Councils

Before I came to Cameroon, Knowledge for Children started trying to work with Councils. The idea was that Councils have an interest in the education in the schools in their municipality and they have a budget for education. So they should be able to contribute financially to our programs for schools in their own region.

This has always been a difficult issue. Most mayors are used to NGOs bringing them things, not NGOs asking them to help. Besides that, a mayor is a chosen position. According to some Cameroonians, that means people who are now mayors had to spend a lot of money for campaigns to get to that position. Once chosen, they need to get money back and that means they don’t give it to projects. I don’t know if it is true, but I am afraid in some cases it looks like it!

In the past two years, we tried different strategies to approach councils. We tried to invite Mayors to book donations, we tried to work through the Deputy Mayor in charge of education and more.  In the end, I think the Lord Mayor has to be convinced about the importance of our work. But how to get the Lord Mayor to understand this differs per Council. There are also some Councils where the Mayor is not very welcoming. They forget about appointments or refuse to receive us. We decided to leave them; if people are not ready it is their problem.

Signing with the Lord Mayor (left) and the
Deputy Mayor in charge of education

Last week, we finally signed a partnership agreement with the Nkambe Council. In the next three years, they will support eight schools. They will pay almost € 2300 per school. The community will still contribute their percentage. The support of the Council really helps us to be able to do everything we need to do in the schools.

The Lord Mayor of Nkambe really values education. He told us in our very first visit that he used to be a teacher. He always wanted to become a head teacher. He never made it to be the head teacher, but now he is the Lord Mayor and can still support education. And of course I am happy he does this by supporting Knowledge for Children so the children of Nkambe will Read Today and Lead Tomorrow!

House hunt

In June I am travelling to the Netherlands. When I come back, I will move to Yaoundé to work from there on fundraising for Knowledge for Children Cameroon. So, last week I travelled to Yaoundé to look for a house. Quite an adventure!

I have to admit it was not as bad as in Nigeria. I tried to find a new house there and I even got offers of apartments on the first floor, without stairs; Madam if you rent it we may be able to build stairs!

In Yaoundé, houses are very expensive. At least, the houses in the better areas, which are safe and central, are expensive. I have really seen apartments (so not villas with a swimming pool, but an apartment) for 1,500,000 CFA (almost € 2300) per month. Just imagine the salary you should have to live there! And especially, consider that the GDP per capita is $ 2300 (data from 2008). So, renting that place for a month is literally the year income of an average Cameroonian.

After looking at houses and rooms for three days, I got the idea it was quite terrible. Places were very expensive. Or the walls are covered in mould (we will paint it Madam, so you will not see it anymore! That doesn’t really solve the problem…) Or there were big puddles in the bedroom (we will dry clean before you move in Madam!). Or they could only be reached through a small path which was already very slippery without rains falling. Or they were right above an evangelic Church.

In the end I found a place where I will move in July. From the outside it looks pretty bad. The landlord said they used tiles from China. And instead of protecting the walls from water, they absorb the water. But the inside is very fine, and that is what it is all about.

So, I'm getting ready for the city life!