The Impact of the Work of SUSTAIN Cameroon
SUSTAIN Cameroon is a grassroots nonprofit organization, based and operating in the North West Region of Cameroon. SUSTAIN has as an overarching goal to contribute to end all forms of harmful practices that perpetrate violence against women and children. They include though not limited to child early and forced marriages, child sexual exploitation and abuse, gender based violence, modern slavery and human trafficking.
Sustain Cameroon’s strategy is rooted in the heart of difficult to access communities, initiating collaboration with existing community and faith based organizations to implement its projects. These communities with limited access to social amenities and services have perennially constituted a basis for the extraction and exploitation of women and children plus the endemic entrenched customs and traditions that have denied women and girls the opportunity to exploit their full potentials. These two; absence of viable social services and entrenched traditions; are fuelling vulnerability of, and have steadfastly exposed particularly, women and children to all forms of gender based violence and exploitation.
The strategy SUSTAIN uses is intended to induce community solutions and to enforce community ownership, ensure sustainability and continuity of the interventions carried out by SUSTAIN Cameroon when it wraps up. We are introducing auto-solutions and approaches that will continue to animate best practices for eradicating harmful practices and ending gender based violence and exploitation in the midst of women and children. Thus, SUSTAIN is working in collaboration and partnership with local, national and international nonprofit organizations with the aim to roll out these best practices that enforces the independence and protection of women and children from abuse and discrimination. The year 2021 was very fruitful through our project titled; “empowerment of 50 child brides with income generation”. Through this project supported by AMI Foundation in Portugal and our networks such as the KOTA ALLIANCE, and other partners, some of the following key impacts and results were achieved;
1. A niche of 100 child brides and at risks girls was created in 4 out of the 7 Divisions of the North West Region of Cameroon.
2. 50 women in two existing community based groups were provided with access to loan capital to constitute a support scheme for vulnerable girls, victims and survivors of child early and forced marriages, sexual exploitation & abuse, gender based violence and modern slavery. They groups were funded to begin an income generating activity to build wealth with the goal to support victims and other vulnerable children identified in their communities.
3. 2 savings and revolving loan schemes were initiated and funded in the heart of two communities to act as feeder to our vulnerable beneficiaries and low income families in communities targeted by SUSTAIN Cameroon
4. 25 child brides were trained in various skills trades including tailoring and design, hairdressing, and are currently waiting to be assisted to set up their small businesses in these trades and to indulge in income generation activity to enable them to create wealth to support themselves, their children, their siblings, and their families with basic needs such as health care, access to education, livelihoods and other forms of support towards their full living conditions.
5. A documentary on the ordeals child brides and at risk girls faced growing up in the society.
6. 25 at risk girls enroll and supported to continue education
SUSTAIN has continued to engage to develop projects to assist women and girls out of violations and abuses and to enhance gender equality in the midst of the affected people in our very hard to reach communities. With close of the project “Empowerment of 50 child brides with income generation”, SUSTAIN is currently seeking to secure additional funding, sustainable partnerships and sponsors to continue to support its beneficiaries as follows;
To develop and set up businesses for the child brides enrolled into vocational training with the previous project
Continue to support the education of those that were enrolled for continued education
Step up the savings and revolving loan schemes initiated in the various communities
Identify and extend support to other vulnerable and abused girls in targeted communities
Increase health care assistance and support to the beneficiaries and their families in the targeted project communities.
Meanwhile, given the increasing humanitarian crisis that is affecting the project communities, as a result
of the war plaguing the English Speaking parts of the country and that has resulted to enormous
internally displaced persons especially women and children, we were also considering to include
humanitarian and relief activities to our beneficiaries who have been severely affected by the crisis.
Thus, with further assistance we would wish to indulge in the following as additions to the programs and
activities.
Extend livelihood support and economic empowerment to internally displaced victims (women, girls and orphans and vulnerable children) of the current crises affecting the English speaking segment of the country.
Provide humanitarian assistance and relief to our current beneficiaries who are also victims of the conflict and war in the project communities. many of them have been dispossessed of their livelihoods
The above mentioned are the key activities that characterize our interventions and we intend to scale
up in other to increase our reach and also to sustain the work already carried out. Thus, SUSTAIN is looking forward to engaging and discussing new partnership windows with you. Please
ensure to follow, subscribe, like and share our social media pages below
