SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMMES
SHUMAS assists with training and support for basic education of the most deprived and disadvantaged persons in our society, such as orphans, children of handicapped parents, and handicapped persons themselves.
HELPING THE DISABLED TO SELF RELIANCE & INDEPENDENCE:
Handicapped people are often marginalized and deprived in our communities, regarded as outcasts, and neglected even by their families. They are often just abandoned, and resort to begging in the streets and public places...
Current SHUMAS Schemes:
- Resettlement:
assisting physically handicapped people to receive training compatible to the nature of their disability and to become involved in self-supporting activities.
This enables them to gain self-esteem, self-employment, and
independence.
In implementing our strategy, SHUMAS also helps disabled people individually.
Later, at their request, they suggested SHUMAS help train them to work as a group. During their meetings, they discuss freely, share experiences, and support one another. Presently five disabled groups are active throughout the national territory. - Sponsorships:
We help train some deprived children (e.g. AIDS orphans in communities) in regular education programmes and vocational training centres. This increases their knowledge and skills, allowing them to fit more comfortably into their communities. - Scholarships:
Benefit those of school age by providing them with basic school necessities such as bags, school fees, books, etc. Our volunteers now support many of these disabled youngsters. - Bamenda Disabled Group:
In 2006 SHUMAS formed this group and has provided a small shop in Nkwen district of Bamenda to market products made by local physically disabled people. Members are helped to self reliance and independence by producing handicrafts and popular cane furniture. The shop, known as the Badigus Shop, is sponsored by Anne Dance and Canadian friends. - New Rehabilitation Centre for Bamenda
Again, sponsored by Anne Dance and Canadian friends, a new model Training and Resource centre is under construction in Bamenda where young people with physical disabilities will be trained in seven differrent trades. 27 youngsters with pysical disabilities will be sponsored annually.
There will be an exhibition hall where all the beneficiaries who have graduated will exhibit their articles.
With land purchased by SHUMAS, construction of the footings was completed in November 2007 under the professional supervision of independent AidCamps volunteer Adam Williamson.
SHUMAS plans to open the centre in September 2008. The Rotary Club of Guelph Canada will help to provide equipment. - Nkambe and Bamenda Organic Farms:
These farms, worked again by disabled people, have been doing well and have expanded during 2007 producing more vegetables to market and rearing animals for sale.
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT TO LEPER GROUPS IN NORTHERN CAMEROON
The lepers in the north, like the women and
girl-children, are highly marginalized.Often isolated in their
communities and even from their families, they have to fend for
themselves despite their physical disabilities.
Many of them have
lost more than one limb, but they still have to work on the
farm to provide food for their families. This is a very difficult
exercise because of their disabilities.
At their request for a solution to their key
problem on how to increase their farm production 
and
transportation of food items to their houses, SHUMAS, in
collaboration with Susan Gray, and Dr. Berry Beaumont, both
AidCamps International volunteers, has provided them with animal
traction and carriage carts to help them plough their farms and
transport produce.
DOUALA CENTRE FOR REHABILITATION OF MENTALLY DISABLED PEOPLE
This project began, with support from SHUMAS, by the Benito Mennis organisation some years ago. The main activity of the project was to provide social welfare facilities to mentally disabled persons in a tiny rented structure as well as sensitize the general public of the need to change attitudes towards, and treatment of, people with mental disabilities.
SHUMAS' objective is to improve and enhance the mental, social and economic life of mentally handicapped persons through the provision medical care, shelter, food, clothing and vocational skills.
We seek to help mentally disabled by:
- Rehabilitation programmes to improve self esteem and assist with employment where possible.
- Reduce high mortality rates, around 80%.
- Providing clothing, food, and shelter where needed.
- Empowering by vocational, social, and life skill schemes and projects.
- Reducing the burden on families and relatives.
- Reducing the rate of social ills in Douala caused by mental illness.
With help from the SHUMAS UK team, headed by Janet Clark, Phase II of this project began in September 2006 consisting of:
- Re-enforcement of the project staff, orientation and co-ordination.
- Renting a symbolic small house in the BONABERI neighbourhood to serve as a re-habilitation centre.
- Arranging partial services of a psychiatric nurse and mental health expert
- Arranging the services of an urban agricultural technician. An urban garden is being created, worked by the beneficiaries, which will help provide some food items for the centre.
- Constructing a piggery which will serve a similar purpose.
A small pro-pharmacy and a health unit are being constructed and incorporated into the project which will deal with health problems but it will also serve people in the neigbourhood thus generating income to sustain the centre.
- Longterm, services will be provided at two levels:
- Day Services:
- For those capable of day-visits to the centre and not needing residentail care: full services will be provided.
- Residential Services:
- After registration, patients will be given personal health care, clothing where necessary and lodging facilities. Treatment commences immediately. Currently we have 4 in-house patients and are giving help and medication to many more. To help provide occupational therapy and generate some income, a poultry farm was added to the centre in 2007.
A mobile team of local volunteers contacts and monitors mentally disabled person found wandering on the streets. The team provides advice and help to try and return them to their families wherever possible.
We hope the centre will undertake:
- Training in basic hygiene, domestic care, cooking and sports.
- Basic Medical services. Immediate attention will be given to those who have injuries, skin diseases and other transmissible diseases.
- Phase III, will involve training for
vocational skills. Patients will receive training in gardening,
marketing, tailoring, hair dressing, knitting and weaving, etc.
Products and services will be sold to the general public in order to generate income, enabling them to be economically independent and re-integrated into society.
Janet Clark and her team continue to fund raise and make regular visits to the centre.
