RUDEC is seeking volunteers who wish to teach in rural Cameroonian communities. If you are interested, you can contribute teaching in a school and doing tutoring lessons (1 and 2), or simply doing tutoring lessons (2). Volunteers could teach in the school for varying lengths of time, between 1 month and 1 year (or more).
DURING SCHOOL PERIOD TIME
1.RUDEC SCHOOL PROGRAM
At the moment, the actual rural schools are in a situation of being understaffed, under-resourced and overcrowded. Class size oscillates between 70 and 100 children at a commonplace. There is a lack of basic equipment such as desks and chalk. They also have a shortage of books, papers, textbooks and all schools supplies. Many teachers are overstretched so poor children are not supported and often get left behind.Volunteers are needed to work in schools, with children up to the age of 13, teaching in a range of subjects (Mathematics, French, English, Environmental Education, Hygiene, Sciences…). This program is addressed to all children in the school.
2. TEACHING UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN
This program aims to assist children who cannot cope well with normal classroom conditions. Volunteer Teachers would work with these children to provide them with additional support. This program also caters for children of mixed ages, but they will be taught together, in a dedicated classroom environment more suitable for their particular needs. This program is organized for after school. Volunteers are needed to provide after-school tuition to children of all ages, in a variety of subjects as in the school. Those classes are only addressed to the children in RUDEC’s Orphan Project.
DURING HOLIDAYS (Summer, Christmas and Holy Week)
If you wish to volunteer during these months, RUDEC has access to some classrooms in a school, which can be used to do a Summer school (with the idea of reinforcing subjects and also play games). This has been done before with quite a good outcome, but it has very little resources and is organized by the volunteers themselves (information about previous Summers can be provided for guidance).If you would like to help or you need further information, please use our contact form to be a volunteer online
RUDEC is situated in the picturesque Bamenda Highlands, in a village called Belo. Belo is part of Boyo Division, in the Anglophone North-West province in Cameroon. The main village and the surrounding settlements are home to about 80,000 inhabitants. The nearest town, Bamenda itself, is situated 45km from Belo. There is a tarmac road between Belo and Bamenda, and it will cost you about 1.5 euros for 1 hour, traveling in a shared taxi.
Climate and Landscape
There are plenty of good opportunities for walking and trekking in the beautiful local areas around the village. The dry season starts in October/November and ends in March/April. During dry season, the temperature is about 30ºC to 35ºC during the day and 15ºC to 20ºC at night. The rainy season is the rest of the year, with heavy rains in July and August. At this time, temperatures fall between 25ºC and 30ºC.
What’s Included
Meals
Most of our food is organic, as we don’t use chemical pesticides or fertilizers. We have a cook who prepares 3 meals a day, 6 days a week at our volunteer house. Each volunteer contributes to the wages and then into a food kitty. Volunteers can also buy their food with their cook together. The drinking water in Belo is very good, and safe to drink. However, if you prefer, you can boil it before drinking. Bottled water can be purchased at a cost of 1 euro for 1.5 litres.
What’s Not Included
Accommodation
You will be staying in a rented volunteer house at a cost of about 62 Euros per month. The house has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Depending on the number of volunteers you may have to share a room. It also has a large living area and a kitchen for food preparation. (There is a gas cooker provided by RUDEC, but volunteers will need to buy their own gas). The house is in a secure area about 5 minutes walk from the centre of Belo and 7-10 minutes from the RUDEC office.
Pick up at the Airport
RUDEC can pick you up from Douala airport and take you to the village. Traveling by bus from Douala to the Bamenda will take about 7 hours and from Bamenda to Belo is another hour. As you will appreciate, RUDEC has very few funds, so we have to request that you pay for the pick up before you arrive in Cameroon. The total fee is 142 Euros, which includes the costs of transport by bus, taxi hire from the airport, and food and water needed during the journey. If your plane arrives late, or if you don’t want to travel overnight, it is possible for someone to take you to a hotel in Douala. This will cost about 30 Euros for you and for any other person accompanying you. More information about the journey can be found in our Volunteer Manual that you will be sent on signing upfront before arriving Cameroon.
Visa
Contact the Cameroonian embassy in your home country to obtain a visa. Either a 3 month or 6-month visas are available, and usually, you must provide proof of flights, travel insurance and an invitation letter (which RUDEC will email to you). Check if your country registers people who travel out or not. For the US and UK, please check here: US Citizen: https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui UK Citizens: https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal
Cameroon embassy
We would like to advise all those that are coming into Cameroon that it will not be good to leave your home country without a visa with the hope that you will have it in any Cameroon airports. You will most likely be denied entry. If you do not have a Cameroonian Embassy in your country, you will need your contacts at RUDEC in Cameroon to prepare an application for the Director General of National security in Yaounde which will take about a month. They may decide to give you a visa or not. You will need to send in your scanned passport. Volunteers/interns should know that they will be responsible for the associated costs. The other alternative is that volunteers from countries without a Cameroon embassy could cross over to neighbouring countries to a Cameroon embassy to apply for a visa.
Health Insurance
We do not insure volunteers as we do not have liability insurance. Our association with a large Baptist hospital in the region and Catholic hospital, where some Americans work as missionaries, will aid us if there is an emergency case with one of our volunteers. We encourage volunteers to obtain their own insurance before they book a flight. Here are some websites where you can get more information: WHO and CDC. If you have any disability or illness please contact us so that we can advise you on what to do before you book your flights.
Program And Price
Volunteer investment cost
This cost is the donation that all volunteers contribute to RUDEC Cameroon. The money is solely used by RUDEC for investment in projects and day to day running of the charity, for example, the payment of the staff that work for RUDEC, the running costs of our small office, to the orphans needs like medicine, school fees, books and emergencies. The volunteers will contribute this to RUDEC as the arrive Cameroon.You may request that a portion goes into a specific project that you are working on, or be earmarked for next year’s school fees etc. Do not feel afraid to ask what the money is being used for, RUDEC prides its self on being a transparent organisation. These donations are calculated according to the time of stay in Cameroon.
From one day to three months is 275 Euros
From four months to five months is 175 Euros
From six months to nine months is 75 Euros
From ten months to-infinitive is Free
