"Educating
a woman is educating a nation". This is the saying that affirms for
NCCWEDT the necessity for empowerment of women in society through their
economic development in order to fight poverty and improve the
socio-economic conditions of women and youth. NCCWEDT believes that
age, education and experience do not automatically prevent them from
entering the economic mainstream through productive economic activities
and entrepreneurship. Confidence building is an added factor in such
undertaking that helps women to transcend the prevalent social barriers.
NCCWEDT sets itself as goals:
- to
create and develop a culture of entrepreneurship and income generating
activities among women and youth who have drooped out from school;
- To empower women through education, vocational training and gender issue awareness;
- To create a revolving loan fund for women for income generating activities;
- To improve the living conditions of the rural and urban poorest women and youth through an integrated approach;
- To provide career guidance and information on self-employment and self-reliance;
- To counsel women and families on matters relating to responsible parenthood education and family planning
- To educate and counsel women on health issues, particularly on AIDS and STD;
- To sensitize and educate women, in particular the adolescents, on issues relevant to alcohol and drug abuse;
- To carry out programs on environmental issues and protection;
From
its inception, NCCWEDT has given training to women in small enterprise
development. Its first unit, Small Enterprise Development Training,
exists until today and has trained more than 3000 women in 12 organized
urban and rural women groups. Screen Printing, Tie and Dye, Tailoring
and hair Dressing units were opened. NCCWEDT developed its own modules
for Entrepreneurship Development Training Programs that are now
considered to be among the best in the country.
Despite the
investment in the training of the women, most of them could not employ
their skills due to lack of capital to go operational. Therefore,
NCCWEDT added a micro-credit program through a revolving loan fund to
assist women in establishing their businesses and income generating
projects. Because it believes that a good business activity without
savings or investment does not ensure sustainability at the grassroots
level, it has also set up a savings scheme for its members to encourage
them to build up a small capital to be able to expand their activities.
The
NCCWEDT program has further grown out to also include a training
program for field workers on entrepreneurship and on project and credit
management to accompany and follow-up the women in their
entrepreneurial efforts and to improve the overall success of the
revolving loan funds programs. It has established a center in the
English-speaking South-West Province as well as in the capital Yaoundé.
NCCWEDT
provides regular hands-on training and tech-transfer on skills in
sewing, fabric imprints and food processing and preservation. It also
has established a much solicited computer training unit. Other
activities of NCCWEDT include a walk-in and more intensive one-on-one
business counseling in its center as well as during workshops, seminars
and awareness programs. NCCWEDT has just recently started demonstration
farms for kitchen garden projects. Following request from women's
groups it is looking to replicate and expand its programs to other
parts of Cameroon
NCCWEDT is further involved in policy advocacy
for women entrepreneurs. Research studies on issues related to women
entrepreneurship development, market surveys and feasibility studies
play an important role in the further development of the program. In
the future NCCWEDT hopes to organize programs for its staff and clients
on micro-business financing, training of trainers for women economic
empowerment, training of trainers for gender and development, and on
women as agents in the process of democratization in Cameroon.
NCCWEDT
founder and President, Mrs. Cecilia Fomenky, was from 2001-1004 the
President of RELUFA's Board of Directors.
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Taking out a small loan to start up a tailoring business
Grating cassava to make gari as income generating group activity
Frying gari
Women group and their mandarin nursery as income generating group activity
Making fish rolls to provide for the family
Marketing it as "imported fishrolls" makes the product appear more attractive
Bridging the technpological gap by offering computer courses
Dying cloths to make a living
Admiring the art of dying |
