At first, it seemed impossible...the land, the start up and over coming thoughts...the believe that water melon wouldn't grow properly in Bamenda, NWR Cameroon...but today, a few months later, I want to share this beautiful story...the story of HOFNA's water melon farm, a farm that trains/involve youth and women in the meaningful work of growing food...the importance of relying on sustainable agriculture as the surest route out of poverty...and most especially, a venture that is intended to make HOFNA financially sustainable...where HOFNA won't need to rely solely on aid/grants to carry out her activities/programs...an initiative that has started with the cultivation of melon but intends to continue with its transformation to juice.

Now, the list of those I've to express deep appreciation to has just increased. My deep appreciation to President Barack Obama for initiating the Mandela Washington Fellowship for young African leaders, the U.S Embassy Yaounde...and now, the CamCCUL- Cameroon Ministry of Economy, planning and regional development-UNDP scheme to alleviate poverty at the grassroots, for making the journey of replicating the experience a lived reality! Check out how far we've come...young people, Agriculture is not a 'dirty' job...it is not meant for the rural poor...it is one of the surest routes out of poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment.

Actions That Can Be Taken To Reduce The Vulnerability of The Girl Child

Actions that can be taken to reduce the vulnerability of the girl child

To reduce vulnerabilities of children, in particular of the girl-child, and increase protection, the following actions are recommended: 

1. Development agencies should integrate concerns about children’s rights, protection of the girl child from gender-specific discrimination, child labor, and other forms of gender-specific exploitation of children into the design and implementation of projects and programs.

2. The incidence of child labor, including in its worst forms, and low school attendance by girls is an indicator of poverty and a factor of risk. It should be included in all poverty analyses and vulnerability assessments.

 3. Households at risk of involving children in hazardous work (including slavery, bonded labor, and trafficking) should be singled out as a special target, in line with what has been done for households and children affected by HIV/AIDS or foster families of HIV/AIDS orphans.

 4. Greater attention should be given to improving living conditions in particular health and education of girls; school enrolment and attendance of girls should be included in monitoring systems for program performance and impact assessment of development interventions.

5. Given the importance of skills training and the creation of employment on and off-farm for adolescents and young people, more collaboration is needed for establishing successful gender-specific training programs.

 6. Efforts should be undertaken to develop and disseminate pro-poor labor-saving technologies that can ease children’s labor burden (for example in fetching water), with particular focus on the girl-child.