Inspire for Peace

End of GlobalGiving Fundraising Campaign.

The GlobalGiving Fundraising campaign ended on the 15^th of July 2021. The target amount for the fundraiser was $2400. The total amount raised as of the date the fundraiser ended was $1383. This was about 57% of the total goal amount.

Identifying project beneficiaries/Purchase of school supplies

The beneficiaries of this project are economically disadvantaged internally displaced primary school pupils from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon whose education has been disrupted by the crisis and they are forced to move to pursue an education in safer regions. The Inspire for peace targeted internally displaced primary school pupils currently schooling in Douala. Douala is home to one of the largest populations of internally displaced people from Cameroons’ English regions. From the 15^Th to 30^th August, with the help of a grassroots organisation called “Smiles Africa” the project beneficiaries were identified. Most of them came from a quarter called Ndobo in Douala, Cameroon. 100 primary school kids were identified and invited to a particular location where they were going to receive their school supplies.

Within this same time frame, the school supplies were purchased. The supplies bought included 100 school bags, exercise books, pencil cases, pens, pencils, colours, sharpeners, math sets and rulers.

Distribution of school bags

On the 1^st of August 2021, the school supplies were distributed to the 100 primary school pupils that had been invited to the program. The school supplies were distributed with the help of volunteers from “Smiles Africa”. The venue for the distribution of the school supplies was Roots Bilingual Primary School Ndobo Douala. The pupils arrived at the distribution venue at 11:00 am. The distribution started at 12:00 noon. All 100 pupils received their school bags containing exercise books and stationery.

Reactions from Beneficiaries

While we waited for all the recipients and volunteers to arrive at the venue, we bought some candy which we shared with the kids to keep them entertained. Every pupil was happy to receive candy except for one child. When we asked him why he did not want candy, he said he would prefer a school bag. He thought if he got the candy, he would not get a school bag. The pupils and their guardians were excited about receiving the supplies. Most of them expressed joy and were grateful for the concern those who had donated had for them.

Limitations

One of the main limitations of the project was the fact that we received more beneficiaries than we had invited. Most of those who had been invited to the program also told their friends about it. We had a total of 170 primary school pupils come for the program when we had invited 100. As a result, we had to take out a few exercise books from some of the bags to give some of the pupils who had come so that they do not go back empty-handed. Unfortunately, still, not all children were able to receive the school supplies.

Another challenge we faced was getting tracking information. As part of the project, we intended to get the contact information of the guardians of project beneficiaries to check in with their families throughout the year to make sure that they are in school throughout the year. Unfortunate, most families refused to provide us with this information while some did not have phones. Only about 25 guardians were able to provide us with such information. We spoke with the headmistress of the school where we received the beneficiaries (Roots Bilingual Primary School Ndobo) and she promised to do the tracking and give us feedback. She lives in the community where most of the internally displaced persons are located and also most of the pupils attend her school.

Continuity Plans

We are hopeful that all the 100 pupils who received these school bags are able to go to school and remain in school throughout the next academic year. We are currently looking for more ways to reach out to many more pupils or to continue to impact those we had started working with. We will post further updates on that in the months ahead.