The palm oil business established by local charity GMM Africa, with the help of donations from Catalyst Exhibits and others, shows how a good idea can go a long way towards changing the lives of those involved. Read  [Palm Oil Business Funds Children’s Education].

The scheme was set up to provide mothers with the chance to start their own small business selling palm oil, which would in turn, help fund their children’s’ education. Since its inception a few months ago more than…..

…100 women have taken up the scheme and are making it work.

The ultimate goals of the project are to:

• Ensure the education requirement for up to 150 children
• Encourage self-dependency and better decision making for the mothers
• Teach entrepreneurial skills to the mothers
• Bring better social status and a take a step towards a fairer society
• Have less school drop outs and foster the economic development of women, which will lead to more community development.
• To create a library from the donations of educational tools that will help other needy children of the community too

We’d like to congratulate Teh Francis and his team at GMM Africa. Keep us updated.

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The DM scheme, as it is known, established by educational charity group, GMM Africa, is designed to allow women to start their own small business selling palm oil, the profits from which will help fund their children’s education.

We here at Catalyst Exhibits are proud to have donated $2,500 to help get this worthy project off the ground.

As promised, Teh Francis has been in touch to let us know how the scheme has been doing in its first month.

“It is now almost a month since we have fully started with our DM project, Children Education through Women Empowerment. Women will sell palm oil to start and later start a small saving and lending business, using the proceeds…

…to educate their children in School. GMM will buy palm oil in bulk and give it to the women for the first 4 months and at discounts in some of these months.

Our fear was that the women would not find a ready market for this because we were not very sure of their marketing skills. In a month, the goal of each group is to sell 230 litres of palm oil, but already some groups have sold twice that amount. This means the women will sell more oil than expected, raise more income than expected and allowing them to educate more children than we envisaged.

The saving and loan business, which will be run by the women, will start after the first month of selling palm oil when they already have had some money for the members to borrow and then l;ater repay with interest. We have high hopes since the women look as if they will have more money to lend out to members as palm oil sales are stronger than expected.

We are working with 100 women in this project to benefit 300 children as far as their education is concerned.”

Teh Francis

[GMM Africa]

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In Cameroon, educational charity group GMM Africa has kicked off a new programme that will allow women to start their own small palm oil business to help fund their children’s education. We at Catalyst Exhibits recognised the long-term value in this scheme and were happy to donate $2,500 to help get it off the ground.

The DM scheme, as it is known, is promoting children’s education through the empowerment of women. It involves….

….the bulk buying of palm oil for the women to sell on, as well as a savings and loan business. Around 100 women will benefit from the scheme and the money earned will allow them to educate up to 300 children.

Later this week, Rev Teh Francis of GMM Africa will fill us in on how the scheme is progressing one month on.

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It seems the motorbike taxis that Catalyst Exhibits helped set up with the GMM Africa charity in Cameroon are going from strength to strength.

The original goal for the first motorbike we donated was to help get teachers around to the local villages so they could teach children that could not travel that far to the schools. And it worked brilliantly. So well in fact that the motorbike became very popular with the locals who paid for it to take them on short journeys.

The money raised help fund extra charity activities, and another bike was then provided by Bekins to act exclusively as a taxi to raise funds.

Rev. Teh Francis has been in touch with an update.

“Good news. Again and again a lot of money is being generated by the motorbike taxi project. When I check over the funds today I discovered that 187 000 FCFA ($375) is left over after paying all the fees for the children at the elementary school at Jinkfuin, helping some students at Acha Baptist College, and Claris again at the Government Bilingual High School at Belo.

Pilate, who we trained for driving is now controlling the fund and through his work the business has grown. We are still undecided on what to do with the leftovers,  but we may train an orphan girl at the medical school. We really want to thank you for the help getting us the motorbikes. You might have thought it was a little thing but it has gone a long way to helping us accomplish more than we ever imagined.

Pilate will start work at our mission whenever we get a larger vehicle. Without it we find it very difficult…

…doing field work and transporting the children to Njinikom hospital each month for their medical check-up. One government agent offered us costly vehicle if we can pay the sum of $4,030. Pray that we can raise the funds.

Thank you for all your help. Mildred is fine and sends you greetings.”

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The new year for Cameroon’s charities and education projects is well underway and preparations for raising more funds and implementing new initiatives has begun.

Reverend Teh Francis has sent us some greetings and information on what’s going with GMM Africa and the important work it is carrying out with large numbers of under-privileged children.

Dear Sponsors,

Greetings from GMM Africa , Cameroon. We continue to thank you for making life possible for underprivileged children in Cameroon. Without your intervention life would be terribly unbearable for them. Now they have access to a proper education, health and nutrition. Words alone cannot express how grateful we are. It is of great value to us because we live daily with these children and are acquainted with their predicaments.

At the end of this week we are sending the December reports together with the January reports. Some of you are acquainted with the developments here. Dee went back to Ireland and Carine who works with Janet on the child sponsorship program, has been working on her exams as she prepares….

….for the mock and the public exams in June. She is very good at these things so we gave her a little time to take in her preparations, which has slowed things down a little for a while. Everything is OK and she and Jane are busy working to send over the reports to you.

We are happy to announce that our Children Education through Women Empowerment has started. This is a project funded by the World Bank as we won the contest in the Cameroon Development Market Place. For one year women will sell palm oil coupled with a savings and lending business and also develop a permanent base where they will focus on the education of their children for a longer period. We were afraid they would not easily find a market for palm oil, but good news today as in just two weeks they had sold 2,300 litres of palm oil – our target for a month. I am happy this project is a success. 100 women will benefit as will about 300 children, a step further in our child sponsorship program.

The child sponsorship program is great. Sometime ago Paul of Catalyst Exhibits, a designing company in the USA, started a motorbike taxi business which has already generated funds and benefitted more than 200 children, as well as helped train some girls and boys in vocational skills jobs. This is great!

Lots of children are still pending for sponsorship. You can continue to help promote the program. See www.gmmafricachild.org. See also the new blog we have created www.goodnessmercy.wordpress.com. This year, so far 5 children have got sponsors.

Teh Francis

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Last year was a good year for helping educate women and children in Cameroon, according to leading charity on the ground, GMM Africa, a group we at Catalyst Exhibits do our best to help.

However, there is no time resting on their laurels as GMM have a lot planned for the coming year, from adding more needy children to the vital education program, empowering women by supporting their small businesses and also increasing the amount of computers they use in their office and schools.

Reverend Teh Francis [far right in above photo] sent us this update, containing a brief summary of 2011 and some of the key targets for 2012.

Dear Volunteers, Online Volunteers, Sponsors, Donors, Friends and anyone connected to GMM Africa,

We must thank you again at Goodness and Mercy Missions before we continue with this new year. All your good services and wishes have enabled us to do wonderful things to relieve the plight of the disadvantaged in the past. We have noted that with gratitude and thought we should let you know that you shall always remain special to us. Your labor has not been in vain.

In 2011 many children have been sponsored, computer labs created in 8 secondary schools, 160 women got direct funding to start small businesses to help educate their children, and children continued to receive some computer training at the office.

Gabey one of our partners in the Netherlands ended the year by buying a fleet of bicycles for the children, while some sponsors bought the same for their children. Paul of Catalyst Exhibits, a designing company in the USA, has renewed his commitment to GMM for the year 2012. He has been a blessing to this organisation, facilitating its transportation by buying a motor bike for transporting teachers and another motorbikes to be used as a taxi to raise funds that go to educating 33 children every year at Jinkfuin community.

Our objectives for 2012 are:

1. Connect more children to sponsors around the world and help them up. See www.gmmafricachild.org and help or promote the program.

2. Connect more women groups to funding opportunities empowering them for their children’s education. See http://anrworld.wordpress.com/

3. Continue to raise funds and connect more communities to computer access. See http://pctocameroon.wordpress.com.

4. Try by all means to get a van and improve our services to the communities. If any of you is interested to lobby for funding in this area, we can forward across the proposal.

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There may be no snow, nor Christmas trees, but there was plenty to celebrate in sunny Cameroon this festive season as GMM Africa, one of our favorite charities, celebrated the holiday. The celebrations took place with many of the children the charity helps take care of and educate, and the party was a great success.

Rev, Teh Francis wrote to us about the celebration and sent some photos.

“23rd December, 2011, remains a remarkable day in the history of GMM Africa, Cameroon. We are a non profit registered organization providing tools and aid to disadvantaged people and communities for a sustainable livelihood. This year the Xmas party, organized in honour of the orphans and needy children we sponsor, surpassed that which we have held in previous years.

New things arrived, in particular, a fleet of bicycles bought by our sponsor and partner Gabey in Holland. The children can now cycle at will. The bicycles will also help ferry them to school and back home. This helps lessen the stress that comes with trekking to and from school.

Paul and the team at Catalyst Exhibits, a design company in USA, has been helping in this area too. They provided motorbikes that not only carried teachers to school but helped in transporting the orphan children to hospital every month.

Read more and see some more photos after the jump.

The motorbikes have also raised a lot of funds that has helped many children at the Jinkfuin school and Acha Baptist College, in Belo. There was great joy at the party as we  learned that Paul had extended Mildred’s sponsorship for another year. Two other children also got sponsors that week.

Also at the party we gave certificates of appreciation and gifts to distinguished fellows at GMM Africa who have helped us carry out our program with great success over the years. They were Levi, Theophilus, Carine, Janet and Elvis. Recognition was also given to the sponsors, partners and supporters who have made a remarkable contribution to our success. The names of different sponsors, partners and their countries were read out to the children and to all present. The countries the sponsors come from are spread across Canada, USA, France, Guatemala, Australia, Korea, Sweden, Norway, England, Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands and China.

You can pick a child and sponsor at www.gmmafricachild.org. For other programs, go to www.gmmafrica.org.

The family of GMM Africa wishes you a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Teh Francis,

GMM Cameroon”

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Catalyst Exhibits has been helping out GMM Africa for a number of years and its CEO, Paul Stahlberg, is continuing his sponsorship in 2012 of Mildred, one of the kids in the GMM Africa education program. Some new photos of Mildred were just sent over by Rev Teh Francis.

Read ‘Catalyst Sponsors Mildred In Cameroon’.

We here at Area 3 [the charity blog for Catalyst Exhibits] are delighted that Mildred’s life has been changed for the better and that we will be involved in helping her, and other worthy causes, throughout 2012.

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Catalyst Exhibits has been honored to be able to help GMM Africa, under Rev. Teh Francis, advance and expand its education and sponsorship programmes. For the past nine months, our CEO, Paul Stahlberg, has been sponsoring the education of teenager, Mildred.

Read ‘Catalyst Sponsors Mildred In Cameroon’.

Teh Francis wrote to us this week.

To our friend, Paul Stahlberg,

Thank you for all your work and care. It has been a year since you started sponsoring Mildred and this has really changed the girls future, I think forever. It has lifted her from the poor state she used to be in and your sponsorship has even helped improve the diet of food the family now live on.

We are all proud at Goodness and Mercy Missions to have you as her sponsor, and also for the other things you have done to make this organization so essential to many people in Cameroon. They have all come up with testimonies.

Our Christmas party is coming up and I want you to personally honour Mildred by scribbling your greetings so we can print and hand over to her on that day.

Thank you again.

Teh

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It’s been a very busy year in Cameroon  for GMM  Africa and all the kids who have benefitted from their education and job placement activities.

With Christmas coming the group is in the midst of organising the annual party for the kids and their families, many who have little or nothing, outside of the school.

Reverend Teh Francis has been in touch this week to let us know what is planned.

“Thank you for all the help you’ve rendered to help make life easier for orphaned and needy children in this part of the globe. It has been really amazing to see the difference you’ve made in the lives of these children in the area of education, health and nutrition. It is very much appreciated by us at GMM Africa. You are all wonderful people.

This year we are organizing another Xmas party for the orphan and needy children at GMM. For the party, we buy stuff and share it with the children and their families. Stuff like clothes, shoes, toys, bicycles, books etc. We also provide a meal and give soap to the families. It is all a fellowship meal. We love these children and we love you who are helping them.

Send your greetings to these children at the party. You can also send a gift or a donation to make the day great. If interested, we can give you details.

Once again thank you. There are still children pending on the child sponsorship page. You can forward it to any of your friends who may wish to sponsor a child. See www.gmmafricachild.org and www.commit2africa.org.”

Rev. Teh Francis

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