HITIP’s Cellphone & Community Radio Projects

Mbam & Kim Subdivision Central Region

An initiatve of Hope Interational for Tikar People

(HITIP), Cameroon, July 2014

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Introduction

This document describes and highlights the initiatives and projects of a community

organization, Hope International for Tikar People (HITIP), in the Mbam & K

im region. The projects focus on developing community health and access to

communication throughout the isolated region.

Background

HITIP is a Cameroonian non-profit, non-religiously, non-politically affiliated

community-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of two

marginalized indigenous communities, the Tikar and “Bedzan” Pygmy villagers, as well

as individuals with disabilities, in the equatorial forest of Cameroon. This region is

remote and isolated; with restricted cellphone service and difficult roads,

communication between villages is a challenge. Information and resources are slow to

reach the region. HITIP implements sustainable projects focusing on improving

communications, health, education, community organizing, art and creating

development opportunities for isolated villages. Every year HITIP hosts volunteers

from around the world to support the ongoing community-based projects in the

villages. Throughout the years HITIP has been involved in 30 villages and reached over

20,000 people. HITIP was officially legalized in Cameroon in 2009. All the board

members are volunteers (including the President); 94% of these individuals are based

in the villages. 6% live in the cities and relay information between the villages and the

rest of the world.

Since 2012 HITIP has been working to provide the region with cellphone service

and community radio. This project is called Radio Taboo, and when achieved, will

provide over one million inhabitants with the ability to share love in eight languages

with their friends and families outside of the region. People will also be able to

communicate with their doctors for medical consultations. In July 2013 a 50-meter

radio tower was built in the center of the region. Once a cellular service provider

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installs a repeater, the tower will provide communication services to the entire region.

Projects and Achievements of HITIP

Maps of the region

1. Radio Taboo

Radio Taboo is a community radio project conceived by HITIP to increase access

to communication and information in the region of Mbam & Kim. Currently

information is slow to reach the region as it is physically isolated and there is

minimal cellphone connection. It is also difficult for villages to speak between

themselves, much information and education that could be shared is not. The

project consists of installing a radio tower, developing radio programs and

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citizen journalists, broadcasting programming in eight different languages, and

providing cellphone service to the more than one million inhabitants of the

region. The project will have a significant impact on the people of the region,

changing their lives, as they will be able to be more connected with their families

outside the region.

Villagers and project supporter at the newly-built radio tower, July 2013

2. Water for Social Peace

Since 2010, HITIP, Rotary Le Mans Bérengères (District 1510), Rotary Douala

Bésséké, Tools for Life Foundation, and Engineers Without Borders, have been

collaborating to bring clean water to 20,000 people in Mbam & Kim. The

headquarters of the Rotary Foundation in Evanston, Illinois in the United States

awarded District 1510 a grant: AIPM, (Action d'Intérêt Public Mondial) to build

and restore ten water sources for 20,000 villagers by the end of summer 2013.

This goal has been accomplished: seven of these wells have been completed, and

three have been restored. Most of these indigenous people had never tasted

clean water. Villagers reported that evidence of infectious disease has

diminished significantly since access to clean water has become available.

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HITIP founder, Issa Nyaphaga, with the villagers of Nditam at the water pump.

The idea is also to empower local communities as beneficiaries of the water

pump by teaching them how to sustain their water source. HITIP put in place a

model of having a “Water Committee.” Each water source must have an “Elected

President of Water,” who is in charge of keeping the pump locked up two times a

day and making sure it is often cleaned. Each president serves a term of one to

two years. The president is also in charge of collecting a nominal fee from each

compound or home in the village so that villagers are invested in the water

pump. For the funds a book keeping record is kept, tracking the availability of

funds and any mechanical problems the pump should have. Mechinical training

has been provided to each village so that each community has technical

knowledge to maintain and fix mechanical problems. If it is something they

cannot fix on their own, the funds are used to contact an outside party and pay

for their services. The goal is for the water to be independity sustained by the

villages.

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3. Tippy Tap

Started in 2012, the Tippy Tap Project targets communities where there is no

running water and water is hard to access. Tippy Tap is a structure built in the

village that enables villagers, especially women and children, to keep their hands

clean. This project has helped reduce the spread of disease and decreased the

rate of infant mortality. The project is also innovative in its use of murals to

engage and teach villagers about the structures. A total of 30 murals were

completed reaching approximately 10,000 people, most of whom are illiterate.

Next we hope to print and distribute a Tippy Tap poster to illiterate populations

to hang in their homes as educational tools.

Villagers at a Tippy Tap structure, located centrally in the village.

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Picture of villagers in front of education mural of Tippy Tap project.

4. Mobile clinic – ASCOVIME-Busch Doctor Partenership

ASCOVIME is a non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to

providing free medical care and educational supplies to marginalized villages in

Cameroon and Central Africa. It was created by Cameroonian Dr. Georges Bwelle

ten years ago. ASCOVIME’s primary activities are weekend mobile medical clinics

in which Dr. Bwelle and his team of volunteers distribute educational supplies

and medical care to villagers. Dr. Bwelle visits about 25-30 villages per year,

seeing up to 1,000 people in a single weekend. Nine months of the year, Dr.

Bwelle, along with local and international volunteers, travels to villages and

provides no-cost medical consultations, medications, and surgeries. All of this

work is provided free of charge for villagers and is done with the consent and

understanding of the local traditional chief. The resources for each trip come

from Dr. Bwelle’s contribution of his salary and from volunteers’ collections of

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donations and medical supplies from their home countries. Dr. Bwelle’s team

campaigns against tropical diseases, administers anti-parasitic drugs, and

provides educational sessions that engage villagers in providing their own

community healthcare. Cameroonian and international medical students and

community volunteers teach villagers water sanitation and hygiene techniques

that help prevent the spread of disease, effectively giving them information they

can use to make their communities healthier.

Dr. Bwelle and his team of volunteers arrive at a village.

Since 2009 HITIP has been working with ASCOVIME to provide free medical care

to the inhabitants of the Mbam & Kim. Dr. Bwelle and his team of volunteers

were the first doctors most people had ever seen in their lives. They have

performed many successful surgeries with limited resources and provided

invalubale education about hygeine and health. They visit the region biannually.

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Dr. Bwelle with HITIP founder Issa Nyaphaga

5. Wheelchair Project

The first project of HITIP, the wheelchair project seeks to help villagers with

physical disabilites. The project started when Issa met Ibrahim, a polio survivor,

in 2002 in the village of Nditam. Ibrahim had lost the use of his legs and was

crawling around like a snake. Issa decided to take action and provided him with a

wheelchair. Ibrahim has now completed his primary and secondary education, is

the village technician, trains the football team, and has become a leader in the

community. Because of Ibrahim, HITIP has provided 300 villagers with mobility

challenges with wheelchairs, canes, and crutches. HITIP is currently working to

expand this project to other communities throughout Cameroon.

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Wheelchair and crutches distribution. Ibrahim pictured above right.

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6. Solar

The solar energy project is an experimental partnership between HITIP and

Linux Friends Solar, a Cameroonian nonprofit based in Limbe. Since 2010, five

communities in the region of Mbam & Kim access solar energy in their

compounds. Along with that, the solar project piloted two low-energy, solar-

powered, computer systems in the villages of Nditam and Ngambe Tikar. These

computers support the women and children’s literacy project. There is hope in

the long-run that the computers will be able to access internet, facilitating

communication and access to information. Another part of this project is a solar

mechanics training. Some villagers of the region are participating in a continuing

education and training on solar panel mechanics.

Trial run of low-energy computer in Nditam.

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7. Football Spirit in the Jungle

The “Football Spirit in the Jungle” project brings together indigenous

villagers--including villagers with disabilities--from the Tikar and Bedzan

Pygmy tribes through local football tournaments. The goal of the tournament is

to promote disability rights and

awareness, conflict resolution,

community organizing, health

promotion, and leadership

development. "Football Spirit in the

Jungle" creates unique opportunities

for people with disabilities and women

in underserved communties to

participate equitably in football

tournaments in key leadership roles

including; coaching, community

organizing, teaching, promotion, and

public speaking.

In the last year alone, the "Football

Spirit in the Jungle" reached more than

8,000 villagers who live without

phones, newspapers, television, or

internet. In spite of those challenges,

thousands of villagers received information, training, and resources as they

learned about HIV/AIDS prevention. Inspite of these communication challenges,

the project has also brought together many diverse indigenous communities in

the equatorial rainforest of Cameroon, around the game of football. There is

increased cooperation between villagers, as well as increased interaction

between village chiefs both on and off the football field, realizing a profound

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impact on communities in the Tikar region.

Overall, the project has had a wide inpact on many issues. It has increased

awareness about disability rights, providing opportunities for people with

disabilities to build their self-esteem and confidence. Local football tournaments

have become more inclusive and accessible for women and people with

disabilities, brought free medical care to villagers for the first time, delivered

medical equipment to polio survivors and people with paralysis, mobilized

youth to participate in problem solving at the community-wide level, and

offered health education workshops for families and increased educational

opportunities for children and adults.

A participating team, picutred with Coach Ibrahim. Above is picture of Aicha, the

tournament coordinator.

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So far, we have experienced success in terms of community organizing,

leadership development, and opportunities for women and people with

disabilities. This is a pivotal moment for the project in which increased funding

would allow the project to reach even more villagers. We will continue to

increase the sustainability of the project through a variety of actions and

activities including: nurturing our ongoing partnership with ASCOVIME, access

to reliable transportation between villages, acquiring equipment and materials

for the annual football tournament, green energy development, and creating

connections with other Cameroonian organizations doing similar things. These

things combined will all contribute to the continued success of the project.

By 2015, we hope to increase the financial sustainability through tournament

sponsorships, which will generate income to support the project. We would also

like to share this innovative idea with other communities throughout Cameroon

and eventually throughout Africa.

8. Women Fund Medical Initiative

Burn injuries and goiters are both public health concerns in Mbam & Kim

region. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by burn injuries in the

area because of their household responsibility of food preparation that is often

done over open fire. Because of the poverty in rural areas and lack of burn or

surgical centers, victims who survive these injuries often face severe

debilitation that prohibits them from school or work and entraps themselves

and families into a cycle of poverty and stigmatization. Women suffering from

goiters also suffer similar social and economic consequences.

This project provides a monetary fund to support medical and surgical

interventions for individuals who suffer from these conditions in rural

Cameroon. The objective of this fund is to provide financial support for

transportation of the affected individual and a companion to the nearest capable

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center and to provide one-time or ongoing medical and surgical care for the

patient. Medical and surgical care is prov ided by qualified healthcare providers

at equipped medical centers across the region. The goal of the project is

empowerment of

women and girls who

sustain injuries and

the improvement of

their lives and the lives

of their families.

Pauline, a burn victim,

with medical volunteer.

Pauline has received an

examination and is

awaiting further

treatment.

Profile of Founder

Issa Nyaphaga was born in Douala, Cameroon

in 1967 and grew up in the small village of the

Tikar tribe, called Nditam, in the very heart of

Cameroon’’s equatorial forest. The Tikar are

primarily farmers and as a child of the fields,

Is sa spent his time in close contact with earth

and nature. Like other Tikar children, Issa was

introduced to traditional painting in his early

childhood. His father is an herbalist and a calligrapher, and Issa grew up next to

shaman pygmy women deep in the region of “Mbam and Kim” in Cameroon. As a

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child, Issa didn’t like his last name Nyaphaga. “My son, you’ll only be successful in

life if you like your name,” his mother said. In 1996 Issa moved to France, and

now resdies in the United States. He pursues these projects as a contribtion of

the Diaspora, in order to bring opportunities home.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read this document and hear about our

projects. Please feel free to contact us with any question sor comments. We are

very hopeful for the success of communication techonologies and community

development in Mbam & Kim and other communities throughout Cameroon.

Conact Information

Entreprise HITIP – Cameroun – Sari

Siege Social : Ngambé Tikar Département du Mbam et Kim – Cameroun

B.P. : 01 Ngambé Tikar – Cameroon

Phone : + (237)99 80 98 00 - + (237) 76 49 31 06

Email : connect@hitip.org - Website : http://www.hitip.org

Issa Nyaphaga Oumarou Mebouack Eva Beal Michel Togue

Founder Project Cordinator Communications Legal Rep.