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Back-to-School Program and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Support.

The Back-to-School Support is one of the programs Belie Health Foundation runs in order to achieve her goal of assisting at least 1,000 orphans, needy, and internally displaced children in their formal education between 2020-2025.

This is an action taken in a bid to contribute to the sustainable development Goal 4 which states Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and the agenda 2063 Goal 2 which states the Well-Educated Citizens and Skills revolution underpinned by Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Belie Health Foundation located in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon has duly witnessed the havoc caused by the anglophone crisis in the North West and South West Regions of her country since 2016.

Being an organization that seeks the well-being of the people, especially the youth, Belie Health Foundation has since 2020 worked vigorously to assist children and youths to return to school; a right which was viciously taken from most children in these regions.

In an attempt to help, Belie Health Foundation after careful assessment, reached out to 26 internally displaced students in the Government Bilingual High School Muea; an institution that was shut down in 2016 with Back-to-School Support.

Complete tuition fee for all 11 students among the 26 who had not paid was paid for. Textbooks of 13 different subjects were distributed to all 26 of them as they had needed, as a means to encourage both the children and their guardians.

Also, BHF reached out to the children at St Glory Orphanage which hosts over 26 orphans and internally displaced children with basic foodstuff, clothing, and school needs such as tuition support, school uniforms, bags, and books.

The goal of all these is not just to donate but to work with some of these children through a leadership program where they can be impacted with leadership skills relevant to this fast-paced world economy and where they can become the change that is sought in their communities and our country Cameroon as a whole and beyond.

In August 2021 during the holidays, Belie Health Foundation launched the first edition of the Belie Youths Lead program. This is a program that aims at impacting teens and youths with leadership skills with which they can initiate and be drivers of positive change.

Ten participants were selected among whom were orphans, internally displaced, and needy in the community. They were taught basic skills such as reading, writing, and public speaking. They were taught personal and health issues like self-discovery, purpose, and self-development, Sex Education, Mental Health, and productive thinking among others.

After the first phase which was the in-class session, seven of them successfully went through and are currently being mentored as they initiate and drive positive change in their orphanage homes, schools, and neighbourhoods.

These successful participants benefited from Back-to-School Support for the 2021/2022 academic year where they received tuition fee support, school bags, shoes, books among others.

For this year 2022, Belie Health Foundation has as goals for the Belie Youths Lead to:

  1. Provide more intensive academic follow-up as their first term results weren’t proven to be the best especially in areas of French Language and Mathematics which are compulsory subjects in the Cameroon educational system. Here, we intend to collaborate with teachers for after class lectures.
  2. Continue and intensify leadership mentorship so that more impact is created in their respective spheres. Here, participant’s phones are to be credited to reach their mentors as need arises, weekly on a one-on-one level with reports of their work and monthly with the entire team to discuss challenges and way forward
  3. Fully fund them academically for the school year 2022/2023. This will help them remain at rest as some are not certain of the way forward with their education
  4. Train them on basic computer literacy skills and correct use of social media and other platforms for peace promotion and personal as well as corporate growth. This is to be done during their next holiday session in August 2022 as Level 2 of their leadership training.
  5. Recruit at least 20 participants some of whom they have been working with along with others identified in the community for the Level 1 of the Leadership program. These will also join them as youth leaders in effecting positive change.
  6. Continue and intensify mental health education with IDPS

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