Since its creation and expansion in 2014, we have undertaken restoration work for our Bafia centre. We are very grateful to the Wasps Legends Charitable Foundation (WLCF), which contributed £7,018 (or €7,840) of funds dedicated to this project. We smashed down the partition wall between two large study rooms to make one large room and the entire centre has been painted, spruced up, and repaired where necessary both inside and out.

Continuing the spirit of our achievements in Bangangté, our make-over transformed the centre into a bright cheerful, colourful and welcoming building. We have created a youthful and vibrant atmosphere we were looking for, full of colour.

Before After      

The difference is remarkable and we are very proud of the final outcome. It had become necessary as the rainy seasons had really taken their toll on the pipes and gutters. A bridge has now been built allowing easier and more secure access to the centre.

We also decided to spruce up the back of the centre by planting shrubs and carving out a vegetable garden with cabbages and lettuces bursting through. Gardening duties are the responsibility of the young people who will be cultivating and harvesting the produce. These improvements will see completion in the last quarter of 2018.

Translation by Raphael Nash

Philippe is about to finish his training in pearl objects.

Today he’s proud of showing us his work and it’s Odile’s necklace that inspires him for his future

creations.

Philippe also has been following a bamboo training with a local craftsman for the past three months. According to his teacher he still isn’t quite independent but should perfect his technique over the coming months. He’s really happy to learn.

Thanks to the different fundraising actions organized for his cause a workshop has been built for him in the center of the “L’Eau Claire” field. This workshop has a room behind, that he showed us with pride with his communicative smile.

The SBA offered him a bed and a solar lamp that will enable him to work after the sun sets…

During her stay in Cameroon, Odile our CEO visited some former SBA members to find out how they were doing. She met up Romeo who has a great story to share with us. 

Romeo used to play for the rugby team of SBA Bagangté. For 1 year and 8 months, he has been working for Congelcam, the Cameroon leader in import, distribution and sale of seafood. Unfortunately, he has no longer the time to join our rugby sessions because he often works on Sundays, but he knows it’s a great opportunity for him to be part of this company. Married and father of a one-year-old child, Romeo did not go to school for a long time, but he worked hard and climbed the carrier ladder step by step. He is housed in Bagangté by his company.

Odile, our CEO, went to pay him an unexpected visit in his company and she was happily surprised to see that Romeo was wearing our SBA T-Shirt. He is indeed grateful to our association for what we have done for him and he does not forget us which warms our heart!

Congratulations Romeo on working so hard and best wishes for the future! 

In November 2017, we launch our first personal hygiene campaign. The objective was to teach good practices and to reinforce, in the minds of children and adults, the necessity to wash their body and teeth every day, but also the importance to wash their hands regularly with soap and by adopting the right technique.
    

Hand washing is a very simple but fundamental gesture to eliminate bacteria. It’s a reflex to have that can save lives. In fact, 80% of common infectious diseases, such as cold or flu, are transmitted by the hands. And 20 seconds is the optimal duration of an effective hand washing.

The Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé offered us soaps for our personal hygiene campaign and we are very grateful to them. This is the second time in a year that the Hilton Hotel gives us soaps which are very useful to the mothers of the children of our centers.

In addition to soaps, we received a donation of toothpastes and toothbrushes by Dr. Roshan from Georgetown Dentistry in Washington DC. They were offered to the children of the Jardin d’Eden Center.

Thank you to our generous donors for making this hygiene campaign possible!

The children are back in school and in our SBA centres.

Thanks to our partners, DHL and Panafrica, we have received generous donations that are helping our children with education and rugby supplies.

This year, our partner Panafrica renew its confidence and will help us to support the education pole of the SBA (educational material, teacher expenses, complement of school supplies …).

DHL kindly offered for the first year a bunch of school supplies, medicinal products and materials for our Rugbymen.

A huge thanks for their support, in a long term perspective.