Does anyone have any advice or local contacts that could help Clarisse, a nursing student in Cameroon?

Four years ago our daughter, Heather, went to Cameroon on a 5-month study-abroad program. She returned again the following summer to spend more time working on maternal and family health care issues in Bertoua. While Heather was there she befriended a very bright young woman, Clarisse, who aspired to go to nursing school. However, Clarisse is very poor and with a weak mother to take care of, nursing was well out of her reach. After hearing about Clarisse from our daughter, we offered to support her through nursing school.

Clarisse has done outstanding and will graduate this spring. She would like to work at a clinic offering family health care. My daughter recently spoke with Clarisse and learned that without 'connections', the likelihood of Clarisse being able to work as a nurse seems very unlikely. In a region with such desperate health care needs, this seems like a terrible waste.

I'm writing you because I hoped one, or many of you might have some suggestions, contacts, or advice on what Clarrise, or we, could do? How does getting a job work in this part of Cameroon? What should our expectations be? Any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Peter Buesseler
Fergus Falls, MN

By Sabrina Hervey (adsl-69-153-49-22.dsl.snantx.swbell.net - 69.153.49.22) on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 5:17 pm: Edit Post

In response to the message posted by Peter Buesseler,

In all likely hood if Clarise has truely finished with nursing school she has more of a chance of getting a job then the majority of people in Cameroon who have gone to University. The government is always recruiting nurses. There are also many private clinics in the area where inorder to be considered she would have to make herself known and let the people who run the clinic know that she is qualified. I am not saying that it will be easy for her to get a job, however, a nurse in Cameroon has many options for work. It might take what in the US seems a really long time, but that is part of the life there and every Cameroonian knows it. She should try at the protestant Health Centers and Hospitals as well.

By nahiu (manz-d9334c1b.pool.mediaways.net - 217.51.76.27) on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 4:39 am: Edit Post

Hi
I am from Camerron as well and i understand how hard it will be for Clarrise to get a job without connection. My advice for clarrise will be to go apply to The Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board. They have Health Centers in many places in Cameroon and i will say they do a good job by employing people due to their qualification and not connection. Their Main Hospital is Banso Baptist Hospital and they have other health centres in Etougebe-Yaounnde, Mutengene and in some other French Speaking parts of Cameroon that might be interesting to Clarrise since i understand she is french speaking.
Good luck and God bless

By Peter Njodzeka (62.90.251.161) on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 5:41 am: Edit Post

I believe Clarise will have a job without bordering herself so much if really she is through with her nursing school. Because like someone just mentioned of Banso Baptist Hospital, that is a very nice place to seek for a job and Shisong Hospital in Banso too. I'm a native of Banso and knows how all these places works. I am equally a founder/president of an NGO called, Life and Water Development Group that has been working on health issues and clean drinking water issues. My affiliates are Hope College from Holland, Michigan USA, a chapter of Engineers Without Borders from the USA and we implemented a water project already in the village of Nkuv, some few kilometers after Banso town. Our major problem is the health section now because my affiliates are engineers and do not work much on health, though we had two health engineers when the team was coming in May, and they did very well teaching the villagers. In March 2006, 5 engineers travelled to Cameroon to work with my NGO for site assessment and in May, the team returned with a huge number of 11 engineers for the implementation of the shallow well, biosand filters and health and sanitation projects, which was a success though the shallow wells did not bear fruits. So we still have a problem of health and sanitation and I'm writing here to know if there is a way for Peace Corps volunteers to visit this community and see what they can do to them by improving their standard of leaving. You can visit our website at: www.lifeandwaterdevelopment.com or email me at: peter.njodzeka@lifeandwaterdevelopment.com and copy cc to penjoka@yahoo.com or call +237 771 62 88 for more information. If you visit our website and it's not going through, please be patient as we are still working on it putting more information.

The entire community will be very grateful having peace corps around them.

Please do let me know how we can work together in building a better world.

Sincerely yours

Peter NJodzeka
Founder/President
Life and Water Development Group
Tel: +237 771 62 88
E-mail: peter.njodzeka@lifeandwaterdevelopment.com
or penjoka@yahoo.com
P.O Box 30370
Yaounde - Cameroon