History & Philosphy

History & Philosphy

History and Philosophy DESERVE was founded on August 16, 2015 by Desmond Nji Atanga in Bamenda, Desmond Nji A. Founder $ vision ... 11:18

History and Philosophy

DESERVE was founded on August 16, 2015 by Desmond Nji Atanga in Bamenda,

Desmond Nji A. Founder $ vision leader

Cameroon out of an altruistic desire to empower and support individuals whose personal growth and development in relation to that of a nation is inextricable. This idea was hatched from his longstanding activism as a youth leader with the zeal to empower and support those whom society mostly regards to be weak. His bearings had before this idea, stood on supporting women, girls and youth in order to fit squarely in the society and contribute their own quarter to the growth and development of the nation. As a teacher, Desmond Nji upholds the holistic education of a man as a necessary requisite for society’s growth and development. Thus, wholesome training shapes the mindset and is a function of productivity. To him, men, women and youth must receive the right education in order to direct their thoughts and practices.

The world keeps on changing. It is also good for man to learn and adapt to the changing patterns of life for the general good of the society. Hindrances to development could include gender bias and intergenerational clashes. In most cases, women, girls and youth are considered as underdogs. Yet, society’s growth and development deserves their utmost contributions. It is important therefore to directly involve them in issues that are inextricable to them. Sexuality is one of such issues which if not catered for rightfully, can destroy a person with harmful consequences to the society. As such, meaningful education should include an appropriate approach to sexuality education in order to guide the choices of individuals in a way that is healthy for individuals and for the society at large.

From 2012 to 2015, Desmond Nji gathered inspiration from his activities as a designer, a tailor, a teacher, a composer, a preacher, a mentor, a young leader and from his activism across Cameroon and abroad. As a young leader, he got inspiration from serving as a peer educator for the fight against HIV with the Cameroon National AIDS Control Committee and UNICEF-Cameroon for six years from 2006; Founding member of the Progressing Association (PASS) and its first Executive President elected in 2010; the National first Vice President of the Cameroon Youth Network elected in 2014 and as a Young Leader of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program selected in 2015.

Desmond Nji shared his idea with some of his friends and some of those he mentored who willingly opted to join and pursue this idea. This process took place for twelve months; from 2014 to 2015. He finally decided to create an organization to harness this idea on the 16^th August, 2015 in Bamenda.

Deserve inherited the ‘Help a Girl, Save the Society’ project, an initiative of its founder, Desmond Nji. The project which started in January aims to promote sexuality education through an enlistment of 30 in-school and out-of-school youth in Bamenda in a year-round biweekly training on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The first batch of trainees shall be certified in April, 2016. Deserve Cameroon will increase the youth intake to 75 and use this project as a model for comprehensive sexuality education in its advocacy for a National Policy for Sexuality Education in Cameroon as from 2016.