Benton Alumni Update: Viktor Mak ’15 Promotes Education in Cameroon

The following post was contributed by Benton Scholar alumnus Viktor Mak ’15. Four years after his trip to Uganda with with Benton Scholars program, Viktor decided to spend his first summer as a Colgate graduate in Africa, where he works with an education startup in Cameroon called Open Dreams. 

Since my full time job after college would not involve any international travel, I knew I had to squeeze in at least one more trip before settling down into the quiet suburbs of Washington D.C.

Just before graduation, I managed to find an opportunity with Open Dreams, a startup NGO focused on extending educational opportunities in the United States to students in Cameroon. During my interview, I spoke about my experiences as a Benton Scholar in Sub-Saharan Africa and the academic work I’ve done related to economic development. So when they extended an offer, I accepted it almost immediately.

I headed out shortly after graduation, spending only enough time at home to convince my parents that neither Ebola nor Boko Haram were a threat. My journey to Open Dreams’ base of operations took almost a week. I left Florida and first traveled to New York City for a brief orientation on the history and mission of the NGO from two of its co-founders, Hans Kullberg and Blaise Buma.

Blaise was born and raised in Bamenda, Cameroon and was an exceptional student. After high school, he was determined to seek a world class education; but instead of continuing on to a university in Cameroon, he spent the next two years navigating the US college application process. Finally, he secured a full scholarship to Washington & Lee University in Virginia. A few years later, he helped his younger sister apply to McGill University in Canada. Blaise realized that he could help other students from his town by coaching them through the application and testing process. Cristina Bernardo and Hans later heard about Blaise’s story, which intersected with their own desire to promote access to education. Open Dreams was born in 2014 and just finished mentoring its first class of eight students!

From left to right: Hans, myself, and Blaise in New York City.

After two jam-packed days in New York, I left for Cameroon. I missed my flight in Paris and had to spend 24 hours in the city of baguettes, crepes, cheese and wine—I couldn’t complain. The next day, I arrived in the humid coastal city of Douala, Cameroon, where I met my host James and a small welcome party. We spent the rest of the week traveling from Douala to Bamenda, stopping in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, both to meet with the Education Advisor at the US Embassy and to make an appearance on national television. It turned out to be the equivalent of the Today Show in the United States, and ever since, people have been coming up to James and me telling us they saw us on TV.

I am now in Bamenda, the third largest city in Cameroon, in the north eastern part of the country near the Nigerian border. For our arrival, James had organized a large welcome party to meet us at the Open Dreams offices. There were speeches made, drinks and toasts.

The view from the Open Dreams Office.

In the next five weeks, I will interview the next group of mentees and organize a learning center (where students can study for the SAT and work on college applications) while looking for ways to help Open Dreams generate revenue and become self-sustaining. I look forward to working with the amazing people I have met already, meeting many more amazing Cameroonians, and experiencing everything this country has to offer. I can already tell that I will be sad to go when the time comes!

Welcome party in Bamenda in front of the Open Dreams Office.