Wilfred Enow Agbor
Yaounde, Cameroon
The third edition of the training session for scholars opened at the regional delegation of the ministry of Women Empowerment and Family. The session was chaired by the Regional Director of Women Empowerment and Family Mr. Pierre Marie Akem who represented the Minister of Women Empowerment for the Promotion and Protection of the Family.
Equally present, was the Regional Delegate for the Promotion and the Protection of the Family and the Rights of children, Madam Lidy Atangana; the Secretary General at the Ministry of Women Empowerment for the Promotion and the Protection of the Family, Madam Nomo. Over 200 participants attended the training session as well; amongst who were secondary, high school students and university graduates.
The purpose of the training session is to help the less privileged, especially widows and orphans with need for financial aid to pay school fees in the next academic year. The training equally is to permit them face the challenges of the society. To explain the program, the regional Director Mr. Pierre Marie answered some these questions from journalists:
What Is This Training All About?
Apart from helping poor families with financial aid for fees in the coming school year, we have other objectives such as improving students’ moral behavior to meet with President Paul Biya’s call for improving the moral behavior of our youths. We want to teach our youths be punctual and to respectful of one another. The Cameroon public service needs youths who are punctual at work and have respect for elders.
What Criteria Is Used To Select The Participants?
Priority goes especially to widows who can prove they cannot take care of their children at the death of their husbands or orphans who have no one to pay their fees. They apply at regional delegations, and then their applications are forwarded to the Minister. Once a candidate’s application is approved, we train him or her before granting the aid.
How Many Children Have You Trained So Far How Is The Training Session Organized?
We have trained about 1000 since the year 2010. Training session is organized in two phases, the first for secondary and high school students which starts from the 22nd of July and the second phase for university students, which begins on the 6th August. Since the children are not professionals, they are supervised during the training, then they are asked to present reports on what they have learned. Each is awarded a certificate at the end of the training. After the training session, candidates are sent regional delegations for practical.
Azete Princely, a candidate and a student from the Higher Teachers Training College (ENS) Yaoundé told iCameroon he is participating for the second time and has benefited a lot from the training session. He received 50,000 Francs CFA from the program last year which helped him to take care of his school needs. Apart from that, he learned how to approach a dignitary such as a Minister. He made new friends while he was granted access to the secretariat of the Regional Delegation. The training has made him to know the different structures in the Ministry and has enabled him to be more aware of the procedure to apply for aid. Azete advises teachers to take part in the training because it will help them to better understand their students, and how they can face certain challenges in their field.
