INTRODUCTION
GivHOPE Africa is registered under the Cameroonian Declaration of creation of 14, 2016 no. 0000322/RDA/J06/SAAJP/BAPP, revised on October 13, 2020 under no. 00001469/RDA/JO6/SAAJP/BAPP. It is also registered as a US Association (EIN 82-5187523) and IRS Code Section 501 (c) (3) which makes your donation to GivHOPE Africa tax-deductible. From the date of its independence in 1960 to date in 2022, the socio-economic and political situation of women in Cameroon has improved markedly following the ratification by the State of international conventions (Beijing declaration on the right of women of 1995, CEDAW…). This resulted in the updating of legislative instruments that incorporated supranational texts on gender parity and equality. Today, Cameroon is a country that is officially embarking on a policy resolutely focused on gender parity and equality. However, gender parity and equality as experienced in daily life are still far from being a reality in Cameroon. Women are victims of different gender-based violence and the spiral becomes hellish when it comes to poor women from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially in urban areas where women do not have access to land for agricultural work. The deployment of the GivHOPE Africa association in the field has made it possible to observe that poor women in slums have a low level of education due to lack of and/or under-schooling with the induced training effect which is : 1) the precocity of unions and maternity; 2) disordered pregnancies due to ignorance of the means of contraception and family planning; 3) the indigence that results from the precarious nature of women's informal economic activities, when they exist; 4) marginalization in civil life and citizenship (lack of birth certificate, identity card, voter card, etc.); 5) acceptance of male violence as a social norm. This state of affairs has the consequence of producing people, women in this case, second-class citizens, living on the margins of society. This sums up the problem that GivHOPE Arica intends to address. Cameroon's development policy is hampered by problems of insufficient budgetary resources and poor governance, which are the source of the unequal distribution of wealth and opportunities among citizens. The development of slums where the marginalized are crammed together in urban housing estates is a result that primarily affects women and young girls, victims of gender-based violence. GivHOPE Africa PURPOSE
GivHOPE Africa strives to meet the critical needs of women and girls who live in slums in the following area:
1. Education: A need that stems from poverty and the unequal access of girls and boys, women and men to formal education, vocational training and information;
2. Employment: A need that arises from lack of qualification and financial poverty to have economic capital to develop income-generating activities;
3. Access to information on sexual and reproductive health rights: A need that stems from ignorance and extreme poverty that leads women to turn to so-called traditional practices and medicine for sexual and reproductive health needs;
4. Information on civil, civic and political rights: Needs arising from women's ignorance/negligence of the need to attend women's reception centers (women's homes, etc.) The existence of a formal local reception framework dedicated to the emancipation of women. A need that arises from the absence of a reception-information structure dedicated to the emancipation of women inside the slums. Despite resources scarcity, GivHOPE Africa has achieved much with its meager means. ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Income-generating activities and empowerment of women and the elderly: Grants and interest-free loans to women to help them resume or start businesses (July 1, 2020 to date);
2. Capacity building through training, workshops and conferences in setting up bankable projects and financial management so that women assert themselves by being financially independent and taking ownership of their destinies. 15,500 women have been trained, from 2016 to date;
3. Health/education of single mothers and dropout girls. GivHOPE Africa fully supports these 2 targets. For single mothers sequestered in health centers and hospitals in Cameroon, GivHOPE pays the costs of their deliveries, gets them out and takes care of them and their children. 11 single mothers have benefited from our help since 2020 to date. GivHOPE also builds houses for those in dire need of shelters. As for school dropout girls, GivHOPE takes them from secondary education to university or vocational training institutes, 3550 girls have benefited since 2017 to date;
4. Financial assistance and interest free loans for women's micro projects including physically disabled women. GivHOPE Africa finances projects for poor/vulnerable women and those displaced from war zones, including the elderly women up to 500,000 CFA francs;
5. Awareness of targets on sexually transmitted diseases (STI, HIV/AIDS, etc.), food and clothing donations. In April 2020, GivHOPE organized a national, African and international food bank tour to offer food, clothing and sanitary donations to people affected by covid-19, in particular the elderly and homeless women. In Cameroon, more than 10,500 families were served. In Ivory Coast, fifty poor and elderly women received food donations and in the United States Atlanta Mission: Ending Homelessness that cares for homeless girls received tons of food from GivHOPE. DC Dream Center and Feed the Homeless Aid were also served in Washington, DC.;
6. 110 street children reunited with their families and the older ones undertook entrepreneurship or vocational training. Others were placed in the private sector or competitively in the public service. They are now found in several economic and professional sectors such as the police, artists, hairdressers, refrigeration mechanics, carpenters, visual arts, craftsman (sewing/mosaic), farmers, footballers and heavy-duty drivers on the Douala/Ndjamena/Bangui corridor from 2015 to date. In conclusion, GivHOPE wants to reduce to a lesser extent the negative impact of social, civil, economic, civic and political exclusion of women and girls through: The empowerment of economic and social status of women and girls from a perspective of sustainable development as follows; The response to: (1) Have an access to schooling, literacy and vocational training through financial aid, (2) The support towards formal employment and entrepreneurship via income generating activities, (3) The fight against gender-based and sexual violence, (4) The participation in public and political life as well as in peace processes and recognition of rights, and (5) An easy access to care and health. GivHOPE wants the voices of these socially excluded citizens of host countries from the “thing” of their city to be heard by making sure its actions on the ground aim at enabling these actors of change to deal with issues in favor of equality between women and men that integrate and bring something new in their lives. Please watch this video https://youtu.be/BKYJROVhu4A of gratitude from the persons who benefited from your assistance to see all the difference your multiform donation has been made in their lives. We thank all our current and future donors for their help and hope to still rely on them and the potential ones to help us continue the fight against social exclusion and extreme poverty among the poor and the vulnerable persons, including the physically disadvantaged persons. FYI 2022/2023 RESOLUTION: TO SUSTAIN THE 2021 ACHIEVEMENTS WITH MORE FOCUS ON GIRLS AND WOMEN (Single mothers, dropouts girls, the elderly, single breastfeeding girls, IDPs women, women with disability and HIV/AIDS) who find themselves at the intersection of several discriminations. There's a clear link between GivHOPE Africa assistance and its values which are the alleviation of extreme poverty and social exclusion of vulnerable girls and women from issues that impact their lives. Its portfolio comprises seven (07) projects as of December 2021 for a total amount estimated at more than 400,000.00 USD or 378,625.95 EURO. GivHOPE Africa also works closely with other sister organizations: In Cameroon, its works with the Community Resource Centre for the Disabled and the Disadvantaged (CRCDD) in Bamenda, the North-West, and Cameroon Youth Association (CAYA) in Bafoussam, the West, Bibliotheques Rurales in Meidougou, the Adamawa and Loum DIASPORA in the Littoral regions. In North America, DC Dream Center and Feed the People Mutual AID in Washington, DC and Atlanta Mission : Ending Homelessness and MASJID ASH SHURA in Atlanta within the framework of a project named "Partnering with National and International Sister Organizations". LOCATION: GivHOPE Africa work covers Africa and the North America: Cameroon (5 regions out 10), Cote-d’Ivoire (Abidjan) and the USA (Washington, DC Metropolitan area and Atlanta, GA). PARTNERS: The Governments of host countries, International Development Institutions, the private sector, CSO, the media, the academia, health facilities, the local entities and some sister organizations: In Cameroon, Community Resource Centre for the Disabled and the Disadvantaged (CRCDD) in the North-West and CAYA (Cameroon Youth Association) in the West regions, Bibliotheques Rurales in Meidougou, the Adamawa region and Loum DIASPORA in the Littoral region with the help of administrative authorities, traditional rulers and local communities. In North America, DC Dream Center and Feed the People Mutual AID in Washington, DC and Atlanta Mission: Ending Homelessness and Amir Faheed Masjid Ash Shura Ali Muwwakkil Center in Atlanta. SELECTION OF PARTNERS: Apart from the mandatory partners, our choice is often based on mutual understanding and cross-cutting priorities such as capacity building, empowerment of vulnerable groups and adherence to minimum living standards. The main cross-cutting priorities to be addressed under the project are: (i) Capacity building/employment; (ii) Women's empowerment for civil, civic and social inclusion; (iii) education/health/nutrition. GivHOPE Africa also aims at increasing partnership and solidarity amidst not-for-profit organizations and their communities. ACTIONS: Providing urgent solutions to the immediate needs of people and categories in distress (Dropouts girls, the elderly, single breastfeeding girls, IDPs women (Internally Displaced Persons), single mothers, women living with disability and/or HIV/AIDS, etc.) for example, training women on sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, civil, civic and political rights, leadership and socio-economic project management. OVERALL WORK STRUCTURE: GivHOPE strengthens the economic and social empowerment of women and girls in a perspective of sustainable development to: (i) Promote and assert their rights, via schooling/vocational training; (ii) Accompany them towards formal employment and entrepreneurship; (iii) Fight against sexist and sexual violence; (iv) Strengthen their participation in public, political life and peace process; and (v) Promote their access to care/health. In HEALTH: GivHOPE assists or/and sponsors single nursing moms during and after delivery and care to their children, including street kids and the elderly women. In EDUCATION: A need that stems from poverty and the unequal access of girls and boys, women and men, to formal education, vocational training and information;
In EMPLOYMENT: A need that arises from lack of qualification and financial poverty to have economic capital to develop income generating activities;
In ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RIGHTS: A need that stems from ignorance and extreme poverty that leads women to turn to so-called traditional practices and medicine for sexual and reproductive health;
In INFORMATION ON CIVIL, CIVIC AND POLITICAL RIGHTS: Needs arising from women's ignorance/negligence of the need to attend women's shelters (women's homes, etc.) to benefit from services involved in empowerment;
THE EXISTENCE OF A FORMAL LOCAL RECEPTION FRAMEWORK DEDICATED TO THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN: A need that arises from the absence of a reception-information structure dedicated to the emancipation of women inside the slums. OUR TEAM: A plural-disciplinary team of Board members, administrative and technical experts such as psychologists, social workers, MDs, Advisers, IT, Pastors, Accounters, NCR, Secretaries, Volunteers, etc. For the FYI 2023/2024, GivHOPE Africa intends to sustain and capitalize on its past achievements and strengthen its visibility at the national and international level by reinforcing current partnerships and forging new committed partnerships for social causes while maintaining the same target groups. For details please visit our website at GivHOPE Africa website at https://givhopeafrica.org/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Givhopeafrica or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-pieume-75406aa0/ or Tweeter at https://twitter.com/GivhopeA
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Prior to founding GivHOPE Africa, the Founder held positions at the World Bank Group, Cameroon Country Office as Program Associate and Strategic Communications Officer and at IOCS Computer Services, Inc. in Washington, DC as a Consultant in charge of training and IOCS-African Informatics in Cameroon in charge of Office Techniques and Public Relations. She also has previous private sector and diplomatic experience from the industry and Embassies. Hélène holds a Degree in Computer Sciences and Business Administration with Honors from Strayer University, Washington, DC. Country experience: France, USA, Cameroon, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Belgium, Senegal, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa. Make a donation at www.gihopeafrica.org or the Benevity website at https://mygoodness.benevity.org/community/cause/120-5727516196320_a018/p.... For details: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Givhopeafrica or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/helene-pieume-75406aa0 or Tweeter at https://twitter.com/GivhopeA
Last updated October 15, 2022.
