Effa Tambenkongho
30 June 2009
This programme instituted by the Douala City Council began last year.
The Douala City Council, CUD, has launched the second phase of the youth internship programme which is for youths in secondary, high school and university students. This year, the Douala City council has taken in 2000 students for the month of July and August. The initiative began last year, where the CUD employs youths to carry out with the CUD's mission of keeping Douala clean. The youths clean up gutters, remove grass and dirt from the sidewalks or roadsides, among others. The first phase which began in January and ended in June was for youths who are not students and for street children.
In his speech, the Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, Fritz Ntone Ntone, said HYSACAM has been of help to recruit some of the street children, while the council employs some during the internship programme. The government Delegate said if youths are not sensitised on the CUD mission to keep Douala clean, their exercise is futile because they are the ones to continue tomorrow. In a bid to get the youths educated and use to this mission, the Council employs them so that they get it imbibed in the system to keep the town clean.
The youths work in four different domains in the city; improvement of the drainage systems, embellishing and cleaning the city, fighting against urban disorder, and keeping the city clean. A report from those who worked in June shows that they came across 3847 cases of urban disorder, 107,000 grams of dirt were cleaned, and 28,785 grams of dirt cleaned from the gutters.
Ntone Ntone advised the youths to sensitise even in their various neighbourhoods. He added that the work which the students are doing will one day be rewarded by the city of Douala. He also said the limited flood experienced in Douala today is as a result of the cleaning these youths are carrying out in town. Last year there were just 600 students selected in June and 75 in August but this year they have increased the number to 900 and 1100 respectively. The Director of Administration and Human Resource, who is in charge of the programme called on the youths to comport themselves and not cause disorder. "I want to have confidence in you", she said.
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