Community Outreaches
After a community meeting about the services of RuWCED's counselling centers
Community learning and exchange
Community exchange and learning with women from indigenous communities
GBV during COVID-19
Reflecting on girls' right to education and their VAWG related challenges in times of COVID-19 and conflicts
Discussing girls' right to education
Community exchange on girls' right to education
We Are Making a Difference
RuWCED's youths during National Youth Day 2015
Reproductive Health Talk
Sensitizing secondary school students on HIV/AIDS
Trained peer educators ready for HIV/AIDS Sensitization and prevention
We are determined to make the zero new infection target a reality. If it happens, please know that being HIV+ is not a dead sentence. Call our help l...
Celebrating 2016 National youth day in Ndop-Cameroon
Youths are the strength of our rural communities. RuWCED's team made the difference
Sexual and Reproductive Health Education
Reaching out to secondary school students during an HIV/AID-sexual and reproductive health education outreach
Mama Rural
A task she carries, a responsibility she bears a wife to a husband, and a mother to children, the hidden treasure from despised eyes!
Getting the community involved
Community leaders, parents, teachers and primary school pupils during our Education talks campaign
Sport, a healthy lifestyle!
Doing sport helps our women stay in shape!
Girl Child Education
Presenting school materials to some of our rural girls
Engaging Communities
Connecting Youths
Women's Day 2015
Reaching Out to the Youths
RuWCED's Sport for Health Session
Staff and pupils exercising after health talks
RuWCED's 2014/2015 IT graduating students
We are happy to have young dynamic girls graduating with computer diplomas from our training center
Our Youths performing for the community
Craft-work, drama, singing , as well as dancing is part of our recreational activities
Serving our Communities through Creative Sewing
RuWCED's Community Computer Training Center
Encouraging girls to get involved in Information Tecnology
Adolescent SRH
Reaching out to young boys and girls in our community
Empowering Young Girls
Equiping girls with SRHR knowledge, Human Rights and Leadership skils.

Sport for every girl and woman in Cameroon

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For many years, sport has been one of the most important socio-cultural learning experiences for boys and men. These benefits should be afforded our women and girls too. There are many advantages for girls and women to get involved in sport:

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Girls who do sports have stronger immune systems and run a reduced risk of chronic illnesses later in life such as; high blood pressure, diabetes, endometrial, colon and breast cancers, as well as heart diseases. Girls involved in sporting activities have lighter and more regular periods and experience less cramping and discomfort during their menses. Physical activity and sport can boost the mental, psychological and spiritual health of rural girls and women. Girls and women who are involved in sporting activities have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not get involved in sporting activities. 

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Using sports, RuWCED works with volunteer coaches to train young girls to take leadership roles in organizing different sporting sessions towards building their confidence and leadership skills. The coaches also encourage children and youths to challenge stigma, bullying and violent behaviors from others in society. The program is coordinated by our community health educator and psycho-social counsellors who lead discussion sessions on HIV/AID, SRHR education, standing up to bullying and discrimination. In effect, in the communities where we work, almost all forms of sexual violence (bullying, harassments, and rape) are blamed on girls (they were; inviting, or; did not dress/sit properly, or "behave well as girls"). In cases of rape, ‘victims’ feel ashamed and are shamed. According to the country’s penal code, rape is defined as sexual intercourse with a woman, whether at the age of maturity or below, by force or moral ascendancy and under article 296, rape is punishable with imprisonment. However, it is the victim’s responsibility to gather the evidence that rape occurred using proofs like -but not limited to- the fact that a neighbour/someone heard her screamed or she had injurie to her body etc which are in themselves complex and can be stigmatising.

Since 2013, RuWCED has been using the power of different sports (football, handball, racing etc) on a weekly basis to train rural youths on leadership, self-esteem, and anti-stigma against HIV/AIDS, prevention of VAWG, as well as other related bullying behaviors in and out of the school setting. We have directly coached over 1000 young girls on leadership skills and on ways of engaging their peers in SRHR discussions to prevent unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and reporting of rape cases without fear of repercussion because of the confidence of the support network offered by our sporting teams. We have through our sporting events also educated more than 70,000 supporters who come to our competitions on various community challenges including forced child marriage, living HIV+, the importance of adequate and appropriate access to SRH for adolescents. We have equally eased the tensions surrounding exclusion of kids born to extremely poor parents who use to experience bullying and mockery from their peers. Our use of role models as sports mentors has made most children to understand that being born into a poor family is not a signature to social exclusion because everyone has the SAME HUMAN RIGHTS that need to be respected, protected and fulfilled.

In general, we use sports to change discriminatory and oppressive social norms, including behaviors and practices which contribute to perpetrating VAWG while at the same time use training periods to support the empowerment of young rural women and girls to become agents of change to challenge bullying, violations of their SRHR, increasing knowledge about and expanding access to specialist women and SRH services. Competitions for rural girls are usually organized under the captions “girls too have the right and can say no”, “rape is a crime”, etc. and are used to educate the rural girls and the broader community.

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