Our interns here in Buea have spent the last four weeks doing amazing work at the three local NGOs at which they’ve been placed. Our superb seven—Tetsop, Ruth, Nelson, Eyole, Emmanuel, Lucia, and Josy—have created blogs and newsletters and facebook pages and twitter accounts, and all the while have learned how their local organizations function.  And now—this afternoon, in fact—their internships are coming to a close. We celebrated the event at Jabez Restaurant in Buea just a few hours ago, where we gave short speeches, distributed diplomas, and took a group photo (check it out below!). In fact, two of our organizations—ProClimate International and the Environment and Rural Development Foundation—so appreciated and valued their interns' work that they have invited their interns to continue working for the coming month. We’re proud to have set up these partnerships between YAN, our secondary school students, and local organizations that will continue on into the future, and we are very impressed by our students’ efforts and professionalism throughout the whole month.




And with that, our work here at YAN is coming to a close! We will be in Cameroon through Wednesday to enjoy one last weekend at the beach in Limbe with Clara’s friend Helen, who is visiting us from New York City, as well as to say our goodbyes; and then, we will move on to new adventures. Clara will be embarking upon a Masters' Degree in Environmental Management at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; and Josh will be a curriculum director for Bridge International Academies, a charter school network in Kenya. Though our own time here is ending, YAN's presence in Cameroon will continue. If you ever are interested in supporting YAN in the future, we invite you to do so by contacting our Executive Director, Erin Wildermuth, or by checking out the YAN website for more details. We are absolutely committed to remaining involved in this extraordinary program in the years to come, and we hope that you will continue to learn about YAN’s work by reading this blog in the coming months, as another school year--and another year of YAN--starts here in Cameroon. And thank you all for following our work this year and for supporting us!

As they say in Pidgin, "Waka Fine and Stay Fine"--or, in English, "Walk well and be well."