Tag Archives: Cameroon

January 14, 2016 · 8:02 pm

Apply now for the YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat, March 11-13

We are ready to accept applications for the YWLP – Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat! As a result of strong interest from North Island College and partners in the Comox Valley, we’re hosting this retreat at Mt Washington on Vancouver Island.

Please share with your friends/networks…

YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat Application Information

YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat

YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat Application Form
Additional spaces have been opened for the YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat; applications accepted until March 1st or until all spaces have been filled.


YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat
March 11-13, 2016: Mt Washington, Vancouver Island

Join Caroline M. Berinyuy and a group of others interested in local/global leadership for a retreat this spring. You’ll spend a weekend on Mt Washington in the Comox Valley on the unceded territory of the K’moux people. As a group, you will get to know each other, learn more about Caroline’s work, consider ways to be in solidarity – and have fun!
Caroline M. Berinyuy, program director of the Young Women’s Leadership Program (YWLP) in Cameroon, completed her PhD in Education at the University of Virginia. Global Solidarity Retreat organizer Mali Bain has connected with her in relation to her visit to Vancouver to present at the 2016 Comparative and Intercultural Education Society (CIES) conference; Caroline is thrilled to be co-facilitating the YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat.

The retreat will be an opportunity to

  • Connect with others in British Columbia interested in global solidarity
  • Learn more about Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP) in Cameroon and Caroline Berinyuy’s approach to leading this work
  • Explore topics such as: intercultural collaboration, global citizenship, insider/outsider perspectives, biases & ways of knowing, and imposed/expressed/perceived needs.

We welcome a diverse group of participants, both those new to this work and those with significant experience/training. You will benefit most from this retreat if you have one or more of the following:

  • Interest in young women’s leadership locally and/or internationally
  • Interest in social justice and/or working in solidarity
  • Awareness of own social location (race/gender/class/sexual orientation/ability/etc)
  • Interest in or experience working in an international and/or Indigenous context

Please share widely, and be in touch with questions / comments!

– YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat Co-facilitators: Caroline, Mali, and Colleen
globalsolidarityretreat@gmail.com

Contribute to the retreat or pay for your retreat:


YWLP-Cameroon GSR Sliding Scale Payment Options




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December 15, 2015 · 7:45 pm

Taking the Time to Listen

YWLP_Cameroon340_220-from-article

“If you’re willing to help without listening to the story, then I have a problem.” – Caroline Berinyuy

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Caroline Berinyuy, program director with the Young Women’s Leadership Program (YWLP) in Cameroon and leader of the next Global Solidarity Retreat.

Solidarity retreats emerged, in part, as a way to respond to challenges to and critiques of what has been called ‘voluntourism’, as described in other posts and in resources & readings. The messaging about much of the global South, particularly about sub-Saharan Africa, is that there are many poor / troubled people and that it is the role of those from the global North to travel and ‘help’ them.

Caroline’s take on this, as I heard it, is that the desire to ‘help’ is natural and valuable. The thing is, there’s a desire to jump in and help rather than first listen. It’s good to work with somebody who is willing to help – it’s a positive word if used rightly on the ground.

But, she says, “people are not listening to the story – they are quick to provide fixes without listening to the story. It’s important to see why doing a project in Cameroon might be different from one in Zambia… don’t overlook listening to jump to solutions first.”

Taking the time needed to deeply listen can be challenging, with short trips and tight schedules. She is visiting to present at the CIES (Comparative and International Education Society) 2016 conference. As a part of that conference she will give a short presentation to fellow academics and those within her field. The opportunity to participate in a Global Solidarity retreat, having several full days with the same small group of people, is a valuable addition to her travel itinerary – and a significant opportunity for Canadian residents.

Caroline is program director for the Young Women’s Leadership Program, which focuses on an after-school mentoring program for girls. The program aims to promote the education of girls both through academic support and scholarships. Workshops are led by professionals and by high school students, ‘leaders in training’. Her work engages mothers as well as community elders, and is a safe and welcoming space for students of all ethnic backgrounds and abilities. You can learn more about the YWLP in this article or in the following:

Global Solidarity Retreat YWLP Background

Stay tuned for further information about the Global Solidarity Retreat with Caroline Berinyuy: March 11th – 13th, 2016!

Photo of Girls Day

 

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