The Better World Cameroon NGO was registered in 1996 by the Association of Unemployed Youth and consists of three garden clubs:
- Better World Students Nature Club, Education and Research Unit (Graduate Volunteers, Trainers in Permaculture courses) and carrying out Environmental Education in schools. - Ndanifor Dance and Theatre Troupe, Union of Sustainable Development Technicians and custodians of traditional and indigenous knowledge systems. - Better World Children Environmental Club (organizes children’s workshops and field trips).
Better World Cameroon has organized “Useful Holiday Workshop” with international students and Better World Students Nature Club in the Center and at the Ndanifor Community Garden Project site since 2005. This year Better World Cameroon has entered into partnership with international NGOs including NICE Japan and SJ France to work with other international youth exchange organizations and volunteers to scale up the Useful Holiday Workshops into International Summer Work Camps to be organized yearly in the month of August.
A successful mini work camp was organized in February 2011 and laid the foundation for “Together for a Better World” International Summer Work Camp Cameroon.
Better World Youth Program of International Volunteering and Volunteer placements will be officially launched in August 2011 with the strong support of international NGOs like VAP UK designed to provide opportunities for personal growth, life-long education and formation of leadership skills.
In the past cultural exchange programs in the Ndanifor Community Garden Project have attracted broad interests fro; different organizations and varied youth participants.
In creating a Better World Youth Network and Summer Work Camp under the theme “Together for a Better World”, we are committed to devise a development concept from an African perspective that will become a catalyst for understanding local communities, promoting intercultural exchange programs and fostering mutual cooperation among volunteers in Africa and elsewhere.
Aims:
1. To regenerate the Ndanifor Community Garden and transform it into an eco-lodge. 2. To create a Permaculture demonstration site. 3. To promote international exchanges and cooperation among youth groups at the grassroots level. 4. To promote youth participation in volunteer activities and the spirit of giving back to the community.
Activities:
1. Water clearance, building flood defenses, tree planting, landscaping gardening. 2. Visits to BWC partner ministries, schools and organizations, field excursions. 3. Working with underprivileged children in nursery and primary schools. 4. Theatre for development. 5. Sports. 6. International cuisine.
Participants will hold a stakeholder’s workshop on community based adaptation on Climate Change in Cameroon. Volunteers will share what each of their countries is doing to fulfill the promises of the United Nation Millennium Development Goals. There will also be a workshop on HIV/AIDS
By the end of the work camp we hope that...
Either all or part of the garden would be secured for the permaculture demonstration site. This will go to help in the Global fight to defeat hunger. The eco-lodge will be built to host future work camps. The concerned young people would have shared experiences on Global Environmental Issues. A network of “Friends of Ndanifor” would be created for the promotion of peace and sustainable development.
Accommodation:
Participants will stay in camps and / or classrooms 5 minutes walk away from project area. Participants will sleep on mattresses provided by BWC or in their own tents and sleeping bags. There is no washing machine, so participants need to wash clothes by hand. Toilets are indoors but no hot water. Internet is available in the office. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided. Better World Ecological Literacy Centre is a peaceful, restful area in a community garden and education centre – a place where people come to enjoy Living with Nature.
Location:
Yaoundé.
Arrival Info:
At the Nsimalen International Airport (in Yaoundé – Cameroon). Participants to send flight information for pick up arrangements and transportation to the Better World Cameroon (BWC) Head Office.
Useful info:
Sleeping bags and tents will not be provided, so participants need to bring along theirs Participants must bring appropriate / decent dresses for courtesy visits to councils and ministries, gardening and sports. The weather will be warm and rainy. Airport tax is required upon leaving Cameroon (10,000FCFA ~ €15 ). Yellow fever vaccine is obligatory to enter Cameroon. Participants should come along with their traditional spices for international cuisine. It is advisable for participants to take Malaria prevention and bring their own mosquito / insect repellants.
Participation fee:
Euro 225 to be paid to BWC upon arrival. This fee also includes local transport. Volunteers can arrive 2 days before the beginning of the project and depart 2 days after the final day without any extra fees.
« The most beautiful thing about volunteering obviously is the people you meet… the helpfulness the understanding…there is always someone who puts a plate of food in front of you if you say you are not hungry and not in the mood, or gives you a pep talk or simply a hug. »