Helps International (HINT)

A little help can make a huge difference

You are here: Home / Archives for rural

Upper Bonduma Credit Group created

by Leave a Comment

In our efforts to end poverty, HINT has started another Credit Group at upper Bonduma with 6 women.

Two group members who qualify have already received their first round of loans. We are working with the other 4 and will be giving out their loans soon.

The possibility of creating this Credit Group and supporting the women has been possible thanks to a $500 donation from John & Elizabeth Batton in Dallas/Fort Worth, USA.

Through our innovative  and high impact Credit Groups strategies, we are libearating several rural women from the grip of poverty through micro-loans and training. If you can help or partner with us, please visit the How you can help page. Thank you.

Fundraise for HINT

by Leave a Comment

Thank you for considering to help raise funds for some of our projects. We have listed on this page some of the different ways/ideas in which you can help raise funds right from where you are. Together we can make a difference.

Food For Funds (FFF)

5 or more people come together on October 16 (World Food Day) to eat, discuss ways of helping to end poverty in Africa, and make donations. Funds raised will be used to support Helps International’s work in helping poor people come out of poverty in Cameroon.

Procedure.

  1. Someone contacts HINT and indicates the willingness to organize a meeting through the Food For Funds website.
  2. HINT gets in touch with additional details about hosting the event.
  3. The meeting takes place.
  4. Funds are sent to HINT online via PayPal or deposited into our UK Bank account.

This is one of the easiest ways to raise funds for some of our on-going project. Please contact us to let us know if you will participates in this year’s Food For Funds Fundraising Event(FFF).

Testimonial: in 2006, Michael & Margaret Astbury in England organised a Tea Evening and raised more than GBP 300 for our Community Education Library (CEL) Project. CEL will kick off in September 2007 and will provide over 2000 school textbooks to about 300 primary school children. Organizing an event is a great way to raise funds for the work we do as well as creating a general awareness about our work and raising more supporters. We will provide you with the necessary information you need to pass across to your guests. Contact us if you will want to organize an event to raise funds for one or more of our projects.

Testimonial: In 2007, we raised close to $3,000 from 15 donors who gathered at Arlington, USA during the first ever Food For Funds event that we orgainsed through the effort of one family – Brian & Christe Dodds. The funds were used to extend credit to 25 rural women organised in 4 credit groups in two rural communities in the the South West Province of Cameroon. You too can take a simple decision to participate in this year’s FFF and change lives

Run For Funds (RFR)

Fifth Third River Bank Run

Participate in the 5th 3rd River Bank Run in the USA and help raise funds for HINT. Go to this website for information. Please contact us if you can run for funds to support HINT.

London Marathon

Participate in the London Marathon in London, England, and raise support for HINT.

ING Amsterdam Marathon

Participate in the ING Amsterdam Marathon in Amsterdam and raise support for HINT.

Procedure.

  1. Someone contacts HINT and indicates the willingness to participate.
  2. HINT acknowledges the willing to support her.
  3. Information about Potential Donor is uploaded on our website.
  4. ‘Potential Donor’ notifies his/her family members, friends, alumni, … about his/her plans to run for funds to support HINT and asks these people to support the project with donations as they are able to afford.
  5. The donor participates in the race.
  6. Funds are sent to HINT online via PayPal or deposited into our UK Bank account.

If you do not want to eat or run in order to raise funds for HINT but you can do something (such as writing proposals and contacting potential donors or have any other ideas on how to raise funds for us, please contact us.

Samuel Lee, USA

by Leave a Comment

samlee
Samuel Le, USA

Samuel Lee of America nationality joined our rank of volunteer in October 2008.

While working on an internship studying HIV at the University of Buea, he still took off time to help at HINT.

Sam was able to update our Funding Proposal on our Microfinance Project aimed at providing training and loans to rural women in Cameroon. Right now we need fundraisers whwo can help raise the required funds for the project. If you can help, please contact us and let’s work together.

To contact Sam by email: Samuel Lee

Achieving Organisational Sustainability through IT

by Leave a Comment

1.    Project Name: Computers for Sustainability (CFS)

2.    The Problem:
We have relied on freewill donations, gifts and meager funds raised from our IT Centre to be able to run our non-profit organization called Helps International (HINT). However, shortage of funds has always been a huge hindrance to implementing our mission to improve the social and economic well-being and health of the poor and under privileged in our society through education, skill development and job creation. We have projects in the areas of IT training for underprivileged youths, educational support for orphans/underprivileged children; micro-loans for rural women; HIV/AIDS sensitization and information/training seminars. Most of the time, the progress of these projects has been hampered due to lack of funds. Over the years, these projects have expanded as the needs become enormous but there has not been a corresponding increase in the amount of funds needed to support these programs.

3.    The Solution:
Therefore, instead of continue to rely on spontaneous donations from our partners (to whom we are very thankful for their generosity in the past), we will like to work with them (current partners) to establish a profitable social enterprise that will generate the funds needed to support our on-going projects and to initiate new ones. After research I have discovered that sale of computers and accessories is one of the most profitable businesses in the country now. Calculations have shown that the business will generate about 21,091,250 million CFA XAF (US$ 42,781) annually.

4.    Implementation:
The business idea is to ship 400 refurbished Pentium 4 computers to Cameroon and sell. Some of the computers will also be used to set up 2 additional IT centers that will employ a number of people too.

5.    Fundraising:
The fundraising strategy is to get 2753 people all around the world who will donate $25 each. This will raise US$ 68,831, the needed start-up capital for the business. This amount will cover cost of shipping, seaport clearing and setting up the sales centre in Buea, Cameroon. I will be launching an online appeal for donations as soon as all plans are made concrete. I will also be in the USA between May and August 2009 mainly to raise these funds. I hope to visit churches, organizations, individuals with whom we have a relationship and trust that all needed funds will be realized by October 2009. Shipping should take place in November/December 2009.

6.    Logistics:
I should have asked for hardware donations but that would be difficult to assemble and ship. We will work with an organization such as interconnection.org in Seattle, USA that assembles and ships refurbished computers to the developing world. I am also researching the possibility of shipping from computeraid.org in the UK or from Dubai, wherever shipping cost will be minimal with high quality computers. Mr. Paul Fonkwo a Cameroonian based in CA who has been shipping PCs to Cameroon will be providing advice and help.

7.    Accountability/Transparency:
All funds will be collected and managed by the following organization:

Hope Outreach International Ministries (HOIM)
10993 N Harrell’s Ferry Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70816
Phone: 225-272-5432
Fax: 225-272-6805
Email: hopeoutreach @ gmail.com
Website: http://www.hopeoutreachinternational.org/

HOIM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and will manage all in-coming and out-going funds for this project and issue tax-deductible receipts to all donors. Financial records will be available to all donors at the end of the fundraising drive, and also upon request.

8.    Business Ability:
I developed a Business Plan for a similar project while at Santa Clara University in 2006 while attending the Global Social benefit Incubator (GSBI). I received a full scholarship (US$ 25,000) to attend this highly prestigious and competitive business training opportunity because of the impact we were already making in the lives of young people in our community through IT. My desire for social and economic change especially among the youths and the need for our NGO to be financially sustainable are the main motivations for such project.

Implementation of this project will provide a permanent base of financial support for the work of HINT and we will not have to continually ask our friends and donors to support our work year-in year-out. I believe if you had to make a choice, you would rather teach someone how to fish than to give him fish. By supporting this project at this time, you are actually making provision for years to come.

9.   Budget:
To see details of how the capital will be invested click here.

10.   Conclusion:
I will greatly appreciate your suggestions, thoughts, advice, opinion or any kind of support on this project. Just use the form below to comment.

Thank you.

Genesis G. Tinshu
Executive Director/Helps International (HINT)
https://www.hintonline.org
Cell Phone: +237 76274131
Email: tinshu @ hintonline.org

About HINT

Our mission is to improve the well-being of the underprivileged in our community through education, skill development, and job creation.

Donate Today