Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – Two decommissioned school buses from Annapolis Valley Regional School have been donated to the National Comprehensive High School in Cameroon.

The National Comprehensive High School in Cameroon, Africa, was donated two school buses from the Annapolis Valley regional school board.

Cameroon education - school students of Cameroon government schools in their uniform

Two Annapolis Valley regional school buses which were decommissioned from use have thus been sent over to a new home in Cameroon, Africa.

The buses were asked by Rotary International to be deployed for usage by government and private schools in the country so as to make transport simpler for students who have to walk miles and miles everyday to get to their schools.

“They will be used in an area where students have had to walk for hours each day to get to school and back,” board superintendent Margot Tait said recently.

The buses will now be part of two other Valley board buses that had been previously dispatched to Cameroon last year, also at the suggestion of Rotary International.

Cameroon, a country with a population close to 19 million people, is situated in the mid-eastern part of Africa, right over the equator.

“Our buses are sought after because we have a reputation for keeping them in good condition,” Tait said.

The board on an average uses each of their buses in their fleet for a time frame of about 12 years. A multitude of the vehicles are decommissioned and new buses are brought in to replace the older ones every year.

“When we give these buses to Rotary, we give them a good cleaning and safety inspection,” Ed Arsenault, the board’s transportation manager, said.

“We take off all the school board lettering on the side and we put on whatever the new owners want. We do that as a courtesy.”

The buses will all be lettered adequately to indicate that they have been donated by the Annapolis Valley school board.

Logo: American School Of Douala, Cameroon

“I was in Cameroon and I was pleased to see that the buses were being utilized by all the schools,” said Peter Smith, the past district governor for Rotary International Dist. 7820, who had just got back from a trip from Africa.

“Now the children can go on school outings and to sports events.

“These are the first 72-passenger school buses to be used in this African country, where children trek for many kilometres to receive their education.”

The Rotary International logo as well as the National flag of Canada have been showcased on the buses and that “makes an impression,” Smith, a resident of Baddeck, said.

One major expense that was incurred was the money involved in shipping the buses to Cameroon. The two buses were transported by ship for an amount of $23,000.

The latest addition of two more buses will cost a trifle more to ship and shipping costs have been budgeted at $30,000, the price rise being attributed primarily to the prices of crude oil which are indicating a sharp rise every now and then. The major share of the funds has been obtained from Rotary clubs, with additional support being offered by private and corporate donors.

The buses that are being handed over to the school in Cameroon are just two among the six vehicles that have been taken out of use this year by the board.

One of the remaining four buses will be taken over to Camp Brigadoon, a camp for children which is under construction in the Valley’s Aylesford Lake area. Another bus is being handed over to the search and rescue group in Clare and the remaining two will be retained and used for spare parts.