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2022
2022 CELEBRATION OF WORLD VALUES DAY [WVD] IN YAOUNDE - CAMEROON
Cameroon joins the world at large to promote the annual campaign to increase the awareness and practice of values around the world. Values have become a public debate in many communities' today. Discussions and importance of role play by values and the continuous need to exercise these qualities is a cry for every society. But the role in our lives and the importance of these values for our wellbeing are not always fully understood. Values are what matters in our lives, our communities and our environment.
The world values day celebration for 2022 was celebrated on the 20th of October but here in Cameroon we did the celebration on the 28th of October 2022 due to financial constraint and some delay. This celebration is gradually gaining ground in our community. Each year new ideas come up on how we have to reach out to the world in our own little way.
To mark this day we started with a march for values. We include cultural groups, handicap children (the lame, the blind and the dump & deaf), the orphans etc, and other associations. The schools and some government representatives were also present. Some individuals also came in, just as observers and spectators. Below are schools and associations we were able to identify:
- The CRTV-Radio - The Beba women - The women for a change (WFAC) - The ministry of social affairs - Amasia bilingual complex - Bostel schools - Green hills academy complex - English High School
The celebration was highlighted by a series of activities from the students and the pupils from the different schools. During this event values such as peace love, respect, cooperation, happiness, humility, care for the environment, environmental values, some cultural values etc. were presented.
The celebration
This year in Cameroon we started up with a match for values, during which the participants held out flags carrying values, singing and matching along the street leading towards the Cameroon Cultural Centre. This public sensitization process was characterised by the different groups and schools, singing different songs carrying values messages.
This match pass was a very significant act, which interrupted vehicle from passing and attracted passersby to stop and seek to know what was happening. The demonstrators continued their singing and they matched right into the hall. Songs such as:
-"We are one, eeheee we are together, we are one, brothers, sisters are we together, we are one""¦
-"We have joy like a river, a river"... and so many other songs.
Cameroon World Values Day 2022 March for Values
The celebration continued in the hall with an opening prayer and the singing of the national anthem. This was immediately followed by an opening speech from the president of Caretakers Initiative Cameroon, Patricia Ndikum during which she welcomed all the invitees and thank them for respecting our invitation. After her speech a replay of the activities for last year celebrations was done.
Singing of the National Anthem by GHAC Students
Prayers by Pastor Edmond
After the prayers and the singing of the national anthem we had the opportunity to reach out to the president International of the association for Living Values Education International through Zoom. It was difficult for him to deliver his speech due to the very poor network. However, he made effort to greet the audience. Wishing them a happy 'WORLD VALUES DAY'.
The Children greeting the President of ALIVE International by waving their Values flags
We continued with a presentation of a sketch by the children from the handicap centre titled "Je ne suis pas handicap". During this sketch the lame and the dump and deaf children were not left out. They did their best to make their presence to be felt.
A sketch presented by the Handicap children [je ne suis pas handicapper]
It was so interesting that in the sketch the dumb and deaf, the blind, the Lame and the normal children all acted together. They break barriers that we are always building around us when we come across people in their situation. We were able to see Interconnectedness, togetherness, love, understanding, simplicity, humility, cooperation, Freedom. We also observe these qualities in their teachers.
After the sketch the Handicap centre continue with a ballet dance. Even though some could not hear but they were able to dance accordingly. They had the strength, were able to cooperate, understand and made it a day with us at the cultural centre.
The baleh dance
After the handicap centre, the GHAC students came up with a sketch on "peace" and the environment. During this act the students were able to bring out the different values which if all are expressed there will be peace, and the different elements of the environment which if well taken care of, there will be good health, avoidance of floats, landslide, littering, dirty gutters, potholes, dustbins etc. Some of the values they highlighted through the sketch were peace, love, care for the environment, the rivers and oceans, respect, Responsibility, simplicity, humility, Tolerance, Unity and Cooperation. They also reflected on natural elements and disaster such as water and floats, Hills and Landslides, bushes, trees, potholes and dustbins breeding mosquitoes etc. They related all these to the hazards happening around our different environment. In their conclusion they made us to understand that if all these climate change issues are taken into consideration, and are taken care of, we are going to live a peaceful life in safety and be free from diseases.
A sketch on environmental values
Presenting elements of the Environment
Bostel School came up with a baleh dance during which the children presented very wonderful skills. Some of the values we identify in their dance were cooperation, strength, happiness, freedom etc. The Bostel children also presented a sketch on environmental littering, during which they demonstrated how important it is for everyone to be responsible in keeping the environment clean. Showing how important it is for us to learn how to uphold our environmental values.
The baleh dance from Bostel
Bostel pupils acting a sketch on littering of the Environment
The Pupils of green hills academic complex came up with a typical traditional instrumental dance. The young men with their traditional instrument were able to play the instrumentals without offering a word, and the dancers were able to understand the music of the instruments and danced accordingly. We saw the young dancers excising alot of strength, understanding, cooperation, humility, simplicity etc. The dancers also came in with peace; the plant they carry signifies peace. It is called the peace plant. From their dressing you can see the way they have beautify themselves in the traditional way so as to be loved, expressing happiness, oneness and solidarity.
They dance, passing on their message through the different styles
The pupils of green hills academic complex came up again to express how they live their values through different professions such as a teacher, a nurse, a doctor , a journalist etc.
AMASIA Bilingual Complex came up with a typical cultural Juju dance from the northwest region of Cameroon. From their attire one can tell the weight or how rich this culture can be, the seriousness of the group and how far they have gone into the culture. I remember I approached them when they were preparing to come in for the dance; they did not want me to come closer to their hiding or dressing room. This shows the secret and sacredness of this culture. From their dance steps and behaviour we can read the message and the values they were transmitting. On observing we were able to pick out the following values, Gentleness, togetherness, strength, humility, Responsibility, Respect, sincerity, Cooperation and happiness. These values are some of the cultural values that are practice in most areas of the northwest region of Cameroon.
The JUJU dance done by AMASIA Students
We had some reactions from some of the invitees from the Ministries and other associations.
They all appreciated the event and wish to participate next year. The handicap boy said they are so happy when they come out like this because they don't always have such opportunity to go out or attend such events.
At the end of the celebration, some rainbow booklets and brochures were distributed to the various guests.
Impacts
This first activity that everybody was involved in was the match pass. All the invitees were excited to take part. Some of them designed their own tracks without our Knowledge. However, the values flags we designed were distributed to everyone, even those who brought their articles were anxious to discover their new values from the flags. They marched waving their values flags, making the public to know that something is happening. For the past years we always do this celebration inside the hall but this time around we went out and pull the attention of the public.
- It was so interesting that we overhead some of the teachers and leaders of associations planning how they will ameliorate their activities next year. - Some express their gratitude and how much they are learning more about values from the children' activity. - The pupil alongside with the students were so happy to the point that some of them didn't bother about the school opinion, they planned on their own how they are going to display next year. - A student from the handicap centre had to express his feelings, saying that the event was a great and wonderful experience for them, that while on stage they were able to show their talents to the whole world and that they don't have such opportunity to go out and meet with others, so they say they are very happy.
Difficulties
Planning and organising such an activity needs time and funding on time to make it happen. Delay of fund did not help us even though we had to push the date ahead. Most of the invitees complained and some couldn't respect the new date due to their own commitments.
Due to lack of funding we couldn't realise the workshops we planned to carry out in the different regions. It was really bad that we were unable to secure funding even from our government and from other organisations in our country.
Way Forward
This celebration is gradually gaining grounds and it is creating impacts in schools and in our community. Building awareness in schools, in associations, in the public and the community as a whole through this celebration will go a long way to insert and maintain values in the future.
Workshops in schools, associations and groups in the community on values education continues as far as we can have some support for materials, snacks, sensitisation and transport fare for Educators.
The project is continuous, we are looking forward to realise the planned field trainings [TTE] in the centre, northwest, southwest and littoral regions of Cameroon if we can have some funding.
We are also looking towards the 2023 world values day preparation which starts now. That is we have to continue with activities in the field sensitising and organising workshops, building ideas about the next world values day ,expecting funding as early as possible, giving room for everyone and every association to prepare as well as they could, while planning so that we can all realise the project in a more better way.
2022
WORKSHOP ON LVE WITH THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE OF THE FANJI WOMEN DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURAL ASSOCIATION (FAWODCA)
Location: Bafoussam, West Region of Cameroon
Dates: February 28th - 3rd March 2022
Purpose: To mark 'International Womans Day'
Theme: Capacity development and Institutional strengthening of the bureau members of the Fanji Women Development and Cultural Association (FAWODCA) Cameroon
Introduction
The Senior Executive Bureau of FAWODCA, from the different regions of Cameroon assembled in Bafoussam to participate in this workshop. Bafanji is a clan in the North West Region in the heart of the war zone. Most of the natives have relocated and are living in different areas in Cameroon. The workshop was organized by Women for a Change Cameroon (WFAC).
Caretakers Initiative Cameroon (CARINC) was invited to offer a session on Values Education. The women were led through some values awareness exercises, during which they were able to identify their own values and that of their collaborators. They were also led to build a tree of values for their association. With much enthusiasm, they worked hard to come up with values they identify in FAWODCA as a whole. A lot of brainstorming was done with reactions from the leaders, from the different regions. Finally, the women came up with a beautiful tree, built with amazing values.
Following the design of the tree and the distribution of values according to strength, the bureau was able to see their association in a more transparent way. They planned to work hard to see into it that some of the values they cherish most and which they wish to uphold much stronger should become their core values.
The exercise of the Ubuntu tree came up during which they name it "FAWODCA" tree. As a promise, each member of the executive had to design a leaf with a value she will like to uphold or showcase as a gift in the association. Interestingly, they all came to the point where they promised to live these values such that, they will be identified as such.
The designing of this special gift for the association (FAWODCA) ended up taking the form of a post card. So excited, happy and determined from inside, each woman personally took upon herself to make her leaf to be the most attractive. This took them a lot of time. It was all fun. At same time, we had to allow them to take their time since they derived happiness from it.
The revealing of visible and invisible friends was the first and the last exercise throughout the entire workshop. The participants were asked to observe their visible friends throughout their stay in this "Hotel reserve area" provided by WFAC Cameroon. During this dormitory lifestyle, the participants had to observe each other very closely, checking attitudes/ behavior and sorting out the values they found on their friends. In fact, it was an ideal experience for these women. It seems they could even work the whole night without getting tired.
LVE WORKSHOP
Pre-Evaluation: Questionnaires were distributed to the participants to pre assess their knowledge on values. This was done before the start of the workshop. We realize it was not an easy exercise for some of them. But all the women made enough effort to fill the form.
Pre-Evaluation
VALUES AWARENESS
Visible and invisible friend: Participants were asked to write their names on a piece of paper and fold it well. The folded papers were put in a basket and was shuffled and passed round for each person to pick. The person whose name is picked by any of the participants is a visible friend to that person and the person who picked the friends name remain an invisible friend to that person. Throughout their stay during this workshop, each person had to take care of her visible friend. Checking on their attitude, behaviour and bringing out the values found in them. By the end of the three days, they have to reveal their visible friends and eventually the invisible friends will be exposed.
This was done at night, when participants just arrived
Value Cards: Some value cards were cut and shuffled in a basket and was passed round for participants to pick. After picking randomly, each person was asked to read out the values picked and its meaning. Amazingly, they all realized that the values were all referring to their attitude or behaviour. They were so happy that they were able to identify one of their values at this very beginning.
Participant sharing values with the group
Greetings: It was so interesting that before the workshop started, these women were already greeting each other in their native tongue. We just developed the lesson from there by asking them to greet each other in their dialect. Discussing the meaning of the massages passed through these greetings, we all realized that there are many values embodied in the act of greetings. This culture or way of salutation is common amongst us in Cameroon. They were all amazed on how humanity can be so interconnected or related through simple greetings. They praised God for his greatness. From this activity, we could see or bring out some values such as peace, respect, hospitality, solidarity, interconnectedness, oneness, care etc.
Greetings in their dialect
Quiet Time: The participants were asked to observe some quiet time, during which they were guided by the facilitator. Taking the best position they could and if possible close their eyes for better concentration. Their experiences after this activity were express. Such as calmness, relief, quiet inside, peaceful, etc. some even express solutions to some of their worries, others even slept off. We could see the need for peace from the inside. Some were really surprised with the results of such a seemingly simple activity.
Visiting Cards: Some designed cards were distributed to the women. In the middle some space was allocated for them to write their names. The space around their names was left for their friends to write the values they will identify in them. They were advised to visit about four or five different persons, introduce themselves and talk a bit about themselves while looking at each other directly on the face. After this activity they went into groups, they were asked to read out the values given them by their friends. Each person will be able to hear everybody else's' values and appreciate. They were also able to see the values their friends identified on them. It was an interesting exercise, creating friendliness, happiness, interconnectedness.
Visiting Cards exercise
Who do you admire most and why? They were asked to give the names of the person they admire most, what the person does in life and reason or what makes them admire him/her. Some values were able to be drawn from their reflection. The participants were able to see their interest and the values that pull them towards their model.
My favourite music They were asked to sing their favourite music. From each song together we were able to draw some value lessons. Due to time constraint, we asked just a few of them to sing. The whole group could not resist they had to stand and dance. Messages of love, peace, happiness, respect etc were passed.
Women singing and dancing
A moment you feel proud of yourself: This was explained to them as a moment they realize; they had some special qualities or values. They may have realized this through others or from friends or they feel it in them. Some of them feel they have to express this deep inner gift on the card they are designing, as you see them doing in the picture below.
My favourite music They were asked to sing their favourite music. From each song together we were able to draw some value lessons. Due to time constraint, we asked just a few of them to sing. The whole group could not resist they had to stand and dance. Messages of love, peace, happiness, respect etc were passed.
Participants designing values they are proud of
Personal or core values: They were told that most of the values discovered about them or those values identified in them from the beginning of the workshop right up to this point are considered as their core values.
Participants designing personal values for their association
Tree of Values for FAWODCA: A skeleton of a tree was drawn on a flipchart paper having some roots and some few branches, the roots representing the core values of the association which is the foundation. On the truck we have the supportive values which lead the association or help it move upright. The branches are the balance, values that balances the functioning of the association helping its stability. It was explained to them that the higher the values climb towards the apex of the tree, the lesser its hold on the tree, thus the weaker values of FAWODCA are found towards the apex of the tree. With this, they should be able to assess the situation of their group relative to the values they carry and the position of the values. They can develop the morals of the group by working on the tree, learn to make the weaker value alive, thus changing the altitude and the behaviour of the members of the association.
Values tree for FAWODCA
FAWODCA VALUES
Participants were given some yellow cards designed in leaf form, to write down the values they will like to give to FAWODCA for its smooth functioning. And that being one another' keeper we are expecting to hear that each person will uphold the values she is putting up. With much excitement, they turn to make the leaves into a card with a lot of designs. Behold, it was difficult to bring them to other. They beautified their leaves in different ways as you can see below.
Working session
Seeing their seriousness one can tell how determined they were to build their association.
Final product of the working session
This activity brought us to the end of value lessons for this workshop. It was already night and we must stop. Very happy and excited with the lesson and values learn so far, they requested for a full blown workshop. On the last day at 8pm, the invisible friends were revealed. The excitement was too much. In the midst of everything they had to fill the post evaluation sheet.
Revealing Visible and Invisible Friends: Below we can see invisible friends hugging their visible friends. In this game each person is having two friends one visible and another invisible.
Ladies embracing her visible and her invisible friend
POST EVALUTION
At the end of the third day the participants were given a post evaluation questionnaire to fill. This assessment was very important, for they were able to see how much they have achieved. As the president expressed, that for her 34 years of service as a teacher she did not know that there were things she still need to learn.
Filling post evaluation sheet
Impact: The women were so impressed with the LVE workshop and promised to invite us for a full workshop with their different branch meetings. And this will depend on the funds if they could have one.
Way Forward: Look forward for continuous workshops!
2021 - Celebration of 2021 World Values Day in Cameroon
The World values day celebration took place in two parts. The first part was training on Living Values Education, which took place at 'nouvelle route Omnisport' Yaounde. During this workshop we worked with Educators and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The second part of the celebration took place at the Cameroon Cultural Centre (CCC) Yaounde. The event brought ALIVE representatives from around the world sending their wishes through video and Zoom. It was spiced with sketches, singing and dancing done by students /pupils from schools around Yaounde. This annual campaign was to increase the awareness and practice of Values around the world..
18th to 21st of October 2021 - 'nouvelle route Omnisport' Yaounde
THE WORKSHOP
Training of Educators and Leaders of Internally Displaced Persons [IDPs] on Living Values Education.
Our objective was to enable the participants to have a good mastering of Values Education such that they will be able to educate others and groups in their community.
On the 18th of October we started with the workshop which took us through to the 20th of October. Prayers were said, followed by a brief introduction of ALIVE international, and Caretakers Initiative Cameroon-CARINC. This was followed by the introduction of the participants. Patricia continued to inform the participants about the nature of the workshop. She said, it's all participatory, involving Reflections, Imagination, visualisation, creativity, discussions etc.
VALUES AWARENESS
Visiting Cards: A4 papers were distributed to the participants, to write their names in the middle. They were instructed to move towards their friends, talk about themselves, for some few minutes looking at each other on the face. They exchanged papers and wrote the values they found on their friends. This exercise was carried out with about three or four other persons. It was done in silence for we did not have any music for the background. At the end of the exercise they were asked to look at the values given to them by their friends. They were surprised at the values others identified on them.
Quiet Time: The participants were introduced into a quiet moment, during which they had to follow some instructions from the facilitator. For better concentration they were asked to close their eyes. They were guided with the following points. They were asked to imagine they were in a quiet place of their choice, where is this place, what were they doing, feeling etc. what did they draw as a lesson, the impression and feeling at the end of the exercise. Impressed on how it went and the peace they experience plus the need for a quiet moment for everyone.
What do people say about you? This question required honesty from the participants. We made them to understand that it is all about them. Need not tell lies because it is all about you and it helps build the values of each and every one present. From their answers we were able to bring out the values seen in them by others
Who do you admire most and why? Here the participants were asked to give the name of the person, what he/she does in life, how he/she behaves and what does the person do in life that makes you admire him and want to be like him. They gave their different responses from which some values were drawn.
My favourite music: The participants were asked to sing their favourite music one after another, after each song together we brought out the values in them. This makes the participants see meaning in each song they sang and how much it reflects life. They were so impressed about it again as it was accompanied with dancing. After these reflexive exercises, one could see the brightness in their faces. We were able to see them talking and referring to values learnt.
A moment in your life when you feel proud of yourself: The participants were asked to reflect on a moment they feel they have achieve something that makes them very happy. They were told it shouldn't be success in exams, job etc. but a value they recognised in them and have applied it, and feels happy about that.
PERSONAL OR CORE VALUES
Some of the values they noted through the above reflections about themselves from the beginning of the workshop to this point are considered as their core or personal values. These values guide their thoughts, attitudes and actions.
TREE OF VALUES
On a flip chart paper, a skeleton of a tree was drawn, having some roots, few branches with some leaves. After explaining to them what the different parts represent, we went ahead to let them take the tree to represent their community, school or country. It was so interesting that after the above reflections they did not find it difficult to build the tree of values of their community or school. Together we built a tree of values for Cameroon. They were able to direct us on the values they identify as values for Cameroon.
PAPER TOWER
In groups of four, the participants were given 10 sheets of A4 papers to construct a building using sellotape, stapler and gum. The participants were told that their buildings will be judged on the height, the stability, design, team work, beauty etc. This activity was very challenging for each group, they fought to produce the best and to make it look attractive. Some participants prefer to build a paper house. Here they will need to explain the type of house relative to the geographical position or the location and the climate at that time. At the end we appreciated all of them for their creativity. They express their feelings, experience and lesson learnt from this activity. Some of the values identified through this exercise are Solidarity, Sharing, Patience, Tolerance, Cooperation, Teamwork etc.
VALUES CARD (POSTERS, POEMS, SKITS, SONG)
Participants were asked to be very creative; A4 papers were distributed to them. They had to reflect on a particular value of their choice after which they had to draw or make a poster, write a poem or compose a song reflecting the value or showing their understanding of that value. After this exercise they were asked to stand and explain their artistic work to the group.
CREATING A VALUE BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
My Dream School: The participants drew the school of their dream. They present the structure, the beauty, the dressing of the students, the type of teachers they will recruit etc. it was interesting because we had proprietors of schools, teachers, IDPs and Students. It was not an easy exercise for them. They had to go home and continue.
The need of a child: After brainstorming with the participants the following needs were given, they said, a child needs to be loved, understood, pay attention to, feel protected, be guided etc. The teachers gave examples on how they manage children in class.
Qualities of an Educator: Reflecting on their needs and right as an educator they came up with these qualities, to be attentive, caring, a model, objective, observant etc
PEACE TALK
The facilitator started by asking participants the values we need to uphold in order for peace to prevail. They said love, Tolerance, Forgiveness, Gentleness, Humility, Respect, understanding etc. This brought them to the question 'what is peace'? He said, there are times we are unpeaceful even when there is no war. Peace is beyond the absence of war. He says we are having war because of misunderstanding and selfishness. He went ahead to say we are talking about peace because peace is needed everywhere. Without peace we are going to be at war with ourselves or with one another. Without peace we are going to destroy ourselves. He says peace consist of pure thoughts, pure feelings, and pure wishes. We cannot be at peace if we are not sincere and do not respect ourselves and others. He finally defines peace as an inner feeling filled with the sense of truth. He advised participants to learn how to be peaceful inorder to stay healthy and live longer.
IMPACT
Participants were cooperative and as the workshop unfolded a positive brighter and relax atmosphere got installed. This could be seen as they expressed a lot of gratitude for the reason of having become aware of their own values which defines the humanity. This could be read from the faces, the expression of desire or determination to change attitude concerning certain stands. They said this was just the beginning
WAY FORWARD
We are continuing with more workshops and a yearly celebration of world values day.
18th to 21st of October 2021 - Cameroon Cultural Centre Yaounde
On the 21st of October 2021 Association of Living Values Education Cameroon carried out this Event at the Cameroon Cultural Centre Yaounde. During this activity we had representatives from the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Family and from the Ministry of Culture. We were honoured to have the president of ALIVE International through Zoom, who ended the Celebration with a note of appreciation and WORLD VALUES DAY wishes to Cameroon and the world at large.You can watch the video here.
The Event was carried out in the presence of:
- The Representative of the Minister of Arts and Culture
- The Representative of the Minister of Women's Empowerment and Family
- The Representative of Economy of Communion Cameroon
- The Representative of ALIVE Cameroon
- The members of Caretakers Initiative Cameroon.
- Some ALIVE Representatives around the world (video)
- The President, Association for Living Values Education (ALIVE) International (Chris Drake) ZOOM
- Co-Founder of ALIVE and Writer of Living Values Education series of books (Diane Tillman) video
- Some Primary, Secondary and High schools around Yaounde.
- Journalists (CRTV, EQUINOX TV).
The ceremony began with a prayer, followed by the execution of the national anthems of CAMEROON, NIGERIA, BURUNDI (audio) and SIERRA LEONE (video). After that, we listened to the speech of the representative of ALIVE in Cameroon: Mme PATRICIA NDIKUM, she started with a word of welcome and expressed the need of values by all. She also let the audience know that living values education Cameroon is present and is ready to work with them at all times. She said it is our duty to uphold our values. She ended by extending her greetings to living values representative around the world.
The president of ALIVE International through a video presentation started the tour of the world with values. In his opening speech he extends greetings to ALIVE associates and focal points around the world. He said reflecting back in our communities we can see the need for a change. And looking into our lives and around us we are going to see that there is a room for that change if we can let it be. Equally he said there is a possibility for Improvement, if we can live our values. In the same vein, we watched the highlights of some specific values of ALIVE representatives from twelve countries namely; Singapore, Sierra Leone, USA, Hong-Kong/UK, Hungary, Greece, Thailand, Georgia,Vietnam, Kuwait, Switzerland by video. You can watch the video here. After this stage, we took a coffee break during which the guests took the opportunity to visit the ALIVE documentation stand.
Green Hills High School Students
After the visit of the stand, we had the intervention of the representative of the Minister of Women's Empowerment and Family. She expressed her joy of seeing children participating in an event like this one. Seeing them expressing values through sketches, dancing, singing and was moved when she saw the children presenting values such as peace, love respect, responsibility, cooperation, tolerance, honesty etc. She spoke to the children in a motherly way telling them that they are the future, the leaders of tomorrow and with such a spirit rest assured the future will be bright. She said the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Family is there to move with them each time they have such a wonderful event.
Representative of the minister of Women's Empowerment and Family
After her speech we had the Representative of the Minister of Arts and Culture. He started by appreciating the teachers and the students for upholding values and for showing up for such an event He said values are also a part of culture and that the doors of the ministry and that of the cultural centre are open for us each time we want to come up with such a wonderful activity. He thank Patricia Ndikum for inviting the Ministry of ARTS and Culture to this very important event because Values are also a part of their activity, this event also involves the Ministry.
Representative of the Minister of Arts and Culture
We listened by ZOOM to the speech of the President of ALIVE International Chris Drake. He shared very warm greetings with everyone in the hall, with lots of smiles and joy. Excited to see him we also could not hide the joy of welcoming him in our midst in a very cheerful way as you can see in the video presentation and from the pictures below. He said he was very happy to join us and congratulates everyone present for making it happen on this great day. He went ahead with his message for the day. He said Values Informs us about who we are as individuals and as a community; we need not only talk but live them in every action. He said values change our attitude and eventually that of the world. It gives us the skills to make choices as a community. He said our values help us to make better choices to guide our ways. And that nothing is easy but we have to keep making effort to avoid bad friends. He went ahead to say, we should take a little time every day to think about that. 'Take quiet time out for yourself and reflect on your life'
He brought down his speech and spoke in a fatherly way such that each person including the smallest child learned something from him. The children were so happy and excited to hear more from the president and even wished he continues to talk to them. He appreciated the efforts provided by ALIVE Cameroon and promised to visit one day.
The children expressing their joy with greetings as the ALIVE President intervene through ZOOM
After the speech of the International President, we listened to the closing message from ALIVE Representative for Cameroon, Patricia Ndikum who encouraged participants to uphold their values and promise them that living values education Cameroon is ready to carry out workshops on values education with them and also have books on values education for all age groups.
ALIVE Representative for Cameroon, Patricia Ndikum
During this event we were privileged to work with fifteen (15) countries in the world including Cameroon, Burundi and Nigeria, coming from five continents in the world. The celebration of the International Day of Values was closed by interviews from journalist and souvenir photos.
Chantal offering prayers at the end of the event
The choir and some pupils from GHAC
Bostel pupils spicing the event and are receiving a support from Florence
The occasion was at its heat with dancing. More support and dancing from Hilda
Green Hills Students continues with animation making the event interesting
The occasion was at its heat with dancing. More support and dancing from Hilda
Sketches from AMASIA students
Organisers of the event
IMPACT
The event was so interesting. Nobody regrets taking part. We can get it from reactions from the schools, the ministries and other organisations, that we should involve them and inform them on time. Some of those who did not take part regret and asked us to inform them this year
WAY FORWARD
We look forward to continue with this event every year. In order to overcome the challenges of last year we wish to start preparations for 2022 World Values Day [WVD] as early as possible. We are going to involve more organisations, Schools and the Ministries. We look forward to your support for this year so we can ameliorate the event.
26th - 28th August 2021
Workshop on Living Values Education with Leaders of the Albino Association and People Living with Disabilities
The workshop started with an introduction of Caretakers Initiative Cameroon CARINC and the Association for Living Values Education ALIVE International. They were made to understand that CARINC is an associate of ALIVE International. This was followed by the introduction of the participants and the different associations present. From the booklet distributed to them, they were able to read more about ALIVE.
~ DAY 1 ~
Values awareness
Quiet time: During this activity the participants were led to observe some quiet moments during which they were guided by the facilitator. After about 5 minutes, they were asked to give their experiences. Some said they felt relaxed, others felt quietness inside and one said she was disturbed and was distracted. We had a discussion on this and we realized that she had some personal problems which did not permit her to concentrate. Generally, they enjoyed it and some good lessons were drawn; for example, the need for quietness and withdrawing to a quiet place for reflection.
Discussion after quiet time
Visiting Cards: The participants were given A4 papers on which they were asked to write their names in the middle and leave space for more words. They were asked to meet 3 or 4 of their friends talk about themselves briefly while looking at each other on the face. After each visit, they will exchange the cards and write out the values they found on each other. After the exercise, they were surprised to see the values given to them by their friends.
Participants getting to know each other
After the visiting cards, they were introduced to other reflections.
1) Who do you admire most?
The participants had to give the name of the person,