LCR WELCOMES COL INITIATIVE

By Cameroon Link
Email: camlink99@gmail.com
The President of Lebialem Community Radio (LCR), Atabong George Atemnkeng expressed thanks and gratitude to the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in Vancouver, Canada, Cameroon Link Health Development Organisation in Douala and the facilitators of the Story Design Workshop “on Mother and Child Health Care”, who come all the way from Malawi, East Africa to Menji, Cameroon.
Atabong George acknowledged that joys and challenges shared the space in the hearts of the staff of Lebialem Community Radio , as the station was chosen to launch the pilot phase of the media Commonwealth of Learning project in Cameroon.
He added that, it was the first time in the history of Lebialem that such a project on health development through the media is being offered to the population and listeners of the various communities in Cameroon.
This training offered by the Commonwealth of Nations is coming in to help Lebialem Community Radio to fulfil one of the primordial objectives, which is to disseminate correct information to more than 3,000.000 inhabitants of Cameroon from Menji, especially as the signals of the station reach neighbouring countries to Cameroon like Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, the LCR President emphasized.
He added, that with the support the station received from the Japanese embassy for the construction of a relay pylon of Lebialem Community Radio, the effect of COL Media Health Action programmes is going to extend to the populations of Upper Manyu Division in the South West region, Menoua Division in the West region and parts of the North West region of Cameroon.
Prior to the creation of Lebialem Community Radio in 2007, the division was virtually off from the rest of the country because of no access to CRTV signals or any other radio broadcast signals. Today, the population relies on LCR for news, information, education and entertainment on all issues.
Atabong George observed that the health story design workshop for Lebialem Community Radio will go a long way to empower the staff on healthy communities’ communication and related issues.
Through this in put, LCR will be able to:
 Give the microphone to the population, who normally have no access to the mass media an opportunity to express their views on community health development issues;
 Provide a development forum for healthy communities;
 Encourage self-help participatory community development;
 Promote active involvement of underprivileged groups such as the handicapped, women and young persons especially;
 Provide a forum for local cultural expression in relation to mother and child care;
 Improve on the population’s access to health information in local languages;
 Offer opportunities for individuals and groups to speak to each other, thus developing awareness of a common membership of community.
 The pilot Commonwealth of Learning initiative in Cameroon will reinforce some important Cameroon Radio Television network programmes already relayed in the official languages by the station.

The LCR President told the facilitators and participants, that the above mentioned objectives can be met with the kind of training offered by the Malawi Story Workshop team with the assistance of Cameroon Link, the negotiator organisation and Commonwealth of Learning.
On the part of the staff of Lebialem Community Radio, they promised to diligently use the training to educate and help reduce maternal and child health care problems in Lebialem and its environ, while reporting back to COL Cameroon regularly, accurately and on time about the effects of the training and the new programmes brought into the radio programmes schedule by COL.
During the closing and certificate handing over ceremony, Atabong George said, Lebialem Community Radio benefitted a lot through the Story Design Workshop and that the skills acquired will go a long way to solve the acute problems of broadcast materials and staffing. The volunteer staff , he added are capable of identifying vital community issues as well as designing and putting up quality programmes that will ameliorate the welfare of the communities.
Especially as “Mother and Child Health Care” was the core of the workshop, together they voted unanimously for a title of the programme to heard heard henceforth over Lebialem Community Radio : “Asongah Leghung Emeh boh Mwuah”.
At this initial stage of cooperation, he assured the trainers, the negotiator organisation and the Commonwealth of Learning of their total commitment to respect the terms of the agreement. Asongah leghung Emeh boh Muah will bring more life to the station and communities, he promised, because they have just gone through a very intensive and educative workshop. They have learned new skills. They have got new friends and learned how to take care of the health of the mothers, infants and children. The title of the programme, Atabong reiterated, calls for a greater sense of responsibility and awareness. He invited the staff of LCR to remain united and devoted to duty to win the confidence and trust of the donors and make Lebialem proud. For more, please click on the following link - http://camlinknews.blogspot.com/2010/11/asongah-leghung-emeh-boh-mwuah.html