Community training on hand washing after toilet, using 'Tippy Taps'.
The women also learnt how to make fly traps.

Rural Development Centre (RUDEC)

'Services for a healthy environment and people'

Rural Development Centre (RUDEC) is a common-initiative group working to serve the needy of Boyo division and beyond.

RUDEC supports work in agriculture, community health, socio-economic empowerment, and orphan child sponsorship.

RUDEC is situated in the picturesque Bamenda Highlands, in a village called Belo. Below the highlands is part of Boyo Division in the Anglophone north west region of Cameroon.

The main village and the surrounding settlements are home to about 80,000 inhabitants. It has hills and muddy roads in the rainy season, and dusty roads in the dry season. Bamenda, the nearest town, is situated 45 km from Belo.

Summer school in rural Belo. Extra lessons for kids out of school time, often in classes of more than 80. The children are taught subjects such as Maths, English & French, to help with class work.

However, the outstanding natural beauty of the area is marred by poverty as most families are not able to support their children's education, and food nutrient deficiency is common.

Gender-based violence and poverty

Gender-based violence and poverty is common in these areas, as women are treated as market articles. They have no voice in decision making, and they do not own property.

The issues of human rights are common, as children are often raped, forced marriages are common. Girls have no right to education as their parents typically have them as market assets to give away to husbands.

These marriages do not end, and the girls or women end up in the streets of the big town – as prostitutes who want to earn a living and get their bride price paid back.

There are many single mothers in the communities who do not have a means to support themselves and the kids they have, so empowering them is the way forward.