Foot Prints of Cameroonian Youth

USAU DCM Peter Lord with USAID Liaison Glenn Rogers, PCV Frease Belay, AU/YVC Intern Ms Bari Fanso, Peace Corps Country Director Nwando Diallo and USAID Liaison Martin Schulman.

Meeting with Ass. Secretary Bruce Wharton and Ambassador Jackson (Bari fanso far right)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- On October 24, 2011, the U.S. Mission to the African Union (USAU) welcomed Ms. Bari Fanso from Cameroon as the first African Union Youth Volunteer Corps Intern assigned to a U.S. government institution.  She was chosen by the African Union (AU) to complete a one-year internship and will work closely with the USAID Liaison Officer on youth issues, including developing and promoting youth development programs and networks between the State Department, African Union and USAID. 

Prior to this internship, Bari Fanso was a member of the Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP), an NGO created to promote the role of youths as peace builders. In 2008, Bari was elected Public Relations Officer of CAMYOSFOP. Earlier in 2010, she was nominated a member of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Youth Club. Bari carried out an advocacy for the Cameroon’s Ministry of Youth Affairs in February 2008 on the theme “Youth, Patriotism and Participation in Development”. In November 2008, she and six other Cameroonian youth were in Washington D.C for the US return trip, under the US/Cameroon Immersion Program organized by Global Youth Partnership for Africa (GYPA) and CAMYOSFOP.

Bari Fanso was one of the youth leaders selected to participate in a meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary Bruce Wharton and Ambassador Jackson in the office of the National Youth Council.  The meeting combined young people in civil society, law, education, health including Malaria and HIV/AIDS, and business.  The purpose of the event was to allow active young leaders in Cameroon to discuss their vision for this generation and how young people are getting involved in voter registration and programs to encourage civic participation for the upcoming election.