Overview of GivHope

GivHOPE Africa is registered under the Cameroonian Declaration of creation of 14, 2016 no. 0000322/RDA/J06/SAAJP/BAPP, revised on October 13, 2020 under no. 00001469/RDA/JO6/SAAJP/BAPP. It is also registered as a US Association (EIN 82- 5187523) and IRS Code Section 501 (c) (3) which makes your donation to GivHOPE Africa tax-deductible. GivHOPE Africa MISSION: To PROMOTE and ENSURE the overall coordination of concerted activities/mechanisms of social protection of vulnerable persons such as street children, IDPs (Women and children), orphans, widows, girl school dropouts, covid-19 socioeconomically affected victims and single nursing mothers through multiform assistance (Grants/loans without interest for income generating activities, in-kind donations, education, health, shelter, etc.). Overview context in which GivHOPE Africa operates in Cameroon (Ref. World Bank Cameroon Country Office – April 2022). Cameroon is a lower-middle-income country with a population of over 25 million (2019). Located along the Atlantic Ocean, it shares its borders with the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. Two of its border regions with Nigeria (northwest and southwest) are Anglophone, while the rest of the country is Francophone. Cameroon is endowed with rich natural resources, including oil and gas, mineral ores, and high-value species of timber, and agricultural products, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize, and cassava. Political Context The first regional elections were held in December 2020. The ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), won nine of the ten regions. These elections mark the start of the decentralization process provided for in the 1996 Constitution. The new regional councilors will work with the Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development to pave the way for the gradual transfer of power and the necessary funds to the regions. Having enjoyed several decades of stability, Cameroon has in recent years been grappling with attacks by Boko Haram in the Far North and a secessionist insurgency in the Anglophone regions. Since September 2017, this situation has displaced more than 500,000 persons internally and claimed the lives of close to 400 civilians and over 200 law enforcement officers. Following the resurgence of the crisis in the Central African Republic since January 2021, more than 6,000 Central Africans refugees have fled to Cameroon’s eastern region, which is already hosting over 60 % of Central African refugees. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in March 2022 Cameroon was hosting over 460,000 refugees, primarily from the Central African Republic (320,000) and Nigeria (120,000). Social Context Because its poverty reduction rate is lagging behind its population growth rate, the overall number of poor in Cameroon increased by 12 % to 8.1 million between 2007 and 2014, and poverty is concentrated in the country’s northern regions, where 56 % of the poor live. Economic Overview In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant deterioration in economic activity. Household and business income losses linked to social distancing measures and the uncertainty surrounding the course of the pandemic led to a sharp decline in consumption. Public and private investments were also adversely affected. Public services, such as schools and non-COVID-related health services, were severely disrupted. The use of family planning and prenatal care services fell by 37 % and 18 %, respectively. It is estimated that the crisis increased the extreme poverty rate from 24.5 % in 2019 to 25.3 % in 2021. Development Challenges Ranked 144 out of 180 countries in the 2021 Transparency International corruption perceptions index, Cameroon suffers from weak governance, hindering its development and ability to attract investors. LOCATION: GivHOPE Africa work covers Africa and the North America: Cameroon (5 regions out 10), Cote-d’Ivoire (Abidjan), Sierra Leone (Njala, Moyamba District, South Sierra Leone) and the USA (Washington, DC Metropolitan area and Atlanta, GA). PARTNERS: The Governments of host countries, International Development Institutions, the private sector, CSO, the media, the academia, health facilities, the local entities and mainly some sister organizations such as: In Cameroon, Community Resource Centre for the Disabled and the Disadvantaged (CRCDD) in the North-West and CAYA (Cameroon Youth Association) in the West regions, Bibliotheques Rurales in Meidougou, the Adamawa region and Loum DIASPORA in the Littoral region with the help of administrative authorities, traditional rulers and local communities. In North America, DC Dream Center and Feed the People Mutual AID in Washington, DC and Atlanta Mission: Ending Homelessness and Amir Faheed Masjid Ash Shura Ali Muwwakkil Center in Atlanta. SELECTION OF PARTNERS: Apart from the mandatory partners, our choice is often based on mutual understanding and cross-cutting priorities such as capacity building, empowerment of vulnerable groups and adherence to minimum living standards. The main cross-cutting priorities to be addressed under the project are: (i) capacity building; (ii) empowerment of vulnerable communities in the development of their businesses or/and in-kind donations; and (iii) education, health and nutrition. GivHOPE Africa also aims at increasing partnership and solidarity amidst not-for- profit organizations and their communities through income generating activities to set up small businesses and have access to grants/loans in selected economic areas. ACTIONS: We bring hope to our target groups through training, empowerment services, financial assistance and in-kind donations. GivHOPE also reinforces mutual support to each other community within partner organizations through multi- pronged approach and initiatives such as mentorship/tutorship and experience/knowledge sharing programs with the following areas of focus: Access to basic needs (Shelter, subsistence, education, health, employment), including building up individual responsibility with a sense of pride, achievement and hope among all the members and their communities. OVERALL WORK STRUCTURE: Five core activities embedded in five programs/projects: (i) income generating activities, capacity building and empowerment; (ii) health care/education; (iii) in-kind and cash assistance and job placement; (iv) Advocacy and sensitization/consciousness campaigns; and (v) Project results and accountability through activities, financial and audit reports. In HEALTH: GivHOPE assists or/and sponsors single nursing moms during and after delivery and even takes care of their children’s health. GivHOPE health care program also concerns street children and the vulnerable persons, especially the elderly. In EDUCATION: GivHOPE sponsors the education/training of infants, teens and youth (boys in a small scale and mostly girls) both from poor families from nursery, primary and high schools to apprenticeship, vocational training centers, universities or higher learning institutes. In CASH/IN-KIND DONATIONS: GivHOPE gives multiform help mostly grants/loans free of interest, food bank during and after the pandemic to its members and their families. In ADVOCACY: GivHOPE raises awareness through sensitization/consciousness campaigns on social exclusion, the covid-19 dangers, project financing and management techniques, including entrepreneurship. OUR TEAM: GivHOPE has a plural-disciplinary team of Board members, administrative and technical experts such as psychologists, social workers, MDs, Advisers, IT, Pastors, Accounters, NCR, Secretaries, Volunteers and Cleaners. In RESULTS/PERFORMANCE: GivHOPE desires to alleviate extreme poverty and misery among its members has shown outstanding results. We get involved from the implementation, supervision, evaluation and monitoring process with a team of experts that have demonstrated their commitment, friendship and love to the people we serve and by so doing we transform and make a huge difference in many lives. GivHOPE Africa work frame falls in straight line within the framework and legal guidance of the countries where it operates. For instance, when the corona virus pandemic broke out in Cameroon, GivHOPE Africa needed ambitious preparedness plans to be implemented very quickly as disaster relief programs for food security to the elderly persons and others who have been confined due to lockdowns of schools, grocery stores, job disruptions and health risks. To combat these shortages, GivHOPE Africa implemented awareness campaigns and food bank strategies Caravan that provided food and other urgent services to the elderly and those in need. The goal was to mitigate hunger and poverty in our communities, fill the basic needs of hungry and at risk people, empower them through social service programs and raise awareness. The project concerned Douala and Yaoundé in the first place and moved to remote areas like Tonga (West) and Bamenda (Northwest), Loum (The Littoral) regions later on. GivHOPE Africa helped 28 neighborhoods of more than 1,500 households in Yaoundé, the Center region, 80 physically challenged girls and women at CRCDD in Bamenda, the Northwest region and more than 50 women in Tonga, the West region of Cameroon and distributed more than 10,000 food items, clothing, sanitizers, etc. GivHOPE Africa post covid-19 relief package has been implemented since July 2020 and more than 25,000 families mainly women have registered and have received grant to start a new business or boost existing ones that were devastated during the corona virus pandemic. The prerequisites for entering this Phase II of the covid-19 stimulus are all beneficiaries to follow training on how to manage a project in order to empower them. SPECIFIC GivHOPE AFRICA’s KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Academic achievements 3,500. Ex-street children reunion with their families and communities 100. Grants for income generating activities 2,550. Health care 1,500. In-kind donations 10,000. Special post-covid-19 relief grants 1,500. In America, our intervention focuses on mentoring/tutoring and experience/knowledge sharing with our partners, including perishable food or snack items to the vulnerable communities, mainly girls, women and the youth. In Summary, GivHOPE Africa strives to unfold its agenda in the following categories: (i) Facilitation of the social reinsertion of selected target groups; (ii) Reinforcement of accompanied mechanisms and guarantees; (iii) Assistance and empowerment of identified female and the elderly members during the corona virus pandemic breakout and post; (iv); Capacity building of key actors; (v) Mentoring/Tutoring programs, Knowledge/experience sharing and partnership; and (vi) Establishment of effective working relationships via strategic communications/outreach document with the local and international media. Please watch this video https://youtu.be/BKYJROVhu4A of gratitude from the persons who benefited from your assistance to see all the difference your multiform donation has been made in their lives. We thank all our current donors for their help and hope to still rely on them and the future ones to help us continue the fight against social exclusion and extreme poverty among the poor and the vulnerable persons, including the physically disadvantaged persons. OUR 2022 RESOLUTION IS TO SUSTAIN THE OUTCOMES RESULTED FROM THE 2021 ACTIVITIES WITH FOCUS ON CHILDREN, GIRLS AND WOMEN (Single nursing girls, school dropouts girls, gender and the elderly). There's a clear link between GivHOPE Africa assistance and its values: Its portfolio comprises seven (07) projects as of December 2021 for a total amount estimated at more than 400,000.00 USD or 378,625.95 EURO. GivHOPE Africa has also decided to work closely with other sister organizations: In Cameroon, its works with the Community Resource Centre for the Disabled and the Disadvantaged (CRCDD) in Bamenda, the North-West, and Cameroon Youth Association (CAYA) in Bafoussam, the West, Bibliotheques Rurales in Meidougou, the Adamawa and Loum DIASPORA in the Littoral regions. In North America, DC Dream Center and Feed the People Mutual AID in Washington, DC and Atlanta Mission: Ending Homelessness and MASJID ASH SHURA in Atlanta within the framework of a project named "Partnering with National and International Sister Organizations".