Community centred, enabling methodologies have been central to our work. Much of our work has been at the grassroots, because we believe that change comes from each of us, in how we live our daily lives. Whether helping a community build their own school, a tree planting project or student internship, in one village, a region or international, an over-riding goal has been to promote collaboration, social justice and transparency.

From 2004 our work was run through five interlinked programmes – Democratisation, Education, Environment, Culture and Women’s Empowerment – with programmes integrated so that the overall goals and vision of UNAFAS are addressed in a cross-cutting and harmonised way. Our environmental education work for example has been a vehicle to develop democratic values in schools and communities. Environmental education training for educators (with individuals, government inspectors, education authorities, professional development providers) has addressed pedagogy as much as environmental knowledge. Emphasising participative, student centred approaches, promoting critical thinking, debate and collaboration (in line with what has evolved into ESD and Sustainability Education) has been as much a part of our work developing student councils, school elections, and leadership training as it has been our Conservation Values Programme.

Democratisation

We worked with the Cameroon Bar Association, involving lawyers in the process of enabling community involvement in local and national governance.

We’ve worked with education authorities and 47 schools, standardising school elections, so that young people know and experience the benefits of living and learning in environments run on democratic principles

We’ve run seminars for young people

With lawyers discussing why and how governance issues effect ordinary people and what they can do at their level to support good governance
Volume 1, 2014. Democratisation and student leadership
The Challenge of democracy in Africa: establishing democracy in multi-ethnic and multi-tribal societies.
On the place and role of NGOs and charity in our growing nations

Education

Facilities and equipment

We’ve helped poor communities build their own schools
Provided irrigation training to empower small scale farmers
Introduced IT equipment and learning tools to support children with limited hearing
Provided books to schools that lack them

Improving the quality of education

Training for primary school managers and teachers
Developed new undergraduate courses and in school mentoring and were proud to see teachers incorporating their learning into their teaching practice.
Volume 4, 2016. Education for sustainable development. English & French ed.
Extended use of sign language to integrate hearing impaired children in their
Helped education authorities modernise teaching practices in secondary schools
..... with creative ways to link curriculum teaching to everyday life
..... bringing learner centred art into primary schools

Widening horizons and opportunities, through scholarships, internships, study tours, international travel

Environment

Tree Planting
We’ve worked with faith based organisations and groups

Helped rural people address their everyday environmental problems

We’ve worked with schools, to help them develop conservation values in their students, staff and wider
networks

Cross-curricular and community, conservation values education.

Culture

We have written, supported and promoted publications on Palaces, Fondoms, religious community, museums, and exploring traditional relations and sexuality within family.

We’ve supported research on the influence of indigenous knowledge in traditional and modern Cameroon society, how it can be used to strengthen education work.

Women's Empowerment

We’ve worked to encourage and provide opportunity to African women, to help them improve their social and economic status, their living conditions and well being.

Our African Scholars programme has given a helping hand to brilliant young women.

Professional development opportunities have expanded women’s careers.
Workplace experience for young women has empowered and widened horizons.
Helped women’s pottery groups in north Cameroon construct kilns, reducing their workload and increasing the quality and value of their products.
Promoted simple cook stoves - affordable, locally produced stoves that use less wood, cook more quickly and make less smoke than open fires. The need to collect and carry less wood reduces the gruelling workload of rural women and children. In urban households that buy fuelwood, they free up money for other needs. The stoves expose users to less heat and smoke than available alternatives, reducing burns, skin, eye and lung problems.