Teh Francis

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Man of God and social entrepreneur Expert

Teh Francis Quick Facts

Is pastor of Jinkfuin Baptist church in Cameroon, founder and director of Goodness and Mercy Missions. See more www.gmmafrica.org and www.gmmafricachild.org.

Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Teh Francis

Great things happen when good hearts meet. The greatest investment is when you invest in people.

Getting Started With Teh Francis

Greatest joy to me is when I can do something to alleviate the plight of another. I just discovered that if you can't be the way to somebody you can always show him the way. Suppose you don't know the way either, you can always find somebody who knows the way, even if he does not know the way, ask him whether he knows somebody who knows the way so you can direct the way seeker to him. This is how Goodness and Mercy Missions has been functioning since 2011. Sometimes not being the way, sometimes not knowing the way but always making people find the way. Interested in Goodness and Mercy Missions, click www.gmmafrica.org and www.gmmafricachild.org.

Goodness and Mercy Missions,

P O Box 4 FDG, Jinkfuin,

Belo Sub Division, Boyo,

NWR, Cameroon,

West Africa.

Website: www.gmmafrica.org,

www.gmmafricachild.org.

Email: info@gmmafrica.org

revteh@gmmafrica.org.

PHONE: +237 75726548.

We Provide tools and helps for needy persons for a sustainable livelihood

See our sites.

PROPOSAL FOR AN ICT TRAINING CENTRE FOR YOUTHS

Project Description

An ICT training centre called “Youth Livelihood” (YL) will be established by Goodness and Mercy Mission (GMM) in Belo, Boyo Sub Division, North West Region, Cameroon. YL will focus on the training of youths to use ICT and entrepreneurship skills. It is expected that through this training youths will gain knowledge that will help them obtain a job or begin an income generating activity of their own and also develop life building skills that will help them in their education and life in general.

Youth Livelihood will use workers of Goodness and Mercy Mission to work on the project. The training will provide basic knowledge on computer software (application) awareness and also on how to work on the internet. At the end of the 9 month training program, the students will receive a diploma in computer software (application) awareness of Goodness and mercy mission(GMM)

Youth livelihood will use 7 workers; 4 full time and 3 part time workers. In addition, a governing board made up of elders of Goodness and Mercy Mission will operate as overseer of the centre’s project. Periodic evaluations will be carried out to assess the effectiveness of the program on

1 The acquisition of knowledge by the youths

2 The reduction of unemployment amongst youths in Belo

3 A general improvement of the morals of the youths of Belo

Problem Statement

A major obstacle to solving the problems of unemployment and poverty amongst youths of rural areas include lack of information, professional training, lack of initiative, etc. In the Belo area, the problem of youth unemployment is made acute by the fact that most of these youths lack knowledge and entrepreneurship skills. They lack people to help them start a business or learn trades that will help them take care of themselves. These youths involve themselves in criminal activities just to have something to eat (Bamenda Police archives). This has made many of them to be convicted and detained (www.postnewsonline.com)

Attempts have been made by government and organisations in the country to solve the problem of street children and unemployment among youths. The Minister of Social affairs, Bakang Mbock on 22 February 2010 launched the rehabilitation of 462 street children in Buea (Cameroon Tribune, 23 February 2010). However, statistics still show that crime wave and the number of children on the streets are still on the rise. Better means have to be deployed.

Ngoketunjia Aids Fighters (NAFI) of Ndop (Ngoketunjia Division, NW region) has been providing youths with scholarships to do secular education. The problem still remains that they lack technical skills to acquire jobs or initiate a job themselves.

Others like SAJOCA of Bafut (Mezam Division, NW region) have tried to provide technical training to youths by helping them learn a trade such as carpentry, welding, motor repairs, etc. The problem encountered with such trainings is that they are long and therefore expensive. Sustainability cannot be ascertained although they have long time benefit.

The introduction of ICT as a means to empower youths with basic knowledge to gain employment is new to this region of the country. This idea has been exploited with great success in Nepal in SE Asia where over 16 Community Information Centres have been opened. It has also been tested with great success in neighbouring Nigeria in the Gusau Information Centre with FOCUS Nigeria as a partner (www.nridsnepal.org.np). It is therefore expected to have a greater impact in Cameroon, partly because Goodness and Mercy Mission is a Christian organisation and will not only focus on professional training but also on the moral education of the participants.

ICT will not only help these youths gain employment in industries, companies and enterprises as secretaries, net phone managers, cyber managers; but will also increase their awareness of issues, problems and crises in other parts of the world. By surfing on the internet, they will have better access to health care, local e-commerce and will improve professionally and academically without travelling out of their locality. Research, communication skills, negotiation skills, self esteem and goal setting skills will be developed. These are necessary skills to help start a living and continue education which are not taught in schools.

Already, we have secured two computers in which about 13 youths have been crowding at different times learning. We have already trained two people in other computer institutes in Bamenda town, several miles away. These two people are the ones who help train the youths we have trained. Everyday after the normal school, students have an after school computer training course at the GMM office in Belo. The fact is that about 65 youths have identified themselves and are ready to do the course. We do not have computers, only two, no photocopier, no printer and no scanner. When we send some away, they are not happy the least. The children for the after school computer-training program do crowd even when we tell only few of them to come at a time. We wish to do more.

Project Details

There are two major goals for initiating the project Youth Livelihood and specific objectives within each goal

Goal 1: to reduce unemployment in Belo sub division and the country at large.

Objective 1.1: to provide youths with a professional training in ICT that can help them obtain jobs easily

Objective 1.2: to assist youths to effectively use their training in creating jobs or obtaining jobs

Objective 1.3: Imbibe youths with communication, negotiation and goal setting skills necessary for their professional and educational development

Objective 1.4: Build self esteem in youths

Goal 2: to reduce crime wave in Belo

Objective 2.1: instill in youths the fear of the Lord

Objective 2.2: make youths to become more responsible in their actions

Target population

The target population is the youths of Belo (see appendix B)

Expected results

1 At least 65 youths would have received ICT training

2 At least 30 youths would have obtained or created jobs

Expected outcome

1 Unemployment would have reduced by 15%

2 Crime wave should have reduced by 20%

3 Youth awareness would have increased by 35%

4 Youth advocacy would have increased by 25%

Method

The main methods for the achievement of the above goals and objectives will be

1 The creation of an ICT center that will act as the milieu for training youths in ICT usage

2 The development by staff of the program of a documentation/dissemination plan. This is to organize the collection entry level data and on the running of the project and so provide a basis for the sharing of information with other similar projects.

Staff / administration

The project will employ 7 workers; 4 full time and 3 part time workers.

1 Project Director (full time). He will be responsible for hiring project staff, overseeing project development and operation, establishing and maintaining links with local government agencies (such as the Delegation of Social Affairs, Delegation of Secondary education) and control of project budget.

2 Centre coordinator (full time). Responsible for establishing ICT centre, maintenance of centre and scheduling of centre’s programs

3 2 ICT teachers (full time). They will be responsible for the professional / moral training of the participants

4 Project evaluator (part time). Responsible for collecting data on youth employment; conducting periodic assessments of the acquisition of knowledge by the participants and their application of such knowledge; change in the moral behavior and self esteem of the participants. Also responsible for developing and implementing a system for periodic formative evaluation of the work of the participants.

5 Governing board (part time). Members come from GMM. They are responsible for generally overseeing the operation of the centre and providing periodic reports to project director, with technical advice on centre policy/operation.

Resources

Available

1 Building (provided by GMM)

2 Staff

Needed

1 Internet connection

2 Phones

3 Supplies (books, pens, pencils, cardboards, chalk, duplicating supplies, etc)

4 Equipment

o Photocopy machines

o Computers

o Scanners

o Computer stands

o Printers

Budget

(See appendix A)

Execution Schedule

First month

1 Acquisition of centre equipment

2 Meeting with board members of GMM

Month two

1 Recruitment of staff

2 Finalizing centre preparation

Month three to twelve

1 Training

2 Collection of data on youth employment, success of program etc

3 Conduction of regular summative evaluation

Month 13 – 15

1 Conduction of summative evaluation

Evaluation Plan

The evaluation will be the responsibility of the Project Evaluator. The evaluation will involve two major strategies:

1 Formative Evaluation. It will be qualitative in nature through the use of questionnaires and interviews. Students/teachers will be asked questions about the operation of the centre, topics covered in the training, the attractiveness of the training program and training materials. The police, local population and others will be asked questions on the change in crime wave in the area, the behavior of the participants and their actions in the local population. The evaluator will meet regularly with the staff of the program to share information from formative evaluation. Periodic reports will be prepared and that identify the major findings of the formative evaluation and how they have been used to improve project operation.

2 Summative evaluation. It is quantitative in nature. The students will be tested before and after the program on their knowledge of ICT use and the openings it could bring; the changes and impact its uses could have on their lives. The number of students who participated in the program will be noted. The number of students who gained work at the end of the project also will be recorded. Documentation of all agendas/attendance rosters from all training programs will be kept. Most importantly, record of the number of participants who have created job opportunities for themselves will be kept.

Project Sustainability

Internet ,type setting and photocopy service (computer games can also be included during school holidays as this will keep the youths busy and avoid juvenile delinquency during the holiday session)will provided to the local community at the centre at a cheap rate. Future students will pay a small fee. This will go in for the maintenance of equipment, remuneration of staff and purchase of new equipments.

Appendix A: Budget

Item

Quantity

Unit cost (FCFA)

Amount in CFA

Amount in Dollars

Internet connection + installation

350.000

Photocopier

450.000

900.000

Computers (Pentium IV)

250.000

3.750.000

Printers

60.000.

120.000

Scanners

60.000

laptops

350.000

700.000

distributors

2000

60.000

Books

5000

325000

Papers (rims)

3500

35000

Pens

5 packs

5000

25000

Pencils

5 packs

5000

25000

Phones

75000

525000

USB flash memories

10.000

100.000

Computer stands

20.000

300.000

Web cams

20.000

300.000

Cardboards

500

10.000

Bold markers

500

12500

Board

100.000

TOTAL

7.637.500

Miscellaneous

381.875

GRAND TOTAL

8.019.375

Appendix B: About Goodness and Mercy Missions

Goodness and Mercy Missions (GMM) was founded in late 2007 by Teh Francis Yai and Natalie Runyon as a non-profit organization aimed at impacting communities in Cameroon. GMM was formed because there was a great demand of the community’s needs. We discovered that rural communities in Cameroon continue to suffer not so much because of the economic situation of the country but because of the lack of initiatives for individuals to help themselves and come out of their predicament. Also we learnt that there are some disadvantaged in the communities who are physically incapacitated and therefore cannot do anything to help themselves. Also under this category are needy children, orphans and street children. We decided to identify them and help them as much as possible. Another reason GMM was formed was to sensitize, create awareness, and educate the community on vital issues plaguing the wellbeing of the society, e.g., on HIV/AIDS and the dangers of plastic papers. For more on our projects, go to www.gmmafrica.org

RECOMMENDATION

GMM should also come up with a project of helping the orphans and the street children who may not be lucky of being employed and who are faced with the problem of lack of resources such as capital to start their own projects. GMM should come up with a project of providing resources to the disadvantaged who are willing to be self employed by providing them with resources needed. To enable the sustainability of this project feasibility study should first be carried out to look if the projects will be feasible to enable its continuity the beneficiaries of the project should b pay back resources rendered to them together with interest so as others can benefit from the same project, and with this unemployment will have been reduced significantly.

Conclusion

It is hoped that with your assistance of 5 Million francs, youths in Belo will gain training that will help them gain employment or create jobs of their own. This will lead to poverty alleviation and an increase in the living standard of the peoples of Belo.