Writer Participates In Youth Program

by Charity Fadun

December 19th, 2003 I went from Winnipeg, Canada to Cameroon, Africa, from a dry -30C to a humid +35C; and participated in a youth mobility program called "Youth and the Promotion of Sustainable Development". This program was organized by the Collectif des association de jeunesse du Cameroun and funded by the Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie.

Twelve youths from 7 countries came together for ten days to discuss topics related to the economy, the environment, social issues, and how they all relate to sustainable development.

However, these discussions were just the beginning of our time together.

We put together a 36 page educational manual that not only presented the issues we identified as important to sustainable development in our milieu, but also included concrete actions to be implemented by youth in addressing our concerns.

A member of our group worked hard to prepare comic strips that depicted some of the issues we were discussing. Other projects included an audio tape summarizing our time together, the beginnings of a website, and plans for 8 different projects related to the theme of this program.

Great friendships began as a part of this program: each participant had a different point of view reflecting our culture and area of expertise. We were able to learn from each other, and left with expanded knowledge on the matters under discussion.

Our group showed vast differences, including a young man who goes into non documented areas in Chad and makes maps, a philosophy teacher, an artist, a social work student, a web designer, and a biology major.

We had in common our French language, our involvement in volunteer organizations, and our hopes for a better future.

The project that I have started is entitled "Sharing of Resources," and is aimed at addressing the educational needs of youth in Africa.

I was shocked to learn that the universities where my African colleagues have studied use textbooks that are 30 - 40 years old. I was further shocked to hear of large cities absent of public libraries. I couldn't help but think of all the books sitting in second hand stores or my friends' basements in Winnipeg.

I decided to work with one of my colleagues from Brazzaville,Congo.He already has a youth resource centre in his city; a perfect place for their first municipal library. What is involved is collecting reading resources and then sending them by container to Congo. However, I see this project as more than collecting books: I also want to make sure that Canadians, particularly youth, are informed of the obstacles that youth their age face in Africa when pursuing an education.