HI Community Center in Cameroon
A vision of integrated rural empowerment is taking life through the Himalayan Institute Community Center in Cameroon, West Africa. The HI Community Center embodies the Institute’s humanitarian mission, integrating education, healthcare, vocational training, and sustainable micro-enterprise. Core rural empowerment projects of the HI Community Center in Cameroon include:
• Sacred Link Jewelry
• School of Energy Farming
• School of Carpentry and Construction
• HI Total Health Center
• Kumbo Public Library
Africa is notorious for its lack of infrastructure and operational challenges, yet the Community Center’s organizational infrastructure was built from the ground up in less than one year—a testament to strong local support. Having initiated onsite efforts and community outreach in June 2007, the Community Center’s grand opening on October 13, 2007 attracted hundreds from across the region, all eager to learn about the Community Center’s services.
The Community Center is housed in two-story stone building which was originally part of a now defunct coffee cooperative. With extensive remodeling of the building’s 10,000 square feet, classrooms, training facilities and HI Total Health Center have found a home on the first floor, while the second floor holds residential facilities and administrative offices.
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All Community Center day-to-day operations are run by local staff. A team of 6 to 12 foreign volunteer experts spearhead the training programs in conjunction with local trainers. Staff and volunteers live at the center, and an expanded Himalayan Institute family has emerged, bridging two communities and two ways of life.
If 2007 was the year of foundation-building for the Community Center, in 2008 all four walls went up. Figuratively, the four pillars supporting the HI Community Center model are: education, healthcare, vocational training, and sustainable micro-enterprise. Together, they enable the Community Center to offer a comprehensive empowerment solution tailored to the specific needs of each community.
The first two pillars—education and healthcare—provide the foundation for any empowerment solution. They address the basic needs of a healthy community, often by augmenting existing local services. The Kumbo Public Library and the HI Total Health Center supplement existing educational and healthcare facilities.
The other two pillars—vocational training and sustainable micro-enterprise—are the specialty of the Community Center’s School of Carpentry and Construction, the School of Energy Farming, and Sacred Link Jewelry training and internship program.
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Global Fact Box
Cameroon
Cameroon is in central-west Africa. It borders Nigeria to the west, Chad on the north, and Central African Republic on the east. The main cities are the port city of Douala, and the capital city of Yaounde. Cameroon is home to about 200 different ethnic groups. English and French are the official languages.
Where is Kumbo?
Kumbo is the administrative center of the Bui division, located in the mountainous interiors of Cameroon’s Northwest province. It is a 10-hour drive from the port city Douala, and about three hours off a paved road.
What is the climate like?
Nestled in the lush volcanic mountains of northwest Cameroon, Kumbo is about 5,000 feet above sea level, and enjoys a pleasant subtropical climate, with temperatures ranging from around 50 F at night to the mid 80s during the day.
Economic activities in Kumbo
Kumbo is a city of about 50,000 and serves as the administrative center and trading hub for the Bui division. Major economic activities include agriculture, trading and retail, and government services.
What language is spoken?
Most of the population in the Kumbo area speaks English, in addition to the language of their native kingdom, Lamnso.
How did the Institute come to Cameroon?
Institute survey teams travelled to a half dozen nations across Africa in 2006, seeking prospective sites for the HI Community Center. Two members of the Institute community invited the Himalayan Institute to their hometown of Kumbo, Cameroon. During a site visit of several West African nations in August 2006, the Institute team visited Kumbo. Received with strong local support, and experiencing the great need for social and economic development, it was clear the first HI Community Center had found a home in Kumbo.
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