All Photos By: DJ Pierce
Dear Friends,
Our annual campaign, Partnerships For Peace, focuses on health and education in a region suffering from political unrest. This fundraising initiative directly combats the negative effects of the conflict through our total health and children’s education initiatives. Our programs are oftentimes the only resources communities have access to in order to supplement the loss of schools and hospitals across the region. Every day, our staff in Cameroon is hard at work forging partnerships with local women’s groups, children’s organizations, and communities to cast a wider safety net of outreach to as many people as possible.
A Closer Look at Our Initiatives:
Our initiatives have been tailored to meet people where they are. This is especially true during this time in Cameroon, where families are no longer living in the homes they grew up in after being forced to find safer areas. Additionally, with schools shut down and hospitals closed until further notice, people are struggling to find a sense of stability in their lives. HIC mobile health clinics are on the ground visiting villages every day, delivering health care, medical visits, and education around health and stress management. Additionally, we are focused on delivering our children’s educational programs to supplement learning and reading while schools are shut down.
We started these initiatives in 2007 when we first established Himalayan Institute Cameroon. Over the years, we have adapted and evolved these programs as we learned more about the community we were located within and were able to more effectively deliver our programs. One of the many pivots we have had to make is the way we deliver our programs and services. In the past, our main building was used as a center of learning, health programs, women’s empowerment programs, and job training. Although our center is still operational, we are finding it much more effective to lead teams of staff members to visit rural villages – places that normally wouldn’t have access to programs like ours. Now we are seeing more results and have access to people directly impacted by the political turmoil present in the area.
All Photos By: DJ Pierce
Why This Matters:
The most important idea surrounding our program is that they are locally run and managed by Cameroonian staff. This creates an incredible resiliency that is able to weather these trying times. It also allows our team to better understand the situation, and tailor our programs to the people we serve. More than once, we have adjusted our programs to facilitate specialized training in meditation and breath awareness to cope with stress – and many have found relief from these techniques. Overall, it’s giving people hope and inspiration to keep moving forward.
How Will This Campaign Help?
Partnerships for Peace mitigates the stress and turmoil people are experiencing every day. Through breathing and mindfulness techniques, women, men, and children are receiving the tools to help them cope and create peace of mind during this volatile time in their lives. Through our collective efforts, which could not continue without donor support, we remain on the ground daily sharing children’s literacy programs, public health education, and meditation practices.
We ask you for a donation to support this initiative as well as our overall goal of bringing peace to the world, especially those who need our help the most.
These resources create a lasting impact on the communities we serve. With ongoing support, our outreach will continue to expand throughout all of Cameroon. Please donate NOW to support our social impact, as we continue to support Cameroon into a brighter tomorrow. Creating change is a long-term investment. Your support creates impact that will continue to develop for many generations to come.
We are changing the world.
All Photos By: DJ Pierce
