The Summa Cum Laude-Sango Madiba Information and Learning Resource Centre Ekol Muebah Nninong, in Collaboration with CAMPEACI, BACDA USA Enhance potential of Women, Girls in Nninong, KupeMuaneguba

In collaboration with BACDA USA and CAMPEACI (Cameroon Centre for Peace Research and Initiative), the Summa Cum Laude-Sango Madiba Information and Learning Resource Centre in Ekol Muebah Nninong hosted a workshop to enhance the economic potential of local community women and girls in Nninong, Bangem Sub Division on 16/12/2025 at the Centre.

The workshop which was held on Tuesday Déc 16th 2025 at the Summa Cum Laude-Sango Madiba Information and Learning Resource Centre in Ekol Muebah Nninong, was a logical follow-up of earlier initiatives in March 2025, by the “Sango-Madiba” Centre, CAMPEACI and PC Muebah Parish to train over 20 women and girls in high-paying entrepreneurial skills (detergent making, baking, and pastry) as well as operating personal savings schemes (“personal wooden banking Safe “)

The workshop served as a mid-point evaluation of how beneficiaries have capitalized on acquired skills and how the same are impacting the local economic context.. Beneficiaries also received seed financial packages from BACDA USA and CAMPEACI to help boost their economic activities within their communities.

Participants testified that the skills gained at the various workshops helped them grow their businesses as well as their personal savings. According to Mrs Ebude, Glory, Diengu, and others, acquiring pastry skills was essential and timely for their families and community.

These women recount memories of when they paid highly for cakes other pastries to celebrate birthdays of loved ones and other important ceremonies in their community; they express joy and satisfaction as they now bake cakes for their events at very low prices.

However, the participants express enduring challenges due to limited amenities, instability of electrical energy and poor road network to reach bigger markets. While expressing thanks and appreciation to BACDA USA, CAMPEACI and Sango Madiba Centre, they appeal for more assistance and support to help them lift the barriers to the full excercise of their work, so they are better organized to completely upgrade their skills in this field and maximize income and sustainability for themselves and their communities.

Other women like Esambe Ethel, Munge Sonita, and others were satisfied as they produced liquid soap. According to Nyake Alida, she has been spending more to buy soap for household use but since she gained the new skills everything changed. With 8000frs, she was able to produce 20liters of soap, which lasted months. She is ready to maximize this skill just like others but the, challenges of getting materials has limited her.

Other participants interviewed revealed that they had not been able to implement any of these skills but with, the knowledge they got from the workshop they started up small businesses like frying grandnuts, processing soybeans and kitchen market to meet up with savings.

Unveiling of personal savings through the wooden safe scheme showed that participants kept up to two hundred and eight thousand seven hundred CFA (208700frs) and a good number saving as much as fifty thousand CFA during the March to December 2025 period.

They expressed their surprise and joy as they opened their savings wooden safes at Sango-Madiba Centre,seeing how they had succeeded in saving up that much, inspite of the difficult economic circumstances.

Cash donations from BACDA USA and CAMPEACI were handed to participants, to add up to what they have realized and expand their chosen skill, a way to empower them, overcome poverty, and enhance community development and sustainability. The donations comprised sums of money, ranging from 25000cfa for the highest performer (savings) and 5000cfa (for the least). The Centre devised this method to encourage hard work and challenge participants to save more moving forward. Overall, the women expressed their satisfaction and gratitude to the Initiators and funding partners, and pleaded that continuous follow up be done till they attain stability as key economic actors at local community and communal levels.