SHUMAS Cameroon wins Service to Humanity Award

By NS in Bamenda
Strategic Humanitarian Services SHUMAS Cameroon has emerged winner of The Guardian Post 2018 Service to Humanity Award for touching the lives of needy population through social development activities in Cameroon.

The award was handed to the not-for-profit non-governmental organization Friday February 22 during The Guardian Post Daily Newspaper 2019 Achievement Award event.

 

Director general of SHUMAS Cameroon after receiving Award in Bamenda Office

Though a multi-award winning non-governmental organization, the Director General of SHUMAS Nformi Ndzerem Stephen still considers the new award as push to do more. “Conventionally speaking, we are engaged in service to humanity for the last 23 years and what has been keeping us is the passion we have for our work. Trying to put smiles on desperate faces in many different ways. Notwithstanding, an award is recognition and it's always a pleasure when a group like the Guardian post that stood the test of time acknowledges the work we are doing. Of course it gives us more impetus to work more than ever before.” He said 

After receiving the award on behalf of the Director General of SHUMAS Nformi Ndzerem Stephen, Nestor Njodzefe personal representative and Associate communication officer of SHUMAS said "we are particularly very grateful to The Guardian Post for recognising the works of shumas.  That the readers of the paper deemed that we were the best amongst many for our contributions to the betterment of society is heartwarming for us. This award I must say is a call for more hard work. We will want to dedicate it to all our partners." 

“Amongst the winners announced here today, SHUMAS is one of the most merited winners of the awards. I have heard about severally as they hand different schools constructed around Cameroon. I started hearing about SHUMAS many years back. I have also heard supporting disabled children and doing many things in the area of health. Giving them the Service to Humanity award is not a mistake in any it is very well merited.” Maryline Lilen participants at the Ebolowa award event said 

Recognised in 1997 and authorized as a Non-governmental organization by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization under in 2013, SHUMAS Cameroon has been working working the in the areas of education, health, agriculture, water sanitation, volunteering, and social welfare. In special consultation status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2013, SHUMAS Cameroon focuses on Integrated Sustainable Rural Development with the aim to improve lives, reduce poverty and empower people to realize the fullest of their potentials without limiting posterity from meeting theirs.

According to the data available on the SHUMAS website, in education, the NGO has “funded, constructed, and equipped more than 700 classrooms throughout Cameroon, 6000 benches, 2000 chairs and tables, provided toilets and hand washing facilities in most of the schools constructed. SHUMAS assisted with the establishment of school environmental programs in more than 150 schools. SHUMAS also supports approximately 100 underprivileged children (who without this scholarship will stay back at home) at all levels of school each year with scholarships.” 

SHUMAS Cameroon Representative in Ebolowa Nestor Njodzefe hands award to Director General

In health, “SHUMAS has refurbished and equipped more than 60 health centers in poor rural communities, sponsored the training of 52 state-registered nurses and nurse assistants for 52 enclaved rural health centers, collaborated with UNICEF and Ministry of Public Health (MINSANTE) to improve routine and supplementary vaccination coverage in the West and North-West Regions. SHUMAS is playing for MINSANTE a interface role in coordinating activities of associations working in the health domain in the North West Region.” 

The institution’s agriculture records show that “SHUMAS has established a training centre for promoting and training of poor peasant farmers and out of school unemployed youth on sustainable agricultural techniques and four renewable energy sources (wind turbines, solar panels, hydroelectricity, and biogas), through two years, 10 months and short courses. More than 14000 participants from poor peasant communities have benefited from trainings at the SHUMAS Integrated Organic, Farming, Training and Demonstration Centre (Biofarm). We are partnering with German universities to promote urban agriculture through a research project on urban and peri-urban agriculture. The organization also assists farming groups through training, and support with farm tools, post-harvest and energy serving devices.” 

 

The SHUMAS award still on display in Ebolowa

Through her Renewable Energy Centre, SHUMAS is training interested persons on four renewable forms of energy (Solar, Wind, Hydro and Biogas energy). We have replaced 1 million eucalyptus trees with 1.5 million environmentally-friendly trees and planted 400,000 neem trees in the Sahel region. SHUMAS have also planted 1.8 million watersheds and agro forestry trees in water catchments and farmlands. We inculcate values of environmental management in pupils and students by setting up school environmental Programs.

These towering environmental achievements together with those of social welfare, volunteering and water and sanitation which continued in 2018, according to the Guardian Post Achievement Award Jury headed by Peterkings Manyong only made SHUMAS the only option for the Service to Humanity Award.