By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, PAV – Hundreds of children in Moli, Buea, South West Region of Cameroon have benefited from a back-to-school campaign by AgricVento aimed at helping children from underserved communities return to school with greater confidence and dignity.
The initiative, held on Saturday 29 August under the theme “Planting Dignity, Harvesting Futures”, went beyond the distribution of notebooks and pens to include sanitary pads, first-aid supplies, haircuts and arts and crafts activities.
The campaign is part of AgricVento’s “Go to School” initiative, through which the organisation supports children in grassroots communities with materials and other assistance needed to begin the new academic year.
Epotie Alida Emeline, founder of AgricVento, said the foundation deliberately takes a holistic approach because educational needs in deprived communities extend beyond classroom materials.
“We go beyond the books by grooming these children because we believe that a good haircut already boosts a child’s self-esteem and the child moves into the school gate feeling confident,” she said.
AgricVento is primarily an agricultural technology start-up, but its founder said the organisation established the AgricVento Foundation to extend its work into community support.
The initiative this year also placed particular emphasis on health and menstrual hygiene. A first-aid box was donated to help children deal with minor injuries, particularly in communities where access to nearby health facilities can be difficult.
For girls, sanitary pads were provided to reduce the risk of menstruation disrupting their education. “A girl child shouldn’t miss school for up to five days because she lacks the necessary sanitary materials,” Epotie Alida said.
Beyond Notebooks and Pens
AgricVento also incorporated arts and crafts into the programme, giving children an opportunity to express themselves creatively. Epotie Alida said such activities could contribute to children’s cognitive development while encouraging them to think independently and approach problems from different perspectives.
The traditional school materials remained central to the campaign, with books, pens and other supplies distributed to pupils and students. But the organisers said the broader objective was to ensure children did not feel that they were merely recipients of handouts.
The theme, “Planting Dignity, Harvesting Futures”, was intended to capture that philosophy. “We believe that doing all of these things, going beyond the books, will really help to plant the dignity that they deserve,” Epotie Alida said.
AgricVento had anticipated reaching about 100 children in Moli, but nearly 200 turned up for the programme. The foundation also extended the initiative to Mouanguel village in the Littoral Region, where about 150 children were reached.
Beneficiaries included primary and secondary school pupils as well as university students. The scale of participation surprised organisers and underlined the continuing need for support among children in underserved communities.
Partners Behind the Initiative
AgricVento said the campaign was made possible through support from several partners, including OpenDreams, The Right Dose, APWAL and Kceecutz. Epotie expressed particular appreciation to the organisations and individuals who contributed to the programme, saying partnerships were essential to sustaining community initiatives of this scale.
For AgricVento, such partnerships demonstrate how organisations with different areas of expertise can combine resources to address challenges facing children. For a child in a deprived community, the lack of basic learning materials can be an immediate barrier. But confidence, personal hygiene, access to basic first aid and opportunities for creative expression can also affect how children experience education.
AgricVento says its approach is therefore designed to address several of those needs at once. The organisation wants beneficiaries to leave the programme not simply with books and pens, but with a stronger sense of self-worth and the confidence to participate fully in school.
Epotie Alida says education remains the driving force behind the initiative and hopes that supporting children today will create opportunities for them in the future.
The work, however, does not end with the latest distribution. Epotie said AgricVento has longer-term plans to expand its humanitarian activities and appealed to individuals and organisations interested in community development to partner with the foundation.
The larger hope of AgricVento is that those interventions will translate into something more enduring – children who enter school feeling valued, confident and ready to build their futures.
“We just believe and hope that in the long run we are going to do something much bigger,” Epotie Alida said.
