Open Dreams at 10: Beyond a celebration | Dr. Louise Toukam

I was so excited to be part of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Open Dreams which started on the 25th of July 2024 at the IRIC campus in Yaoundé, continued at Djeuga Palace Hotel, and finally ended with a thanksgiving service at PC Nsimeyong on Sunday the 28th of July.

It was such an inspiring event, beyond a celebration, it was a testament of the unwavering spirit of our mentors, scholars, facilitators, volunteers and aspirants.

It was a niche for impactful networking as we had representatives of top-notch Universities like Ashesi University, Carnegie Mellon University, etc. Representatives from various ministries of Cameroonian Government and stakeholders of Education answered present to the call. Parents, teachers, guardian counsellors, etc were not left out and made the celebration more colorful and richer

We had the presence of inspiring persons who shared their journey via engaging presentations and above all, urged many to start thinking out of the box, to dare to dream and above all start putting into their dreams action.

I was so marveled at the impact of Open Dreams. It's like an aggressive cancer, from which hundreds of young Africans from resources limited backgrounds are budding off every single day to explore the world and in their own ways impacting their environment, leading to a tsunami of change.

Finally, I got to meet Sir James Akaba after several years of virtual networking and mentorship, Sir Hans Kullberg in person, Dr. Miki Gilbert, and several other icons of selflessness and devotion.

I was delighted to see Mr. Augustin Chii, my high school Physics Teacher after so many years, someone who believed in me from my very tender beginning and has never stopped calling me 'his surgeon' for over a decade now.