Cameroon: Help us end the stigma about menstruation!

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Because a girl’s period should not be a barrier to education, we’ve decided to distribute menstrual hygiene products to the girls of  our centers. Often girls miss school when they have their period, that’s why we’re actively working on a sustainable project to make our own washable pads in order to change the daily life of our girls. Menstruation is really nothing to be ashamed of, Odile Prevot, our CEO has decided to start talking about it! Let’s read her thoughts here:

“If Rugby is the vector, the excuse or serves as a hook to bring pupils together out of the street, the Serge Betsen Academy is fighting for every single child to be able to go to school.

While in Cameroon and Mali these last few months I got to spend more time with the girls of our centers. As CEO of the SBA I have been focusing particularly on the girls, their education, their role, their future, their problems and how to resolve them.

A number of our girls are missing schools during their periods as they’re unable to afford sanitary products. Some of them are improvising protections using rags, leaves, newspapers. Why? Whilst menstruation is one of the most ordinary individual female experiences, the discussion of menstruation in Africa is complicated due to cultural and social attitudes.

It’s not a new problem, but it’s not going away, and it’s time to take action: a girl absent from school due to menstruation loses on average 2 weeks of learning in every school term.

In 2020, we decided to distribute menstrual hygiene products so that no girls shall be excluded from education, no girls shall be ashamed of menstruation, no girls shall miss class and sport activities due to their periods. Help us break down the stigma!”

 

Partnership: Six IPAG Business School students set the goal of raising € 3000 for the SBA !

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A team of 6 IPAG Business School students all in their first year of Master launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim to collect € 3,000 (USD 3,380) for the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA). This initiative was part of a Start Up and Business model course.

SBA is a cause they have at heart and especially for Louise and her family who already proved to be a big SBA support in the past. The funds collected will allow the purchase of school items and school uniforms and will also cover payment of school tuitions for the children of the association for the next 2020-2021 school year.

Our thanks go to Louise, Julie, Francois, Quentin, Osman and Nathan for this great support!

To help their campaign reach its target please don’t hesitate to like their facebook page Sba_Ipag, to follow them on twitter @SBA_IPAG and to talk about them around you.

You can access the crowdfunding campaign with the following link:

→ https://fr.ulule.com/sba_ipag/supporters/

Bear in mind that your donations will contribute to a better future for these children via our Education programme. Every contribution is a step forward to the happiness of these children.

Have a look below at the video presenting the project:

Translation by Marc Fayemi

Event: Thank you for celebrating with us our 15th anniversary in the Pays Basque!

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Simply THANK YOU !

Thank you to our partners and suppliers for these two beautiful days; La Financière Arbevel, Audio Network, Maison Boinaud, Vignobles Roux, l’Hôtel du Palais, Axa, Pernod-Ricard, Suntory Orangina, Eau de la Reine, Milady plage, KDM sport, Alboan, les Archiballs, Ultrapetita, APRS sécurité and the Red Cross.

Thank you Vivien Durand, chef of the Prince Noir in Lormont(33) and Jean Marie Gautier, chef at the Hôtel du Palais for this excellent diner and their kindness.

Thank you to Madame Laurence Fischer, sport Ambassador, for honoring us with her presence.

Thank you to the whole rugby family for supporting the charity: Serge Blanco, Patrice Lagisquet, Pascal Ondarts, Olivier Roumat, Pierre Hontas, Olivier Magne, Patrick Tabacco, Pepito Elhorga, Nicolas Brusque, Damien Traille, Imanol Harinordoquy, Sotele Puleoto and Legi Matiu.

Thank you Bixente Lizarazu, Yannick Jauzion and Simon Shaw for their video.

Thank you to our artists Harry The Piano and Hervé Larrieu for these beautiful sculptures.

Thank you Lili Gérenton and Sylvie Dunatte, who immortalized this anniversary through their photos and videos. You can see the Gala Diner pictures and that of the Rugby Charity day on the dedicated links or check them out on our social medias.

Thank you to the charity’s loyal sponsors that were there and continue to support us.

Thank you to all the rugby teams, players and French Legends that were present on the 24th of July despite de 43°C!

Thank you Lionel Quenardel for the operation “recycled balls” with the sportive charity of the Collège Diderot of Massy, which helped raise over 33,000€ for the Serge Betsen Academy in 3 years.

Thank you to all the volunteers that helped make these two days happen, and everyone else that helped along the year.

Thank you to the charity’s bureau, Serge, Odile Prévot and Sébastien Lovy, who donate their free time to develop and follow the charity’s actions.

Thank you to our consultant Mailys Finel and Jenna Delmas Jalabert, who run the project communication and coordination for the charity.

Finally a huge THANK YOU to all of you for supporting us through your presence over the two days but also to all who coulant make it and still supported our cause.

See you again in 5 years !

A word from Serge

“I am slowly recovering from two wonderful days spent at the Pays Basque. What a beautiful celebration of our 15th anniversary between Biarritz and Bayonne ! Many thanks to all the volunteers, partners and rugby players for these two days that made the event of our anniversary unforgettable!
A special thanks to Olivier Otondo and the whole volunteering team that participated in creating these amazing memories. A true demonstration of solidarity which exemplifies the charity’s most profound value.
Thanks to your help we have raised 48800€! Milesker anitz !
I invite you to join us at the WateRugby by 6 stations Tournament from September 13th to September 15th in Toulouse.
Serge”

15 Years later, the SBA is… :

Event: Pictures from the SBA’s 15th anniversary

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We have immortalized this 15th anniversary through a series of photos taken by Lili Gérenton, our official photographer, Sylvie Dunatte Stéph. V Photos and Théo Cheval !

To see the beautiful memories click below

📸 Pictures from the Gala diner  👔 : https://photos.app.goo.gl/wGLaBt5fr7YyxKm67

📸 Daytime pictures #Rugby 🏉 caritative : https://photos.app.goo.gl/nXEWfUfAmdTGRT33A

Cameroon: School and exam results for the year 2018-2019

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It is with great pride that we announce our children’s school scores for the year 2018-2019. We are happy to announce that this year saw the highest promotion rate to the next grade for all classes (86.67%) and a great success rate of 94.44% for the BEPC. 79.17% of our children got their Baccalauréat. We are so proud of our children and so thankful to our partners, without whom this would not be possible.

👏 Congratulations to all our students from the SBA who passed their exam.

Video: The charity’s new presentation

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Thanks to our partnership with the Le Vestiaire Agency, we have created a new video to present our projects and actions in Cameroon.

You can check it out here: Présentation SBA 2019

 

Anniversary: The SBA has spread lots of happiness over the past 15 years! #SBA15ans

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At the Serge Betsen Academy we have held out our hand to the disadvantaged youth of Cameroon for 15 years now. We have welcomed over 5,000 children in our 5 educational centers. We cherish the many emotional and happy moments shared with them. In the event of our anniversary we would like to share some of these memories with you!

 

Strong memory#1 💚 #SBA15ans
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The Serge Betsen Academy is born on the 4th of March, 2004 and was first known as the Children of Biemassy in Yaoundé, it focused primarily on teaching rugby. 15 young players signed up at first.
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Strong Memory #2 ❤ #SBA15ans
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In 2004, the SBA helped the Rosy center in Yaoundé by offering an after school tutoring program.The center was created by Rosy, a retired nurse, in order to grant local children access to medical care.
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Strong Memory #3 💛 #SBA15ans
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In 2007 in Bangangté, we have created the Clear Water Center for 30 children.This is our most successful creation as of today as it now welcomes 110 children.It was directed by Dr Elisabeth for 10 years and it gathers all three pillars of the charity: after school tutoring, medical care and rugby training.
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Strong Memory #4 💚 #SBA15ans
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In 2008, we created our first well at the Chefferie of Bangangté. It has granted access to drinkable water to the 33600 inhabitants of the city. Since then the SBA has built 4 other wells, 1 in Bafia and 3 others in Bangangté and 3 water towers.
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Strong Memory #5 ❤ #SBA15ans
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In 2008, the Children of Biemassy charity changed its name to the Serge Betsen Academy in order to symbolise an important turn of events. From this day on, the charity widened its mission from simply popularising rugby in Cameroon to using the sport as a vector of education, social integration, and healthcare access in urban and rural areas of the country in favor of disadvantaged children.
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Strong memory #6 💛 #SBA15ans
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In 2011, the Eden Garden center opened its doors thanks to our generous financial support. Every afternoon, 25 children from 4 to 12 enjoy a clean, calm and creative environment where they can open up and learn about community life. They happily take part in diverse educative, musical and sportive games.
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Strong memory #7 💚 #SBA15ans
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A trip to Cameroon with Serge Betsen and an english delegation in November 2011 forever stuck with Odile Prevot and Sébastien Lovy. They then decided to commit for the wellbeing of the children of Cameroon and officially joined the charity’s board in march 2012. Since then, they hold the charity deep in their hearts and offer time, energy and experience to grant our children the best possible future.💚 ❤️ 💛

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strong memory #8 ❤️ #SBA15ans
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The Zoétélé center intergrates the Serge Betsen Academy in 2013 after Serge Betsen met with Abaa, our rugby coordinator.Throughout the years, the children that used to come only for rugby trainings now also integrated the after school tutoring program since October 2018.
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Strong Memory #9 💛 #SBA15ans
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In 2014 the Serge Betsen Academy found this new field on which the youth of Ekounou will continue its rugby training, therefore granting the children with new perspectives. Today a real team made up of 20 boys and girls trains every Sunday at the Etourdi stadium of Yaoundé. These children are not only coached on the field but also in their studies for their future carriers! We are proud of their successes.
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Strong Memory #10 💚 #SBA15ans
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At the SBA, we are also very proud of the creation of solidary operations :
– The recycled balls operation launched by Lionel and the Diderot Middle School of Massy in 2016 which helped us raise nearly 30,000 euros in 3 years.
– The SBA Coop, an agricultural cooperative with the mothers in Bangangté created in 2017 that generated a corn and two bean harvests.
– The SBA Craft, an artists cooperative with overflowing creativity created in 2018 which gathered Philippe, our young artist specialized in bamboo and pearls, Clarisse, seamstress who notably has hand sewn bags for the children, Hérode, Djibril’s wife who stitched armbands for the national holiday and Christelle, a painter who created large paintings for the Eden Garden center.
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Strong memory #11❤️#SBA15ans
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The SBA is also involved in construction and renovation projects in order to better the wellbeing of our children and that of the local population:
– In 2012, the renovation of the lower school of Fatgo’o (cost elevated to 6,000 €)
– In 2013, the enlargement of the Rosy center of Bafia (for 24,000 €) and the construction of a well (2,135 €) and a water tower (2,897 €)
– In 2016, the renovation of a lower school of Fatgo’o (5119 €) doubling its welcoming capacity
– In 2016-2017, the construction of a new center Clear Water (220m², 92,000 €)
– In 2018, the rearranging of the Bafia Center (7,800 €)
– In 2019, the renovation of the Neta lower school and the creation of sanitary installations (14,390 €).
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Partnership: Spend a night at a hotel with your partner and support the Serge Betsen Academy!

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The Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) supports the SOLIKEND initiative, a new hotel reservation site based on a unique solidarity concept.

“Book your hotel and support charities. 100% of your fees for your stay will be paid to the charity of your choice.” The concept is explained in this video (in French):

An original and meaningful gift card for Valentine’s Day:

The SOLIKEND X Serge Betsen Academy gift card allows you to offer a stay in a superb selection of 2* to 5* hotels across France.

It is also a strong gesture for our charity as 100% of the card amount is donated to the Serge Betsen Academy.

 

How does it work?

  1. Order your gift e-card (from 50 € – equivalent of USD 56,5) on this page.
  2. The gift card will be sent directly to you by e-mail: all you have to do is print it out or forward it to the recipient.
  3. The card allows the recipient to book any of the partner hotels (more than 70 hotels) and is valid for of 2 years on all SOLIKEND offers; you can redeem it on one or more occasions.
  4. At the end of your stay, 100% of the amount of the card is transferred by the hotel owner to the SBA.

Solidarity guarantee: When the card expires (after 2 years), any unused amount left on the card will be transferred by SOLIKEND to the SBA.

Find out here more information. 

 

For any questions, the SOLIKEND team is at your disposal on +33 (0)5 59 43 85 05 or by email at: contact@solikend.com.

 

Translation by Katy Birgé-Wilson