Meet Breaking Ground's Summer Interns!

This summer, four enthusiastic young women have joined the Breaking Ground team as summer interns. They are working on a variety of outreach projects while learning what it takes to run a non-profit. Tointroduce you to them, we asked them each some questions about their work with the organization, their future plans, and what they’re looking forward to this summer!

Name: Brittney Norton

School: University of Maine at Farmington

Hometown: Limerick, ME

What really drew me to Breaking Ground was how different it was than most NGOs. Rather than just donating money, Breaking Ground gives Cameroonians the resources they need to create a better future for themselves. I am really excited to see how the events turn out, especially our Yogathon! After I graduate I plan to continue studying abroad, go to graduate school, and hopefully join the Peace Corps. 

My favorite thing about summer is going kayaking! I have always lived on the water, so there is no place I feel more at home.  It is also one of the most peaceful places on Earth for me, especially at sunrise or sunset.

Name: Gaetan Davis 

School: Smith College

Hometown: Brunswick Maine

As an Anthropology/African Studies major, I am very interested in learning about issues related to development in Africa. I was attracted to Breaking Ground because of their firm commitment to grassroots development, an approach that I believe fosters sustainable development, so I'm excited to have the opportunity to observe the inner workings of an NGO!

I will be studying abroad all of next year in Florence, Italy. Ideally, I would love to go to graduate school for international development. In the meantime though, I hope to continue enjoying my absolute favorite summer tradition of going to Popham Beach in Phippsburg, ME. Every summer my family and I spend the majority of our sunny Saturdays combing the beach for sand dollars and trying to swim in the freezing water. A perfect beach day always ends with a barbecue! 

Name: Becca Manning

School: Colorado College

Hometown: Cape Elizabeth, Maine

I wanted to intern with Breaking Ground so that I could really try to make a difference in Cameroonian communities. I was really drawn to the goal of empowering theses communities with resources so they will be able to achieve lasting solutions to many pressing issues, such as improving water sources and improving conditions at births so that the women and children can avoid complications. I've taken many Feminist and Gender studies classes at Colorado College, and gender issues are really important and interesting to me. I'm excited to see how Breaking Ground addresses these issues, and to see in what ways I can help this cause.

I will hopefully be studying abroad in Chile next spring, and hope to work for a non-profit after I graduate. My favorite summer tradition is going to a friend's lake house on Ossipee Lake with other friends. It's so much fun to have nothing to worry about and just relax by the lake with friends and family!

Name: Catherine Schetina

School: Scripps College

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA 

I wanted to intern with Breaking Ground because I really admire their unique, community based approach to international development. I am studying Women in Religion, and am interested in working in international women’s empowerment, so this seemed like a great opportunity to see how that would work in practice. 

In addition to Women in Religion, I am majoring in American Literature and will be studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh next semester. After, I graduate I hope to get a dual degree in Law and Public Policy and work for the state department as a consultant on women’s rights in the Middle East. For now though, I plan to learn all I can about the ins and outs of running a non-profit and to enjoy my favorite summer tradition of traveling with my family and getting to spend time with my brothers, who I don’t see very much when I’m away at school.

The Building Blocks of Breaking Ground

Students of School for International Study in Spring 2004.

Lindsay Clarke, Sarah Oxford, and I met while studying abroad on SIT’s program in Cameroon during the spring of 2004. After the semester was over, we knew that we wanted to return to Cameroon and contribute to the communities that had welcomed us so openly.

The lessons we learned and the friendships we made during that semester have contributed to building Breaking Ground from a set of dreams and good intentions to a committed, efficient, and effective nonprofit organization that has made a tangible difference in the lives of more than 35,000 Cameroonians.

During our program with SIT, we were introduced to a vast array of development strategies through the program’s curriculum; the strategies ranged from those employed by Peace Corps volunteers to those commonly used by large international nonprofits. In building Breaking Ground, we tried to take the best aspects of all these different approaches.

Even more influential than the classroom curriculum, was the program’s focus on homestays and independent research. As students, we were encouraged to integrate into the community, go out on a limb, and be open to new connections. The program’s emphasis on listening, respect, and relationship-building fostered genuine connections and directly influenced Breaking Ground’s mission and working methods.

The defining principle of Breaking Ground is that Cameroonians know best what they need and that it is not our place to come in with unilateral solutions. Breaking Ground partners with Cameroonians to achieve lasting solutions to their self-identified needs by investing in local knowledge, empowering women, and promoting economic development. We spend time with community members, earning their trust, learning about their struggles, and providing a forum for them to accomplish their goals.

Alex speaking with participants in Folepi in June 2011.

To date, we have partnered with seven different communities on a wide range of construction projects, including a bridge over the Menouet River and a preschool in the village of Keuleng. We are currently fundraising for a water pump for the community of Baleveng.

In addition to community projects, Breaking Ground also runs capacity building programs. Our Women’s Entrepreneurial Program in Dschang teaches women basic business skills and provides access to low-interest loans to begin or expand women-owned businesses.  In the southwest region, we are in the pilot stages of a multi-faceted program to strengthen local revenue through palm oil and cocoa production.

Breaking Ground’s organizational focus on women’s empowerment is a direct result of having spent hours huddled over hot fires helping our host mothers prepare couscous and gumbo, watching these strong and loving women toil tirelessly to nourish their extended families on a bare-bones budget.

SIT fostered in us an enduring respect and affection for the people and culture of Cameroon at the same time as it exposed us to the complexities and struggles of working in development. It is clear from the number of SIT alumni who contact us asking to help—to donate, fundraise, or volunteer their time—that our experience is not unique, and that SIT Cameroon inspires in its students a responsible and heartfelt engagement with development, long after the semester is over.

By Alex Moore, alumna of SIT’s Cameroon: Social Pluralism and Development program
Executive Director, Breaking Ground

Paul's Reflections, a Year Into the Program

 Jessica, Chymene and Paul at the business of Therese Tonfack Dongmo.

In Cameroon, women have historically been very active in generating income through activities such as sewing, agriculture, "bayam sellam" (those who buy and resell), running small shops, hair dressing and more. Because of a lack of education and access to finances, these activities have generally remained small-scale, providing a very minimal income.

Women were especially recognized for their contribution to small and medium enterprises in the 1980s when Cameroon faced a severe economic crisis and many men lost their jobs or had their wages reduced. In many families, survival depended upon the women's extraordinary ability to capture any opportunity in the informal sector. 

It is in this context that Breaking Ground launched the Women's Entrepreneurial Program to teach women how to manage businesses and to provide them with access to reduced financing rates on loans. So far, more than 55 women in Dschang have been trained, and 32 have received loans.

To ensure sustainability, we have joined with private partners to provide micro financing. We charge 5 percent interest, compared to the 12 to 18 percent charged by banks. We also want to avoid leading recipients into a cycle of debt. That's why we examine every proposed enterprise's potential profitability, debt load and risk. We want women to better manage the money they have and develop their line of credit. Also, as grantees pay back their loans, the money is used in a cycle to continue financing other women's business projects.

Our partner non-profits and micro-finance groups play very important roles in the program. In the beginning, Breaking Ground and local partner NGOs establish the relationship between women entrepreneurs and the financial institution. But later, once women have successfully paid back their loan, they will work directly with the bank to possibly obtain another loan if needed. We hope the women will use the confidence they gained in the Women's Entrepreneurial Program, plus their enhanced credit record, to obtain the second loan.

We conduct visits with the women after the program ends, and so far we have observed that all the women, including the ones that did not receive funding, are building on the lessons learned in the program. One year after the launch of the program in Dschang, women appear to have a great enthusiasm for it, and other cities have asked for the program to be expanded. In six months we will thoroughly assess this program and study the direct impacts it has had on the community.

By: Paul Zangue, Program Director
Translated from the original French 

Celebrating International Women's Day: Support for Female Entrepreneurs

Today in Dschang, the women from our entrepreneurial program will be proudly marching together, in celebration of International Women’s Day. I was excited to learn that the women had decided to march, because it exemplifies the spirit of mutual support and collective confidence building that are some of our program’s underlying objectives. Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting a number of the participants with Chymène, the class instructor, and saw firsthand the bond that has developed between the instructor and her students, and her pride at their success.  

Many of the participants in the course only had a minimal amount of formal education, and are unused to the formality of tests and homework. Chymène is patient with the women and carefully goes over each week’s work, ensuring that all the women understand each lesson. The section of the curriculum which is most difficult for many is accounting and Chymène was particularly proud to show me the women who now carefully record their daily income and expenses in their books.

When I asked the women what had been the most difficult aspect of the course, almost all agreed that the real challenge was not the class work, but putting that theoretical knowledge into practical use in their own businesses, and that they were grateful for the continual support and advice that Chymène provides. Chymène meets each woman at least once a month to go over their accounts and discuss any growing pains the business may be experiencing. Above, she is at the store of Justine Ndjanbong, watching as students come to purchase food on their way home from school.

So far 55 women have graduated from the class, and registration is under way for the next session. Of the women who have graduated, 16 received loans in September and 16 more are in the process of opening accounts. I hope that, as the program continues, these successful entrepreneurs will become mentors for young women in Dschang looking to start businesses, providing a vision of financial competence and independence, as well as guiding young women through the difficult first steps of launching an entreprise.

Members of Breaking Ground's Women's Entrepreneurial Program marched Thursday, March 8, in Dschang to celebrate International Women's Day.

Collaboration for long term success

Last week in Cameroon, Paul participated in the first ever Lebialem Platform on Conservation and Sustainable Development (LPCD). This meeting, which we sponsored with our partner EruDEF, brought together organizations working in the Lebialem Valley.  The goal of this cooperative platform is to open communication, share skills and encourage complementary approaches. This was the first step on a long road to collaborative action, but it exemplifies Breaking Ground’s emphasis on developing partnerships with local nonprofits to ensure the sustainability of our work.

Sustainability is a buzzword that has been overused in its promotion of new consumer goods. But when we at Breaking Ground discuss sustainability, we are generally referring to the ability of our work to endure. Sustainability, like empowerment, is central to our work.

We believe that sustainable projects grow organically over time and have community wide support. Sustainable projects use local materials and technology, and they involve working with communities to ensure that there is a management committee or maintenance plan.

We ensure sustainability by training Cameroonians such as Chymène, our Women's Entrepreneurial Program (WEP) instructor in Dschang. We also work side by side with organizations like GADD, which already manages the day-to-day administration of the WEP, so the program will ultimately run independently of our oversight. The WEP is designed so that, after three or four years, the loan aspect of the program will be financially independent, able to continue providing loans to female entrepreneurs without further investment from us.

Though environmental sustainability is not our primary focus, we partnered with EruDEF as we began working in the Lebialem Valley, in order to ensure that our agricultural programs are done responsibly and complement the work of organizations that are striving for conservation in the region. Likewise, EruDEF understands that if conservation comes at the price of local livelihoods, or is seen as being indifferent to the needs of the communities who live on the outskirts of the resource-rich forest, then their conservation efforts will not be supported by those communities and will not endure in the long term.

It is our collective challenge to improve the quality of life of the people of Folepi, Nkong, and the neighboring communities, while also protecting an area of unparalleled biodiversity. How is this possible? By supporting small-scale and diversified farming practices that use already cultivated land, by ensuring that the boundaries of new conservation areas take into account the existing fields and homes of community members, and by providing access to processing equipment which increases the value of existing crops.

The importance of viewing ecological conservation and economic development as complimentary goals, is the focus of Man & Nature, who provided the $10,000 grant to support our nurseries. It is with these goals in mind, that Breaking Ground sponsored last weeks LPCD meeting and will continue to foster open dialogue.

Having opened this post with a photo of collaboration at the administrative level, I want to close with a photo of women working together in Folepi, which exemplifies the spirit of cooperation that permeates all levels of our work and will ultimately ensure the long term effectiveness of our programs.