By DOH JAMES SONKEY
Cameroonians have been urged to tap from the knowledge and experience being shared by Korean volunteers within the framework of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA Volunteers Programme. The call was jointly made last October 27, 2017 at the KOICA Office in Yaoundé by Volunteers Programme Coordinator, Divine Metoumbi Tienge and Volunteers Programme Assistant, Rodrigue Nino Nganzi as they addressed officials of communities in Cameroon benefitting from the 2017 KOICA Volunteers Programme.
In their exposes, both Divine Metoumbi Tienge and Rodrigue Nino Nganzi congratulated the Korean volunteers who even brave certain odds to work in some remote areas in Cameroon without complaining or declining.
The workshop which is held annually with heads/managers and co-workers of host institutions to evaluate volunteers’ activities, share experiences of best practices and take new resolutions to improve the programme is also an occasion for them to learn from others in order to better prepare to work with Korean volunteers. Speakers reiterated that “volunteers play four main roles during their missions; share knowledge and experiences, make difference in the community, serve as an instrument of cultural exchange and take new challenges in life.”
At the 2017 KOICA Volunteers Programme workshop, some of the volunteers such as Ms Eunjoo Yoon offering her services at the Mbalmayo council, Ms Min Jeong Goh teaching math education at GPS Group2 Afan-Mabe etc gave testimonies on their working experiences in Cameroon.
Rodrigue Nino explained to reporters that “Presently 19 volunteers are working in Cameroon in Yaounde, Mbalmayo, Kribi, Buea, Bafut and Batibo. In the field of health, the Yaoundé Emergency Centre (CURY) is the main organization where one advisor and six volunteers are currently working. In education, there is one advisor and nine volunteers dispatched to Yaounde, Mbalmayo and Kribi. In the field of community development, we have three volunteers. One of them constructed a recreation center for children in Ekombitie, a village near Mbalmayo. Another one is setting up a palm oil soap factory for income generation and in Bafut, the other volunteer works on two main activities for maize and cassava processing.”
Since 2010, KOICA has dispatched 95 volunteers in Cameroon with many of them working in the fields of education, healthcare and rural development.