CBCHS receives Liliane Foundation and AFAS Foundation
The prowess of the CBC Health Services in the domain of services to children and persons with disabilities has once more been demonstrated to a 5-man team (two from the AFAS Foundation, two from Liliane Foundation and one journalist) from the Netherlands that was in Cameroon for one-week working visit from June 16-22, 2022. Led by the Head of International Partnerships and Programmes of the Liliane Foundation, Anna Donker and the AFAS Director, Gerbern Eversdijk, the team came to see for themselves how funds they supply to the CBCHS are judiciously used to better the lot of children and persons with disabilities in Cameroon.
The other team members comprised: Chiara Beltramini, Communication Officer of the Liliane Foundation, Marko Filipovic, Board Member of AFAS Foundation and Bob van Huet, journalist.
During a meeting with the CBCHS team on June 18 in Bamenda, the foreign partners were given the progress of CBCHS’ work in the domain of disabilities since 1952. This overview was made by the CBC Coordinator of Services for People with Disabilities (SPD), Mr. Awa Jacques Chirac and corroborated by Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, Director of Health Services (DHS). Other presentations came from the Baptist Institute of Health Sciences (BIHS) Mbingo and Baptist Training School for Health Personnel (BTSHP) Banso. These two schools run programs and courses leading to certification in Physiotherapy (PT), Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and very soon in Occupational Therapy (OT) with support from AFAS Foundation through the Liliane Foundation.
According to Prof. Tih, Director Health Services (DHS), the CBCHS crossed path with the Liliane Foundation in 2014 when the Foundation chose the CBCHS as a credible organization to continue running its projects in Cameroon. With enormous support from Liliane Foundation and later on AFAS Foundations to identify, treat and rehabilitate children with disabilities, the CBCHS-EDID run program relocated from Bamenda to Yaounde to work closely with the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs in developing policies, protocols, curricula and intense advocacy. The support from AFAS Foundation and Liliane Foundation also expanded services to children and persons with disabilities from an initial one region to nine regions today. This expansion has come along with an additional need of trained personnel to render quality services to children, youths and adults with disabilities in the communities. The ongoing training of professionals in PT, CBR, and OT is thanks to the professional expertise and guidance of the Liliane Foundation and the financial support of AFAS Foundation. This joined cooperation of the two Netherlands-based organizations collaborates with the CBC Health Services and the Ministry of Social Affairs in Cameroon for effective implementation. This collaboration also works to realize a dream for persons working in the rehabilitation sector in building their capacities, and most importantly the dream of people in communities looking up to quality services. With the mentorship and continuous supervision of the Liliane Foundation, all personnel trained at this center will meet international standards, and sustainably.
The DHS assured the visiting partners that the CBCHS has no problem of sustainability. “We have a struggle to surmount challenges as a team and not a struggle for leadership,” the public health expert boasted. Rather, Prof. Tih appealed on his foreign partners to link Cameroon up with other developing countries where they operate in order to foster South-South cooperation by sharing knowledge on how to prevent issues of disability, especially in Africa.
Responding, Gerbern Eversdijk said the CBCHS is just the perfect organization for AFAS Foundation to partner with. He said, it is rather AFAS Foundation to thank the CBCHS for doing the work on the ground and not the other way round. Gerbern praised the CBCHS for excellent organization, believe in God, clean structures, which are ingredients for a strong partnership. He, however, challenged the CBCHS to transform the program into a movement which should involve more people to benefit from it.
The Liliane Foundation and AFAS Foundation team also met with members from the coordinating unit of the association of PWDs, undertook field visits to Mutengene, Bafoussam, Ngounso and Yaounde where they had audience with the Minister of Social Affairs in the company of Prof. Tih Pius and Agho Glory, Manager of the EDID program.
