1. What is the actual local situation you are addressing?

Bafmeng is one of the villages in the North West Region of Cameroon with a high rate of unemployment. Over 50% of the children neither complete primary school nor learn a trade that could make them self-reliant.

Common forms of special skills are Tailoring and Hairdressing. Not only do children lack the means to undergo training, those that complete training lack the means to set up business of their own.

Statistics show that over 60 girls are willing to learn a trade while 20 have skills (tailors and hairdressers) but neither own a workshop nor are employed by others. These result in high rate of unemployment, rural exodus, social exploitation and involvement in acts like prostitution and banditry.

Those that succeed in creating workshops choose unattractive sites which make working conditions uncomfortable for trainees and even results in low demand in the market.

So far, we have sponsored eight (8) children (4 in tailoring/designing and 4 in hairdressing) in one of our projects, “Sponsor Orphans”. We are therefore preparing them as trainers in the Multipurpose Training Centre.

Despite evolution in information technology, over 90% of the community is still ignorant as regards computing. Hence the need for a computer department in this training centre.

2. What has led you (or the organisation) to start the project?

In Project Management, one project can inspire or necessitate the initiation of another. This is the case with our “Training Centre”. In one of our projects, “Sponsor Orphans”, we sponsored children in tailoring and hairdressing. When we thought of what would become of them when they complete training, the idea of creating our own training centre was conceived.

Not only is this centre going to reduce the rate of unemployment, it will also serve as a source of revenue to ensure the continuity of the project and other projects, without much reliance on grant donors. In other words, the project is very sustainable and this reduces future risk factors.

3. What do you want to achieve?

The goal of this project is to provide productive employment and skill-acquiring opportunities to young people, especially girls, in the rural area.

The main objectives are:

• Letting the less privileged acquire skills in order to have a focus for the future;
• Initiating the youth into self-reliant and income-generating activities that will reduce the rate of unemployment and poverty/hunger;
• Empowering the girl child so as to solve the social problem of gender inequality;
• Providing immediate employment to the youth.

The project entails the creation of a Multi-purpose Centre with the following departments: tailoring, hairdressing, information and computer technology (ICT), decoration/designing, cookery. The centre will recruit some of those who have acquired skills in these domains but have no means to set up business of their own, and those who have the zeal to acquire the skills but cannot afford to pay for the training.

If our dreams come true, then by 2015 we will have many young people engaged in income generating activities.

4. How are you going to achieve it?

To achieve these objectives, a project plan divided into phases will be a good guide to success.

• Preparatory phase: sensitisation of the community, training of project facilitators, identification of appropriate site, sampling of market price situation, choice of equipment, contacting of potential sponsors.
• Project start-up: selection of beneficiaries, recruitment of trainers, purchase and installation of equipment, inauguration of centre and training proper.
• Realisation (monitoring/evaluation): regular assessment of trainers/trainees, regular reporting (to sponsors and other participants) on the progress of the project, project review, corrective measures, evaluation and requests/propositions.

5. What is your long term vision for the project?

Besides creating a training centre, the project entails using the kills of those who had earlier benefited from sponsorship from ASDRP, to train other aspirants. It is obvious that this training centre is a gateway to future employment opportunities.

In the long run, the following changes will be brought about:

• Increase in employment;
• Increased level of self-reliance;
• Reduced crime wave;
• Reduced awareness among the youth and parents;
• Increase in income in the homes of the beneficiaries;
• Reduced rate of banditry and prostitution;
• Reduced rate of rural exodus;
• Making school drop-outs to have a sense of belonging in the society
dismissing the feeling of inferiority complex;
• Increase in economic activities in the community;
• Reduced burden of support on the part of grant donors.

Also of importance, is the fact that the results of the project will be a starting point for other ongoing and future projects.

6. How is your idea/project going to benefit the community or the situation?

The benefits of the community from this project can be divided into the following:

• Direct beneficiaries: occupation to school drop-outs and jobless youth; support to orphans, handicapped children and children from very poor families.
• Indirect beneficiaries: parents and families of beneficiaries (hope for a brighter future); landlords have their revenue increased by the rents paid for the house serving as centre; technicians (carpenters, painters, builders, designers) benefit from paid contracts like rehabilitation works, sign board design etc; transport agents (vehicle owners, motor bike riders) are paid for transporting the project team and equipment.
• The entire community: The project will increase economic activities in the community. The training centre will be a source of attraction for people of other local communities and even foreigners thereby projecting the image of the community both at national and international levels.

7. Which results do you expect?

It is envisaged that by the year 2015, more and more youth would have acquired vocational training that will enable them to gain employment or set up business on their own and even employ others. If all the over sixteen (16) beneficiaries successfully complete training, and everything being equal, at least 90% (13) of them will be willing to open up workshops of their own. This will increase the number of workshops in the community by say 10%, hence employment opportunities.

With support to include a computer department in this centre, we hope to have the pioneer documentation centre (typing, editing, printing, photocopying, book binding etc) in the community. This will reduce the cost of these services by over 50% as people will no longer move to neighbouring towns like Fundong and Wum (incurring transportation cost).

Without knowledge of computer, the villagers are not abreast with modern office facilities. Some school authorities still use typing machines or send their office work to be typed in towns, which return with a lot of regrettable mistakes and sometimes school exams are delayed because of this. With computer services in place, the cost of documentation in schools and uncertainty can be greatly reduced.

8. How can you measure those results (quantifying)?

These results can be measured by tracking data before, during and after the project. This entails designing an evaluation information sheet intended to answer the following questions:

• How many young people have acquired skills through this project?
• How many of them have opened up workshops of their own?
• How many of them have been retained to work for the project?
• How many of them have been employed by other workshops?
• Compare unemployment situation before and after the project. Then deduce to what extent the problem has been improved upon.
• Compare unskilled labour before and after the project. Then deduce evolution in labour quality.
• How many workshops have added in the market after the project? Deduce increase in job opportunities.
• How many people are computer literate? Before project? After project?
• How many people need computer services?

The answers to these questions will indicate whether the expectations have been reached or not, and corrective measures taken.

9. Communication, visits and feedback

How often will you be able to inform about progress and developments?
We will be able to inform about progress and developments on a monthly basis.

Who is the person responsible for communication?
Project Coordinator - Kuma Paul Teh

When is the best time in the day/week for participants to contact you?
In the afternoon

What is the best way to communicate (email, skype or other)?
By Email

Do you accept participants visiting the project?
Yes

How many per year?
Three (3) or more depending on the sponsors.

Which it is the best time?
July-August, December, March-April.

Any requirements for visitors?
Thick (woollen) dresses, rain coats, shoes adapted to rural environment.

Are you planning to participate in any event(s) in the next year?
Yes, Christmas celebration with the less privileged: every December.

10. What do you expect from the Uniting People community?

• Technical, material, intellectual and moral support;
• Continue to portray our association’s image to other potential sponsors;
• Recommend our projects to other organisations;
• Work in partnership with us and let us discover more skills in foreign events e.g. invite us at international seminars.

Paul Teh Kuma

Team Leader

Project Team

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Project Participants

The following are UP members who have donated or supported this project.

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