The CBM Global Inclusive Education Advisor, Baboo Nafisa and the Specialist Technical Advisory Lead, Community Based Inclusive Development,

Schwinge Michael from the CBM International Office accompanied by the Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) Coordinator, Tebon Mispa and the Business Development Manager, Youwen Sebastine from the Country Office Yaounde have paid a three day visit to the CBC Health Services SEEPD Program.

The visit took place in Bamenda from October 9-11, 2024. The objective of the visit was to solidify relationships with education authorities, leading advocacy organizations, and teacher training institutions to ensure system change and determine capacities and support needs of existing partners for institutional donor funds innovating grants and education in emergency funding amongst others.

On arrival at the CBC Health Service in Bamenda, the team was welcomed by the Director of Health Services, Mr. Ngum Samuel who expressed gratitude to CBM for supporting the CBC Health Services over the years to promote inclusive education in the Region and beyond.

The visit was marked by a work session with project staff and field visits to some partners of the SEEPD Program. In a work session with Project staff, the CBM team was treated to a presentation focused on the strides recorded in the Comprehensive Program for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Inclusive Access to Basic Services of Health and Education in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. Focus on the agenda was the concept of the digital library which is a new initiative CBM is interested to fund soonest. Nafisa and Michael led the staff into group work where they further deliberated on the different thematic areas of the project proposal document for the digital library. It was exciting for the Program staff to share reflections based on the experiences they have had a few months into developing the library.

The team visited the NW Regional Delegation of Secondary Education where they were received by the Regional Delegate Mr. Biajong Ezekiel and the Sub Director of General Affairs.  The Regional Delegate articulated that the CBC Health Services has been a reliable partner in supporting the government in promoting inclusive education in the Northwest and beyond, thanks to funding from CBM. He underscored that there has been an increase in the enrollment of learners with impairments in the primary and secondary levels in the Region as a result of the inclusive practices put in place in many schools. The Delegate praised the CBC Health Services for the digital library initiative which is in the pipeline.

At the NW Regional Inclusive Resource Center in Government Bilingual High School Bamenda, the team listened to some learners with impairments share their experiences in using assistive devices to navigate through their education which further inspired the CBM team on the needs of learners with impairments to facilitate teaching and learning for them. The Coordinator of the Center and the students with impairments appreciated CBM for supporting the CBC Health Services for equipping the center with devices that have greatly enabled them to have access to education. They also visited the SIEP Resource Center at CBC School Nkwen.

The three-day visit ended with a courtesy visit to the University of Bamenda. They were received by some authorities in the University led by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Teaching and Professionalization of Information and Communication Technology Prof. Suh Cheo Emmanuel who expressed gratitude to CBM for supporting the CBC Health Services over the years to birth inclusive education in UBa and continuously partnering with them to promote inclusion. He was accompanied by the Registrar. Prof Kongyuy Patrick, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Internal Control and Evaluation, and Director of Student Affairs.

The Specialist Technical Advisor CBID Lead, Schwinger Michael and CBM Global Inclusive Education Advisor, Baboo Nafisa applauded the University for embracing and promoting inclusion. One of the objectives of their visit was to have discussions on the possibility of a future partnership between CBM and the University of Bamenda. An idea that was greatly appreciated by the University authorities who expressed their readiness to go through the processes required for such a partnership. The visit was also marked by a visit to the Resource Center of the University which has been equipped with funds from CBM.

The three-day visit ended with a feedback session from the CBM team to the SEEPD Program staff who commended the various education actors and institutions for the mile stone recorded in inclusive education. They expressed their willingness and readiness in supporting the CBC Health Services and its partners in fostering inclusive education in the Region.