Tsague Dongfack Willy Endelson, POP Youth Mentor and Ambassador for Cameroon
The POP Cameroon initiative aims at raising youth awareness about the protection of the ocean in order to mobilize and instigate them to pick up creative and innovative initiatives for its protection. It is designed to be implemented in the West region of Cameroon. Besides, in the National Geography report (December 2018), 18 billion pounds of plastic flow into our ocean every single year and the effects have been massive, with scientists reporting at least 700 marine species facing serious difficulties due to plastics pollution. The increase finds its explanation in the sense that more than 40% of these plastic materials are used just one, and the waste has choked our waterways and environment in such a way that if nothing is done, the consequences will devastate us. This is more serious in Cameroon as plastic waste has become a major challenge in the West region, Dschang, clogging up drains and rivers and causing flooding in the city whenever it rains. Despite, Cameroon government having been trying to tackle the country’s plastic pollution issue for years, the situation remains alarming. According to the reports of scientists and media, the 2019 annual consumption of plastic materials increased tremendously, although the exact figure is still to be elucidated. Meanwhile a censor carried on the Cameroonian population by the non-governmental organization REDHAC unveiled that Cameroon is inhabited by 66% of youth and only 34% of the old, and that the highest challenge of this youth, is their overwhelming inability to assist the government to address the current challenges of the nation, among which plastic pollution. Although the predominance of the youth, few have cognizance of environmental challenges and thus, actually pick up initiatives to counter plastic pollution; rather, they are the first to dump plastic materials (papers and bottles) on streets, which are later canalized during rainfalls towards the rivers and ocean. Consequently, the streets of Dschang are littered with piles of plastic bags and bottles.
We believe it is because the youth are not knowledgeable. So, if they are drilled on the consequences of their deviant behaviours, such will stop. More so, they will be triggered to fight against the pollution of the environment and specially, rivers and ocean. Basically, this justifies the relevance of this project, which aims at catering a protective education to the youths on the environment and especially the Ocean in the West region of Cameroon. The project seeks to drill 50 female young ambassadors on environmental issues, who will be afterwards assigned to create, each, an environment club in their schools to sustain the knowledge learned through sharing and fine tuning and implementing community initiatives related to the protection of the environment. Additionally, a debate and public speaking contest on environment challenges and the protection of the ocean will be organized, confronting 25 secondary schools, both private and public. It will be the arena for these youths to discuss policies and actions associated with the pollution of the environment in order to sort out witnesses or surpluses guaranteeing the protection of nature. Lastly, the trip to the seashore of Limbe will expose the students to real life situations, so that they have a sample of the subject matter.
