Our Sixth Community Project

(L,R) Théophile Sobngwi, executive director of RIDEV, with Program Director Paul Zangue.

It has been almost two years since members of the development committee of Baleveng first approached Breaking Ground with their plans for a water pump and reservoir. Community members currently wade into a small, muddy pool to fetch water, and the rate of water-related illnesses is alarmingly high. In 2011 alone there were 650 documented cases of water-related diseases in the area. Building a better water source is the first step to a healthier community, but we will also start an education program to teach community members how to safely treat their water.

Thanks to One Day's Wages and all our generous donors, we will begin work in the community of Baleveng almost immediately: We hope to break ground in February, as this will allow us to accomplish the majority of construction before the rainy season begins. We are able to move forward rapidly because before even presenting the project to our board for approval, let alone beginning the process of applying to One Day's Wages for financial support, we had already carefully assessed the community's commitment and readiness.

Though our work has branched out into capacity-building projects, it was working with communities like Baleveng -- communities that have already established their needs and taken steps to address them -- that was the original impetus behind Breaking Ground. Things like enthusiasm and engagement are not easily measured, but, working with our partner RIDEV, we have established criteria by which we assess a project. They include:

Need
Does the proposed project provide an effective and sustainable solution to a well-documented need?

Community Organization
What groups already exist in the community? What are their purposes, and what have they accomplished?

Project Inclusion
Will the proposed project meet the needs of all community members? Who has been present at the meetings when the proposed project was discussed and planned? Who spoke and voted at these meetings? Have the opinions of all groups (including youth, women, and the elderly) been taken into account by the community leaders?

Commitment
What has been done so far to ameliorate the problem? Despite lack of financial resources, what has the community done on its own? Has the community started saving money for the project, and/or are there plans for contributions (monetary or otherwise) from all members of the community? 

Over the course of 2011, Program Director Paul Zangue worked closely with Théophile Sobngwi, executive director of RIDEV and Breaking Ground board member, to answer all these questions in regards to Baleveng. They confirmed the project's grassroots foundation and profound importance within the community. Since then, while we have worked in the U.S. to raise funds with One Day's Wages, every member of Baleveng has contributed $6 to $12.

With all this preparatory work in place, it is now finally time to break ground on our sixth community project.

Welcome Back, Andrea!

Meet Andrea McNees, of Pleasanton, Calif., who recently worked in Tanzania. After being on leave, she is now back as a board member for Breaking Ground. She talked recently about her agriculture and development work in Tanzania, which are also key focus areas for Breaking Ground: 

Food sovereignty, income security, project sustainability. When I work in the developing world, I look for responsible organizations focusing on these values. Breaking Ground is one of them -- with its goal of improving Cameroonian living conditions without overwhelming local resources.

My interest in agriculture began in a city -- London -- at the height of Oxfam's fair trade campaign, and it drove me to work for an agricultural distribution company that had production regions across North and Central America. Here I also developed an interest in labor reform. After traveling through India and south-east Asia, I saw directly the needs of subsistence farmers in the developing world. So I began the international agricultural development master's program at the University of California, Davis, with a focus in conservation agriculture.

Between 2011 and 2012, I worked with 2Seeds Network to design and manage a development project in Kwakiliga, Tanzania, where I taught people small business skills and improved agricultural technologies for sunflower oil production. Having spent 11 months working closely with these remarkable farmers, whose high spirits directly contradicted their unfortunate life circumstances, serves as a daily reminder of how little separates us from people born into poverty.  

There is a Swahili proverb often used at farewells, which my own Tanzanian father used upon my departure from Tanzania:

Milima haikutani, bali wanadamu hukutana. (Mountains do not meet, but people meet). 

It is meant to lessen the sadness upon saying goodbye by instead celebrating the gift of having met, which I see as the very reason why I have dedicated my career to poverty reduction. People, connections, opportunities. It is for these reasons that I am fortunate to work with like-minded individuals at Breaking Ground who share this unique background in and dedication to development.

In the immediate future, I intend to continue my development work stateside and am fortunate to be a board member with Breaking Ground.

Peace Corps partnership strengthens Breaking Ground

Meet Jessica Veldman, a Peace Corps volunteer who worked with Breaking Ground in Cameroon for about a year and a half, from Jan. 2011 to July 2012. As one of many accomplishments, Jessica played a significant role in Breaking Ground's Women's Entrepreneurial Program in Dschang where she worked with Chymène, the course instructor, and Paul to develop the course. Thank you, Jessica!

How did you spend your time in Cameroon?

I was in Cameroon for 26 months as a community economic development Peace Corps volunteer. Basically I had the freedom to create my own schedule and work with whom I wanted. So I worked a lot with an orphanage in Dschang, a blind center, the prison, and a lot with Breaking Ground.

Describe your work with Breaking Ground.

In terms of teaching, I taught Chymene (the Breaking Ground business class formatrice) the business concepts that she in turn taught all the women in the business classes. I also developed and taught very basic business concepts to mainly illiterate women in the valley of the southwest region of Cameroon.

You taught others and must also have learned a lot yourself.

I learned a lot during the first few months of working with Breaking Ground in terms of how to work in Cameroon. I had to develop a manual on how to train illiterate women basic business concepts and find different games and tools to illustrate everything I said. I also learned a lot about Cameroon's culture. Paul Zangue, Breaking Ground's program director, helped me so much. He also helped me make connections, which was really important to me. I tried to stay away from actually teaching the business classes with GADD. I would go for support, but I mainly wanted Chymene to be able to teach on her own so that the program would carry on when I left.

What are you doing now that you're back in the U.S.?

I am currently getting an International MBA, concentrating on French. I'm also working my way through grad school as a graduate assistant. 

Do you think of Cameroon now that you're back?

I look back on my time in Cameroon quite often. I've only been gone for a couple months, so it's still very fresh in my mind. I think it was a very positive experience for me. I loved everyone I met. I loved the work I did. I highly recommend the Peace Corps to anyone. I am so grateful for the experience and feel as though I am a better person as a result of it.

Why do you think development work is important?

The reason I loved working with Breaking Ground was because the business classes were sustainable. The techniques the women learned made a huge impact on their business practices, which then influenced their own economic situation. The micro loans changed some of these women's lives. I saw firsthand what some of them were able to do with that money. More importantly, I saw their own sense of empowerment. Women in Cameroon usually take the back seat to men. However, during those classes, you could see that they felt more confident in themselves and understood that they could do so much if they wanted. It was amazing to see that change.

Matching grant to bring clean water!

In 2011, the community of Baleveng approached Breaking Ground with a potential project. After commissioning a number of health studies to understand why so many people in their community were sick and then losing a child who drowned while fetching water in their local spring, the community had collectively decided to build a water pump and reservoir. When we met Baleveng's Development Committee they had already raised $2000. Paul and I were immediately impressed by this level of commitment.

Over the last year Breaking Ground, along with our partner organization Research Institute for Development (RIDEV), has spent time in Baleveng assessing the community's commitment, democratic process and readiness to undertake a project of this scale. The more we have learned, the more enthusiastic we have become about working with this community. 

Which is why I am thrilled to announce our partnership with One Day's Wages, which will enable Breaking Ground and the community of Baleveng, to build an electric pump and water reservoir. Breaking Ground will also work with (RIDEV) and local health centers to organize an educational program that will teach basic hygiene as well as water treatment techniques to comprehensively maximize the impact of the project. This project will not only improve the community’s health but will build the community’s confidence to envision, organize and implement future development projects. 

As we prepare to launch this project, we asked women in Baleveng for their thoughts on the project and its importance for the health and safety of the community.

Thérèse Mada, 51 - "When we began raising money to build the well three years ago, we hoped we would be able to solve the problem quickly. But we realized we would need to raise money for at least seven years. But then we met with Breaking Ground, and they brought us hope that we would be able to complete the well".

 

Madeline Nintidem, 74 - “In order to have water we have to walk. It takes half a day to get 20 liters of water. I used to take my young son with me to help draw the water, but since a child drowned at the well I cannot take the risk anymore. In the dry season, I have to go days without washing. The small amount of water I am able to draw from the well is just enough for drinking and cooking. If we could have water in our community it would be such a wonderful thing for us".

Mabelle Nguedia, 20 - "I often have to get up at 2 A.M. to make sure I am able to draw water for the day. Also, in the village there are many cases of disease caused by microbes in the water. It’s a huge risk for everyone, but we don’t have a choice. You need water to cook, to wash; water is life".

Josephine Djedjeu, 65 - "One year there was cholera very close to here. All the neighboring villages draw water here too, and we were too afraid, because bringing contaminated water here could cause everyone to get sick. When you think about it, it is terrifying".

To contribute to bringing healthy water to Baleveng and changing the lives of women like Mabelle and Josephine, please visit our campaign at One Day's Wages and see how you can help. For every $1 we raise, One Day's Wages will contribute $1.50. Together we can make an impact on the health of Baleveng for generations to come. 

Drama & Insight: Breaking Ground's 2012 Summer Reading List

We have gathered together a selection of book recommendations from Breaking Ground staff and volunteers. They range from techinical economics texts to the story of a woman in Maine, but all pertain to Breaking Ground's mission. We hope you find something here to take with you on your travels, or to curl up with on the beach. 

King Leopold's Ghost

Author: Adam Hochschild

Recommended By: Alex

Not for the faint of heart, this book tells the story of the Belgian involvement in the Congo, documenting the ambition, deception and cruelty that surrounded colonial rule of Africa by various European countries. It is very readable--though difficult to stomach-- full of interesting characters, vivid descriptions, drama, scandal and insight.

When Rain Clouds Gather

Author: Bessie Head 

Recommended By: Gaetan

The book, which is fiction, tells the story of a South African apartheid refugee as he tries to establish a new life in a small community in Botswana. The book deals with many themes relating to agricultural development and, more specifically, the struggle to introduce "modern" farming techniques in a society rooted in tradition. Additionally, the book examines women's roles (and the power and potential women hold to create change), both in agriculture and society in general.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Author: Tracy Kidder 

Recommended By: Erin

This fantastic book traces the efforts of Paul Farmer to cure infectious diseases in Haiti. It is an outstanding account of the perseverance and commitment required for holistic development. A health care facility won't be successful if people don't have access to clean water or if people don't believe in the healing power of medicine. Farmer learns through his work that any significant change requires many smaller changes -- in education, sanitation, politics and policies.

Olive Kitteridge

Author: Elizabeth Strout 

Recommended By: Erin

Olive Kittridge tells the story of a retired and often grumpy teacher who lives in Crosby, Maine. The book is not about Africa or nonprofits or agriculture, but its message is one that relates to Breaking Ground's mission: we're all a community. Whether it's a small Maine town or the big world, everyone is connected. Goodwill should be shared.

Standing Again at Siani

Author: Judith Plaskow

Recommended by: Becca

As a religion major, I have read a lot of different articles and some books which relate gender to religion. From these different sources, I have gained an understanding of how important women's empowerment is. In this book, Plaskow addresses the complex gender dynamics within Judaism and how Judaism and other religions can be transformed so that women can be treated as equals to men once and for all. This book was great to read because it helped me understand how essential it is for women to attain the same rights and status as men, and it shows how being a religious person and a feminist is not a contradiction.

Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity

Author: Chandra Mohanty

Recommended By: Catherine

This is a fascinating read on feminist theory. It examines the complications of relationships between Western feminists and women in developing countries, focusing on the often-crossed line between supporting and empowering women and reinforcing colonial power structures. Mohanty offers numerous models for developing successful working relationships with women in the developing world without homogenizing cultures or falling back on paternalistic models. The engrossing case studies make the book a quick and interesting read, while still exploring transnational feminist theory in depth.

The Bottom Billion

Author: Paul Collier

Recommended By: Alex

If you are ready for a serious economics lesson and to really delve into the question of how aid and trade effect the lives of people in the "bottom billion," then this is a great place to start. Much of Collier's focus is on government policy which, though not a direct route of action for most people, is something important to understand as a responsible and involved citizen of a globalized world.

Poor Economics

Author: Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Recommended By: Alex

I already mentioned this in an earlier blog post about microfinance, but because it is so applicable, I will mention it again. It documents the work of two economists to try and measure the real impacts of various development projects and in the process covers many topics relevent to Breaking Ground's work, especially discussing the importance of democratic community involvement. If you ever feel overwhelmed by the scale of global poverty and wonder if small projects can really make a difference, this is the book to lift your spirits--but with hard facts not empty platitudes.