-Laureates urged to be community torchbearers among their peers
Some 40 outstanding youth aged 14-24 who have distinguished themselves in rendering services to the community through volunteering under “The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Cameroon” initiative have been graduated and urged to be community torchbearers among their peers.
Award officials pose for group picture with laureates after ceremony
The youth were awarded certificates and medals recognizing them as ambassadors of the award programme in the country during a ceremony Thursday 10 June 2021 at the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Yaounde. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award founded in 1956 is world’s leading youth volunteering and empowerment flagship programme with ambition to equip young people with practical experiences and life skills to create committed global citizens.
It has objective to provide a balance, non-formal and voluntary training to young people through schools and colleges, youth clubs, associations, faith-based movements, youth empowerment centers and prisons and in shelters where street and orphaned youths gather. The initiative has evolved over decades to be embraced in over 130 countries worldwide, impacting lives of over 80 million young people of both sexes from all backgrounds without discrimination.
Addressing laureates and invitees during the ceremony, Munge Epie Nicole, Operations Officer and Interim Director of the award programme in Cameroon said the ceremony which coincides with the birthday of the founder who unfortunately died two months back offers an opportunity to celebrate the legacy he has left behind.
Munge Epie Nicole, Operations Officer and Interim Director of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Cameroon
The initiative, she said, was embraced in Cameroon in 1988 and has become more relevant in responding to the broad exigencies of empowering, transforming youth through its non-formal model to become committed citizens at the service of their community and country.
Following the reorganization of the youth associative milieu and all actors working on youth development in Cameroon, the programme whose operations were facing some challenges was reorganized by Ministerial Decree No. 2015/009/D/MINJEC/CAB of 08 June 2015 in order to suit the context and placed under a leadership of a national director, board of trustees and a national award community, Munge revealed.
She further stated that the certificates and medals granted the youth corresponds to the duration of their activities including the bronze medal for those who put in six months, silver for those who worked for twelve months and the gold for those who put in twenty four months.
Their activities, she disclosed, involved community service, skill acquisition, physical recreation, the adventurous journey including gold residential project which enables youth to undertake a journey away from home to serve a particular community.
Dr. Diane Acha Morfaw, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the award used the opportunity in her addressed delivered through video projection to salute the resilience put up by the youth to complete the programme despite the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the initiative has helped most of the young people to re-discover themselves through voluntary services they rendered to the communities.
Acha said the recipients fall among the first batch to be graduated this year among some 2000 volunteers. She said through their activities, they did not only help in transforming not only the community but the beneficiaries. She appreciated the support of the ministry for financial assistance and office space as well as other partners that made the programme successful.
In another address to the youth delivered through video projection, Youth Affairs and Civic Education Minister, Mounouna Foutso, said the initiative falls in line with the moral and civic rearmament programme of the ministry aimed at helping to curb moral decadence in the society. He challenged the youth to remain responsible and uphold the values of discipline, creativity which has been impacted in them and hold strong to their dreams and become leaders within their communities.
Mbi Aziseh and Bakamin Nyemeck, two of the recipients said the initiative has helped boost their morale in contributing to community development as well as increase their leadership skills.
They expressed the wish to effective play their role as ambassadors of the award initiative by encouraging their peers to join the programme and improve on their skills and creativity.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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