Local Youth Corner’s LOYOC PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIP AND  FELLOWSHIP FOR EMERGING YOUNG LEADERS Initiative sets a new page in the career of 13 new aspiring young professionals who have joined our youth-led team as fellows and interns for the February to May 2023 cohort. These young people who are currently spread across our 4 offices in Yaounde, Bamenda, Buea and Maroua for a period of two and three months will gain hands on experience in; design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning of development, peace and humanitarian initiatives as well as acquire skills in organizational management and operations. We started piloting this program in 2016 and was later developed into a full initiative in 2021. For the past 8 years, the program has groomed the finest young professionals who now work with us as well as with national and international institutions including; UN Agencies, Embassies, INGOs and a lot more.

According to our Executive Director; Achaleke Christian Leke ;

Our overall aim is to provide a platform where young people can find ways to improve themselves and also learn innovative ways of solving our day-to-day issues in our communities. As a young person, I know that the lack of capacity for students and professionals remains a big issue. I was once in the same shoe, but volunteerism within CSO and other institutions transformed me into the professional I am today. Our educational system is good but needs some practical touch. This is our little effort to support countless initiatives across the country which is dedicated to this.  

The PIFEL is LOYOC’s signature program which aligns with her 2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan which seeks to amplify peer-to-peer learning and capacity building within the professional space. The initiative is divided into two tracks; Practitioners Track (Fellowship)- Three Months. The practitioner track is intended specifically for activists, civil society leaders and scholars. Applicants applying for the practitioner track are expected to have substantial practical experience working to promote development, peace and humanitarian initiatives. Students Track (Internship) – Two Months. This track is basically for students either studying in related fields of development, peace and humanitarian studies from any higher institution in Cameroon and across the world.

Speaking to some of the fellows,  Mansuru Usmanu, a PhD student from the University of Yaounde I, noted ” In my first week as a fellow in LOYOC, I was assigned to a project with other staff. I went to the field and sincerely it has been life-changing. I did not expect things could be this practical. I love it because everyone at LOYOC is young”.

Miss Noella Alethanou who is a fellow in Buea noted that her experience so far has been beyond her expectations. She noted that she has been thrilled by the number of things she has learned so far. She believes her time in the program is preparing her for a sound career ahead.

These fellows share their optimism about the added value this PIFEL program is bringing to their lives. “I feel so comfortable and loved and enjoy the moral and ethical values of the institution. When you come in you will not know who is boss or not” said Mr Emmanuel Metuge, an audio-visual fellow. “I enjoy the fact that I am using my images to contribute to development and peace” he added.

Miss Anouk Dimeo, an intern from France shares that she has been learning first-hand how Organizations such as LOYOC work at community levels and she looks forward to learning project design and implementation in order to complement her activism skills. As a climate and human rights activist in France, she believes she will also share with us some tools and strategies on how to improve our programs. 

As noted by our Board of Directors,

This commitment by our managing team is very inspiring. Though it is challenging, we are pleased to see that they are passionate about training their peers and learning from them. It is even more inspiring to see that the current staff are contributing from their salaries to provide transportation stipends to participants of this program.

LOYOC is also gaining a lot from these young people as they share their experiences and knowledge with our team. We have become more impactful thanks to these dedicated young people. We remain committed to building a safe, secure and prosperous Cameroon with young people at the forefront.

List of Fellows February – May Cohort 2023

Name	Status	Office
Aleatanu Noela	Fellow	Buea
Anouk Di Meo-Grisvard	Intern	Yaounde
Chefor Ngwenyi .M	Fellow	Yaounde
Deli Ndzaleu .S	Fellow	Far North
Emmanuel Metuge	Fellow	Yaounde
Etongwe Lucy	Fellow	Buea
Kesha Princely	Fellow	Buea
Mansuru Usmanu .M	Fellow	Yaounde
Mbah Petronilla .A	Intern	Yaounde
Mboh Promise	Fellow	Bamenda
Mechaeh Vanessa .E	Fellow	Yaounde
Tebi Monica .M	Fellow	Yaounde
Usmanu Abubakar	Fellow	Buea
Zouhairatou Yaya	Fellow	Far North