Training of Trainers holds for first ever CBR Course in Cameroon
A second training for the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Certificate Course trainers has taken place in Yaoundé at the CBC Health Services Resource Center, Mvan. The 5-day face-to-face training took place from November 1-5, 2021 as a follow-up of the virtual training that took place in September 2021. The workshop aimed at augmenting and complementing the knowledge and skills of the carefully selected participants who will be able to effectively roll out the curriculum of the CBR Certificate Course run by the CBC Health Services.
Some 17 participants received expert facilitation from Angelique Keister, the Liliane Fonds (LF) Rehabilitation and CBR Adviser, and Inge Groenewegen, a CBR Adviser from LF.
Speaking at the start of the training, the CBC Health Services Director, Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, said he was very pleased to welcome the two experts from Liliane Fonds noting that the face-to-face workshop is a very important phase of the training. He commended Liliane Fonds for having seen the need to support the CBC Health Services to make its services to persons with disabilities appropriate and adequate. Prof. Tih remarked that with Liliane Fonds’ support for the successful start of the Physiotherapy and CBR Courses, he is confident that the Occupational Therapy Course which is still pending is going to begin on a good footing in the near future.
The CBC Health Services Director encouraged the participants to make the best use of the Facilitators by listening and participating actively throughout the training session.
During the training, the participants through role-plays, group activities, interactive sessions, and other strategies were exposed to knowledge and skills on networking and stakeholder analysis, the role and responsibilities of a CBR Field Worker, and Teaching Methodologies among others. To enable participants to successfully grasp practical CBR strategies, the participants undertook community visits to some children with disabilities to carry out assessments and intervention plans.
The workshop participants were people with background knowledge in different domains that will be used to equip trainees to provide adequate CBR services after the course. These included: the Director in charge of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Madam Angelica Mundi, the Inspector General at MINAS who is a Social Worker, Mr. Foreke Asongtia, the EDID Program Manager, Mrs. Agho Glory, the Principal of the Baptist Training School for Health Personnel, Mr. Nkwan Jacob, the CBR, Gender and Child Protection and Mental Health Supervisors of the CBC Health Services, a CBR Consultant, Pascal Ahidjo, Inclusive and Special Education Experts and Persons with Disabilities.
After the training, they went back to continue training the pioneer batch of the first-ever CBR Professional Course in Cameroon which started in October 2021. It should be noted the Course is offered at the CBC Health Services Baptist Training School for Health Personnel, thanks to support from AFAS Foundation and Liliane Fonds.
Addressing the media, the Project Manager for the Empowerment and Disability Inclusive Development (EDID) Program of the CBCHS, Mrs. Agho Glory stated that this AFAS Foundation/LF Funded training is to facilitate the first-ever Community-Based Rehabilitation Training in Cameroon. She said the Training under the CBC Health Services is open to qualified candidates in the field of CBR.
The training of trainers ended with all participants receiving certificates for successfully participating in both the virtual and physical sessions of the training, both of which they rated as very enriching and impactful.