Expresses thanks for empowerment programs in Cameroon, Africa

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA – Bringing messages of hope and thoughts of gratitude, King Sehm Mbinglo I made his way from Kumbo, Africa to Honesdale, PA.

TRR photo by Tom Kane King Sehm Mbinglo, center, is flanked by Chemson Joseph, president of the Himalayan Institute Cameroon, left, and Brian Fulp of the Honesdale Rotary Club. (Click for larger version)

The unusual visit was a reflection of the humanitarian partnership between the Himalayan Institute and the Nso Kingdom of the Northwest Province of the Republic of Cameroon where Mbinglo serves as king and chief religious advisor. For the last four and a half years, the institute’s efforts have developed several educational, economic and community development projects that are beginning to make a difference in the lives of many Cameroonians, especially young people.

“The Himalayan Institute has helped my people by providing employment opportunities that did not exist before,” Mbinglo said, through his interpreter Chemson Joseph, president of the Himalayan Institute Cameroon. “Youths graduate from school and they have no jobs. This program is providing both training and jobs.”

Mbinglo is visiting the Honesdale area to personally thank the many groups and individuals that contributed goods and financial support to the growing programs. The Honesdale Rotary has been especially active in this effort, in one instance sending a large cargo container filled with various essential supplies from clothing to library books.

Mbinglo mentioned two programs that are training people and offering them employment.

“The Total Health Center has trained people in the uses of homeopathic remedies and they go out into the community selling them,” he said. “They are also being trained to be homeopathic practition-ers. Another program is training people to be jewelry makers. They sell their products in the local community and even some of their jewelry is being sold at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale.”

Some items are on sale at the Yoga Café on Honesdale’s Main Street and at the gift center at the institute’s Bethany location.

The institute is also building a public library in Kumbo.

Also receiving the king’s praise is a program called energy farming in which a tree, called the pangamia tree, and a shrub, called jatropa, produce a biodiesel fuel that is being used to replace gasoline. The program is an empowerment-based program and not an aid-based program, according to Ishan Tigunait, son of the institute’s spiritual leader, Pandit Tigunait.

“When you just dump aid into a needy African country, it falls apart when you leave,” he said. “But when your emphasis is to empower people, give them an opportunity to develop their potential, you’ve done far more than lighten their poverty for a brief time.

“With time, as the project grows, the youths of my country and of America could exchange their travels and go back to their countries knowing more about both worlds and improving their learning,” he said.

Mbinglo invited Wayne County residents to visit Kumbo and promised to return again.

The ruler of a tribe in Cameroon, Africa, visited Honesdale this week, paying a visit to Highlights for Children Magazine on Friday and greeting students at St. Vincent’s School who are participating in a cultural exchange program with students in his country on Monday.

His Majesty Fon Sehm Mbinglo I, 53, is the paramount government and chief religious authority over the Nso tribe in Cameroon, which comprises approximately 400,000 people. He has been in power since 1993 as the tribal collaborator to the official Cameroon administration.

On Friday, the king visited Highlights, which will be donating 3,000 copies of its monthly magazine to the children of the Nso tribe. Highlights also donated magazines and puzzle books to children in Kumbo, Cameroon, a year ago.

The king visited St. Vincent’s School to meet the children who have been communicating with the children of his tribe.

A year ago, the Honesdale Rotary Club agreed to raise funds to build a library in Kumbo, the capital city of the Nso Kingdom in Cameroon.

Brian Fulp, club president and public relations director at the Himalayan Institute in Dyberry Township, visited Cameroon this past summer to examine the project site. He returned to Honesdale with a request from the city council to help create the cultural exchange between schools in Cameroon and Honesdale.

Since then, the 86 students at St. Vincent’s have been pen pals with the students in Kumbo in a project sponsored by the Honesdale Rotary and Himalayan Institute.

”It’s a project so our students can learn more about their culture and the students in Cameroon can learn more about American culture,” said Christopher Lake, St. Vincent’s principal.

According to Dr. Lake, the students have sent artwork depicting American culture, from the golden arches of McDonald’s to letters describing how Americans live. Most of the letters were written as part of Cindy May’s fourth- through eighth-grade history classes. Art teacher Mary Rose Nesatka helped the children produce the artwork.

”The exchange of letters between you and the children of (my) kingdom is something to be encouraged,” said the king through Chemson Joseph, president of the Himalayan Institute in Cameroon, who translated for him. He told the children that he was impressed by the hardworking nature of Americans and said he will tell the children of his country about it as well as about the results it can yield.

”Not long from now you will replace the elderly persons and you will be the ones creating the future of your country,” said the king. “Education is an absolute necessity for the future and I hope you are working very hard.”

Eighth-grader Tara Kelly, president of the school’s student council, presented the king with a gift and her classmates Emma Holmes, vice president; Sarah Asinari, treasurer; Amber Javier, secretary; and Katie Burkavage, historian, also greeted the ruler.

On Saturday afternoon, the king was the guest of honor at a tea party at the Himalayan Institute, where audience members were encouraged to ask him questions.

Mr. Fulp noted that ordinary citizens in Cameroon would never be afforded a similar opportunity.

Asked about his country’s economy compared to that of the United States, His Majesty said the differences are “very glaring. Everybody here seems to have the basic things,” he said through Mr. Joseph.

The king said he was very impressed with the American health care system and added that a health center established by the Himalayan Institute in his country has been very effective. His Majesty also found the local Wal-Mart store fascinating, Mr. Fulp said. He made several trips there to purchase necessities after some of his luggage was lost by the airline.

Honesdale businessman Steve Putzi wondered who the king supports for president in the current United States election.

He replied that some of his children support McCain and some support Obama, and as the father it would be wrong for him to take sides, Mr. Joseph said.

”He leaves it up to the people to choose.”

By Peter Becker Fon Sehm Mbinglo-I, king of the Nso Tribe in Cameroon, visited St. Vincent’s School in Honesdale, Monday. The school is participating in a cultural exchange program with the students in the king’s city of Kumbo, through the Honesdale Rotary Club. Flanking the king, at left are Student Council members, Sara Asinari, Katie Burkavage, Amber Javier, Tara Kelly and Emma Holmes. At right is Principal, Dr. Christopher Lake and Father Desam.

By Peter Becker

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HONESDALE – The king of the Nso tribe in Cameroon, west-central Africa, stopped by the St. Vincent’s School in Honesdale, Monday, urging the students to study hard.
His Majesty Fon (translated “king”) Sehm Mbinglo-I will soon be returning to his 400,000 subjects with impressions of Wayne County, Pa., both with its rich fall colors and generosity he noted he has received.  A guest of the Himalayan Institute, both the Institute and Honesdale Rotary Club are partnering on a project to erect a public library in Kumbo, capital city of Nso, where Fon Sehm Mbinglo-I reigns.
In addition, a penpal exchange program has been set up between children in Kumbo and St. Vincent’s School, where Honesdale Rotary President Brian Fulp has a child enrolled.  Dr. Christopher Lake, St. Vincent’s Principal, said that the program is involving his whole school and is already enriching the students’ experience. On September 19th, the students were guests at the “Taste of Africa Night” sponsored by the Rotary, at the Himalayan Institute Main Street facility. Enjoying African cuisine, the children also presented their drawings and letters picturing or describing American culture.
These items will be shipped to Cameroon, where African students in return will send  back information on their culture. Dr. Lake said he expects the box to arrive by November 1st.
“We’re very excited,” said Dr. Lake. “The kids are excited about the program.”  Mrs. Cindy May, Social Studies teacher for 4th-6th grades, oversaw most of the letter campaign. Kindergarten-third grade teachers  also were involved.
The king was escorted through the school, where he met both younger children and upper grades. Following protocol, he spoke to them through another, his words interpreted by Chemson Joseph, who is President of Himalyan Institute- Cameroon.  His Majesty urged the students to study hard and perhaps they will run the United States one day. “Education is an absolute necessity for the future,” he said. Asking the older kids if they study hard, he received a resounding, “YES!” He added he would tell the students in Cameron that he saw the Honesdale students in person.
Fulp added, “With God’s grace they will be future leaders of the community and will visit Africa.” It was in November 2007 that Honesdale Rotary agreed to raise funds for the library, the first of its kind in Cameroon. Fulp visited Cameroon this past summer tp examine the project site and came back with requests from the city council to set up a cultural exchange between their schools and Honesdale.
Several St. Vincent’s Student Council members presented the king with a wrapped gift.
The Taste of Africa event also included traditional drumming, a Cameroon game, and video presentation.
The king arrived in Honesdale on October 7th and may be here until Friday. Father Desam stated that the king attended Mass on Sunday. The king stated to the press that he has been most impressed with the love shown towards him and hard work he has seen in America, and would tell his people to work equally hard. He added that the trees in Cameroon are not nearly as colorful when they drop leaves at the end of the rainy season.

By Peter Becker His Majesty Fon (King) Sehm Mbinglo I, of the Nso Kingdom in Cameroon, stopped by Highlights for Children Magazine, Friday. From left: Fon Sehm Mbinglo I; George Brown, Manager of Asset Services at Highlights; Chemson Joseph, president, Himalayan Institute- Cameroon; and Dinayen Aron Jaidzee, the Fon’s Personal Assistant.

By Peter Becker

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Here, living in relative prosperity, we watch the news and read stories of the pain and suffering of others around the world. We hear the natural call to service, but the problem seems so vast, it is difficult to know where to begin or how to help.

The Solution: Empowerment
Empowerment—Imparting the knowledge and resources that enable people to provide for themselves.

The Himalayan Institute believes in the vast potential of individuals to change and uplift their own lives and the lives of their family members, communities, and the global community. Empowerment is the integration of knowledge and action, of self-confidence and opportunity. Each individual’s transformation and sense of empowerment inspires others, and helps bring forth social regeneration.

How?
On June 15, 2007, the Himalayan Institute Community Center (HICC) opened in Kumbo, Cameroon. Since its inception, HICC has undertaken projects focusing on the four cornerstones of Himalayan Institute empowerment efforts: education, health care, vocational training, and micro-enterprise. Collectively, these services provide a multifaceted solution for sustainable social transformation.

Current Empowerment Projects
School of Energy Farming
The Energy Farming concept is a revolution in sustainable agriculture, land management, and green energy, and a catalyst for rural empowerment. It refers specifically to the sustainable cultivation of crops to provide green energy, most notably biofuel—crops like rapeseed, sunflower, Jatropha, and Pongamia. Energy farming methodology is also applicable to food, medicinal, aromatic, and cash crops, and its holistic approach increases crop productivity, decreases cost of cultivation, and offers environmental regeneration.

The School Energy of Farming launched educational and outreach efforts in summer 2007, anchored by the planting of 10,000 trees in the region. June 2008 marked the grand opening of the School’s main campus about 45 minutes from the HI Community Center on 125 acres near the small village of Kishong.

Take a look at plans for the School of Energy Farming land development.

A training center and model demonstration farm will showcase the entire vision of Energy Farming, from crops to cultivation to processing. This facility will serve as a base to provide intensive training and hands-on experience in Energy Farming to local farmers, and is the key to the Institute’s outreach campaign to educate and inspire the surrounding communities.

Himalayan Institute Total Health Center
One of the greatest tragedies of Africa is the failure to offer preventive health care and access to services for readily-treatable conditions, especially in rural communities. Unhealthy lifestyle choices and lack of awareness about simple preventive measures greatly contribute to widespread preventable health problems. Public attention is often focused on high profile diseases such as AIDS, but the common health issues that plague everyday life go largely unaddressed.

The Himalayan Institute Total Health Center in Cameroon pioneers access to holistic, preventive health care, providing a range of custom-tailored natural health products, and public health education and outreach.

In May 2008, the Center began its efforts with a six-week Total Health Center consultant training program covering the Total Health philosophy with a strong emphasis on hands-on experience in basic public health education and dispensary services. The training curriculum was developed by the Institute’s team of medical and holistic health practitioners.

The first Total Health Center in Africa is now successfully operational, staffed by the inaugural class of Total Health Center consultants. The training program graduates are continuing in an apprenticeship at the Center, honing their skills under the guidance of the Community Center staff. Upon completing the apprenticeship, these graduates will be able to launch their own Total Health Centers and help spread the Total Health paradigm to surrounding villages.

In addition to creating local employment, the Total Health model will facilitate a two-way flow of health care knowledge and health products to underprivileged areas while helping the Center collect important research about local health needs. With this social infrastructure in place, a wider range of educational and health care services can be delivered to these rural villages in the future.

Sacred Link Jewelry
In July 2007, the Himalayan Institute launched its first Sacred Link Jewelry internship program in Cameroon. Seven local students were chosen from hundreds of applicants to take part in the class. Over the next three months they received intensive training and hands-on experience in the crafting and marketing of unique artisan jewelry. Based on a “train the trainer” model, these students had extensive one-on-one contact with Institute faculty, so they could become fully prepared to become Community Center trainers themselves or start their own micro-enterprises upon graduation.

Several of these students currently manage their own independent micro-enterprises where they create and sell jewelry. You can support this project by purchasing their jewelry in our online store. If you are a store owner and are interested in carrying Sacred Link Jewelry, please call our contact center at 800-822-4547 for more information about wholesale pricing.

School of Carpentry & Construction
Over the course of renovating the Community Center’s main building in summer of 2007, Institute volunteers realized that the region lacks basic tools in the fields of carpentry and construction. Workers also lacked experience integrating the various trades required to build or renovate a building like the HI Community Center.

Watch video of HICC renovations and footage from our first main shipment of materials. To date, the Himalayan Institute has sent three 40-foot containers full of supplies from Pennsylvania to Kumbo, Cameroon.

The most recent container included state-of-the-art tools to equip the new School of Carpentry & Construction. Major renovations to the School of Carpentry & Construction’s facility were completed last summer, revealing a spacious workshop with energy-saving skylights, and equipped with tools completely new to the region. Classes will begin in November 2008.

Kumbo Public Library
Africa’s consistent lack of access to information can be clearly seen in the scarcity of books. In Kumbo, despite a relatively high literacy rate, books are hard to find, and even when they are available, a used paperback will routinely cost $15 to $20 in a country where many earn only $2 per day.

The Himalayan Institute Community Center, in partnership with Honesdale Rotary Club and the Kumbo Council, is addressing this dire need with the establishment of the Kumbo Public Library. As the first public library in the region, and one of the largest in the entire nation, the facility will house over 30,000 volumes.

The Kumbo Public Library is a true community project, first spearheaded by the Kumbo Council, but abandoned at the construction phase because of lack of funding. Upon learning about the project, the Institute gladly agreed to help complete the library. Significant renovations, provided by the School of Carpentry & Construction, are currently underway to transform the building into a fully functional climate-controlled facility. Besides the main library hall, administrative offices, restrooms, storage rooms, and several reading rooms will accommodate a range of programs, including literacy efforts, children’s programs, and public education outreach programs.

Impact
What we’ve achieved since June 2007

• Providing direct employment for 36 local people and indirect employment for hundreds more
• Establishing four vocational training programs: Sacred Link Jewelry, the School of Carpentry & Construction, the School of Energy Farming, and Total Health Training
• Planting 25,000 new trees in the deforested hillsides surrounding Kumbo
• Providing scholarships for 30 children in Kumbo to attend school this year
• Bringing investors and delegates from the United States, India, Bangladesh, Senegal, Ivory Coast, the Central Tibetan Authority, the Spanish Islands, Aruba, China, and the United Kingdom to the region, to see the Institute’s empowerment projects in action
• Establishing the largest public library in the region

Profile: Laisin Wirngo
Laisin Wirngo was one of the fourteen students trained by the Himalayan Institute Cameroon’s Total Health program. Now 33 and a father of four, he is able to provide for his family financially as well as medically.

“My life has changed drastically, in the advantage side,” he says. “I have learned a lot from this course, and it has been helping me, my family and the entire community that I’m attending to. They’ve all been giving me a very positive response from the herbal treatment they’ve been taking at the Total Health Center.”

Laisin grew up in Kumbo. He and his wife met and married while still in high school, and the couple moved seventy miles south to the province’s capital, Bamenda. In April 2008, when Laisin first applied for the Total Health program, he had his own health issues.

“When I was about to start studies, I had a big abdomen. Our instructor asked me whether I’m drinking beer. I told him I took four to five bottles of beer a day. I was also eating a lot of starchy food. He told me I should reduce eating starch and concentrate more on fruit and vegetables. I’m no longer drinking, and I’ve been doing a lot of exercise, too, so I feel light. My stomach, which was big, I’ve noticed it’s gone down completely. So health-wise, too, I’m completely sound.”

Through the knowledge gained from the six-week Total Health course, Laisin realized that the most widespread health problems in Kumbo were, like his own, lifestyle-related. Now, in addition to suggesting herbal and homeopathic treatments, he sensitizes his patients to the shortcomings of the traditional diet.

When he’s not working at the Total Health Center, Laisin spends time in Bamenda with his family. His youngest child, Lennyuy, turned one just as Laisin was graduating from the business portion of his training at the Himalayan Institute.

As a Total Health consultant, Laisin is able to buy medicine at wholesale prices and treat patients outside of the Total Health Center. He acts as an ambassador for the preventive and alternative methods of health care that the Himalayan Institute espouses.

“I have carried much of the knowledge I’ve got from the Himalayan Institute to Bamenda where some of the people do not even know where Kumbo is. Now they want to know where Kumbo is because they’ve heard about the Himalayan Institute.”

While the HI Cameroon team makes arrangements for additional Total Health Center franchises around the Northwest Province, Laisin looks ahead to the future. “What I’m foreseeing is I will be able to change the mentality of my people by teaching them what to do, how they can do it, and at the best time.”

How You Can Help
Share:
Offer your kindness and generosity by contributing to the Institute’s humanitarian efforts. All charitable donations are tax-deductible.

Serve:
Spread the word. Let your friends, family, and community know about the Institute’s humanitarian work. Help start a movement of empowerment instead of aid.

Make a Difference:
Join us! This is our opportunity to put spirituality into action—Share, Serve, and Make a Difference.]]> https://hicteam.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/blog-action-day-fight-poverty-with-empowerment/feed/ 0 Matt D Children walking-towards-shed-sm ef-school-site-plan-sm disp-school-sm pharmacy consultant1 school-of-c-and-c2-sm best-of-library-2-sm unloading-container laisin2-sm laisin-sm https://hicteam.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/himalayan-institute-helps-send-cameroon-runners-to-boston-marathon/ https://hicteam.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/himalayan-institute-helps-send-cameroon-runners-to-boston-marathon/#comments Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:41:05 +0000 http://hicteam.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/himalayan-institute-helps-send-cameroon-runners-to-boston-marathon/ By Sarah Thomas

Wayne Independent

Wed Apr 16, 2008, 06:01 PM EDT

Dyberry Twp., Pa. –

When Roland Mbenkum, magistrate of the town of Kumbo in Cameroon and Executive President of the Milanokumbo Sports Academy, wished to announce that four of his star runners would be competing in the Big D and White Rock marathons in Texas, he did so using a very modern forum; he posted the news on the Academy’s blog. The first response he received, however, was as old fashioned as they come.

“This is an irresponsible dream,” the commenter said, “and it must be discouraged. How can kids without shoes go to America?”

The answer is, as with so many things, with hard work and a little luck. Today, Mbenkum and his athletes — Januarius Bongkiyung, Immaculate Wirngo, Eric Manegh Mbacah, and Justilin Foimi — are staying at the Himalayan Institute in Dyberry Township as they rest up for Monday’s Boston Marathon. Their presence is a testimony to the athletes’ remarkable talent, the dedication of Mbenkum, and the fruitful partnership between America and Cameroon the Institute has set up.

“Many people here at the Institute already had a connection to Cameroon,” says Brian Fulp, staff member at the Institute. “At our campus in India, we had already entertained the Fon (King of Cameroon). We have been working for some time to establish a community presence in Kumbo; our goal is to create a place where empowerment can happen.”

A more literal example of this goal cannot be imagined than these four athletes in he peak of their physical condition, all of whom come from backgrounds of great privation.

“I never knew I could make it this far,” says Bongkiyung, who at 36 has only been running for 5 years but who has already placed first in the Mount Cameroon Marathon two years running. “I’ve never been to such races. I understand we are going to meet the Kenyan team, who are such inspirations to us because of their success. I am so grateful to Roland and the Academy for helping me.”

“I am in my final year of high school,” says Mbacah, “and after I receive my certificate I want to have a career in athletics. I’d like to take parts in marathons in London and Paris, and eventually I’d like to represent Cameroon in the Olympics.”

Foimi is a native French speaker, but according to Mbenkum he was a student from more than 600 kilometers outside of Kumbo who had left school. After seeing him compete, Mbenkum invited him to join the Sports Academy; Foimi now lives with Mbenkum, training, studying and learning English.

“We have many talents, but few facilities to develop them (in Cameroon),” says Wirngo. “We don’t even have pavement to run on. We run in the dirt.”

All of these hardships, Mbenkum believes, will give his athletes an edge when it comes to the Boston Marathon.

“We don’t specialize; we don’t have the ability to,” he says. “All our runners learn to run in many different conditions.”

Nonetheless, both Mbenkum and Fulp believe that this is only the beginning of the collaboration between the Himalayan Institute and the Milanokumbo Sports Academy.

“We have recently applied for a government grant of land, and received 6.7 hectares (around 16.5 acres),” says Mbenkum. “At the moment, we have not built on it, but we have received a generous donation of athletic equipment from the Honesdale High School which we will put to good use,” he says.

Other plans for the future include facilities to support athletic training in soccer, javelin, horse racing, and the popular Cameroon sport of table tennis.

If you’d like to trace the progress of the Cameroon runners during the marathon, electronic updates will be available on the Himalayan Institute’s Cameroon blog, hicteam.wordpress.com. More information on tracking runners is available on the Boston Marathon website, http://www.bostonmarathon.org.

Perhaps there is an element of poetic justice to this process, as the progress of these athletes, who overcame impossible odds to compete, can be traced on computers all over the world — all thanks to microchips in their shoes.

Scranton Times article

To the director of the Himalayan Institute’s global humanitarian projects, those donated books mean not only education, but a chance to help foster the economic growth of a region in need. “The core of our efforts is job training and job creation,” Mr. Tigunait said.

Slated to open this summer, the Kumbo Public Library will be the first facility of its kind in the region, Mr. Tigunait said. He estimates 300,000 people will benefit from the library on a regular basis.Honesdale Rotary has been working in conjunction with the institute, gathering donated books and enlisting the help of other Rotary clubs throughout the world.

“The fundamental literacy rate is very high, and (there’s) a tremendous desire to read,” Mr. Tigunait said of Cameroon residents.

In Cameroon, a book in poor condition can easily cost between $10 and $20, said Matt Douzart, managing director, Himalayan Institute, Cameroon.

He expects students to travel to the library for the donated books, which include nonfiction references, encyclopedias and classic literature. Future plans for the library include free Internet access, he said.

The library is not Himalayan Institute’s first outreach effort in Africa.Within walking distance of the library is the Himalayan Institute Community Center, which includes a 10,000-square-foot classroom, workshops, a large training hall and volunteer residential facilities.

The institute opened the center last year, after renovating an abandoned warehouse in Cameroon, a former British colony. With a focus on “rural empowerment,” the institute’s goals include health care, education, vocational training and internships, and sustainable micro-enterprise, Mr. Tigunait said.

“This is a spotlight that’s always on,” he said.

Honesdale High students have also participated in the humanitarian effort for Cameroon. Student council organized a drive to collect exercise and sports equipment destined for the Milano Kumbo Sports Academy.

Contact the writer: mreiter@timesshamrock.com

Container loading day Videos:

The HI Community Center in Cameroon is our flagship rural empowerment project, and will serve as a model for the many HI Community Centers envisioned to spread across Africa.

Nestled in the mountains of north-west Cameroon in West Africa, the Community Center is located on the outskirts of the town of Kumbo.

We’ve been received with tremendous warmth and enthusiasm from the local community and are honored to launch our efforts under the patronage of Nso Kingdom.