Success Stories
Proof in The Pudding
GS Bamkikai, a primary school located in kumbo central sub division of Bui is one of the 92 schools benefitting from the McGovern Dole Food for Education and Child nutrition program implemented by Nascent Solutions.
Here is what the farm delegate Madam Koshoh Relindis has to say.
“Before the USDA and Nascent Project, our school did not have a functional garden. When the program acquired and mobilized the community to farm here, we utilized about two hectares and began to grow corn and beans which at the end of cropping season we had about 30kg of beans and 100kg of maize which was usually sold. All these when sold gave us about 20000 FCFA.When we received training from Nascent Solutions on improved farming techniques and Agric business we continued to cultivate our maize and beans using manure and fertilizers and this boosted the yield of these crops tremendously as averagely the yields of our beans increased to 300kg and maize 500kg, we feed our children with the food and sell the excess which amounts to about 100000FCFa francs. The Agric business training we received has given us a new approach to Agriculture as beside cultivating vegetables like cabbages ,carrots, bell peppers, amaranths, greens, which we used to complement the rice and beans given to us by the USDA. We have also specialized in the cultivation of Irish Potatoes which is a very high economic crop in our area. In the 2017 cropping season we harvested about 800kg of Irish potatoes which we sold for 125000 FCFa .The income we get from the sale of our farm produce we use to procure other condiments needed for the school feeding program, pay our school guard and even salary of some PTA teachers . Thanks to the agriculture component of the school feeding program we parents don’t have to pay a levy to run the school.’’
GS Bamkikai, a primary school located in kumbo central sub division of Bui is one of the 92 schools benefitting from the McGovern Dole Food for Education and Child nutrition program implemented by Nascent Solutions.
Here is what the farm delegate Madam Koshoh Relindis has to say.
“Before the USDA and Nascent Project, our school did not have a functional garden. When the program acquired and mobilized the community to farm here, we utilized about two hectares and began to grow corn and beans which at the end of cropping season we had about 30kg of beans and 100kg of maize which was usually sold. All these when sold gave us about 20000 FCFA.When we received training from Nascent Solutions on improved farming techniques and Agric business we continued to cultivate our maize and beans using manure and fertilizers and this boosted the yield of these crops tremendously as averagely the yields of our beans increased to 300kg and maize 500kg, we feed our children with the food and sell the excess which amounts to about 100000FCFa francs. The Agric business training we received has given us a new approach to Agriculture as beside cultivating vegetables like cabbages ,carrots, bell peppers, amaranths, greens, which we used to complement the rice and beans given to us by the USDA. We have also specialized in the cultivation of Irish Potatoes which is a very high economic crop in our area. In the 2017 cropping season we harvested about 800kg of Irish potatoes which we sold for 125000 FCFa .The income we get from the sale of our farm produce we use to procure other condiments needed for the school feeding program, pay our school guard and even salary of some PTA teachers . Thanks to the agriculture component of the school feeding program we parents don’t have to pay a levy to run the school.’’
To support the school-feeding component of the USDA funded, Nascent implemented McGovern-Dole Food For Education Child Literacy and Nutrion program, parents have been sending children to school with a piece of firewood once a week, a collective effort that lessens the burden on individual parents. government primary school KOSSI, consequently boasts of a constant stock of fuel. Here is an excerpt from the PTA president,
“This school has 05 teachers, and only one who is the headteacher is employed by the government. The other 4 are hired and paid by the PTA. We are happy to be part of the FFE project and are determined to do what we can, despite our other responsibilities, for the project to succeed and also give our children a bright future”
Week’s firewood supply brought to school by learners
In another government primary school-Tongo, to add flavour to school meals, the school feeding committee proposed to parents that each child brings one seasoning cube, one onion and a pinch of salt each month. Nearly all of the 506 pupils enrolled in the school respond each month, bringing together enough seasoning items to serve the school meals for 02.
Yenla Margret taught in CS Jakiri before the socio-political crisis in Cameroon’s North West Region closed schools. Although the crisis intensified, she could not live withhold her passion for educating childreno. So she volunteered as a community library assistant for Nascent’s Mobile Reading Program (MRP). Since July 2018, Yenla has been successfully running the MRP in the CS Jakiri school community.
Initially, while attempting to enroll children into the MRP, gaining the cooperation of parents was difficult as they feared for the safety of their children. Yenla devised a strategy, to mobilize children through Catholic doctrinal lessons organized by the Jakiri Catholic Parish. After a timid response, excitement caught on as children rediscovered the joy of reading storybooks. Eventually more children got interested , and checking out books became a daily activity as they came for their daily church lessons.
Yenla says
“I have just taken the opportunity to prepare some small exercises for them, which they complete while reading story books. I even visit some in their homes to follow up on how they are doing the exercises. I am so surprised to see how much the children are learning just from reading stories. Parents are very happy.”
Most children, who are at risk of regressing on their literacy skills, are now making steady progress. The children often gather in groups to discuss stories. Yenla is convinced that the children who are consistently participating in this program have caught up on some lost literacy skills, and are quite ready for formal schooling whenever the situation normalizes.
Seh Therese, a beneficiary pupil, said,
“I thank Nascent for their courage to help us gain knowledge amidst the crisis. Please never get tired of this good work you are doing.”
Through funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, Nascent Solutions is facilitating functionality of 213 mobile reading points in Cameroon. The mobile reading points aim to sustain reading skills of learners as majority schools in North West Cameroon remain closed due to the social political crisis there.
Agnes-Joy Ngwa’s, school was shuttered by socio-political unrest and violence. Her parents’ business was ruined, forcing them to relocate to a neighboring region. Agnes 9, remained in her native Jakiri with her grandparents idly playing or doing chores all day. After a year out of school, she was informed of Nascent’ Mobile Reading Program, where children go with their parents to borrow books and read at home. Her friend’s mother checked out a book for Agnes, and since then, she has become bibliophile.
Agnes who had never read a book outside of the text books in school, is now happily reading the last page of Tah Protus’ ‘The Village River’, the seventh book signed out by Agnes since she enrolled into the USDA-supported MRP. An excited Agnes-Joy shared her joy with a Nascent staff member:
I want to be a doctor when I am big. I was afraid that as I am not going to school again when school will start I will be failing my exams. Now I am learning many new words. When I start school again, I will still be reading the books… I will still be a doctor when I am big.
Through funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, Nascent Solutions is running 213 mobile reading points in Cameroon. The mobile reading points aim to sustain reading skills of learners as most schools in North West Cameroon remain closed due to the socio-political crisis there
Lidwina Fanka, a 40 year old mother of three children, is a volunteer cook at CBC Romkong and a recipient of USDA-funded McGovern-Dole program training on safe food preparation and storage practices. She learned color counting from her daughter, who attends CBC Romkong which utilizes color counting in its implentation of the McGovern-Dole Food For Education Program.
About Nascent
Nascent Solutions Inc. is a humanitarian and development organization dedicated to creating a self-reliant poverty-free Africa. Our programs have impacted the lives of over 10 million children, women, and men. Nascent Solutions Inc. is a Tax Exempt, 501C3 Organization.
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