Staff members of the CBC Health Services’ Comprehensive Program for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Inclusive Access to Basic Services of Health and Education in the Northwest region of Cameroon have carried out weeklong learning and exchange visit to Rwanda.

The exchange visit enabled the team to visit a similar project initiative funded by CBM in some provinces in Rwanda.

The team comprised; the SEEPD Program Manager, Mr. Awa Jacques Chirac, the Assistant Program Manager, Mr. Tamon James, the Project Coordinator Mr. Lohshie Eugene and Mr. Chick Sama, the General Coordinator of the Coordinating Unit of Association of People with Disabilities (CUAPWD) Northwest region.

The visit began February 19, 2023 with a meeting at the CBM Rwanda office in Kigali, where the project team presented their objective of the visit and shared the experience of CBCHS as a CBM partner organization in Cameroon.

Weeklong activities took the team to four districts (Huye, Ngoma, Gisagara, Rwamagana) across two provinces (East and South), holding meeting with district authorities and understanding their involvement and role in promoting inclusion and ensuring the full and effective participation of people with disabilities in community life.

With the major objective of the visit being to understand the implementation of livelihood project, the team met with several Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) to understand how they are empowering members/participants to increase access and control over resources and how they are using collective power to overcome social and financial barriers.

The team also met with several youths accessing technical vocational education and training in formal and informal settings. Highlight of the visit was meeting with the leadership of the Rwandan National Council of People with Disabilities (NCPD), who spelled out how the government is working in policy to improve on the situation of the vulnerable population especially those with disabilities.

With field support and orientation from staff of the National Union of Disability Organization (NUDOR), the visit ended with a debriefing session at the CBM Rwandan Country office, where the project team presented their learning and suggestions to the Rwandan team.

This activity was supported with funding from CBM.