Vocational Training Programs are common for the underprivileged in the Bui Division of Cameroon. The villages in the area have a total population of about 480,000 inhabitants, mostly made up of poor peasant farmers with meager incomes that can't sustain their families. Many children can't continue secondary education or vocational training because parents are unable to provide for their basic needs, let alone school fees. Most students who leave primary school early follow their parent and work on the farm. Others join local workshops, while often engaging in early marriages and criminal activities. Local workshops inadequately orient these students to face the current challenges of our fast growing world. Many trainees leave workshops ill equipped and end up in poor situations.
NAVTI Foundation has offered modern training and self-reliance programs in the areas of tailoring, knitting, gardening, cookery and home economics. Additional subjects include small business management and accounting, commerce, computer literacy, English, French, civics, moral instruction and related social activities.
By engaging in vocational training programs, we aim to:
Improve upon our community's current vocational training programs and empower youths to pursue small business development.
Change the social status of poor and vulnerable students who have left primary school early.
Encourage social development and self reliant programs.
Educate the Muslim community and traditionalists who strongly advocate early marriage for girls.
Make young people active in hopes of distracting them from engaging in crime and sexual activities that can lead to HIV-AIDS.
Develop a collective, participatory and practical grassroots educational program.
GNS MELUF school - Construction project
We launched this project in January 2008 and we got support from the community who built walls, BFU USA sponsored zinc and AIESEC HK raised funds to finish plastering and painting the building. The community built the walls with some support from BFU Chicago and we roofed the building in 2008. As from January 2010 with the support from NAVTI Foundation Hong Kong and AIESEC LCHKU, we started plastering walls and completed the school. We thank all the donors for all their generous support and God bless the future generations to use this school.
