Provided by:
Aminkeng Brian
Kumba, Cameroon
The camp started at exactly 9:00am,immediately after the registration exercise which began at 08:15.We recorded a total number of sixty five(65)youths from this community, with five(5)of them being girls and sixty(60)boys, and their ages ranged from 12-23.Present at this camp were the following board members: Dickson, Nenne, Caroline, Wallace, Ashu and myself.
The youths were subdivided into three groups of twenty (20) each, with two board members per group. During the camp, the following topics were discussed; Adolescence, Healthy Relationships, Teenage pregnancy, HIV AIDS and lastly Communication with Parents.
So much emphasis was laid on the last three topics because the Youth Community President revealed that youths were increasingly becoming parents(boys and girls)as early as sixteen(16). Also some were so much involved in alcohol and drug consumption, leading them to physically abuse their parents on many occasions. Thus we had to spend much time on these topics, to try to enlighten them on the dangers and consequences of being involved in such acts. Their general participation during the discussions was encouraging. Though in the beginning they were a bit timid and withdrawn, they later on opened up thanks to the jovial atmosphere we created around the camp. We also pointed out to them the health, psychological and social consequences of fathering a child at the tender stage of adolescence.
When it came to the football drills, the youth were very enthusiastic about the various ones we presented to them. They were ready to try drills like the inside drag, dribbling between the cones, precise passing of the ball, both short and long passes and lastly, movement on and off the ball. During these exercises, they could easily perform it with their right legs, but when it came to them doing it with the left, the was a problem. Thus we had to ask them to do it repeatedly till we saw some improvement. But what most of them excelled in was the passing of the ball, both short and long passes.
Worth noting is that we had a water break of about 20minutes. Also the discussions were mostly done in the morning, reasons being that since we are in the heart of the sunny season in Africa, it was good to discuss these topics when their brains were still fresh and the morning was the appropriate period. So after water break and lunch in the afternoon, we mostly concentrated on other football drills. Later on at around 2pm, we organized a mini tournament of30 minutes each to see if they could put into practice some of the drills learned. And the result was encouraging.
To crown it all, the camp was a success, especially as we had the support and participation of the President of the youths in the community and some elders. Also not forgetting open hands the Chief of this rural community, Chief Akama welcomed us.
