Archive for the 'Projects' Category
PCV Chris Hill served in Buea from 1974-74, working with credit unions as an advisor. He is now the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.
From Politico
By: Anne Schroeder Mullins
July 22, 2009 04:50 AM EST
Before launching their careers on Capitol Hill, some congressional lawmakers got their first taste of mudslinging in a productive way — as volunteers in the U.S. Peace Corps. The program has served as an unlikely farm system for future members of Congress. Sen. Chris Dodd and Reps. Sam Farr, Tom Petri, Mike Honda and Steve Driehaus have all been among its ranks.
And it’s not just elected officials who have served in the Peace Corps before making their way to Washington. Journalist Chris Matthews was in Swaziland from 1968 to 1970, writer Maureen Orth was in Colombia from 1964 to 1966 — the same time as Farr — and current Ambassador to Iraq Chris Hill served in Cameroon from 1974 to 1976. (And he thought Africa was tough.)
The Peace Corps, which is hosting an event at the Capitol Visitor Center for staff and interns on Wednesday, gave us a peek at several politicos in their earthy Peace Corps days.
Ambassador Chris Hill
Volunteered in Cameroon (1974-76)
“In one month, I went from being responsible for very little in college to being responsible for the life savings of 6,000 credit union members in Fako Division, Cameroon. The Peace Corps gave me that chance. In many ways, it was the most important job I have ever had.”
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.)
Volunteered in the Dominican Republic (1966-68)
“Over 40 years ago, when I arrived in the Dominican Republic as an English major who spoke almost no Spanish, I was asked a question I’ve been asked a thousand times since: ‘Why did you join the Peace Corps?’ The answer was simple: because an American president asked me to. My experience in the Peace Corps was perhaps the most formidable and richest of my life, and it is why I have spent my life in public service and continue to urge others to serve our great nation.”
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.)
Volunteered in Colombia (1964-66)
“For two years, I lived amid severe poverty in Medellin, Colombia, helping the poorest of the poor figure out what they wanted from their government and then working with them to get it. I learned firsthand what contributes to poverty, and I’ve worked four decades to defeat it. As my wife said, I’m still a Peace Corps volunteer at heart; I’ve just changed my barrio.”
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.)
Volunteered in Somalia (1966-67)
Petri’s spokesman shares this story: “Having finished law school, Petri was assigned to bring some order to Somalia’s legal code. Because of the country’s colonial history, some of the laws were in Arabic, some in Italian and some in English. They were numbered, so if you had a copy of law 100, you knew that there were 99 before it.
“Petri went to the custodian of the laws to request a complete copy. He was told that that would be impossible. He returned over the course of several days, sometimes bringing the custodian tea, and gradually obtained a law or two at a time. Eventually, the custodian took him to a room where the laws were kept, bound in twine and totally ignored.”
Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.)
Volunteered in El Salvador (1965-67)
“My time in El Salvador taught me so much. I went into the Corps as a college student shy of graduation with little direction; I emerged with the confidence that my emotional, psychological and physical limits had been pushed, plied and ultimately surpassed. I went into the Corps driven by the shame of my youthful lack of direction; I emerged determined to do something about the pervasive poverty surrounding me. I went into the Corps speaking one language; I emerged speaking another: Spanish, a gift that introduced me to a new world, gave me a new way of understanding new cultures and helped me connect to constituents in California. The Peace Corps got me back to the basics, and I realized that every day is a gift to be used wisely. That gift is what guides me now in Congress.”
Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio)
Volunteered in Senegal (1988-90)
“I lived with a family in a village of 300 people, and she lived with us. When I look at this photo, I think I was much younger and I weigh less, and I have less gray in my beard. The Peace Corps was a fantastic experience. It was probably, with the exception of my marriage and my children, the most important experience in my life. Those 2½ years were very valuable. I had a prototypical Peace Corps experience — I lived in a rural area, and you have a far deeper appreciation for how so many millions of people live life around the world that is so different than ours.”
Driehaus adds: “I like to tease the others — they were all serving the year I was born.”
PCV Abba Greenleaf reports that she has a growing quilt-making project going in Cameroon. She is serving in Mayo Darle, Adamawa, as a Health Volunteer, and is originally from Iowa City, Iowa. Before joining the Peace Corps, she studied Public Health at George Washington University.
“I started quilting when I met a woman, Mairama, who is located in a village near the Nigerian border. She is an Umbororo woman who has been in Cameroon for about 9 years, since the Umbororo/Mambila conflict that forced her and her family to flee Nigeria. She was looking for a way to make money and so I taught her how to hand quilt. Now we have 9 women hand quilting and 3 piecing (using a machine to put the pieces together).
“Each month we have a meeting where I teach the women about a health topic and they get paid for their work and receive new work. They are learning, (petit a petit), how to be independent in their work, since I will be leaving Cameroon in December of this year. This means I am teaching them about budgeting, cotising money to buy supplies.
“It has been incredibly exciting to see these women learn the trade, turn it into a beautiful art while at the same time supporting their families. All the quilts are pieced on a machine, then hand quilted. Prices depend on size and the difficulty of the quilt. The smallest quilt usually costs about 15,000 cfa ($30) with the most expensive (large enough to cover a double bed) is usually around $100. All the quilts have pagne, and some are mixed with monotone color fabric to help ease the intensity (pagne is very bright and busy!). As you can see in the pictures, there is also the possibility of using the PC fabric. We chose to mix the fabric with green, yellow and red since those are the national colors. 
However, there are lots of different designs we can try out.
“If people are interested in ordering quilts; the address to use is agreenleafpccam@yahoo.com .
“My village actually just got electricity on the 20th of May, for 4 hours every night, but we are still a long way from Internet!
Since the organization was established in 1987, the Friends of Cameroon has funded more than two dozen village-based development projects in Cameroon, valued at more than $30,000. Projects have been located throughout the provinces of Cameroon, and have included a foot bridge in Kumba in the South West, a safe for Maga Health Clinic in the Extreme North, a beekeeping project in Njinikom in the North West, and a school for the deaf in Yaounde. Projects typically are in the health, education, and community development sectors.
The most recent projects funded were four community-based development projects worth 1.589.670 CFA ($3,117) FCFA, were located in Makak in the Center, Mvangan in the South, Batouri in the East, and in Yagoua, Extreme North Provinces, and focused on HIV/AIDS education and outreach. The projects were selected for the various methods proposed to reach out to local communities and educate the populations about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and how to protect against the deadly disease. The proposals were submitted by local organizations working in concert with Peace Corps Volunteers assigned to the areas.
FOC projects have included:
FOC support of $621 to the Club des Jeunes Aveugles Rehabilites du Cameroon helped the group, made upof blind and vision-impaired persons, expand their poultry business in Yaounde with the purchase of a freezer for their store.
*************************
In 2004, FOC funded the purchase of a cassava grinder for the Neyokoty Ariey Cooperative in the Acha Etemetek village. The grinder, purchased for $820, helped the village group to expand its business while making the grinding of cassava more easily availableto the local community.
***************
One of FOC’s earliest projects was the construction of a footbridge crossing the Kumba River, easing the travel of villagers to the main market in Kumba. FOC contributed $1000 towards the construction of the bridge.
**************
In the Eastern Province, FOC support of $1,000 helped to purchase a mixed gas and electric refrigerator for the health clinic in Sokamalam, shown with the health center chief Nguel Isiclure. The fridge is used to store vaccines and allow the clinic to reach more people. The project was guided by PCV Jennifer Goldman.
++++++++++++++++++++
FOC supported the “Modern Beekeeping Project” of the Boyui Young Farmer’s Club in the North West, which allowed them to purchase needed equipment to improve their hives (such as the one under the arrow) and expand their honey production and group income.
*******************
FOC project requirements
In order to be eligible for FOC funding, the applicant must live in Cameroon, be Cameroonian and/or working in Cameroon with either a private, non-profit organization, a cooperative or registered non-profit, or a village-based organization for by villagers for a communal purpose. The majority of the members of the applicant organization or the majority of the beneficiaries must be Cameroon citizens. It is required that the applicant is planning to provide, in cash or in kind, a minimum of one-fourth of the total cost of materials and/or labor of the project(s) supported by FOC funds.
The Friends of Cameroon was established in the United States in 1987, and the group’s members include persons who worked and lived in Cameroon as Peace Corps Volunteers, staff of the U.S. Embassy, USAID, and missionaries. The primary function of the organization is to keep members informed about Cameroon, continue to link those who served there, and to support small, community development projects in the country.
FOC provides funding for a variety of small, grass-roots projects in Cameroon, allowing members to continue to make a positive contribution to Cameroonian development. 
Methods of Contributions
FOC has provided assistance to various organizations through a variety of mechanisms. Often, FOC collaborates with Peace Corps Volunteers currently working in Cameroon to identify and support viable grassroots projects. Sometimes FOC provides funding directly to the organizations with the Volunteer as the local contact person. The Peace Corps Partnership program has proven to be a useful way to funnel assistance to projects in Cameroon, particularly when the total amount requested is large. By combining resources with those of other returned Volunteer groups and other community groups in the U.S., FOC can make a contribution that might otherwise be fiscally impossible. In the past, FOC has collaborated with RPCV groups in Madison, Wisconsin and Washington, DC, as well as in Western Montana. Discussions are under-way for possible future collaborations with RPCVs for Environment and Development. Continue reading ‘Development Projects’
Several FOC members are working on projects in Cameroon and have requested the assistance of FOC and its membership in making them a success. Project descriptions and contact information are provided below. Get in touch with the organizers if you can help. If you or another member is working on a project, please let us know!
Friends of Cameroon To Fund Four Community Projects
On June 4, 2006, the United States-based organization, the Friends of Cameroon, announced approval of four community-based development projects in Cameroon. The projects, worth 1.589.670 CFA ($3,117) funding, are located in the Center, South, East, and Extreme North Provinces, and focus on HIV/AIDS education and outreach
The projects were selected for the various methods proposed to reach out to local communities and educate the populations about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and how to protect against the deadly disease. The proposals were submitted by local organizations working in concert with Peace Corps Volunteers assigned to the areas. The projects are:
1. Healthcare Worker HIV/AIDS Workshops
Provincial Hospital, Yagoua, Extreme North Province
2. Association for the Development of Youth (ASDA)
Batouri, East Province
3. Youth Development Foundation
Makak, Center Province
4. Volunteer Counsling and Testing Center
District Hospital, Mvangan, South Province
In previous years, the Friends of Cameroon has funded more than two dozen projects, valued at more than 11 million FCFA. Projects have been located in most provinces of Cameroon and have included a footbridge in Kumba in the South West, a safe for Maga Health Clinic in the Extreme North, a beekeeping project in Njinikom in the North West, and a school for the deaf in Yaounde. Projects typically are in the health, education, and community development sectors.
“The Friends of Cameroon allows its members to stay in touch with Cameroon and the many friends that we made during our time in Cameroon,†said FOC President Bill Strassberger. “We are excited to be able to continue to support development activities in Cameroon by supporting community-based projects such as the four we recently selected.â€
The Friends of Cameroon was established in the United States in 1987, and members of the group include persons who worked and lived in Cameroon as Peace Corps Volunteers, staff of the U.S. Embassy, USAID, and missionaries. The primary function of the organization is to keep members informed about Cameroon, continue to link those who served there, and to support small, community development projects in the country. Additional information about the organization and how to apply for project funding can be found on this site.
Friends of Cameroon president Bill Strassberger presents FOC funds to PCV Justin Fugo in Yaounde for an HIV/AIDS education project organized by the Youth Development Foundation in the village of Makak in the Centre Province as acting Peace Corps/Cameroon director Kim Ahanda looks on.