Half Way Downish

It has been a very busy week and a half here in Bamenda. I requested to visit some other NGOs in Bamenda in order to get a better sense of working relationships NGOs have with each other. Last Monday I visited the Justice and Peace Commission which has recently put out a PowerPoint report in conjunction with the Bamenda Archdiocese on human trafficking in the North West Region of Cameroon. There was some good information and some information that was possibly not useful or put into practice in the best way. I have become quite critical of anti-human trafficking practices they assume are useful here.

Tuesday I visited the ILO (International Labor Organization/Office). Unfortunately the “expert” in human trafficking was in Italy but I was able to get some French reports the ILO in Yaoundé created regarding child trafficking in the NWR. Tuesday I also went to Youth Outreach Program whose volunteers work to empower children, make children responsible, viable people who are aware of the benefits of schooling and not entering into the workforce at such a young age. They also conduct several different programs on poverty, access to clean water, etc… They are a fairly stable working NGO and are working to proceed with anti-trafficking awareness. I tried to express to GLOWA the benefit of working with them. There have been many unfortunately issues with GLOWA which has made it difficult to be positive as of now. Most of my frustration is a result of the organization sending misleading information to me about the status of the organization. I know obstacles are not always foreseen so I’ll continue working for the children.

Continuing, Wednesday and Thursday we spent working on and conducting a child’s meeting and an adult’s meeting inviting community members to come to their respective meeting and learn about GLOWA, human rights, child’s rights, and more specifically human (child) trafficking. The child’s meeting included all trafficked victims. I would like to welcome children whom have not been victimized in order to prevent possible exploitation. GLOWA had not had any visitors to the NGO and I thought it would be appropriate for children to feel as though GLOWA is a safe place for them to freely discuss child rights related issues with any volunteer. I also want adults/parents to understand what we are working toward so they know where their children are going each week.

I have one week left in Bamenda before I go to Yaoundé for the tail end of my research and assistance with GLOWA. Primarily in Yaoundé I will be gathering information from anti-trafficking organizations about developing these sorts of NGOs and possible partnership opportunities. Due to GLOWA’s extreme underdevelopment, I feel untrained to give much input. I will be staying with a woman who works at the U.S. Embassy and she has helped gather contacts. I am hoping/assuming this will be very helpful for GLOWA.