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About lelewal

Our Journey

About lelewal foundation

Lelewal is an indigenous people nongovernmental organization founded by a group of indigenous peoples in 2003 and legalized in 2006 under the Cameroonian law on freedom of associations and political parties. The organization was born out of the dire need for advocacy to ensure the respect of the rights of indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups in the republic of Cameroon especially as stipulated or enshrined in the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and other related human rights instruments and standards .Lelewal strives to partner with national and international actors,  stakeholders ,networks and the government of Cameroon to enhance indigenous peoples capacities to do it themselves for themselves especially in advocacy for their rights, awareness raising ,sustainable self-determined development, education, research, trainings and above all wider communication in all issues ,processes, programs and policies affecting their fundamental human rights and well-being. Lelewal is managed by a five member executive committee assisted by the board of directors and the General assembly. 

Our Purpose

Vision & Mission

Our Vision

Lelewal fore sees a just and equitable society for indigenous people and vulnerable communities. 

Our Values

As indigenous peoples we believe that change is possible and can happen against all odds. We also believe that our struggles and aspirations will be realized and our rights will be respected and fulfilled as stipulated by the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ILO Convention 169. 

Our Mission

Our mission is to educate, train and support indigenous Peoples communities at local, national and global levels on their fundamental and indigenous rights with adequate capacities to do it for themselves by themselves in their quest for sustainable self-determined development. 

What we do

  • Capacity building for indigenous peoples leaders and community organizers on human rights instruments like the UNDRIP, ILO Convention 169, CEDAW ,Climate change related impacts and REDD Plus processes, programs and implementation at the local, national and international levels.
  • Training on FPIC principles on land rights, traditional forest management and ownership, traditional knowledge and sustainable management of traditional livelihoods all these geared towards the realization of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity on ecosystems management with emphasis on Conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of biodiversity resources.
  • We do initiatives in support of indigenous peoples livelihoods, education and health.

Trainings

Lelewal has as a prime objective to build capacities of indigenous people leaders both at local and national level on diverse topics and programs to be able to determine and decide the future they want for their families and communities. Lelewal has series of training programs for its staffs and also community leaders and organizers

Community base monitoring and information systems (CBMIS) :

Through the community base monitoring and information systems (CBMIS), Lelewal has carried seminars, workshops, field survey and communities mapping in order to providedata and evidence of the existence of changes within the community set up and community forest. The five major components of CBMIS which are Land, territories and resources; Traditional knowledge; Traditional governance, Full and effective participation; Human rights and to an extend demography, has help communities members to do survey and mapping of their communities and resource inventory. CBMIS Teams were created in some indigenous peoples communities responsible for data gathering and documentation of changes within their communities set up and their territories and resources.

Community-based monitoring and information systems (CBMIS) refer to initiatives by indigenous peoples and local community organizations to monitor their community’s well-being and the state of their territories and natural resources, applying a mix of traditional knowledge and innovative tools and approaches. The CBMIS is an effective tool for monitoring activities on the health of biodiversity, climate change impacts, and effects of unsustainable/illegal activities and also implementation of international agreements such as the CBD at the national or local level.

Indigenous peoples and local communities’ CBMIS activities are indispensible towards achieving the Aichi biodiversity targets and monitoring their implementation. It is found that target 18 is central and cross-cutting, given that traditional knowledge and innovations are fundamental in monitoring progress and challenges under all other targets.

Through the CBMIS Lelewal has been able to trained around five hundred community leader since 2014 and will continue doing these trainings especially training youths to produce a generation of conscience indigenous leaders’ on conservation and sustainable management of natural resources with effective implementation of the objectives of United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).

Indigenous People Sustainable Self Determined Development ( IPSSDD) :

Indigenous People Sustainable Self Determined Development is one of the foremost training programs designed by Tebtebba Foundation in collaboration with the entire ELATIA partnership to benefit indigenous people community leaders and organizers on the orientation and knowledge on thematic areas which are vital for indigenous people self-determination. These areas are the Multiple Global Crises and Indigenous Peoples; Human Right Base Approach (HRBA); Indigenous Women and their Rights in IPSSDD; Indigenous People Knowledge and Cultural Approach; Indigenous Territorial Management Systems, Ecosystem Approach; Sustainable Local Economies and Well-being.

This program has been carried out by Lelewal since 2015 at the community level and has got significant influence in community planning, conflict resolution and community well-being. Recently the ELATIA Training Institute (ETI), with the able leadership of Tebtebba Foundation has renovated the program with the volume of material knowledge that has increased the knowledge of the trainees and well equipped to replicate the knowledge at the country and community level. Lelewal has already trained fifty (50) community leaders in 2018 and 2019, participated in many of these trainings at the global level and also virtually for its staffs and personnel’s. The organizations in partnership with the ELATIA are planning many of such trainings in 2023 and beyond for youths within these organizations to be able to sustain the functioning of the organization.