This is one of the appealing lines in the Open Dreams Anthem, composed by Scholars Ramish Shu & Peace Nyaba, that ring out to the hearts and minds of dreamers, when they render the anthem. In the same spirit, Bil Njoh Agha, a tech enthusiast, President of the TiC Summit and a Program Facilitator at Open Dreams, describes the organization as a universal gym where the Scholars select the right tools according to their needs, passions, visions and dreams, to optimize their potential and actualize their dreams.
No truer are the statements above than in the case of the very ambitious Chancelyne Wulseh Yein, who epitomized them. While a few others may be lost within the Open Dreams Mentorship community, Chancelyne was very intentional, conscientious and consistent; with a strong will power, she exquisitely navigated her way through the mentorship program within a year.
She graduated as the overall second best student from the Department of Community and Development studies, at the University of Bamenda. While studying at the university, she was part of the Press Club and the Collaborative Research and Teaching Programme, which brought together students from the Universities of Cologne (Germany), University of Yaoundé 1, University of Bamenda and the University of Dschang. At the end of the research/teaching workshop, using Cameroon as a case study, she examined migrants’ contributions to the development of their local communities and how this helps young people in such communities to achieve their aspirations of a better life.
Towards the end of her studies, she went in for a competition organized by Plan International to fight for the protection of the rights of girls and children, and emerged among the top three. Her national projection by PLAN International captured the attention of the Open Dreams Team, which is constantly scouting for young promising change-makers and trail-blazers in the community.
Chancelyne briefly took up volunteering with Local Youth Corner Cameroon, during which, on a number of occasions, she visited the underprivileged communities in the East Region of Cameroon and spent some days helping out with basic education to help them enjoy greater human dignity.
She ultimately settled full time with Open Dreams. Despite spending over 2000 frs daily on transport to get to the Open Dreams Center in Yaoundé and back, she was there almost every day over a period of one year. Her excellence at work got her into the strategic planning committee of Open Dreams Activities.
During her time at Open Dreams, she participated in several training programs, prepared for and took standardized tests, diligently worked on a couple of scholarship applications, represented the Organization on CRTV and also co-organized programs like the TIC Summit and the TIC Summer Program, the Goodwill Fellowship where she made presentations and she was very instrumental during the 2021 Open Dreams Summer Academy, where she participated in evaluating applications, conducting interviews and taught programs on Writing, Communication and Mentorship.
At the level of graduate student mentorship, she is one of the regular speakers during our summits on how to harness the Mentorship opportunities Open Dreams offers. She is one of the many graduate scholars who set and meet the standards on the expectations of Open Dreams from graduate scholars who sign up for mentorship and volunteering with the organization.
Chancelyne is the first Open Dreams Scholar to earn a DAAD Scholarship to study in Germany, under the full sponsorship of the German Government, and a Mastercard Foundation Scholarship at the Graduate Level, to student at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She is currently studying Rural Community Development at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences in the latter. There are two other Open Dreams Scholars at the undergraduate level at the university.
Her brilliance continues to manifest at AUB; she just started an internship as an assistant project manager at the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS) at the University. .
From her own words, she owes gratitude to the Open Dreams (OD) Community of Scholars, James Akaba the Country Director and the OD Team, for believing in her potential and to Dr. Ngeh Jonathan of the University of Cologne, Germany and Dr. T. Gilbert of the University of Bamenda.
Dreams do come true, if we give our all pursuing them. “Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing”. - Barry Finlay.”
- By The Open Dreams Team #HALIAccessAfrica #IntlACAC The University of Bamenda Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at AUB
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