News

Home/News/

Cassava project in Cameroon

The project started late due to serious rainfall with the construction of a building that will host the Unit for the transformation of Cassava into garri, water-fufu, myondo etc. However,  the women planted cassava in the acquired land. In February, 2015  cassava planted on the 15 hectares of land  was harvested.

WHAT HAS BEEN REALISED:

15 Hectares of land was acquired cleared and cultivated by the women. Also, 120.000 cuttings of cassava was bought and planted by the women. The first cassava that was harvested, part was transformed locally, part was transformed using a small machine provided by the Kumba Urban Council. The Machine that has a very low capacity was hired by the Council  just to assist the women to grind their first harvest. It has a low capacity hence the women had to use more time and labour to grind the cassava. All this is because the machines had not been purchased because funds to purchase the machines came late.

Puchases for the project was done mostly twice for every item. 40 Cutlasses were bought, 40 Hoes, 45 Basins, 24 Drums, 20 Trunks, 2 Motorized Graters, 4 cassava Press, 5 Garri-Ovens, 20 wheel Barrows, 5 Sealing Machines, 1 Scale. We were very lucky to have bought most of the items before prices of goods in Cameroon rose. Prices have since almost doubled in every of these items and other goods in Cameroon.

As far the construction of the house is concerned, we were also lucky but not in all items.  Sand, iron rods, ply wood, zinc blocks etc. were all bought at the estimated price but we were not lucky with the last 60 bags of cement because the price had risen. Prices of all these items have risen. Still during the construction, it was discovered that we did not include tiles in the project. This was a mistake. We got some assistance from the Kumba Urban Council while the women raised part of the money from the sale of the first cassava that was harvested in February, 2015. This helped us to buy the tiles. Without the tiles, it was discovered, the production unit will be very untidy.

Before the installation of the machines, two young men in the village went for a 4 days training workshop on how to operate the machines. A Management Committe was also put in place, which also includes the Chief of the village and the Divisional Delegate for Agriculture and Rural Development for Meme Division as members. In the next 3 months, three workshops will be organised by the Delegation of Agriculture to strenthen the capacity of women in the field of cassava and garri. They has already participated in many workshops in the past. A follow-up report will be sent to Bingo Lottostiftung as the project evolves at least annually.

Installation and HANDING of CASSAVA PROCESSING UNIT Kake Community Kumba  MEME Division  in the South West Region of the Republic of Cameroon on 21st of September 2016. The occasion was postponed several times because of reasons we sent to you last time.

The occasion started at 1:00pm

More than 250 persons were present for the Installation Ceremony. Amongst them were:

  • The Divisional Delegate of Agriculture and Rural Development for Meme
  • The Mayor of Kumba I Urban Council
  • The Sub Divisional Delegate of Agriculture and Rural Development for Limbe 1
  • The chief of Agricultural Post for Kake
  • The traditional chief and notables of Kake I, Kake II, Ekombe Bonji and its environs
  • Oher Civil Society Organisations involved in Development 03 in number
  • The journalists
  • Representatives of Farmers Groups
  • A cross section of the population of Kake  and neighbours

The following agenda was adopted:

  • Singing of the National Anthem
  • Prayer
  • Welcome word traditional chief of Kake
  • Presentation of NGO (AFRICA INITIATIVE e.V.) by association’s representative in Cameroon
  • Speech by Divisional Delegate of Agriculture and rural development Meme
  • Presentation of the Unit
  • Intertainment
  • Closing remarks by the Dvisional Delegate of Agriculture and Rural Development for Meme Division

After the singing of the National Anthem, a man of God who doubles as the quarter head for the Kake community called down the presence of God on the occasion.

The chief in his eloquent speech welcomed all the persons present and expressed his joy for the wonderful gestures AFRICA Initiative was making in Kake   in areas of education, Income generating Material and School Support provision of Labour serving devices and poverty alleviation. He told the representative of Afrika Initiative in Cameroon to channel his sincere thanks to the Bingo Lotto Foundation for the wonderful Cassava Project which will help erradicate poverty not only in Kake II and Kake I but also to the surrounding areas.

Speaking later the Mayor of Kumba I Council thanked the women for their hardwork. He said it is the hard work of these Women Group that led to what to the sponsorship of this project. He told the women of other areas around the Kumba minicipality who have groups tostregthen their groups and learn from the the Kake Katholic Women’s Group. He equally asked the Coordinator of Afrika Initiative in Cameroon to thank Bingo Foundation for the wonderful gesture. He also told the Men’s Group to emulate from the women.

The Divisional Delegate for Agricllture and Rural Development for Meme took his turn and reiterated the efforts of Africa Initiative in poverty alleviation and the importance of the Unit in Kake and its neighbours. He further advised the women to acquire more land and increase their production to meet up with the capacity use of the processing unit put at their disposal. (speech attached)
He ended his speech by informing the population of the availability of 100.000 Cassava cuttings in his office which they should collect and plant to increase their productivity and of the unit thereby alleviating poverty and improving  on their livelihood.
The representative of Africa Initiative led the invited guest and the population to the Cassava Processing Unit, presented and explained the set up and functions of the machines and equipment.

Refreshment followed and a closing remark from DDARD closed the occasion. The Sub DDARD took down the names and quantities of those who needed the cassava cuttings.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I write to once more apologise for the late finish in this project and to thank you for your understanding. We promise that this will never happen. We shall do everything in the future to avoid opening ceremonies that will cost us time and money. It is regrettable that the opeing ceremony took place just this 21st of September, 2016.

We also thank you for your support and we look forward to working with you on more projects to come.

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

German-African Youth Initiative

This is the reason why we gathered in Bonn from the 29th of June to the 1st of July 2016. This International Conference was organised by the GermanFederal  Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Conference, presided over by the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development His Excellency Gerd Müller saw the signing of a new partnership that will enable young volunteers from Africa to come and spend up to a year in Germany. Young Germans between the ages of 18 to 28 years have been going to spend a year to teach in certain schools in Tanzania, Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Kenya and other African countries but following this new partnership, young Africans will also come and spend a year in Germany. In attendance was also the Prime Minister of the state of NRW Mrs Hannelore Kraft. On the 30th of June, there were specialist forums with the following themes: Mainstreaming Youth: Role of Youth exchanges in Africa, Beyond school exchange, Contact without travel: Digital networks and intercontinental partnerships and Forming the world together after youth exchange. On the 1st of July, the following Specialist Forums were held: Demands and Realilty:  How can equal youth exchange contribute to sustainable development and partnership? Capacity building for African actors: The role of education for sustainable development, Youth as a regenerator of country and city partnership, Striving towards equity in youth exchange, sensitivity to descrimination in youth exchange, Youth exchange and community development, the SDG 17 Global partnerships and sustainable development, Acquiring skills for work and life through youth exchange, preparing African volunteers, overcoming digital borders, quality standards in youth exchange and Global partnerships for youth exchange.

 

Launch / Coup d’envoi / Auftakt

Datum: Donnerstag, 30. Juni bis Freitag, 1. Juli 2016
Ort: Bonn
Absender: Engagement Global
Anmeldeschluss: 1. Juni 2016

Launch / Coup d’envoi / Auftakt

Launch of the African-German Youth Initiative (AGYI)

What motivates young people in Germany and African countries? How can we solve global challenges of our ‘One World’, together? How important are collaborative partnerships for youth exchanges? And how can modern media support international engagement?
These are some of the questions being addressed by the African-German Youth Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to promote youth exchanges between Germany and African countries, while relying on existing voluntary service and exchange programmes. Furthermore, the initiative intends to strengthen African and German civil society.
The AGYI will be officially launched on 30 June 2016. Under the motto “Shaping tomorrow’s world today – global responsibility, youth participation”, Federal Minister Dr. Gerd Müller, and the Minister President of North Rhine Westphalia, Ms. Hannelore Kraft, alongside senior officials of the African Union and German and African civil society, will discuss the implementation of “Agenda 2030 for sustainable development”, adopted last September by the United Nations. The day will offer a diverse programme which ends at 22:00.
On 1 July 2016, you are invited to take part in dialogue exchanges with various representatives from government structures, and members of German and African civil society .The various possibilities and operating principles of the AGYI will be presented, in particular the consulting and funding opportunities as well as the new African partnership structure. Youth groups will share their experiences and initiatives of African-German youth exchanges, and will give insight into their activities. We encourage and invite you to participate in the specialist forums, where you can learn about and discuss key issues such as: How can we as partners contribute to a comprehensive image of Germany and Africa; what does partnership in the context of youth exchanges mean; what role does modern media play in the digital age; or how can music have an impact in solving global challenges?
The launch of AGYI will take place in Bonn together with the ‘ZukunftsTour’ – themed ‘ONE WORLD – Our Responsibility’. The ’ZukunftsTour’ is a roadshow across all German states since 2015, promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It spreads the message of the Charter of the Future, a process initiated by Federal Minister Dr. Gerd Müller in 2014. The ‘ZukunftsTour’ is organised by Engagement Global on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and in cooperation with the respective German states.
Program
Thursday, 30. June 2016
09.00-14.30 Zukunftswerkstatt Zukunftstour Bonn
12.00-13.30 Global Responsibility-Young participation
Speech
Hannelore Kraft, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia
Speech
Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
Keynote
S.E. Dr. Martial De – Paul Ikounga , Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology at the African Union
Dialogue changes the world: Young people in discussion
Symbolic start of the African-German Youth Initiative (AGYI)
13.30-14.30 Lunch break
14.30-16.00 Start of the scientific part of the AGYI opening event: Move it ! – Youth Exchange as an engine for global partnerships
Panel discussion “Youth Exchange as an engine for global partnerships” – Panel with state guests from pilot countries and representatives of youth
16.00-18.30 Professional forums “Potential of youth exchanges for global partnerships and commitment”
4 parallel specialist forums, in addition to theme islands
18.30 Start of the evening program
22.00 End
Friday,
1 July 2016
08.30 Admission and Registration
09.15-09.45 Official welcome by Birgit Pickel (BMZ, Head of Civic Engagement, weltwärts, Engagement Global) and Dr Beatrice Njenga (AU Commission)
09.45-12.00 Professional forums “Demands and Reality: What can equal youth exchange contribute to sustainable development and partnership?”
6 parallel forums, in addition to theme islands
12.00-13.30 Lunch break
13.30-15.45 Professional forums “Good Practices – How Youth Exchange is lived”
6 parallel specialist forums, in addition to theme islands
15.45-16.40 Roundtable with civil AGYI stakeholders on the topic “Connecting horizons: The future of the African-German Youth Initiative”
16.40-17.00 Conclusion by Birgit Pickel (BMZ) and Dr Beatrice Njenga (AU Commission)

Coup d’envoi de l’Initiative Germano-Africaine de la Jeunesse (DAJ) Auftakt der Deutsch-Afrikanischen Jugendinitiative (DAJ)

Venue / Lieu de la manifestation/ Ort

World Conference Center Bonn
Platz der Vereinten Nationen 2
53113 Bonn

contact person/ interlocutrice/ Ansprechpartnerin

Heidi Thoma | +49 30 25482 110

Football – to promote integration

We organise annually a football tournament in summer. It is an Anti-racism campaign which we do through sports. It brings together German and non-Germans teams. It is also a form of integration of

migrants and non-nationals into the German society. This year we saw the participation of more European teams such as Turkey and Ukraine in the tournament.

If you will like to be a sponsor or take part in this yearly event, please contact us though Facebook, Twitter or write to us through the address you find on our website.

Kake – Primary School Project

Our scholarship scheme in primary and secondary schools in Cameroon have been renewed for the academic year 2015/2016. Scholarships are awarded to children from poor families, Handicapped children and Ophans. In March 2015 Afrika Initiative carried out repairs in Government Primary

School Kake in the South West Region. Many of the classrooms have leaking roofs while many of the doors are bad. We repaired the roofs and donated book shelves and benches to some classes.

We could not donate to all the bad classes because the classes at this juncture have no doors and because of no doors, many of the benches have been stolen by students of the Government High

School just close by. Consequently, if benches are donated to these classes without doors, they will equally be stolen. It is our wish to equip this and other schools with libraries, equip staff rooms and headmistress or headmasters office. We are therefore appealing for your financial assistance to enable us carry out the rest of the repair work. Donnation of books and other items also shall be highly appreciated.

IF YOU CAN SPONSOR A CHILD EVEN FOR A YEAR, we shall be grateful. Please see our account number or contact us through Facebook, Twitter or write to us through the address you see on our website.

Cultural evening

Donation

School photos

Go to Top