Her name is Kalla Marie Annick, she's 19 years old and comes from Adamaoua in Cameroon.
This young pupil of CEFAPI/IFER of Marza in Ngoundéré, is a model of courage and responsibility for the young girls of the centre, because she has used her family experience in sensitising her classmates about the involvement of girls in practical activities.
Unlike most of her peers, Annick comes from a family where girls hold the same value as boys. Enrolling at CEFAPI was her own initiative, but her family always guided her in her choices. At the centre, boys used to perform "delicate" tasks, while the girls preferred to observe from a distance.
Annick found it difficult to accept this image that devalues women. She was looked down upn by the other girls, put aside, considered a "tomboy" because of her courage. Therefore, she associated more with boys and she did the tasks of all the girls by herself. Using a gender awareness session, she proposed to make the girls aware that they should not devalue themselves. There was some hesitation at first, but after a competition for the best manual worker between girls and boys was organised at her initiative, the message really got through. Today, girls and boys work together.
In just seven months, Annick has inspired all the girls at the centre. She owes this achievement to her parents who raised her well. However, she does not intend to stop yet..
Translation done by Pietro Betlem, student in translation at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel