Inclusive Holiday Jobs: Core Value for Bamenda III Council
Over 200 students and pupils drawn from all communities in the Bamenda III Municipality have been trained on Disability and Inclusion as part of activities marking this year’s holiday jobs, offered by the Bamenda III Council.
Owing to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Council and the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) Health Services, a team of project staff from the Socio-Economic Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SEEPD) Program of the CBC Health Services, drilled 200 holiday job participants on the concepts of Disabilities and Inclusion. The two-day workshop was organized by the Bamenda III Council.
The over 2 hours open-door session in the courtyard of the council saw facilitators engage the youths on understanding disabilities, impairments, and barriers to inclusion which are core values of the council’s development efforts. They emphasized and encouraged participants on the need to dismantle attitudinal barriers associated with persons with disabilities in the communities.
Worth noting is the fact that the council is making intentional efforts in involving and supporting the participation of youths with disabilities in their holiday job scheme. As such, a 15 percent quota is often reserved for youths with disabilities who apply to participate. This year, five participants with (visual, hearing, mobility impairments, and Albinism) are involved in the holiday job scheme with the council putting in place reasonable accommodative measures to ensure the meaningful participation of those with disabilities.
According to the Disability Focal point person at the council, the council is using this opportunity to build a healthy environment amongst youths and adolescents for the communities. This also helps in their career orientation, mental health education as well as sexual and menstrual hygiene management. “We are happy that the CBC Health Services and its partner Australian Aid, are supporting us to do all of these in an inclusive way…” Atanga Marina noted.
The council will at the end of the one Month holiday job scheme, provide financial and didactic materials to participants to support them ahead of the new school year.
The partnership between the council and the CBC Health Services is made possible thanks to support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program.