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Telethon To Support CDVTA Cameroon
Please join us on Thursday, November 11th, 2021 at 7PM EST as Banko Design and iN2L, with the help of Western Home Foundation, present a live online broadcast of The Second Annual Telethon to Benefit CDVTA. Visit supportCDVTA.com to catch the livestream of the event.
Who is CDVTA?
CDVTA is a development charity in Cameroon that provides services and resources for elders, women, children and disabled people. Founded 23 years ago by Francis Njuakom Nchii, CDVTA impacts over 150,000 people annually and aims to create a society in which all generations help each other live fulfilled lives with dignity, hope and purpose. Through CDVTA's work, rural communities have access to clean drinking water, safe shelters, community centers, medical care, best farming practices, and resources for women to create financial independence.
How Did We Get Involved?
In 2015, Jack York of iN2L met Francis Njuakom Nchii at the Global Ageing Conference in Perth, Australia. After the conference, Jack made a donation of $500 to support Francis' work. With Jack's donation, Francis purchased nine goats in Jack's honor and gifted them to the poorest elder-led households in the community. These goats would provide a sustainable source of income for elder women and their families. Amazed and humbled, Jack invited Francis on a fundraising trip to the US. Together they raised more than $30,000 to fund the construction of a senior living center, the first of its kind in Cameroon.
Fast forward to 2018, when Banko Design was introduced to Francis by Jack during another trip to the US. Francis shared with us that the traditional experience of Cameroonian elders is often of poverty with limited access to care, support and services. In parts of Cameroon, women are unable to inherit the property of their husbands, nor are they allowed to work or generate income, making it impossible to care for themselves later in life without a husband.
As advocates for seniors in the US, both Banko Design and iN2L were inspired to create an annual fundraising event to help the elders and women of Cameroon. CDVTA's core values and their mission to provide resources for seniors and women align with the values of iN2L and Banko Design. In 2020, our First Annual Telethon raised $50,000 that has been used to benefit thousands of people in Cameroon. This year, we're on a mission to raise $70,000!
What Will The Funds Be Used For?
CDVTA's core efforts this year are focused on clean water, hygiene, sanitation, regenerative agriculture, improved food security, children’s education and school food programs which will lead to the empowerment of women, girls and resilient communities.
Access to clean water and sanitation are among the most urgent needs of vulnerable people in Cameroon. Inadequate safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene makes it difficult for vulnerable people like elders, women, children and people living with disabilities to maintain good health and fight off illnesses. Promoting access to safe and sufficient water is a basic human need, which is essential to reduce exposure to public health threats.
Children have the right to go to school and learn for a better future. Clean learning environments with access to a school food program will attract and retain children in school. This will especially benefit girls and will lead to future employment opportunities and economic independence for them throughout their lives.
Planned actions for Telethon projects in 2022-2025 will include:
• Constructing and equipping Improved Ventilated Pit Latrines (VIP) in schools;
• Improving hygiene and sanitation for girls in schools so they may receive better education;
• Constructing, renovating and equipping classrooms in schools to provide clean learning environments for children, especially girls;
• Improving sanitation/health facilities such as latrines and waste disposal pits in schools/communities hosting large numbers of displaced people;
• Assisting women to generate income and improve nutrition for their families through climate adapted regenerative crop and vegetable production;
• Assisting cocoa farmers in the area to improve on the quality and marketing of their cocoa for increased income, improved livelihoods and wellbeing through the construction of modern cocoa drying ovens for quality cocoa drying after harvesting;
• Distributing basic supplies such as water containers, cooking utensils, blankets, warm dresses and lantern lamps to elders/seniors and displaced families;
• Distributing dignity kits with items such as sanitary napkins, bathing soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, menstrual pads, and underwear to reduce violence against women and girls;
• Providing business support and vocational training opportunities for women and girls affected by the increasing violence in the region; and
• Promoting school feeding programs to help keep children in school.
How Can I Help?
Make a donation right here on our GoFundMe Page! Donations are tax-deductible and will fund the initiatives that CDVTA has outlined above to benefit the elders, women, children and disabled people of Cameroon.
If you'd rather wait to call in and make a donation during the live Telethon broadcast, we'd love that too! We'll post the number to call during the Telethon.
How Can I Become A Corporate Sponsor?
Corporate sponsors will be promoted throughout the Telethon broadcast. Your logo and company description will be featured, and you'll be invited to participate in a fun segment that will be aired during the Telethon. To become a Corporate Sponsor, please message us!
Our Three Corporate Sponsorship Levels:
$1000 – For $1000, you’ll receive a treasure from Cameroon and a personalized thank you video from the children in Cameroon whose lives you’re positively impacting.
$2500 – For $2500, you’ll receive a treasure from Cameroon, a personalized thank you video from the children in Cameroon, plus a goat that produces income for Cameroonian women and children that’s named in your honor, and a keepsake photo of the goat.
$5000 – For $5000, you'll receive everything mentioned above, plus a plaque with your name or your company’s name installed on a CDVTA project that you funded.
A Special Thank You To Western Home
Western Home Foundation has generously allowed us to use their 501c3 to collect donations for CDVTA Cameroon. Western Home Foundation supports the mission of Western Home Communities through philanthropic gifts and stewardship. To learn more about Western Home, please visit their website.
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The Elderly Woman's Sustainable Goat Rearing Project is one of the many programs developed and administered by Community Development Volunteers for Technical Assistance (CDVTA), Cameroon’s leading organization in providing assistance and support to older people. The sale of the goats’ offspring has improved the nutritional intake and income of the elders in several impoverished communities. 
CDVTA was founded and is directed by Francis Njuakom whose work has garnered him the Sheila McKechnie Foundation UK 2008 International Campaigner Award and in May 2016, he was made a “Knight of Cameroon Order of Valour,” the second Highest Medal Honor in the Republic of Cameroon, for his over 20 years in the promotion of care and rights of older people.