PROGRAMS

Agriculture

Cameroon like many other African countries is blessed with rich agricultural potentials. Unfortunately these potentials remain largely untapped and majority of poor peasant farmers face challenges like lack of farm inputs, poor road networks, limited information on modern farming techniques and limited resources.

Objective: to contribute to increasing food security and ending hunger amongst poor communities is by training them on sustainable agriculture and supporting them with micro-credit and material to set up their farms as follows;

- We train peasant farmers and out of school unemployed youths on modern farming techniques (BIOFARMS)

- Developing urban and peri-urban agriculture.

- Insertion of trainees through provision for start-up capital and materials

Challenges

· Insufficient funds to help in the insertion of trainees

· Owing to the fact that training is pro poor, funds are insufficient to get materials as majority of trainees cannot afford registration

The way forward

Training of peasant farmers and unemployed youths continues while HASD keeps outsourcing ways to get more funding to meet up with afore mention challenges.

EDUCATION

Primary and secondary education is normally free in government schools in Cameroon and other African countries but the burden of providing learning infrastructure and sufficient teaching staff falls on predominantly on parents and communities especially rural and urban poor communities. As a result, many of these communities have inadequate school infrastructure, insufficient /unequipped classrooms, insufficient trained teachers, and lack of water and sanitation in schools. This leads to overcrowded classrooms, poor performance amongst pupils and students, high rate of school dropouts, and risky learning environments.

Objective

To contribute towards an inclusive and equitable education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all through the construction, rehabilitation and equipping of dilapidated educational structures and provision of scholarships to underprivileged children. We do this by:

- Improving school infrastructures in rural and urban poor schools by constructing classrooms, rehabilitation and equipping of dilapidated structures and the construction of modern toilet blocks.

- Providing scholarships to underprivileged children at nursery, primary secondary schools and higher institutions of learning.

- Improving water and hygiene situations in schools by providing solar water pumping systems in schools.

Challenges:

HASD have earmarked far more schools in need in Africa than expected.

The way forward

HASD hope to source funding from partners to address the situation.

HEALTH

Good health is an important component of life and development. It has been enshrine in the MDG4 (reducing child mortality) MGD5 (improving maternal health), MGD6 (combating malaria, HIV /AIDS and other diseases). Globally, there is s huge disparity in access health services in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Objective

To improve the health status of people living in poor communities through the training of nurses for poor community health centers, rehabilitation/equipping of health centers in rural areas and the introduction in those poor communities. We do this by:

· Sponsoring the training of nurses in recognized health institutions to work in poor community health centers upon graduation.

· Construct/rehabilitate and equip health centers in poor communities.

· Provide portable water using solar water pumping systems and modern toilets to health centers in poor communities.

· Provide solar infant incubators to poor rural communities to reduce infant mortality.

Achieveme

Challenges

· Many poor communities are unable to compensate nurses. This creates difficult situations for nurses who must have to sustain themselves while working.

· Many health centers are in dare need of electricity and incubators to handle difficult child birth situations and HASD is yet to secure funding to start helping them

The way forward

HASD hopes to source funds to be able to reach out to as many as possible to poor communities through partnership and strategies.

SOCIAL WELFARE

In Africa, persons living with disabilities still face several problems which have remained unattended for quite a long time with no proper mechanism to curb them. These challenges include living under extreme poverty, high unemployment rate, and poor provision of education and health services. The high poverty rate of disability persons is quite alarming and has tended many of them to street beggars. This is accelerated by to lack of opportunities for this group of people. If people with special needs are given opportunities, they can support themselves and make valuable contributions to the society and the economy. Therefore HASD provides rehabilitation and training to people with special needs to enable them reach their full potentials.

Objectives

To create rehabilitation centers for people living with special needs and give them life skills training and rehabilitation activities so as to enable them become financially independent.

We do this by;

· Establishing a vocational rehabilitation centers where people with special needs are trained with life skills that are adaptable to their disabilities.

· Provision of start-up materials to graduate to set up their workshops.

Challenges

· Difficulties in sourcing adequate funding to provide all the necessary seed capital.

· Difficulty in acquiring equipment at the rehabilitation training center.

· Difficulty in providing their needs while at the center.

VOLUNTEERING

To help the young and the older people gain experience in the work place for development, as well as to support the organization to attain its objectives, HASD is providing opportunities for both national and international volunteers.

Challenges

Volunteers do not always have specific skills that employees would always hire.

The way forward

HASD will always provide opportunities for volunteers and interns to gain skills in development work and become marketable in the job markets

WATER AND SANITATION

Water is one of the most valuable and influential natural resource because of domestic and economic importance. Access to clean water is essential to sustain life. Unfortunately according to UNICEF, only about 45% of people in rural areas in Cameroon have access to good drinking water. Many communities rely on doubtful water sources which are at times shared with animals. Moreover, people in these communities trek long distances to get drinking water,

Objective

To ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all through the provision of portable water and construction of toilets with hand washing facilities for rural and urban poor communities, health centers and schools. This will be done by;

· Provision of water through either gravity, protected wells or boreholes using solar water pumping systems to rural poor communities.

· Provide solar water pumping systems for irrigation and mechanized agriculture to ensure food security.

Challenges

· Bad roads to some communities and limited transportation means

· Insufficient funds for the running and execution of projects

· Excessive population pressure to the detriment of water catchments.

· The needy communities are alarming.

The way forward

HASD will keep sourcing for funds from partners and benefactors to improve water situation in rural and urban poor communities.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT.

Current environmental trends are a global call for concern. The rate of environmental degradation is fast surpassing our ability to control climate change; pollution, deforestation, and soil erosion are some of these challenges mankind faces.

Objective

To promote environmental sustainability, we train target groups on environmental protection and management and by mainstreaming environmental awareness in our respective programs. We do this by;

· Promoting the use of renewable energy through creation of classical training centers in respective countries.

· Training and supporting of unemployed youths, farming communities’ leaders, women groups and youths on smart agriculture.

· Protection of water catchments.

Achievements

We have trained more than 300 youths in solar, wind turbine and biogas installations in some African countries like Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Niger.

We have also developed innovative sewage treatment system to manage liquid wast. We build biofil and biodigester toilet system for households, schools, hospitals and markets

Challenges

Communities in need of renewable energy training and facilities surpass our means to provide them. We also have limited resources to assist schools in their environmental programs.

The way forward

· We continue to train people in the use of renewable forms and installations in different communities

· Continue to promote our energy clubs in schools program in both rural and urban poor schools.

Objective

- Improving school infrastructures in rural and urban poor schools by constructing classrooms, rehabilitation and equipping of dilapidated structures and the construction of modern toilet blocks.

- Providing scholarships to underprivileged children at nursery, primary secondary schools and higher institutions of learning.

- Improving water and hygiene situations in schools by providing solar water pumping systems in schools.

- Constructing Biofil and biodigester toilets in schools to manage liquid waste. This helps to improve school hygiene and check a good number of diseases such as cholera pandemic that is rampant amongst school children.

Challenges:

HASD have earmarked far more schools in need in Africa than expected.

The way forward

HASD hope to source funding from partners to address the situation.