Name of Organization: SCHOOL UNIQUE CIG

Address: Batoke – Limbe, P.O. Box 326, Buea, SWR, Cameroon

Email: [email protected]
Contact: 701-751-7241/00237-679708878/ 00237-677159822
https://www.facebook.com/uniqueschoolbatoke/

Project Title: A UNIQUE Story: Beulah's Dream

At six, Beulah my niece is wise beyond her years. She is the most intriguing little girl I have encountered
and interacted with thus far. Beulah has a heart of gold and helping others in need comes naturally to her.
The political situation in Cameroon, where she lives in Africa, has been a major disruptor to everyday life in
her community. The instability has halted schooling in the English-speaking parts of the country creating a
situation where a vast majority of children have stayed at home for the last year and a half. My little niece
during this time had started paying keen interest in her mum’s cooking and how to do other chores at home.
Her inquisitive and meticulous nature emerged as she became curious about how things are done at home.
Her mom and dad were reluctant to answer these questions because of how young she was; but later they
realized Beulah was trying hard not to be idle. Beulah was trying to find another avenue to get an education
outside of the regular classroom setting which is not currently available. Beulah has learned how to make
meals for her family, she has learned how to use sewing machines, and is adept at cleaning and sanitizing the
house. This amazing niece of mine is fully engaged as the ideal babysitter for her baby brother Jehu-
Alexander when he is awake. She has grown in her love for doing household chores and has taken upon
herself to teach her other siblings at home.

Beulah got a big break when she proposed a solution to the current youth idleness in her community. She
wanted her friends and girls in her neighborhood to have something to do and not be idle because of the
difficult periods in the country. She believes life will become less stressful for these kids if they engage
themselves in activities that enable them to build useful skills. The girls can use this period to develop
another opportunity of their lives which they would never have known existed if they had stayed in school.

Beulah’s parents got to discuss these developments with friends in the neighborhood and they organized a
learner’s camp for girls. The children were filled with a great desire to do something out of the normal.
Beulah’s parents coordinate a nonprofit charity and have been able to organize activities for children to gain
different sets of skills such as plating, sewing, cooking, beading and basic IT skills. With the bare
minimums, an idea originating from a little girl has been able to transform the lives of some fifty or more
kids in her neighborhood. The charity has been able to talk to more and more parents to engage their children
in more skilled based education. So far this has been a great success because this has not only grounded the
children but it is gradually becoming a means whereby youths can find a medium to develop professional
skills.

The purpose of this fundraiser is to make Beulah’s vision for kids in her hometown a reality. We are working
hard to expand a little girl’s vision to many kids who currently cannot go to school because of the instability
in the English speaking region of Cameroon. This project is been set up through our UNIQUE School charity
to improve on what we termed “the other side of our kids”. We believe that by creating a skills based center
we would be able to impact the lives of many children and youths in and around our community. It is
imperative we put our hands together to figure a way for the children to continue their education. Beulah’s
vision provides that avenue.

Project Plan
Our project is designed to provide an alternative source of education to young females and potentially reduce
youth unemployment in Cameroon. The many negative impacts of the current situation in the country are
visible. These are mostly economic and are seen in areas like high crimes, socio-political instability, youth
immigration and the gradual degradation of family and social values.

Labor force participation rates for youths are lower among developing countries of the Sub-Sahara compared
to many parts of the world. In Cameroon, many young people have very limited skills and are therefore
largely excluded from a productive economic and social life. Those with some education often exhibit skills
irrelevant to the labor market, where education and skill requirements are specific. This results in millions of
unemployed and underemployed youths. Young women feel the sting of unemployment even more sharply.
In most cases it is easier for men to get jobs over women, even if the latter have equivalent skills and
experience.

At UNIQUE our mission is to provide quality education and training to youths who are most disadvantaged
and vulnerable, equipping them not only with practical knowledge and skills, but also with the optimism,
open mindedness, and drive to lift themselves and their communities out of abject poverty and misery.

Our main objective for this project (Youth Empowerment through Life Skills) is to Train youths (especially
young girls) in skills such as; sewing and design, cooking and culinary arts, craftsmanship, computer
hardware/software maintenance, and secretariat skills.
As such we are looking to raise funds for the purchase of the following that will guarantee the effective
implementation of these training programs:
- Two zig-zag machines $2000.00
- Ten sewing tables $1000.00
- Sewing materials and accessories $1000.00
- Four electronic switch boards $1000.00
- Ten complete desktop computers $2000.00
Total needed $7000.00

Our short term objective is to be able to guarantee youth employ-ability for at least 100 youths after every
nine months (effective practical) training session

We strongly believe that this program will curb the issue of closed schools and unskilled youth
unemployment in our community. The youths of this community and its surrounding will be able to
contribute to the growth of their communities through self-sustainability programs. Ultimately, our purpose
is to make a little girl’s dream come true.