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Siena College

Publication Date

Spring 2014

Program Name

Cameroon: Social Pluralism and Development

Abstract

The Women’s Promotion and Assistance Association (WOPA) is a Non-Governmental Organization located in the tourist town of Kribi, Cameroon. This study examined whether WOPA’s vocational training program, The Center for Education and Training for Women, responded to the needs in participants’ lives and the needs of the local economy to effectively economically empower young women. Using 21 one interviews with current and graduated students of the program, as well as local government officials, I concluded that WOPA’s training does fit the needs of participants’ lives; and that the trainings offered in sewing, culinary arts, and community health adequately fit the needs of Kribi’s economy. WOPA’s classes are hands on and free, which meets the needs of low-income and undereducated students. Sewing is a popular job for women in Kribi, and graduated students face competition; research on alternative types of trade that are not gender-stereotyped is necessary. Graduates lack funds to begin work, but feel emotionally empowered by their new skills.

Disciplines

Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Education | Educational Sociology | Family, Life Course, and Society | Inequality and Stratification | Women's Studies

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