Canadian NGO Cuso International, through its Volunteers for International Cooperation and Empowerment (VOICE) programme, has freely trained 5,000 Cameroonians in income-generating activities over the past five years. 

On March 11, 2020, in Yaoundé, Canada's High Commissioner to Cameroon, Richard Bale, presided over the closing ceremony of the first phase of Voice. The ceremony aimed to present the achievements of the programme and share the beneficiaries’ testimonies.

One of the beneficiaries who shared their testimonies is Yvette Ngo Nlend, from a village in the Centre region, who grows cassava and plantain. "We don't have roads, so it is difficult for us to transport our food products to sell them in town. This used to discourage women who wanted to venture into farming. It has been two years now since I benefited from the Voice’s training and I can process the products I grow, preserve them and sell later,” she confided to Cameroon Tribune.

According to Ginette Sindeu, a trainer for the Voice programme, the only requirement from beneficiaries was to be in the database of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education’s volunteer program.

Let’s note that according to Cuso International, the second phase of Voice will start in 2021.

D.M.