August 2008

SUJECT.. LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM CAMEROON.

Your full name..Wendi Losha Bernadette

City and country where you live.. Bamenda, North West Province, Cameroon.

Contact information.. Email.. actwid k@yahoo.com Te. 237 77333500

What is your deepest value in life that includes all of your other values?

I have my lifes dreams that I started nursing from childhood as I was growing and witnessing my mother and her eight mates all suffering in my fathers house as we are fro from a polygamous home. M y father showed his love to only boys and started sending some of them to school while in my own mothers house with nine children, I am the first child and being a girl, I was discriminated upon not to go to school but to grow up quickly and get married. So from that time I developed a likeness for education of a girl child as well as education of rural women . I saw education now as a means to get rid of a forceful marriage ,and making a choice of a husband etc for myself. I now believed in Making a difference in my community where violence against women and the girl child will be completely abolished and the standards of women in general will be raised to close the existing gaps of the past.

What is the question you do not know the answer but wish to answer?

My dream of being creative to find ways of raising the living standards of village women and the girl child to be educated up to the highest level possible and to find possibilities to close the existing gap of underdevelopment of the rural woman in Cameroon remains . I will then like to make sure that I fulfill my dreams by lovingly serving women, youths and children who are poor, sick and desperate where there is no one to care and also fostering their education. This will be done in their ICTs development, Agriculture al improvement and also getting and access to improved medication for HIV/AIDS/TB/MALARIA with Nutrition.

What would you like to achieve in the next three years?

I should like to see to it that our women are able to effectively use computers and internet services to communicate with the rest of the world. I will equally like to learn new methods of communication with others using ICTs too as their leader and will serve all the women in our communities here together with the girls in particular to study human rights and learn to ways of making firm decisions of themselves as far as reproductive health and HIV/ AIDS are concerned. Here too they will make their choices of their husbands and other domestic issues. This will bring gender equality and will suppress violence. I will equally like to run projects with our women on microloans , research and other issues like micro credit. To reduce human misery as a whole that we have grown up to meet in our communities as well as poverty and HIV/AIDS.

When and how did you learn about MS?

I learnt about it from Janet Feldman and Franz Nahrada.

H w have you participated in MS and how have you grown in it and benefited?

I have participated by writing stories for the lab and some of our literate members too joined me to write more stories for MS where we finally benefited a computer which we are using now in our office.

We also benefited by organizing a prayer session to assist Kenyans during their post election crises too. WE HAVE ALSO LEARNT TO DEVELOP OURSELVES AS INDEPENDENT THINKERS and still need to learn more from MS. Lab. Projects.

How can you help us reach out and include women?

We are a national network of women and will readily include other women in our country who are in other groups in the MS project. There are already thousands of women that we have gathered in groups and if this project of MS lab succeeds, it will go a very long way to help raise the standards of life of these poor rural and even semi urban women here. I f we can have a good internat access, this will remain as a wonderful mile stone in the lives of our women and will attract other women to join groups of development and agriculture/HIV/AIDS like ours. We will be trained in many of these issues as we will like MS to organize training workshops and seminars nationally, regionally and internationally to train us in, ICTs usage and internet, agriculture, nutritional support ,HIV/AIDS and small scale business with professional gardening. We shall involve all organizations dealing with the ame issues we have raised here to join us in the MS. Lab. Project. Immense thanks. Sincerely Wendi Losha Bernadette from ACTWID KONGADZEM NGO.

Wendi Losha Bernadette

• First names:WendiLoshaBernadette
• Last names: (same)
• Gender (male or female):Female
• Mailing Address: p o box 16 Bamenda
• Country:Cameroon
• Telephones: 237 5264606:2377333500
• Email:actwid k (AT) yahoo.com
• IM chat:intimacyforall@hotmail.com
• DeepestValue=A likeness for education of a girl child as well as education of rural women as a means to get rid of a forceful marriage ,and making a choice of a husband etc for myself. Making a difference in my community where violence against women and the girl child will be completely abolished and the standards of women in general will be raised to close the existing gaps of the past.
• InvestigatoryQuestion=What are ways ways of raising the living standards of village women and the girl child to be educated up to the highest level possible and to find possibilities to close the existing gap of underdevelopment of the rural woman in Cameroon?

What languages do I prefer to communicate in? (Please list in order of preference.) English, french as the last result

What is the proper way to address me for official correspondence? simply: wendi

''What is my position and affiliation? (Please list as many as might be needed.)''

• national president/coordinator of ACTWID

• INTIMATE FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL NGOS WORKING FOR OVER 500 POOR AND INFECTED WITH HIV RURAL WOMENS RIGHTS TO TREATMENT. COMMUNICATION. HIV/AIDS/TB INFECTED AND AFFECTED WOMEN/YOUTHS/CHILDREN MOSTLY ORPHANS .

• YES WE HAVE INTERNET IN SOME FEW CYBER

Although this is for people that do not have Internet Access often, they should evaluate their needs as if they were present in the online world and precisely say in which fields they would connectif they had time, resources and interest. It is also about the possibility to reach them directly by email. (most likely still the best way in Bamenda)

YES BY EMAIL AND NOW TOO THERE IS USAGE OF CELL. PHONES TOO SO FOR NOW THE NUMBERS ARE 2375264606 AND AFTER SOME FEW WEEKS MY MISSING CELL.PHONE NUMBER 2377333500 WHICH DROPPED IN YAOUNDE YESTERDAY WILL SURELY BE REPLACED BY THIS OCTOBER ENDING WITH THE SAME NUMBER MAINTAINED.

Is there a concept, a value that I myself care most about in all of my life? What is it?

• I CARE ABOUT WOMENS HEALTH

• CARE AND SUPPORT OF RURAL

Is there a question that I don't know the answer to, but intend to answer?

• YES. WHY ARE PEOPLE ALWAYS DESCRIMINATING OTHERS KNOWING FULLY WELL THAT THEY ALL CAME FROM ONE CREATOR WHO DOES NOT DESCRIMINATE TOO??

UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES AND RIGHTS.

TRAINING OF TRAINERS IN INCOME GENERATING ACRIVITIES TO ALLEVIATE FROM POVERTY.

What would be the most useful way to help me help others?

• TO TRAIN ME TO BE ABLE TO INTURN TRAIN OTHER RURAL WOMEN/YOUTHS/CHILDREN BECAUSE TO EDUCATE ONE WOMAN IS TO EDUCATE A NATION.

• THE LEADERS OF RURAL WOMEN/YOUTH ORPHAN GROUPS

Do I agree that my answers to this survey are in the Public Domain so that all may use and share according to their own best judgement?

YES

Do I agree that all of my writings which may appear on the Internet may be assumed to be in the Public Domain unless they explicitly state otherwise?

YES

(If you agree to the above two questions, then you are entitled to membership in the Open Leader/Globalvillages network.)

Are there any particular writings of mine that I agree to place in the Public Domain and would like to have posted on the Internet? (Please describe and add.)

THEY ARE NOT YET ON THE INTERNET BUT I WILL SEND THEM WITH TIME.

Who do I authorize to represent me in the online world and take the initiative on my behalf to maintain and update these answers, make contacts, share my thoughts, confirm affiliations and manage my registrations to online venues? (Please list them in order of preference.)

• MRS NJUA GERALDINE
• BERKA L.EUGENE OR MUNGHO COMFORT OR KILLO SHANG

I first authorized my profile on this date:

07/10/2005

I have most recently confirmed my profile on this date:

7/10/2005

My representative most recently updated my profile on this date:

7/10/2005

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Andrius: I'm sharing this important article here because it's slow to download at the PostNewsOnline.

HIV/AIDS Hastens Tuberculosis Infection - Rural Women Coordinator

By PeterkinsManyong

The view by most researchers that HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are two related diseases has been supported by the Coordinator of ACTWID KONGADZEM, an organisation grouping thousands of grassroots women and children.Tuberculosis or TB in short, is a high opportunistic infection for people who are HIV positive, says Bernadette Wendi, President of ACTWID KONGADZEM.

Speaking to The Post after the celebration of this year's World AIDS Day, she said most of the TB patients she has come across suffer from AIDS.

Wendi, who led the Cameroonian delegation to Paris to attend the World Conference on Lung Diseases, said the event lasted from October 10-29. During the conference, it was disclosed that TB kills one person every 15 seconds; that it has infected a third of the world's population and is almost surpassing the HIV/AIDS in the rate at which it destroys life.

"That is why a global alliance on TB has been formed," Wendi said. There are two centers for TB elimination and drug control: one in the US and the other in Geneva. She said there is also an African network on TB led by South Africa. She noted that TB attacks people mostly in rural areas, partly because of the excessive amount of dust there, or because of the people's low standard of living.

Thanks to research on TB, Wendi said there is a drug combination that can cure TB in one month instead of six months as before.She also disclosed that six conferences have been planned for 2006 to train TB laboratory managers, technologists, TB consultants and community trainers to facilitate anti-TB activities in the world.

She called on Cameroonians to take TB seriously and advised smokers to quit the habit, saying that smoke from "the evil weed" tobacco, hastens the destruction of the lungs. If this advice is heeded and research succeeds, as expected TB, would be eradicated by 2015, she said.

HIV Advocacy

Commenting on the World AIDS Day, she said it is not an occasion to remind us of the dangers posed by the disease, but one during which people should actually be sure whether they have AIDS or not. It was for this reason, she said, that ACTWID KONGADZEM participated in the screening exercise.

"We sent 50 persons out of the 200 screened for HIV/AIDS by Mezam Polyclinic. She said her group worked with Project Hope in Njinikom.One other activity undertaken by her group, she said, was the production of morals. These are tiles bearing messages of hope for people already infected with HIV/AIDS “We produced 40 of them,” said Wendi.

From emails

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistichelping/message/2238

Thu Feb 7, 2008 5:15 pm

Wendi, activid KONGADZEM

Dear Andrius,Janet and all How are you? We have been following up the emails, you ,Janet,Pam and other members have been sending out for the pyramid of peace initiative and also the help to Kenyans.Thank you so much for all you are doing and more greese to your elbows. We di also wrote letters here to mobilize the West Africans to help Kenyans although we have not received any feedback yet from these groups. Our organisation equally organised unity prayers here for all Kenyans on the World day of prayers for all our four churches here namely Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian and Moslems and the attendance was great. All of us said prayers for and behalf of the Kenyan victims. We also thought of reminding you that you were to send us a digital picture frame this month end or so to help us read our emails. We are still waiting for it. In our other projects, we were all very happy to hear that you will think about our projects as we are really down to earth when it comes to funding of our projects on HIV/AIDS Prevention , Nutrtion and Treatment issues. We are really lacking the access to these facilities and many infected people and adults are dying with children daily from poverty, hunger and starvation. As for an internet access with about 20 good working computers for our group, it is a long standing felt need from all of us. That we really need these computers and an internet access for our daily use and also to use as an income generating project for our sustainability is top priority.Another income generating activity that we have been carrying out for all these years that needs expansion too now is the growing of a variety of medicinal plants especially Artemisia annua to treat malaria and malaria caused by AIDS and other opportunistic infections in our group garden with vegetables which help nutrtion for plwhas very much. An expansion was still emphasized as people in support groups living with HIV/AIDS/TB have been dying alot due to poor nutrtion and they all had identified that an expansion of the garden activities with small scale animal rearing so that they can rear and eat some and also sell some to sustain their lives was also another key issue in our general meeting on monday. Once more immense thanks for all you are doing to every one in the World. Our only working computer we earned from you is the only milestone of our lives now as that is what is keeping our office work going on now. We all still thank you agin for that precious gift and are waiting to hear from you. Sincerely ACTWID KONGADZEM NGO board members led by Wendi, Njua Geraldine, Therese Ambije, Fon Brigit, Marie, Dorothy, Evans and Mary on behalf of all members of ACTWID KONGADZEM. Concerning the training to come in Europe in which the date and the month are not yet given, Wendi*s C.V. was sent to you for that. We donot know if you received it. In addition, we have also the mbororos ans hausas or fulanis that are affiliated to our organisation that we work with them too on these HIV/AIDS/TB issues as marginalised and poor communities in Cameroon and a delegate from their own group was also being suggested for the training to come that we have been talking of that if possible one of them a young and educated person from their own marginalised community could be trained alongside with Wendi as our membership is over 4500 members clustered in about 60 active groups now. These proposals were reviewed and confirmed during our first general meeting for this year that held last monday 04th february 2008 . So we all jointly appeal to you to consider us for any of these needs when possible this year.

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