We are beginning a series of success stories to give a voice to past graduates from the Baptist School of Public Health/Rehabilitation Training Center of Excellence in Ombe-Mutengene, Southwest region of Cameroon to tell verbatim how much they’ve benefitted from the training they received from this special and unique school that has impacted their lives and careers full circle. Follow us through this running series…
Njego Clarense Ngala is today the CBR administrative assistant at the Director of Health Services (DHS) Office, thanks to the formal training he received as the pioneer batch of CBR field workers from the Rehabilitation Training Center of Excellence (RTCE) in Mutengene, Cameroon.
Clarence’s passion for working as a humanitarian, serving people in underserved communities including persons with disabilities motivated him to join and work as a CBR field worker for many years without any formal training besides knowledge obtained from seminars, workshops and reading of books in CBR practices.
“I joined the CBR department in 2010 and I have served as a field worker since then till 2021 when I received training. During these years, my field practices were done without proper documentation, no consistent follow-up, no proper networking and partnerships and very limited skills in rehabilitation works in the community”.
“When I got the news of a training course in CBR, I was so excited as it was the first of its kind in Cameroon. I immediately applied for the course which was then under the Baptist Training for Health Personnel (BTSHP) Banso before it was moved to BSPH/RTCE Mutengene Ombe”.
Clarence testifies that the training has impacted him in so many ways both in how he does field work as well as his personal life.
“Now I practice CBR in a professional way, doing proper documentation, being able to do a holistic assessment of a client before intervention, being able to network with other stakeholders in the development sector. The training also enabled me to measure the changes in the client’s life using what is called the STEP (Support Tool Enabling Parents)”. This tool guides you to assess, implement and evaluate your work so effectively.
Clarence’s approach and interaction with clients improved very significantly. The 2 years training at the RTCE opened him up to many opportunities. Besides his appointment to the post of the CBR Administrative Assistant, he is now supervising CBR students of BSPH on internship in their different internship sites.
Clarence’s hierarchy is quite impressed with his performance. They now have confidence to allow him carry out some tasks that he could not perform before the training.
“My training in rehabilitation has opened me up to opportunities beyond Cameroon. I am the CBCHS /CBR/SEEPD program Focal person for African Network – CAN. I am also the CBR lead person in the Rehabilitation Network Cameroon (RNC) which is made up off cc Physiotherapists, Community Based Rehabilitation, Multi skilled technicians, Occupational therapists and many other rehabilitation services in Cameroon”.
As Clarence celebrates his breakthrough, he says the field of rehabilitation is still virgin needing more people, especially jobless youths to take advantage.
Clarence’s success story is a call for many young people, graduate or not, who are still doubting about their future to strongly consider taking up a career in rehabilitation.
Nsangou Abdel Aziz graduated from the University of Douala in 2017 as a young man without any knowledge in rehabilitation nor humanitarian work.
By chance, he met someone who would change his life for the better.
“Reverend Sister Clementina introduced me to Choose Life Generation and EDID program under CBC Health Services”.
“The frequent workshops organized by the Empowerment and Disability Inclusive Development (EDID) program built my capacity in this domain until 2021 when I applied and was admitted at the Rehabilitation Training Center of Excellence with scholarship from Liliane Funds and AFAS Foundation”, the funders of the rehabilitation courses and school.
After two years of training at the Rehabilitation Training Center of Excellence, RTCE in Mutengene, Abdel Aziz became an expert in rehabilitation in Cameron and the West region in particular.
“I’m now able to manage children with disabilities, know the different laws and international conventions that protect persons and children with disabilities, the ICF model, rehabilitation cycle, disaster management, community mobilization and linkages, and community mapping etc”.
He now acts as a consultant to disability inclusion at the regional delegation of social affairs in the West region of Cameroon.
He is a Consultant to UNICEF on child protection and focal person for child protection in his organization. Abdel Aziz is also the field coordinator for the HIV initiative project in the West region and with the new strategy (BEN) of Liliane foundation.
Thanks to his training in rehabilitation, the board of the NGO, ” Choose Life Generation” appointed him as the project manager for this new phase of the project.
Abdel Aziz’s training in rehabilitation has opened him up to opportunities beyond Cameroon. He’s currently the Focal person for CBF-CBID Central African Network – CAN.
“My sincere gratitude to Mme Agho Glory, the program manager of EDID program and her team, Choose Life Generation National Coordinator, Sister Clementina and the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis” , each for the roles they played to shape his path towards rehabilitation.
Abdel Aziz’s success story is a call for many young people, graduate or not, who are still doubting about their future to strongly consider taking up a career in rehabilitation.
Ngong Constance Yafi is a Multi-skilled rehabilitation technician at Etoug-Ebe Baptist Hospital, Yaoundé. Follow her tell her story…
“I enrolled into Baptist School of Public Health in February 2021 for a two years course and graduated in December 2023. I went in for a multi-skilled rehabilitation course modeled for speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In addition to these, I also gained skills in mental health, maternal and child health.
Before going in for this rehabilitation training, I was a CBR field worker who had worked with children with disabilities for 18 years especially with those with visual impairment. While in the field, I met children with different types of disabilities but I could not offer them the necessary help with limited knowledge. That was a big challenge for me which gave me the push to step in for the multi-skilled rehabilitation training.
Gaining multi-skills during this training has given me the opportunity to carry out basic rehabilitation interventions to all the children and adults with musculoskeletal, neurological, mental health and communication disorders. I am able to gap my previous challenges in the field as I carryout assessments, treatment plans, rehabilitation interventions and do proper referrals to appropriate services and networks.
Meeting the needs of adults and children with disabilities and seeing the improvement and smiles on their faces gives me a lot of fulfillment and joy. I am equally grateful that I can share acquired knowledge and bridge the gap in the community as I join others to ensure an inclusive community.
I therefore call on those interested in rehabilitation work to choose Baptist Training School of Excellence Mutengene to build you up.
I remain grateful to Liliane Foundation and AFAS for their endeavors to establish such great work in Cameroon to see that children with disabilities are not left out. BRAVO to EDID program and her efforts.
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