Teen Mother Empowerment in Cameroon

Teen Empowerment Project Monthly Report: April 2013

Introduction:

April started with a bang: 30 teens from Muea were identified and the workshops are now underway. The Mutual Health enrolment and other paperwork is a bit of a slow process but we got a new kick of motivation after having over 90 teens from Bolifamba show up for the identification.

Monthly Goals:

• Finish identification in Muea and begin workshops series
• Begin identification in Bolifamba and Dibanda
• Continue fundraising efforts

Major Activities in Chronological Order:

• Muea identification was held on April 3^rd at the Customary Court Hall. Only four girls, none of whom were eligible for the program, showed up. We were not discouraged because there was a lot of community support so we agreed on another identification the following week.
• Mr. Joseph from the Regional Health Center in Muea, Mr. Julius from Mutual Health and Mr. Solomon of Muea have acted as social mobilizes in Muea going door to door with TME pamphlets, educating them about the program and encouraging their participation.
• Dropped program instruction letters off for the Chiefs of Bolifamba and Dibanda.
• Second identification in Muea was on April 10^th with a turn out of thirty teens! We chose the official weekly meeting time and date to be Friday 4-6pm.
• Through the help of Mutual Health Management, met with health care providers in Bolifamba to discuss our program and solicit their help in entering their community.
• Set identification of Bolifamba to be on April 30^th at 4pm.
• Met with social mobilizers of Bolifamba, sensitized them on the project and sent them to the 11 quarters of Bolifamba to sensitize the community on our project.
• Brought Introduction/Announcement letters to 10+ churches in Bolifamba.
• Had first and second official Muea workshops with an average number of 16 teens. We worked on getting their paperwork completed so that they and their children can be enrolled in Mutual Health and start to reap the first benefit of the TME project. Also voted on topics of workshops for the next few months.
• Had our identification in Bolifamba with an astonishing 96 girls show up! We had to go make photocopies twice of the identification papers because more continued showing up. Our social mobilizers really did an amazing job in Bolifamba.
• Bolifamba girls were so motivated that they chose their workshops to be held every Tuesday from 4-6pm AND one Saturday a month from 9am-4pm.

Challenges:

• All mobilizers and those working with us want and expect some sort of compensation for their work. We have a small budget and can’t always afford their work.

Solutions and Changes:

• Moving into the community slowly and staying for a while. Instead of going to several villages and attempting gaining the trust of each community, we’ve decided to establish the program in 2-3 villages, gain their trust, and conduct several series of workshops in the same villages.

Unattained Goals and Reasoning:

• Identification of Dibanda postponed until we are fully entered into the other 2 communities. It doesn’t make sense to rush into things.