Mobile Youth of Akono

A major theme that came up often during my field studies program in East Africa was rural-to-urban migration – a phenomenon in many, if not all, developing countries in which many people will move from their villages to seek economic gain (among other advantages) in the up-and-coming cities.  While it’s true that this allows for family members to make a bit of money to send home (sometimes), it also robs the rural villages of a young workforce.

Akono is definitely affected but this rural-to-urban migration phenomenon.  The other day while I was in a nearby village farming cassava with a women’s cooperative, we were laughing about how out of the twenty women present, only two (myself included) were under the age of fifty.  The women admitted that all of their children who were my age had moved to Yaoundé or another city.

In Akono it is evident that there is a lack of young adults.  Equipped with four primary schools and three high schools, the village attracts many children from surrounding villages, who either spend the school year at relatives’ homes or rent a bedroom in one of Akono’s many lodges.  When school year is over, they return to their own villages.  Once they graduate high school (or if for some reason they drop out of school – a far too frequent occurrence), they often leave for the big city where they hope to find work.  The young men that stay in town typically opt for a job driving motorcycle taxis.  So, aside from the children, the moto-taximen, and the people who were affected here to work government jobs or to work for the church, the majority of the population consists of older people.

I’ve heard from many different people (e.g., the cassava cooperative, some of my fish farmers, even friends from my old village in the North) who say that the youths seek easy money.  Driving moto-taxis is a good way to make a quick buck (and if Cameroon had more of a saving culture, these drivers would be doing quite well for themselves).  The women at the cassava cooperative claim that the Cameroon's modern youth have little-to-zero interest in learning or practicing agriculture because it is work that takes much time and effort.  (And thus they found it quite amusing to see a young white lady wielding a hoe under the hot African sun.)

Anyways, that was not exactly what I came here to tell you about, but it’s a good introduction.  What I came here to tell you about today is this amazingly dynamic group of youths in Akono who started a volunteer organization to work towards development: Jeunesse Mobile d’Akono (Mobile Youth of Akono, or JEMA).

JEMA, an association consisting of mostly men (I’m pushing to recruit more women) between the ages of 20 and 30, focuses on developing Akono through education, health, and environment.  While I've been hearing that young people from Akono typically move to Yaoundé, it's exciting to have found a special group who have not only chosen to stay, but have chosen to stay and help their community.

I was first introduced to JEMA a few months ago, but recently we’ve begun working more hand-in-hand.  It started last week when I taught lessons about malaria to two of the primary schools.  A few days after my lessons, I met with JEMA and they told me that one of the main things they wanted to do for Akono was to help reduce the high rates of malaria.  So a few days later, we visited another primary school so that they could first watch my lesson, and then teach alongside me to other groups of students.  So far we’ve reached 585 students and plan to reach out to the high schools in the coming weeks.

In their study of local needs, that they found was that the hospital was not fully equipped for proper sanitation.  I can’t really give you a reason for why a government hospital happened to not have enough gloves, soap, bleach, brooms, etc., but that’s just how it was.  So members of JEMA got together and each contributed 3,000CFA ($6), and today we went to present our donation to the hospital: 2 buckets, 2 pairs of gloves, 2 bottles of bleach, 2 bags of detergent, 2 brooms, and 2 squeegees.  It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.  And what’s even better than "better than nothing" is that this group of young people saw a problem and cared enough to make a change.

I am incredibly excited to begin working towards development with this dynamic group of young people.  But do you know what’s even cooler than our shared interest in development?  They are interested in learning as much as they possibly can.  So, people are late for our meeting?  No problem!  Let me just whip out this book about the discourses of famous politicians.  Or, let’s ask Maria about where she came from, or about how the other places she’s visited in Africa compare to Cameroon.  Or, let’s discuss the global economy!  Or even, hey Maria!  You know aquaculture… why is that pond a different color than that other pond?

Never a dull moment with JEMA!  I’m proud to be associated with this association.  I look forward to the work that we will accomplish together, as much as I look forward to expanding my French vocabulary with all of our intellectual conversations.

Members of JEMA, myself, and the head doctor at the Akono Centre de Santé.