Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

Voice of Grace Foundation – Cameroon (VGFC) is a non-profit social and humanitarian organization founded in November 2006, and a member of the Women’s National Forum (WNF). VGFC’s vision is to alleviate poverty by developing those who have been marginalized in the community into job creators and to promote the human rights of women.

VGFC aims to help women by promoting sustainable development projects focused on economic empowerment and livelihood, women’s human rights, leadership and governance, reproductive health and rights, and HIV/AIDS. Through its work, VGFC expects to provide significant benefits relating to poverty reduction, economic independence, women empowerment, illness prevention and education amongst other positive impacts.

Specifically, VGFC is conscious that the poor need access to capital through credit to build a better life for themselves and a better future for their children and community. Without additional capital, individual enterprises cannot be launched no matter how small they may be.

This is why VGFC is requesting funds and support to allow us to provide microfinance to these women

What is your project and how will it help?

The main goal of our project is simple:

Through the Women Economic Empowerment Grant Program of VGFC we plan to develop 1) a micro-enterprise finance (MEF) program for poor women as well as 2) a cooperative house for women farmers. The ultimate goal is sustainable poverty relief.

Indeed, VGFC believes that charity is not the only answer to global need and poverty, but that trade and aid is the most effective combination for helping the poor to create real long-term solutions to the economic problems they face. VGFC’s mission, therefore, is to give women a stake in their own destinies as an incredibly powerful force for change and a strategic way to break the cycle of poverty.

The main objective is to increase access to finance for the poorest of the poor women, hence filling the gap created by unrealistic macro policies adopted by traditional banks and micro finances. This will permit them to gain revolving funds at little or no interest (rates <5% per annum) to finance the start of micro enterprises.

This is why VGFC decided to establish The Voice of Grace Foundation Women Bank for the Poor which aims at reducing poverty and enhancing livelihood amongst rural and urban poor women, single teenage mothers and destitute youths through sustainable financial services as well as vocational and entrepreneurial skills training. Through the project, this VGF Women Bank For the Poor (micro-enterprise finance) will serve 22,100,000 women and 700,000 single teenage mothers as direct beneficiaries of the program.

Access to this program will permit them to be able to save as much as 500frs or $1 per day through daily mobile collection agents (Social Fund Collectors). This scheme is intended to raise their erratic disposable household income by 15%-65% in one year.

Another vital issue will be the provision, through this project, of micro insurance to poor women and the implementation of the ‘Health In Pregnancy Grant’. The latter is a scheme meant to cover antenatal cost and nutrition during pregnancy for peasant women who have no formal engagement to provide for a maternity allowance. Indeed, VGFC is conscious that a healthy mother will definitely produce a healthy baby (improved maternal health via economic empowerment).

But all this will only be possible with your help and support.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

In general, potential partners can help by providing:
-Funds
-Provision of life skills
-External assistance
-Volunteering
-Furniture and material
-Any other kind of material which can help us
-Etc.

They can also have a look on Voice of Grace Foundation Cameroon’s website which provides information on the various programs we run.

Those desiring a deeper impact can partner with us to fund a specific program activity for us. If interested to explore this option they can express their interest by signing our guest book on our website (web link below).

We will then follow up and have the organization or individual sign our Partnership Protocol Agreement (PPA). Partnership is opened to those with an open heart to offer benevolently and who have a passion to assist the poor through any of our areas of intervention.

Moreover, we would like investors to invest in our Social Entrepreneur Arms of the Project (Microfinance and the Multipurpose Training Institute).

Please detail the resources that you need.

To fully fund our micro-enterprise and micro-finance program, we are seeking financial support, grants, or loans in the amount of US$ 269,000.