She participated in the closing ceremony of Directors of the rural development institutions from seven African countries on June 18, 2016.

Senator Marie Claire Moampea from the East Region has praised the movement of Rural Family Houses for fostering community development through self-help initiatives, youth training, job creation and curbing rural exodus.

She was guest speaker on June 18, 2016 in Yaounde at the closing ceremony of a six-day training workshop for Directors of Rural Family Houses and Schools from Cameroon, Mali, Madagascar, Togo and the Comoros Island.

The workshop to build the directors’ skills in project management was part of the 2015-2018 training programme funded by the French Development Agency, AFD, through the National Union of Family Houses for Education and Orientation.

Speaking during the occasion, the President of the Federation of Schools and Rural Family Houses of Cameroon (FEMAFARC), Ambassa Ounga François, explained that Cameroon is part of the movement of Rural Family Houses; a rural development concept which brings together families in rural communities into associations where they identify their development needs and carry out prioritised projects.

The associations also set up family houses where especially youths, living together in a boarding facility, are given professional skills. FEMAFARC is made up of nine local associations which are active in the Centre, East, Littoral and Far North Regions.

“Over 1000 families have adhered since the creation of FEMAFARC and more than 500 youths have received our training,” he disclosed.

The participant from Mali, Magan Maïga, also disclosed that Rural Family Houses in his country had slowed down rural exodus and turned youths in the countryside away from terrorism. The Rural Family Houses movement started in 1937 in France where it now counts over 1,000 associations.