Youth Advocacy Network: Teaching Multimedia in Cameroon

So, I’ll be honest.  My transition between high class livin in Baghdad and the life of a volunteer in Cameroon has not been easy.  I have struggled to try and get things done without a staff on hand.  I have struggled with taxis and locals and toilets and cooking.  You’d think that liv...

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Monday we had our first YAN meeting – and only about 4 out of 20 people came and those 4 didn’t expect to stay – they were just there to pick up permission slips.  Needless to say I was disheartened but not dissuaded.  We had 200 people applying – there was no way that out of thos...

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Hey - sorry to have been out of pocket so long.  I've been preparing for our big launch at Lycee.  The week started with the kick off party for after school clubs - it was so exciting to see everything that would happen in the coming year.  The students displayed their many talents in singing, dancing, and drama.  It was really a great event.  Two days later YAN officially launch and began accepting applications.  We had over 200 applicants - each filled out a survey and created an essay abou...
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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately – about politics and protest, laundry and rain, international development and Africa.  It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the number of infrastructure deficits here and the lack of outrage.  I think my naivety has gotten the best of me...

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I grew up with the Texas two-step – here I’m learning the two-step Cameroon style:  two steps forward and two steps back.  I’ve been here for a month – prepping our program, expanding it, and trying to find partners.  I’ve had dozens of meetings – half of the time spent waiting for the meeting to actually start.  Iâ...

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I’ve tried my best to withhold my impressions on Buea from this blog – focusing instead on the work being done and my personal challenges.  Come to find out that’s a wrong course of action.  My personal reflections are more than welcome on this blog.  I’m still hesitant though –...

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We’re making moves here in Buea - trying to connect students from the US and all over the world with students from our program here. 

We’re expanding the curriculum - connecting classrooms and youth groups in the US and Cameroon.  We want to tell the stories of youth through emails, Facebook, podcasts, and videos.  In a larger sense we’re going to try expand the reach of YAN by targeting our advocacy.  In a smaller sense we’re sending emails and brainstorming ideas.  

YAN isnâ...

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Today I had the honor and privilege of attending the inauguration of the first female principal of Lycee Bilingual High School in Buea.  Having never attended a ceremony like this one before I was unsure what to expect. Two things struck me right off:  1.  The amount of pomp and circumstance; and 2. The necessity for the change over.

I honestly don’t know what events are involved when a new principal is installed in a US school.  I would imagine on the first day of school there would be an a...
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Today I got a hit of what my days will be like once the rainy season ends.  This morning the sun cut through the clouds on my way to the Bueatown school to try and meet with the principal there.  She was not there and I found out that school was not a high school but a secondary school - oops - they also don’t have any internet connectivity.  Given these two things the prospects of moving into this school seem slim.  However, we know we want to maintain a connection to the school - or any s...
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