Women in Kolanga’a, Mefou Afamba Division now transform and process food to earn a living.
This is as a result of a newly acquired grinding house powered by Family Health Development Foundation FAHEDEF to serve the population particularly women. The inauguration of the Foundation took place on Wednesday March 15 by His Excellency Christopher Lamora, US Ambassador to Cameroon. The grinding house project is an initiative of Mrs. Nwabufo Francoise Poola, a people driven person who has identified a societal need and stepped forward to provide a solution to it.
Family Health and Development Foundation (FAHEDEF), is a nonprofit making association of women. It was created in 2013 with as main aim the improvement of the lives. Women of Konlanga’a are the first beneficiaries of this initiative which is funded by the American people through the US Embassy. So far, the Foundation has obtained a grinding machines to transform different foodstuffs, a dehydration machine a juicer and more. Women of this association transform plantain, potatoes cassava into flour. They also dehydrate perishable vegetables like cabbage, onions, mint and a lot more. This is to ensure that these foodstuffs remain available for consumption in and out of season. In the words of the Founder and coordinator Mrs. Nwabufo, “This project will improve the income of women. The sales of these products will also improve their standard of living and help them take care of their families better”, she said.
The project also is designed to produce food for the sick and disabled in greater quantity and quality based on their health needs. “People with diseases like diabetes, hypertension whose food is usually not readily available in the market will have their food here at a cheaper rate and quality too” Mrs. Nwabufo continued.
For the US Ambassador “this initiative came out after a rigorous selection process. The support is from the American people through the American Embassy. It aims at supporting local development initiatives in rural and urban areas”, he said.
Cameroonian agriculture has challenges particularly linked to transformation and since the US support is individual oriented, the founder of FAHEDEF met all requirements and gained the support. The Ambassador also insisted that “this is just one of many projects that Cameroonians can take advantage of”, he insisted.
The foundation has so far trained some 500women and 100 children in bakery, beads making, soap making, mushroom cultivation, the transformation of cocoa into powder and oil.
Women in Kolanga’a have also been encouraged to produce crops like plantain, bananas, sweet potatoes, cabbage, okro, vegetables, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pawpaw, pumpkin and pineapples which can be sold to FAHEDEF.
Irene AWENEG
