Since 2007, we have been carrying out development projects in Africa with partner organizations, the larger ones mainly in Cameroon. We support people who are particularly disadvantaged: women, children, people with disabilities, and displaced people – regardless of their origin or faith.
2007
Start of our projects in Africa
2
Partner organizations in Cameroon: ADDC and J2DC
250
More children at the school in Koufomloum after the new building
Many refugee journeys end in tragedy. That is why we want to help people build a future in their home countries – through education, vocational training, and counseling on the path to employment.
For us, development is a task for society as a whole. We therefore strengthen civil society on the ground and also invite people in Berlin to have a say on development issues.
Projects in this area
Tackling unemployment in Douala and Foumban
Sixty young people, including 25 women and 20 internally displaced people, were trained in modern small-livestock farming and feed production.
2024/25
Motorcycle mechanics training in Douala and Foumban
Sixty young people, 15 of them women, were trained as motorcycle mechanics. A campaign promoted greater road safety.
Sewing training for internally displaced women in Douala
Sixty women completed a ten-month sewing training program, and each received a sewing machine. The program also included language courses and career counseling.
Education and job opportunities for internally displaced people in the Noun department, Cameroon
In 2020, for internally displaced people: more places at a bilingual primary school, tailoring training, language courses, and counseling for young people.
Foumban
Health Is Everything
We cover surgery and hospital costs for people in great need in Foumban, funded by membership fees and donations.
Past projects in Cameroon and Togo
The hospital mosque in Foumban, the school building project in Koufomloum, the “L’avenir c’est ici!” counseling center, and “Water for All in Togo.”
How we work
Our projects are developed together with partners on the ground. Since 2008, we have been working with ADDC (Association pour le Développement Durable du Cameroun) in Foumban. The association has built six schools and a daycare center in the Noun department and runs a vocational school in Foumban.
Since 2022, we have also been carrying out joint projects with J2DC (Jeunesse pour le Développement Durable du Cameroun) from Douala.
Local ideas
Our partners develop ideas for new projects together with the people on the ground.
In their own hands
Our partners decide for themselves how the projects are carried out.
Supporting, not prescribing
We pass on resources and experience – we do not prescribe solutions. In doing so, we are deliberately mindful of the power imbalance that still lingers from the colonial era.
Project trips
Regular trips to Cameroon keep us in close contact with our partners.
How it all began
- Since 2007 Food donations, especially during Ramadan, in countries including Togo, Niger, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Ghana We also covered school fees and school supplies for children in need, and the cost of surgery for three young people in Niger and Cameroon.
- 2013 Expansion of the mosque next to the municipal hospital in Foumban With drinking water for the people in the surrounding area and a library for children and young people, it became a place of both spiritual and social significance.
- 2016–2017 Education became the focus: in Koufomloum, a village that is part of Foumban, a school building with two classrooms was built. For the following school year, around 650 children enrolled, 250 more than the year before.
- 2017 First prize in the “Engagement in Africa” category at the KENAKO Africa Festival in Berlin for the school project in Koufomloum
- 2017–2018 “L’avenir c’est ici! – The Future Is Here!” in Cameroon and Berlin With seminars on starting a business, awareness-raising, and counseling, we supported young people in the Noun department on their way to a secure livelihood. For this purpose, a counseling center for business start-ups, career guidance, and legal migration was set up in Foumban.
You can read more about this under our past projects in Cameroon and Togo.
At a glance
- Focus on Cameroon: Foumban in the Noun department, and Douala
- Funding for the most recent projects: Stiftung Nord-Süd-Brücken (North-South Bridges Foundation), with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
- “Health Is Everything”: funded by membership fees and donations