VSO Cameroon Strategy

2012-15

VSO Cameroon Strategy 2012-15

Contents
Foreword VSO in Cameroon Our focus Climate change Partnerships: the way we work Joint programming and alliances 3 4 5 6 6 7

Our vision
Fewer women die in child birth. More women are economically independent. More girls complete primary education and enrolld in secondary education. More women are literate, understand their rights and know where to find the information they need to influence their lives. More women are in political and economic positions. More men and women believe in gender equality. VSO Cameroons holistic programme reflects the interlinked nature of these changes, targeting changes in capacity, attitude and behaviour of whole communities, traditional and religious leaders and governments.

Country facts
Population: 20,030,400 Official language: French, English Human Development Index (HDI): 150, Least Developed Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP): US$22.39 billion Living below poverty line: 40% Life expectancy: 51.6 years

VSO Cameroon Strategy 2012-15

Foreword
VSO is a leading, independent, non-governmental organisation (NGO). We believe that change happens because people make it happen. Providing food, infrastructure and machinery is important, but we believe people are the key to overcoming poverty. Thats why we work through volunteers. Drawn from many countries and all walks of life, they give their time, expertise and passion. Volunteers share their skills within carefully selected partner organisations, ranging from grassroots groups to government ministries. Its a powerful, cost-effective way to create lasting results. Together we work to improve poor peoples access to quality essential services, information and ideas that link them to the wider world. The VSO network helps poor and marginalised people understand their rights and empowers them to participate as equal, fully-valued members of their society. By 2015, VSO Cameroon expects to reach an estimated 794,000 direct female beneficiaries through our partner organisations, and a further 2,650,000 through our advocacy and lobbying efforts. We seek opportunities to promote active citizenship, encouraging and supporting individuals to play an active role in their communities.

How we do it
International and national volunteers bring expertise in the areas of livelihoods, community mobilisation, community health, midwifery, educational inclusion, disability and inclusion, literacy, law and legal rights, advocacy and the management of civil society and local government. VSO Cameroon adopts the cluster approach, where a team of volunteers with specific, complementary skill-sets work collaboratively to address the multiple-capacity needs of a range of partners. They also provide opportunities to work more flexibly, tailor support to each partners needs, and work where they can have most impact. The cluster approach allows us to work effectively with small community-based organisations (CBOs) and informal womens groups, as well as with regional organisations. Volunteer interventions focus on building the capacity of our partner organisations in order to improve delivery of basic services.

What we do
We work with a wide range of partners whose work aligns with our objectives, from community groups to government ministries. We aim to increase the power of disadvantaged women to demand and access growth-oriented economic opportunities and quality education and health services. VSO Cameroon provides organisational and institutional development support to these partners. Partner organisations identify priority areas for support, eg financial management, fundraising, strategic planning, project management, human resources, monitoring and evaluation. All support requests are assessed on whether they will directly link to improved service delivery for our client group, namely, women.

VSO Cameroon Strategy 2012-15

VSO in Cameroon
Cameroon is rich in natural resources and has a relatively diversified economy and a stable government. At the same time, 40% of Cameroonians (and growing) live below the poverty threshold. The country is unlikely to meet any of its Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Cameroons Growth and Employment Strategy Paper emphasises decentralisation to create space for gender integration regarding womens participation in decisionmaking and consideration of gender-specific needs in designing local development plans. Significant support at all levels of society is needed for this to happen in practice. VSO has been operating in Cameroon since 1998. Previously, VSO Cameroon had three programmes HIV and AIDS, participation and governance, and education operating in the Far North and North West and a Model Forest project in the East and South. The new strategic direction builds on the most powerful elements of the former programmes and the strength of existing relationships. Guided by VSOs People First strategy it is an integrated programme with a clear client focus and vision.

Our focus
VSO Cameroons goal is to increase the power of disadvantaged women to demand and access growthoriented economic opportunities and quality education and health services.

Where we work
VSO Cameroon focuses on four regions: the North, the Far North, the North West and the Model Forest areas of Dja and Mpomo (East) and Campo Maan (South). The two poorest regions are the North (a new area for us) and the Far North. The North West is where we have had the most impact and where civil society and councils are the most dynamic. And lastly, the Model Forest areas of Dja and Mpomo (East) and Campo Maan (South) are considered as one intervention area.

Far North

Chad

North Nigeria

North West South West West

Adamawa

Centre

RCA

Strategic planning process

VSO Cameroon is moving beyond an assumption that organisational change alone will produce positive change in peoples lives. Rather, we are starting with people and looking from their perspective to make improvements across the service delivery spectrum.

Li oral

Yaounde East South

Equitaorial Guinea

Gabon

Congo

Our strategy design process started with confirming rural women as our target group and then identifying the geographies where they were most marginalised. Through conversations and feedback from womens groups and partners, interventions were then designed based on the priorities they identified. This gave us a clear focus. No other agency working in Cameroon operates in this way. VSO Cameroon has a strong reputation for providing skilled professionals to build organisational capacity and support effective service delivery. Our new approach provides our partners with a complementary, multi-disciplinary team of volunteers with a range of technical expertise related to the issues confronting rural women.
4

Objective 1: Womens decision-making To increase womens participation in decision-making within the household and wider community. Key activities: Support grassroots awarenessraising on gender, inheritance and property rights and legislation, using participatory communication methods, eg theatre, participatory gender audits and facilitated discussion. Promote advocacy campaigns to raise awareness of womens rights and voice, including engagement with the media (eg influencing content of radio dramas). Support networks of women in positions of leadership and promote positive male and female role models. Support the enforcement of legislation on key issues for women, including property rights, inheritance, birth certificates, ID cards, and marriage registration (including the continuation and nationwide expansion of Law Clinic). Promote advocacy to increase womens power in decision-making on education, health or livelihoods following structured research and consultation. Conduct research into barriers facing women with disabilities and mental illness participating in decision-making processes regarding education, livelihoods and health. Provide targeted organisational/ institutional development support to increase the capacity of civil society organisations and councils to empower women to participate in decision-making.

VSO Cameroon Strategy 2015-16

Objective 3: Womens economic power To increase womens economic power through enhanced business development, improved business management skills, and access to markets and financial services. Key activities: Key activities: Build womens knowledge base and Support training and mentoring for skills to manage their health and that of women entrepreneurs in building their families. financial literacy, business and Support inclusion of womens financial management, understanding organisation members in social auditing microfinance institution (MFI) services and identifying market opportunities. of healthcare services. Support participatory community Support and train existing community assessment of skills and skills deficit, health focal points/community relay market access, training opportunities agents. and understanding value chains. Support community health providers to mainstream HIV and AIDS awareness in Support training and mentoring for women entrepreneurs in agricultural their service provision. techniques, including climate change Provide targeted organisational adaptation strategies (eg irrigation, development support in order to water management, and erosion increase the capacity of health prevention), storage, processing, and providers to improve maternal health transportation. outcomes. Support the creation or management Train traditional birth attendants. of networks of womens associations Support national curriculum to promote and facilitate learning and development for midwifery training training the trainers in delivering the building economies of scale. new curriculum and increasing practical Build business partnerships to engage experience. mentors, coaches and role models to share expertise and encourage building economies of scale. Create linkages with MFIs in order to enable women to access services. Engage in community awarenessraising, including participatory communication methods, for the potential of women as entrepreneurs. Bring key stakeholders in the Model Forests Project together to develop and adopt policies, systems and processes that ensure greater participation of all stakeholders in the conservation, management and sustainable use of forest resources. Provide targeted organisational development support to increase the capacity of organisations providing business development support to deliver effective services to women.

Objective 2: Womens health To empower women to take informed control of their own health, and demand increased access to better quality maternal health provision.

Objective 4: Education for women and girls To support formal and informal education for women and girls through enhancing inclusive education communities and adult literacy programmes. Support mother teachers associations (MTAs) to encourage girls enrolment, retention and completion of primary school and their entry into secondary school, including action in communities promoting the value of education. Support awareness-raising about the importance of birth certificates and initiatives to deliver them. Support the engagement of MTAs in social auditing of education services, including monitoring resource allocation by mayors and inspectorates. Train and support community-level literacy trainers to enhance the literacy skills of local women. Promote gender awareness in schools and educational management offices, including positive attitudes on girls safety in the school environment. Promote the involvement of girls and boys in school planning processes and the production of educative materials. Promote data collection in schools tracking gender inclusion, retention, dates of birth and enrolment into further education and follow-up action. Promote identification and monitoring of children in need as well as mentoring and role modelling for secondary entry for girls. Provide targeted organisational development support in order to increase the capacity of MTAs, councils, inspectorates and civil society organisations to improve the provision of education for women and girls.

VSO Cameroon Strategy 2012-15

Climate change
We recognise climate change as a cross-cutting challenge creating livelihood, and subsequent health challenges, for the women we seek to serve. Increases in temperature and declining precipitation threaten agricultural livelihoods. It has been suggested that an increase in global temperature, in the absence of irrigation and other adaptation options, could lead to almost a 46% loss in Cameroons crop output. This is particularly evident in the extreme north where desertification and drought compromise sustainable development. This increases the urgency for VSO Cameroon and our partners to take an holistic approach to livelihoods we must find ways to diversify income sources and implement targeted, local agricultural adaptations to help decrease vulnerability.

Partnership: the way we work

As the voice of women is core to the VSO Cameroon programme, we work with diverse partners who are making active efforts to empower marginalised women to participate in their programmes. Our flexible approach allows us to effectively manage partnerships, and to respond quickly and focus on areas where we can best contribute to changes for women. Partners are drawn from a range of civil society organisations, local councils, government agencies and grassroots organisations. The selection is based on the correlation of the potential partners objectives and projects and VSO Cameroons objective to improve the lives of women and girls. Municipal councils and relevant state institutions engage with communities and encourage community mobilisation. We work with womens groups to help their members understand their rights and to engage them in decision-making in councils, schools, health centres and within their own households. Civil society organisations working to empower women through improved livelihoods, education or knowledge and skills to increase their participation in decision-making are also key partners. Volunteers also work directly with women-led grassroots groups, such as common initiative groups, registered njangi or tontine savings and loan groups and Adass (womens solidarity groups). In addition, we will continue to expand our work with the various womens groups, networks and platforms that are part of the Model Forests regions.

VSO Cameroon Strategy 2012-15

Joint programming and alliances

VSO Cameroons strategic partnerships provide the capacity to fully implement this strategy. They include: International Model Forest Network (IMFN) and Cuso International to support the African Model Forest Network (AMFN) strategy working in the Congo Basin Forest areas. The model forest process enhances multi stakeholder collaboration, enhancing community-level economic independence whilst mitigating environmental degradation. UNICEF and the Ministry of Basic Education to promote birth certificates and girls education. Ministry of Health and Midwifery Training Centres, the European Union (EU) and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to promote maternal health. VSO Cameroon is also part of the Gender Equality Work Group and the gender sub-committee of the Multi-Donor Committee. We also work with other members on womens voice. Cameroon makes specific efforts to include women with the least power those that are ethnically marginalised or suffering from physical disabilities and mental illnesses. Gender is at the heart of all interventions in health, education and livelihoods. Special emphasis is placed on amplifying womens voices through advocacy and facilitating their involvement in decisionmaking processes. VSO Cameroons vision is that through the intervention of skilled and professional international and national volunteers, we will see the following: Impact on womens participation in decision-making Women will: influence decision-making in the household participate in political decision-making processes exercise their rights (we also aim to change mens attitudes towards women in decision-making for the better). Impact on womens health reduced maternal mortality improved maternal healthcare good practice in preventative and reproductive health increase in the exercising of rights to healthcare reduce infant mortality. Impact on womens economic power Women will: have new or bigger businesses have more control over assets use improved business skills be more economically independent have better access to markets, financial services and vocational skills training. Impact on womens education more girls enrolled in primary and secondary school effective and responsive education management increased functional literacy and numeracy skills for women MTAs, inspectors and councils working together to improve access to education for girls schools actively promote girls participation. The impact in each of these areas reinforces impacts in other areas. The integrated programme will help VSO Cameroon to support this positive cycle. Women who are better educated will be more able to make their voices heard. Women with greater economic power will be better able to send their children to school and to meet the healthcare needs of their families. Women participating in decision-making are better able to ensure their needs are taken into account in health and education provision.

Accountability
Our accountability to partners is founded on individual partnership agreements setting out processes that are followed. There is full, transparent disclosure of all policy and process documents, supported by clear relationship management. Partnership selection and review are defined in a policy document that is available to potential and existing partners. A leaflet is available to explain our ways of working. Potential partners that apply to VSO Cameroon are subject to an ongoing assessment process, involving VSO Cameroon staff, volunteers and representatives from partners. All potential partners receive clear communication on the outcome of their application. Partnership agreements clearly define the objectives and indicators against which progress is measured, the process for jointly reviewing progress and set out the possible outcomes of the review process. Partnership outcomes are assessed vigorously to ensure the best use of VSO Cameroons resources. A key aspect of partnerships is regular joint reviews, either at the end of each short-term project or at set intervals. The structure of these reviews will require partners to input supporting documentation and participate in a discussion to reach a concluding assessment of the partnership. These meetings provide an opportunity to agree to modify any aspects that are not working for either partner or to reflect changing circumstances. Crucial to VSO Cameroon being accountable to its partners is that clear processes are defined, shared and understood by all and actually followed. Our staff and volunteers contribute to achieving this accountability and lasting impact by defining roles and responsibilities, and related performance management. VSO Cameroon believes that targeting rural women is the most cost-effective and strategic means of addressing poverty issues in the long-term. We aim to increase the ability of communities themselves to support their most vulnerable members. VSO

VSO Cameroon Postal address: BP 25127 Messa, Yaound Cameroon Location address: Bastos Yaound Cameroon T +237 2221 7607 F +237 2220 7351 vso.cameroon@vsoint.org VSO International Carlton House, 27a Carlton Drive London SW15 2BS, UK T +44 (0)20 8780 7500 www.vsointernational.org

Published July 2012