Ulog no 30: Celebrating the international day of the girl child with WVED

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The international day of the girl child that is commemorated every year on the 11th of October is an event that seeks to acknowledge the rights of the girl child and the issues faced by young gurls around the world. This year was no different as organizations locally and internationally that advocate for the girl child all participated actively in this once in a year event. It was celebrated on the 11th of October, 2018 but due to the circumstances of thinhs in our country and the insecurity, we at WVED pushed the celebration to Saturday 20th of October, 2018.

The ceremony was held at the Pastoral Centre Bamenda in one of their main halls. There were about 8 mentors of WVED in attendance including myself and about 100+ WVED kids and other special invitees. The event commenced with a word of prayer from one of the kids then with the singing of the WVED anthem and declarations from the kids.

A welcome speech was delivered by Madam Hevecia Takwe who is the director of WVED. She also gave hints on what the day aimed to achieve and why it is celebrated every year. Next on the cue was a word from the LitClub regional coordinator and HerStory project Miss Mboringong Fideline. She also gave a brief talk on what the different projects are all about, what the projects seek to achieve, its achievements so far and her wish to see it go further and further reaching out to many girls and touching their lives.

Mme Hevecia Takwe

Miss Mboringong Fideline

Next up, the mentors presented a good number of activities that brought out creativity in the kids and through this, the kids were encouraged and empowered through these activities to always aim for the skies. First activity was the puzzle game in which they were asked to write down their personal attributes and strengths then use it to complete a puzzle. They really followed up on the activity well and their presentations were all amazing. They were also required to do a presentation if their piece citing instances where they demonstrated the stated attributes. The exercise was one filled with fun and laughs.

Secondly, they were asked to think of people that are making remarkable changes in the communities around them and put down appreciatiin statements for them. Many of them cited their parents, some cited organizations and many cited WVED. This was another fun activity too and the children really enjoyed it.

Thirdly, they were asked to make pledges of how they intend to use their strengths to solve some problems they have identified in their communities. This they did and they all made amazing pledges and were also advised to also put their pledges into actions.

WVED kids working on their puzzle

WVED presenting on their worked puzzle

WVED kid making her pledge

We also had the presentation of a certificate of nomination for the International Children's peace awards to our very own Fuhneba Peace. He was selected as one of the nominees of 240+ that were selected over the World with the thousands fo applications received. It was an honour for WVED to have one of its own recognized and we hope he wins and even i db he doesn't, his commitment and devotion as a kid has been outstanding and we are available to support him all the way.
All the who were part of the HerStory program also received their certificates from the regional coordinator of the program Miss Mboringong Fideline. They were happy to get their certificates for the program and it really encouraged the kids to always strife for excellence.

Fuhneba Peace talks to his peers after his nomination

Wilma receives HerStory certificate

It is no news that Cameroon is one of the countries in the World that is going through a rough time. The crisis in the country has been the topics on every lips in the territory. Today being a day we were celebrating the girl child, we did not forget some of the girls and their families who have been displaced from their homes due to the current crisis in the country. Some of these girls were invited to the event and their families along with them and WVED used the opportunity to stretch out a hand of help by giving out some items to the children and their families. It was sad to see these poor children who have fled their homes and are now feeding from hand to mouth. What touched me most was the story of a mother of 3 who had to go through the trauma of witnessing the murder of her husband and two elderly Sons right infront of her. They did nothing wrong and were all seated one evening when gun men dressed in military uniforms stormed their place, too the three out and shot them right infront of her.
She was still in a state of shock when she was saying all this and i could just imagine the scene being replayed infront of her as she narrated it.

She appreciated the gifts we gave and thanked us for them. It was a good feeling knowing that atleast we did something today to listen to them and to lend a hand. They have nobody else to turn to and that is why WVED director Mme Hevecia has set up a mentor's meeting on Tuesday 23rd October 2018 and we will discuss on how we can come up with a way to better help them. We will also present the case to our partners for their support too.

The event was decorated with dancing, food, and epic moments with display of joy and happiness for all the mentors and kids. Everyone was involved in the activities and they kids equally learned a lot from the celebrations. The dancing and music was cool and everyone had the time of their lives. Today was a good day for me and being a mentor at WVED, I will say these are one of the moments that make me appreciate my being part of the team and what we can really achieve as a team. We conclided the day with dancing and pictures...

Mme Hevecia dancing with the kids

Mentor Carine joins kids in the dancing

I am Hermann and this is my ULOG