1. Project description; Problems to be solved, Project Purpose, and Activities you plan to do.

Several communities have little to zero knowledge of the laws and policies that regulate the environment in Cameroon. As such, rural communities are not able to protect their environmental rights as provided for under the Constitution of the country. Youths, both male and female, are not able to actively participate in the protection of their environmental rights due to little knowledge of environmental issues, as well as the available laws and limited involvement of youths in environmental decision-making and governance. The project seeks to promote citizen participation in environmental justice through capacity building, education, awareness-raising and sensitization in communities affected by climate change, environmental degradation and other environmental-related problems.

Activity 1: Training workshop for youths and students;

Activity 2: Raise awareness and educate through radio, tv and social media;

Activity 3: Training workshop for young community leaders;

Activity 4: Door-to-door community outreach and sensitisation;

Activity 5: Consultation with stakeholders and local authorities on environmental rights protection;

Activity 6: Monitoring and evaluation/Reporting.

2. Project progress 

The project began with the team holding a stakeholder meeting with major stakeholders identified by the project team. Meetings were held with Regional Delegate for the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Traditional Leaders, Administrative Authorities and Youth Leaders. A1. Preliminary planning was also made to ensure that the activities will move on smoothly. This included planning to engage the community through awareness-raising and sensitisation. A2. Karen and Friends Hope Association began the environmental project by raising awareness and education on the project, and on issues of environmental protection on community radio, television and social media. Since this time, we have held two radio and television awareness and education sessions. We have continuously engaged with our social media handles on Facebook and through Whatsapp. These awareness and education sessions have reached more than 1000 youths since the start of the project in May 2022. A3. Two training workshops have been held with community leaders and youth leaders in Ekona and Buea. These trainings engaged more than 100 youths in conversations around their involvement in environmental protection. These trainings proved very essential towards improving youth engagement of the media and government on environmental issues. Since these two workshops, about 10 youths have held PASS-IT-ON initiatives in their local communities and have been able to build the capacity of other youths within their communities. A4. Door-to-door community outreach and sensitisation have been carried out monthly since the beginning of the project in May 2022. Our first community outreach went to Bwassa village and joined the community in a clean-up campaign, which reach over 500 persons. Furthermore, an online webinar was held on June 4, 2022, in preparation for World Environment Day. This webinar engaged several youths in conversations about how young people can get involved in environmental discussions and action. The webinar also discussed how youths can be involved in contributing to policies and legal frameworks. A5. We have created and will print and distribute an instructional handbook on the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover) of environmental protection which we will share with schools and other areas where there are youths such as churches. This manual will promote environmental awareness and decision-making for all generations and within all spheres. 

3. Project plan forward

 Building on the achievements we have made so far in the project; we are leveraging our ties to the communities to ensure that we continue to deliver the objectives and milestones in the remaining part of the project. This is important to ensure the sustainability of the project beyond the funding period. We will continue to engage the communities by raising awareness and educating through radio, tv and social media. This will be improved over time to ensure we reach the maximum number of youths in the future. Also, our Door-to-door community outreach and sensitization will continue to hold monthly and will be monitored for their effectiveness. This will enable us to evaluate and make a decision on whether to increase or reduce the number of sensitisation sessions to be held as we advance. Furthermore, the team will launch an outreach session which will strategize on the distribution and popularisation of our instructional handbook on the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover) of environmental protection. We hope to reach more than 100 youths with this instructional manual. Finally, going forward, Karen and Friend Hope Association will begin a rigorous monitoring and evaluation process which will ensure that the milestones and achievements of the project will be monitored and measured, to ensure that the project is achieving its outcomes and impact.