundreds of children needing our services, unfortunately we will not be able to cope with all those children because of the limited resources we have. The assistance we received from FIOH has been significantly reduced due to the economic recession following the Covid-19 epidemic.  We, however, managed the amount sent diligently to cover quite a number of children, especially those from very poor families that could not afford to contribute the required symbolic payment to help buy materials for their treatment.

The adults who sought help from GLORES for the treatment of arthritis, lumbago, sciatic nerve injury and other pathologies that need physiotherapy helped a great deal to bring income for the treatment of the poorer children.

The increase in the number of children and adults for treatment kept us very  busy.  One other problem we have is the need for a Secretary who could have helped us in compiling timely reports.

We are presently trying to raise some money in preparation of the visit of the Paramount Chief of Bafoussam to meet the handicapped children and to see the work of GLORES in his area of jurisdiction. We will need to invite the children treated in GLORES, the Regional Delegate of Social Affairs for the West, the Media and other personalities. We hope to use the occasion for publicity and to raise funds too.

GLORES SCHEDULE FROM JULY 2021 TO APRIL2022(

 

Helping women fleeing from civil conflict in the NW Region

HELPING poor women in the Cameroon.

FUTURE in OUR HANDS UK is supporting the work of SHUMAS (STRATEGIC  HUMANITARIAN SERVICES ) in Cameroon

who are providing psychological support, shelter and livelihood improvement to internally displaced women and girls in Douala exposed to prostitution and abuse.

In 2016 the political crisis in the NW and SW regions caused 573,900 internally displaced people to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. The Non—State Armed groups forced schools to close as a war weapon and students to drop out of schools.

A SHUMAS survey emphasised the need for improved living conditions, psychological support to improve mental health to girls and women exposed to violence and other chronic adversities to enable them to reintegrate into society by improving access to emergency relief shelter, WASH items (water, soap, hygiene) and mattresses. 50 vulnerable families were identified for support, including the provision of alternative income source through training in business management and supporting to enable them to set up their own businesses.

How has FUTURE IN OUR HANDS helped?

A donation sent to SHUMAS in October 2021 was used to buy 50 mattress which were delivered from Bamenda in the NW to Douala and delivered to 50 vulnerable households with a total of 230 individuals (10 elderly women, 146 children, 74 adults and 3 people with disabilities) benefitting. If you would like to help expand this project a donation would be much appreciated.

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 downloading and 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 Rehabilitation Services Report Sept 2021

BRIEF REPORT OF ACTIVITIES FROM APRIL 2021 TO JULY 2021

July 23, 2021

Listed below are the children that have been treated and those that are still following treatment. The first chart shows the children that were in the last report of March 2021 that had not completed their treatment and the outcome of their treatment. The second chart shows those children that have been admitted after the report of March 2021 till July 2021. The outcome of the treatment was largely successful except a few that stopped treatment and those that needed long term treatment.

The number of children that have come for treatment greatly improved with the reduction of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Centre received 125 children during 2021 but 68 children actually came back for treatment. We are still waiting for more of the 67 children that did not come since the long school holidays break has not yet ended. We believe that the children that have not come for treatment after evaluation is due to the financial hardship resulting from the Covid-19 in Cameroon. Parents are finding it hard to provide their symbolic contributions and to pay for transport. However the availability of the new vehicle from Miva has helped a great deal to fetch some of the children in villages but it is difficult to do that in all the villages.

With the new vehicle donated by MIVA, we are now able to reach many villages for the CBR (Community-based rehabilitation) programme on a monthly basis. We hope to organize groups of concerned individuals and the parents of the affected children in  many villages. This will give us the opportunity to meet many disabled children and bring them for treatments although bringing many children for treatment will be difficult due to financial problems of the parents and GLORES.

WE must thank FIOH for the provision of £1 600 that helped quite a good number of children. The contribution of the adult patients who have to pay for their treatment is also helping us financially.

As you might have noted, most of the adult patients we saw have one common problem, sciatic nerve compression and low back pain. The thing is that GLORES is gaining a reputation in the treatment of sciatic nerve complications so much so that many patients with that problem are being referred to GLORES. We have successfully helped patients with this complication to avoid expensive surgery. The majority of patients with this complication are women due to farming and carrying of heavy loads of farm products.

CHILDREN WHO CONTINUED TREATMENT AFTER THE REPORT OF MARCH 2021

Name		Age	Sex	Diagnosis	Address	Treatment	Outcome
3	Meke Christna	1 ms	F	Bilateral club feet	Sacta	Plastering plus special shoes	Discharged with follow-up
4	Taboue Bassime	2 y	F	Bilateral varus knees	Tchichap	Stretching and splints	Calipers discontinued and dischared
5	Djeleseck Lewis	4 y	M	Left herb palsy	Dschang	Functional reeducation	Affected arm functional, discharged
6	Mfor Blessing	10 ms	F	Bilateral varus knees	Djeleng 2	Stretching and splints	Splints discontinued with follow-up
7	Dongfack Tsamo	7 y	F	Retarded development	Yaounde	Functional reeducation	Parents stopped treatment although there was improvement
8	Mafeugoum Doriane	18 y	F	Prenatal deformaton of right leg	Bafoussam	Mobility splint	Can walk successfully but still comes for splits repairs.
9	Tadjuidje Henri	3 y	M	Retarded development	Bamenze	Functional reeducation	Still coming for treatment (Long term treatment)
10	Kengue Oumbe Valyros	3 y	M	Bilateral valgus knees	Baleng	Stretching and splints	Splints discontinued and dischared
11	Sapo Eurich	4 y	M	Bilateral valgus knees	Baleng	Stretching and splints	Splints removed with follow-up
12	Kamche Lliaken	11 ms	M	Bilateral valgus knees	Bamenze	Stretching and splinting	Discharged
13	Feupossi Tenny	2.5 y	M	Bilatral valgus knees	Djassa	Stretching and splinting	Splints discontinued and dischared
14	Takeo		F	Congenital deformation of lower limbs	Baham	Muscle strengthening exercises and  ambulation splints	Can walk with help of splints, going to school and follow-up repairs.
15	Kuate Tresor	4 y	M	Spastic Cerebral palsy	Bamenze	Functional reeducation	Still under treatment (long term treatment)
16	Moujaita Nabia	9 y	F	Quadruplegy due to attack of meningitis	Banengo	Functional reeducation followed by splinting	Resumed treatment after parents stopped bringing the child.
17	Bayang Marie Chantal	10 y	F	Lower limb contracture and spasticity		Correction of Achile tendons and, coordination exercises	Can work independently but still comes for control.
18	Randy		M	Spastic cerebral palsy	Bamenda	Therapeutic exercises, replacement of splints due to growth.	Deformation of lower limbs corrected, spasticity amazingly reduced. Walks with assistance and following home treatment and coming for follow-up

 

CHILDREN ADMITTED FOR TREATMENT FROM APRIL 2021 TO JULY 2021

NAMES		AGE	SEX	DIAGNOSIS	ADDRESS	TREATMENT	OUTCOME
1	Mandefo Marie	71 y	F	Inflammatory arthritis	Socada	Pain management	Her situation is unfortunately chronic and will need  PT (bone degeneration)
2	Janette Yoghae	50 y	F	Sciatic nerve injury	Eveché	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	Neurosurgery recommended although she is feels no serious pains
3	Nopoupoji marie	60 y	F	Frozen shoulder	Bamedze	Pain management, therapeutic exercises	Full recovery
4	Magne Deodone	60 y		Fraction contracture left knee following an accident	Njingah	Stretching, massage	Left knees straightened
5	Tene Pelagie	38 y	F	Sciatic nerve Compression	Kamkouop	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	Recovered
6	Moujiata Nabia	9 y		Paraplegia following meningitis	Banengo	Therapeutic exercises, splinting	Can walk using splints and coming for follow-up treatment
7	Sr.  Margrette Madjou	54 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Bamendju	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	Discharged satisfaction
8	Echia Mercy	61 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Banengo	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	Fully recovered
9	Salamatou Ndikea	35 y	F	Neglected sub luxation of left hip	Banego	Therapeutic exercises, shoe adaptation	Can walk straight with orthopaedic shoes
10	Kenge Abertine	55 y	F	Low back pain	Bamendju	Therapeutic exercises	Discharged  with satisfaction
11	Koagne Wembo	62	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Njinngah	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	Discharged recovered
12	Mefoukah Therese	43 y	F	Sciatic nerve injury	Tounjie	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	Discharged , full recovery
13	Sister Clementine	47 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Njounang	Lumber traction,  therapeutic exercises	She refused neurosurgery, came to GLORES and recovered fully since then she has recommended many patients to GLORES
14	Chinda Soh	18 y	M	Trauma contraction left knee	Tocket	Stretching, therapeutic exercises	Right knee brought to 90 degrees and functional
15	Zoukou Nouel	3 y	M	Bilateral  16tibia internal rotation	Maeture	Therapeutic exercises, splinting	Both knees corrected
	Kadji Veronique	47 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Magoua	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Neurosurgery recommended but she refused
16	Ayanga Noubissi	49 y	M	Sciatic nerve compression	Socada	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Discharged recovered
17	Kuetang Benadette	40 y	F	Left wrist fracture contracture	Quartier Haoussa	Therapeutic exercises, splinting	Contracture straightened but hand function still to recover
18	Mamma Zargaou	2 y	F	Bilateral Valgus knees	Bamendze	Stretching, splinting	Both knees straightened and discharged
19	Taa Ndifo	40 y	M	Sciatic nerve compression	Sacta	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Referred for neurosurgery
20	Jidam Mohamed	5 y	M	Inflammation right leg following accident	Banefo	Pain management	Recovered fully
21	Tongho Gabriel	74 y	M	Sciaic nerve injury	Quartier Haoussa	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Did not fully recovered and was referred for neurosurgery in Yaounde
24	Nganueu Myles	4 y	M	Bilateral valgus knees	Maeture	Stretching, splinting	Discharged with deformation fully corrected
25	Zoakeu Mechelini	45 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Njounang	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Treated and discharged
26	Djoungouang Roselini	55 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Djeleng 3	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Fully recovered
27	Barmi Delphine	45 y	F	Disc hernia	Njounang	Mild traction, therapeutic exercises, pain management	Recovered and  avoided neurological operation
28	Mabouo Regine	60 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Bamendze	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Recovered and discharged
29	Tina Talep	3 y	F	Bilateral valgus knees	Tchichap	Stretching, splinting	Deformation fully corrected, splint discontinued
30	Kenge Yvama	13 y	F	Windswept deformity	Banengo	Stretching, splinting	Wearing splints and following the bi-weekly control visits
31	Nana Epse Tchounje	65 y	F	Sciatic nerve compression	Yaounde	Lumber traction,  therapeutic	Recovered after the recommended 2 week treatment
32	Kamar Joan	3 y	F	Bilateral valgus knees	Stade	Stretching, splinting	Wearing splints and coming for bi-weekly control
33	Mbeutsing Josephine	36 y	F	Discal hernia	Bamoungoum	Mild traction, therapeutic exercises, pain management	Recovered after 3 week treatment
34	Penha Celestine	46 y	F	Discal hernia	Kamkouop	Mild traction, 35therapeutic ex36ercises, pain man37agement	Recovered after 2 week treatment
35	Fotso Joan	9 y	M	Flexion contracture of knees	Bamendze		Undergoing preparation for splints
	Naghe Gaston	42 y	M	Trauma right ankle	TPO	Pain management	Undergoing PT
36	Djeussi  Benadette	33 y		Lumbargo	Bamendze	Therapeutic exercises	Good progress Still on treatment
37	Ayuk Ruth	52 y	F	Low back pain due to arthritis	Banengo	Therapeutic exercises	Still on therapy
38	Mafogie George	3 y	M	Windswept deformity	Douala	Stretching, splinting	Undergoing preparation for splints
39	Cecilia Tenkeu	68 y	F	Paralysis of right arm	Tamdja	Therapeutic exercises	Still on treatment
40	Mapah Esmila	3 y	F	Left club foot	Bamendze	Stretching then splinting	Undergoing PT then splinting
41	Tsabou Leonoura	7 m	F	Fracture right femur	Djeleng 1	Plaster immobilization (2 months)	To remove POP in 2 months.

 

 

HEARTS COVID 19 RELIEF SEPTEMBER 2020

HEARTS FOUNDATION

BAPATLA, GUNTUR DIST, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA.

COVID-19 (CORONA VIRUS) RELIEF ASSISTANCE

SUPPORTED BY FUTURE IN OUR HANDS, U.K.

 

BACKGROUND:

The Covid 19 crisis began in January 2020 in Wuhan, China and within days spread across the world and till today has become a major challenging factor and created a global health emergency. India is alerted starting from Kerala by identifying passengers coming to Indian Airports from overseas. The first lockdown in India was started on 20^th March, 2020 and till today (15-09-2020) normalcy has not been established. The current Indian population is 1.3 billion people. Everyone feared the impact of Covid-19 if not brought under control. Thanks to the Indian Government and State Governments for tackling this outbreak collectively. An impressive role was played by the Doctors, Nurses, Sanitary Workers and Police in combating spreading of this virus. The Indian Council of Medical Research suggests that it is not over and can be repeated if health related precautions are not taken care of i.e. Mask, Sanitizer, Cleanliness, Social Distance etc. The current statistics in India related to Covid-19 is declining but the virus is still prevailing in a few locations across the country. Our Prime Minister warned the country to not fear the virus and respect the people who are positive and the reality is for everyone to live with it. It can be cured and vaccines are coming shortly to tackle the problem. Current Indian statistics show the total number of positive cases is 5.02 million and deaths are 82,066. In Andhra Pradesh the state total number of positive cases is 514,000 and deaths are 5,041.

Hearts covered relief assistance in four Tribal colonies in and around Bapatla town and rural areas two times till date. The word Tribe is based on Caste reservation system called Scheduled Tribe (ST) and some others are Scheduled Caste (SC), Backward Classes (BC), Minorities (Muslim) and rest are general who are upper caste i.e. Brahmins, Pundits, Merchants etc. India is a huge populated country and illiteracy plays a major role for academic and employment opportunities. Therefore without reservations for underprivileged population, there is no chance at all for their children getting into Universities, Government jobs etc. Under the Caste system, Scheduled Tribes are downtrodden, looked down upon and particularly on those who are illiterate. Usually they live out of the towns especially on river or canal banks. The Government talks about equality for ST population in line with others but in practice it’s not happening.

We have identified four colonies where the population are living in thatched roof palm leaf houses and it is shocking to know the many hurdles they are facing under the lockdown due to Covid-19. In one of the colony, Hearts runs a Day Care Centre for children to come to school.

Colonies helped:        Tribal population in four colonies namely:

1) Krupanagar Colony – 85 families

2) Ramnagar Colony – 90 families

3) Venkata Reddy Colony – 60 families

4) Matsyapuri Colony – 30 families

Total – 265 families

A family includes husband, wife, children and grand parents, if any. Approximately on an average we have reached 1,000 people who are children and adults.

Activities:                    We have carried out following activities:

• Purchasing of food supplies (Rice & Groceries), vegetables, fruits, milk etc.
• Purchasing of masks, sanitizers, medicines etc.
• Distribution of food supplies and other items as per pre plans and discussions with the beneficiaries
• Involving local community resource persons i.e. school teachers, health workers, Pastors etc.
• Creating awareness on Covid-19 precautions

Details:                       

• Each family received approx. 5 kilos Rice, 1 kilo Red gram dal, 1 kilo Wheat, 1 kilo Sugar, 1 kilo Oil.

• Each family received approx. 1 kilo each variety of vegetables i.e. tomatoes, potatoes, onions, brinjal, beans, chillies, milk and a dozen eggs.

• Each family received a pack of Mask & Sanitizer

• Each family received a pack of first aid medicines i.e fever, cold, cough, diarrhoea, de-worming and multi vitamins.

Apart from Tribal colonies, Hearts also helped children’s parents from Hearts Children Home. Since lockdown the parents or guardians of children are out of work. They have struggled a lot financially. The Government supplied Rice and Dal but they had to buy other ingredients to cook a meal.

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

FIOH Sierra Leone – responding to climate change and Covid 19

ACTIVITY REPORT

PROJECT        :           Local response to climate change and Covid19

Funder          :           FIOH Fund -UK

COST              :           GBP 545

REPORTING DATE:  4^thJune 2020

Brief background

In a bid to integrate climate change in development projects, FIOH-SL in collaboration with FIOH-UK supported farmers to mitigate climate change through scaling up the adoption of regenerative agriculture. This involved farming practices that work together not just to sustain, but to increase the carrying capacity of the land, restoring the natural fertility of agro-ecosystems.  Core practise involves permanent soil cover with living plants, minimum or zero tillage, maximization of biodiversity, composting from zero waste in the farming system and reduction of agrochemicals with a view of their elimination.

FIELD ACTIVITY RESULT

Result of activity 1: Organize community sensitization meetings on climate change:

• Two community sensitization meetings were organized which attracted 50 participants, farmers, stakeholders, facilitator and participants to share learning on the following:

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

Following the discussion on the literal understanding of climate change, participants also brainstorm, on the kinds of climate hazards.

• Heavy wind
• Increase in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature (extremes and decreases)/prolong day seasons from October May)
• Frequency heavy precipitation/rainfall.
• Spring/small rivers completely dry up during the day season.

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

• Water shortage
• Floods
• Heat waves
• Droughts
• Outbreak of infectious diseases.

 Traditional/cultural practices adopted in the past to mitigate climate change as:

• Establishment of fire belts around forest reserves in March.
• No bush clearing around water catchment areas.
• Secret society bushes as protected as forest reserves.
• Forest reserves known as village green surrounding the entrance of villages protected.
• Bush fallowing for 15 years to encourage regrowth.

RESULTS OF ACTIVITY 2 – Practical training on Agroecological/ farming.

25 farmers (15F,10M) received practical training (5 per session) of farm design, planting methods, plant spacing, zero or minimum tillage practice, composting from zero waste and field application. Monitoring results reveal that farmers are gradually adopting these practices on their own farms.

 

RESULTS OF ACTIVITY 3 – Seeds and tools support. Following the procurement of assorted seeds and tools, these items were distributed to farmer field school representatives.

FIOH-SL seeds and tools support to cross-section of farmers.

RESULTS OF ACTIVITY 4 – Seed multiplication and demonstration farms.

Two multiplication and demonstration farms were established in two communities using permaculture/agroecological principles – farmers working with natural forces or farming using natural approaches, the wind the sun and water to provide food, shelter, and everything else including compost, farm/ gardens needs beside seeds and plants. Any farm established using these principles is a permaculture /agroecological farm.

FIOH -SL support to the establishment of two permaculture farms.

CHALLENGES

• Overwhelming demand for the project activities by other FIOH operational communities in Tonkolili and Koinadugu districts.
• Frequent lockdown caused by Covid19 is affecting farm management.
• Lack of on farm hand washing stations to prevent Covid19.
• Farm work rationed with a batch of 5 Farmers per day as a result of Covid19.

 WAYS OF OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

• Overwhelming demands

Representatives from the demanding villages were included in the on-farm training and promised to be given some proceeds from the established multiplication farms as starter seeds to establish their own farms.  Development of community pilot projects by FIOH-SL is underway to service other communities.

• FREQUENT LOCK DOWN CAUSED BY COVID 19

  A detailed concept Note will be shared with National and International     donors for possible support.

LESSONS LEARNT.

Household food insecurity exacerbated by the global lock down by Covid19 reveal the extent that existing food systems (and the people underlying them) have been undervalued and under-protected.

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

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

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