Breaking Ground welcomes a new executive director

We are delighted to introduce our new executive director, Kierstyn Hunter, who comes to us with an impressive background in social work and nonprofit development. Through her previous work, education, and volunteering, she has shown a commendable commitment to sustainability and social justice -- values essential to Breaking Ground’s mission.

Kierstyn began traveling internationally at the age of 6 and is currently earning her doctorate in sustainability education from Prescott College. She most recently worked as a consultant for nonprofits in Seattle, W.A. and Portsmouth, N.H.

At the same time, she worked as a residential manager for a housing and homeless shelter in New Hampshire called New Generation Inc., where she provided case management for pregnant or newly parenting women. Previously, she served in the same organization's health outreach program as coordinator and redesigned the prenatal, parenting education, and women’s health program, while providing grant support to the development director.

Between 2007 and 2009, she helped establish a nonprofit in Seattle called iLEAP: The Center for Critical Service, which runs a fellowship program for international leaders from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. She also served as a program assistant with VISTA at Antioch University in Seattle. There, she was part of a team that secured $6 million in federal funding for a partnership between the university and a Native American tribe to address substance abuse issues with native youth. 

Kierstyn holds a bachelor’s degree in global studies from Long Island University and a master’s degree in whole systems design from Antioch University's Center for Creative Change.

In addition to being a kind, thoughtful leader, she is not afraid to challenge herself in her work and personal life. She is a long-distance runner and bicyclist, has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, SeacoastLocal, and Eco-Movement/Zero Waste, and previously served as an HIV/AIDS and peer education intern in North Carolina.

In the coming weeks. Kierstyn will be working with Alex and Paul in Cameroon and getting to know our operations and staff there. Please give a warm welcome to Kierstyn!

State of the Union

This June, Breaking Ground is the featured program of Dining for Women, a dinner circle that aims to empower women and girls through collective giving. Over the course of the month, chapters around the country will meet to share a meal, learn about our work in Cameroon, and make donations to support Breaking Ground's Women's Empowerment Program in the Lebialem Valley.

Breaking Ground was founded with a vision of creating concrete change through connecting communities across cultures, so I look forward to sharing stories about Cameroon and our work with the Dining for Women members.

In preparation for the month, one Dining for Women chapter leader asked me to summarize Breaking Ground's current position. As we are yet to finish our Annual Report for 2012, here is an abbreviated, “state of the union” for Breaking Ground in June of 2013.

Current projects:

We have three main activities underway: the Women’s Entrepreneurial Program in Dschang, the Baleveng Water Project, and the Investing in Agriculture program in the villages of Bechati, Bangang, Folepi, Nkong, and Lewoh, which includes a Women’s Entrepreneurial Program especially designed to meet the needs of an agricultural population. The funds raised by Dining for Women this month will all go towards this second Women’s Entrepreneurial Program in the southwest.

Colette Kopa, one of our loan recipients, in the doorway of her tailor shop

The Baleveng Water Project is well underway, and we hope the construction element will be completed in June. To learn more about the importance of this project, please read our quotes from women of the community and to see current progress, please visit the project's flickr album.

Success stories:

In 2008 Breaking Ground partnered with the F4 communities to build the Menuet River Bridge. This March these communities gathered together to complete maintenance of the road leading to the bridge. It is wonderful to see the bridge that we built being so well taken care of and to see all members of the community involved. This continued engagement and community spirit is a perfect example of why we partnered with these villages in the first place and why we emphasize the importance of community-initiated projects.

The F4 communities working together to maintain the road 

Last month, in collaboration with the Research Institute for Development (RIDEV), we hosted our first leadership training workshop in the southwest valley. Forty people from five different villages showed up for the day-long seminar. More than three years ago, Breaking Ground and RIDEV had the idea that RIDEV’s capacity-building experience could be combined with our financing and project management resources to provide a holistic community development approach. It is very satisfying to see that seed of an idea come to fruition, and I hope it is just the beginning.

Our first leadership workshop

Challenges:

As we grow our programs, we are also growing the infrastructure to support those programs. In June we are welcoming a new, full-time executive director. This will increase our fundraising capacity and make sure that all our programs have the careful oversight and evaluation that they need to deliver measurable results. Additionally, over the last year we completed the long and arduous process of becoming officially registered in Cameroon. This will enable us to partner more widely in Cameroon and increase our visibility. It also means that now, in addition to the salaries, office space, and utilities that we already paid each year, we must pay taxes in Cameroon.

Looking forward:

Over the coming months, we intend to carry out a full evaluation of our Women’s Entrepreneurial Program in Dschang. Now in its third year, this program has been very popular in Dschang, and we hope to replicate the model in other cities soon.

Amuse Bouche: Fusing Arts and Activism

On International Women's Day, the entrepreneurs of Breaking Ground's Women's Entrepreneurial Program (WEP) marched proudly in Dschang. In Cameroon, this holiday is celebrated much more widely and publicaly than in the states and the women we spoke to this year emphasized the importance of solidarity. As articulated by Colette Tchagna, a tailor who received funding from Breaking Ground: "It is important to strengthen the relationships between women; this day creates the opportunity to make new friends and meet new colleagues."

"It is a day for trying to resolve the problems facing women, but also a day for displaying our know-how" said Vivienne Anezi, another recent WEP graduate. In line with this spirit of collaboration and celebration of skill, Breaking Ground celebrated International Women's Day in Brooklyn with Amuse Bouche a variety benefit show that showcased some of the hottest talent in New York's diverse performance communities and raised money for the WEP.

Summer Lacy performs In The Red

Like every Breaking Ground endeavour, this event succeeded thanks to the commitment and teamwork of many generous individuals: Angela Buccini of The Muse, Madeline Hoak of Upsidown Productions, Kiebpoli Calnek of Black*Acrobat and of course all of the talented performers.

Kiebpoli Calnek said this about the event:

Women throughout the world have been marginalized through economic, social, and political means to a detrimental effect on society as a whole. To unite over a common goal on International Women's Day with a non-profit organization that provides leadership and business skills to women is congruous to Black*Acrobat’s mission of fusing arts and activism. In Amuse Bouche, Black*Acrobat showcased black artists through hosting, spoken word, opera, beat rhyming, aerial, and production. 

The event prominently featured works by black, queer, and female artists. During the course of the evening I was captivated by the spoken word of Charan P. Morris, seduced by Sweet Lorraine, and awed by the aerial grace of Summer Lacy. I laughed at Hanna Mandelbaum's hilarious Worlds Weirdest Dog Food Commercial and was moved by Heather Hammond's beautiful tribute to her wife's triumphant battle with cancer. All of the performers impressed and amazed the packed house. To experience some of the evening for yourself, please visit Breaking Ground's  flickr page.

Amuse Bouche raised just under $1000 for our programs. I hope that this is the first of many events with these companies and similarly motivated arts organizations, celebrating our collective skills and collaborating to effect real change in Cameroon as well as provide a platform for progressive and exciting performance. 

We're Hiring!

Seven years ago this week, I celebrated my first Fête de la Jeunesse (Youth Day) in Cameroon. Just weeks before, I’d been warmly welcomed by the teachers, students, and parents of Doumbouo, the community where I had come to volunteer as an English teacher. Breaking Ground emerged out of the time I spent in Doumbouo, through the community’s commitment to education, their spirit of entrepreneurship, and their fierce determination. (You can read the full story here.) Current Executive Director Alex Moore joined me there in the year of our founding. She taught 50-year-old school teachers and 12-year-old girls to hold paint brushes for the first time and directed the painting of educational murals in the school’s newly refurbished classrooms.

Four years into our work in Cameroon, when the time came for me to pass on the reins of Breaking Ground’s leadership, Alex took charge. During her tenure as Executive Director, she has helped transform Breaking Ground from a young, emerging entity into a mature and successful organization. Among her many accomplishments, she has reformed and expanded our women’s entrepreneurial program, forged strategic partnerships with local and international organizations, and secured grants from a half dozen foundations. She did all this, and more, while working just 20 hours per week for Breaking Ground.

After nearly three years of dedicated service as our Executive Director, the time has come for Alex to pursue more fully her career as an artist, writer, and educator. Thanks to her successes in fundraising and program development, her departure finds us as an organization ready for a change, too. With two full-time employees in Cameroon, a robust set of programs, and a demanding fundraising and grant-writing portfolio, Breaking Ground’s Board of Directors has decided to invest in the hiring of a full-time Executive Director. We look forward to harnessing the energy, new ideas, and talent of new leadership—and we will be forever grateful for the passion and commitment Alex has poured into our work these past few years.

Please help spread the word about this important opening, and feel free to contact me should you have any questions about the position, our transition, or our programs.
Sincerely,

Lindsay Clarke
Founder, Chair of the Board of Directors

Cameroonian Recipes

Bring a taste of Cameroon and West Africa into your kitchen with these recipes! They are a delicious way to mix up your dinner routine. 

Cameroon is an ethnically and geographically diverse country and the country's cuisine reflects this diversity. Over the next couple of weeks we will be adding a selection of Cameroonian recipes to our blog. First up, a basic tomato stew with rice, fried plantains and pili pili sauce.

TOMATO STEW

Ingredients
8-10 big tomatoes, chopped                                                    
1 large onion, chopped
½ - 1 cup vegetable oil 
fresh hot pepper (to taste)
1 Tbsp ground ginger 
3 cloves garlic 
1 tsp salt 
2 bullion cubes
1 Tbsp tomato paste

Saute onion in 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a large pot. Add the chopped tomatoes and the rest of the oil and salt. Add the other ingredients. Cook for at least half an hour, and serve over rice or with fried plantains.

You may think you're adding too much oil, but it should be oily.

Tomato stew served over rice, with fried plantains.

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FRIED PLANTAINS                                    

Ingredients
very ripe plantains                                                                 
oil 

Peel plantains and slice lengthwise, or at a diagonal. Heat oil in a skillet. Place slices in hot oil (they should be covered). Turn once for even cooking. When golden brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Optional: sprinkle with a little salt. Let cool before eating. Serve with pili.

Use very ripe plantains; they will be black. The plantain shown here with just a little green isn't ripe enough. 

The plantains should be cooked in enough vegetable oil to cover them.

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PILI PILI

This spicy tomato condiment goes well with fried plantains or fries.

Ingredients
2 cups chopped tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c onion, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped habanero

Mix all ingredients together and blend. Store in a covered jar in refrigerator. Serve cold.

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