Ensure the health and safety of learners and staff in schools and the learning communities.
THINK SAFETY FIRST
VISION
Build resilient schools and communities in order to secure a future with safer schools in Cameroon by the year 2035 and in Africa by the year 2063 (Agenda 2063).
ABOUT US
School Safety Outreach (SSO) is a Cameroonian non-profit, non-denominational, apolitical organization established in 2020 and legally registered in 2022 with registration number 215/G.37/C.84/VOL1/A3/SAAJP in conformity with law number 90/053 of 19th December 1990 of the Republic of Cameroon.
Our project and programs target learners and staff in schools and communities. We operate and work in Cameroon. The chief geographical area of intervention is the South West and North West but operations can be extended to other regions when the need arises.
Our approach targets primarily learners and staff as beneficiaries and people with challenges as secondary beneficiaries. We do understand that using a school-community-based approach that addresses the needs of schools and communities will greatly impact positively on the lives of our primary beneficiaries in a sustainable way.
We have as goals the following:
School/Community Disaster Risk Management
Disaster preparedness
Integrate Disaster Risk Reduction Education (DRRE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the School Curriculum; train school administrators and local community authorities on how to develop a Disaster Risk Management Plan; organize awareness-raising campaigns in order to sensitize and educate learners, and staffs and community members on coping strategies against disasters; implement early warning systems, etc.
Disaster Response
Provide humanitarian response to people affected by societal disasters such as conflicts, wars, civil unrest, fire incidents, and epidemic infectious diseases; provide humanitarian aid to victims of socio-natural disasters such as floods, landslides, droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruption; provide humanitarian response to people affected by disasters of natural origin such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc.
Disaster Recovery
Reconstruction: Construct or rehabilitate schools, local community or state infrastructures to improve local sustainable development; Restore safe lines, etc.
Recovery: Provide psychosocial support and mental health education to people affected by disasters to enable them to bounce back strong.
Disaster Adaptation/Mitigation
Integrate Disaster Risk Management into the National Development Policy; Promote better water, sanitation, and hygiene practices with the goal to reduce the spread of diseases etc.
SUCCESS STORIES
- We successfully disinfected some selected schools in preparation for school resumption.
- Our Education in Emergency program has been very successful in some localities affected by the anglophone crisis such as Wokaka village, Lysoka, and Upper Bolifamba.
- Our workshop on psychosocial support in Meme was also a success.
- Our cholera awareness raising campaign in some selected schools in the Fako Division has been a success.
GET INVOLVED
Volunteer: Resourcefully volunteer your time, efforts, and love with us as we continuously run our School Health and Safety Outreach programs and projects in schools and communities. Use this opportunity to enhance your skills and knowledge with us as you join us in implementing our programs and projects.
PARTNERSHIPS
We work in synergy with sectorial ministries in Cameroon such as MINEDUB; MINESEC; MINESUP; MINPAT; and MINSANTE whose mandate aligns with our work and thematic areas of intervention.
Councils: We work in partnership with Municipal Councils to ensure health and safety in schools and the communities.
Local CSOs: We collaborate with like-minded CSOs in line with our thematic areas.
Community: We work in association with like-minded individuals, institutions, and communities in line with our thematic areas of intervention.
School Safety Outreach is a member of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety.
Others: REACH BACK, SURUDEV, Alheri Medical Foundation.
Courtesy of School Safety Outreach, Cameroon
The world is currently at the blink of increasing heat waves due to the emission of greenhouse gases. School Safe Outreach supports calls by the Meteorological Agency for smart adaptation strategies and participation in climate-resilient practices to stay healthier and fit for daily school tasks.
Common heat waves effects could particularly cause dehydration in teachers/children of school going age globally since they stay longer under teaching-learning rules. It could also affect proper brain response to teaching and learning. In more acute moments, increase heat waves could trigger unconsciousness or death, chickenpox, skin rash and psychological
stress.
To survive this current and much ravaging adverse climatic conditions, SSO recommends a rigorous implementation of this Climate-Health Emergency Preparedness Plan by teachers and students across Cameroon and beyond.
- Teachers and learners should drink more water between 11:00am to 3:00pm daily to stay hydrated.
- Retain individual water bottles with them any time they are leaving for school.
- All learners MUST avoid the "high syndrome" through drug or alcohol consumption. These increases body temperature and take longer to flush out. Teachers who cannot avoid alcohol consumption could consider taking it in average quantity and only when school is over daily or between 3:00pm and night.
- Reduce the consumption of protein-rich foods (e.g. red meats) as they increase metabolic heat.
- Eat more water providing fruits and vegetables. This helps to maintain body hydration.
- Teachers and learners should visit the infirmary in their respective institutions in order to monitor blood pressure and be sure that it is within the normal range.
- Teachers and learners should stay more in the classroom, staffroom, offices or other campus sheds like tree rings especially between 11:30am and 3:00pm each day.
- Females staff and learners alike undergoing menstruation MUST change their hygiene pads (wether wet or not) between 11:30am and 1:30pm daily.
- Read more...
NEWS AND UPDATES
Menstrual Hygiene Management Campaign in Schools
Support our upcoming Menstrual Hygiene Management Campaign project for young girls and women in schools.
Disinfection of Schools
Join us in our upcoming project which will involve the disinfection of classrooms and toilets to reduce the spread of diseases in some selected lay private and confessional schools.
Empowering Education, Transforming Lives
Building Resilient Schools for a Brighter Future