June 16th marked the public launching of the Village Diary project in Buea. The date was chosen to recognize our team’s work reaching the first major milestone of our project, and to observe the International Day of the African Child. The event was held at the Cameroon Cultural Centre and presided over by the Governor of the South West region. Also in attendance were the Regional Delegate of Social Affairs, representatives from the U.S. Embassy, directors of partner organizations, the local press, honored guests and the Village Diary team members.

Following the ceremony, the team gathered together with our partners for a round table discussion and planning session at the Alliance Francophone Camerounaise, located just opposite the venue. This marked the first time we’ve had all our partners together at one table, representing the Fako, Ndian, Kupe Manengouba and Manyu divisions of the SW region. We reviewed the project goals and discussed issues such as the cultural impact of our work in the community, informed consent in fieldwork, confidentiality, sensitization programs and how Village Diary will be used to link existing partner institutions to women experiencing different forms of abuses.

Our group covered a lot of ground during our discussion and wrapped up with a draft strategy for the second phase of our project, which Village Diary founder Roland Musi will take to Yaounde this week.

See all the photos of the Village Diary Launch on flickr.