Category: Foundation

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MTN Cameroon, through its Corporate Foundation, has supported more than 200 families who were victims of the floods that occurred in Buea in the South-West Region, following the torrential rain that fell on the city during the night of 18 to 19 March 2023.

MTN Cameroon’s gesture of solidarity took place during a ceremony at the esplanade of the Buea Town Stadium on 24 March 2023. The event was presided over by the Divisional Officer of  Buea, Abba Abdouraman, in the presence of the representative of the Governor of the South-West Region, Mrs. Mbong Vanessa, Paramount Chief Endeley V, representatives of families of the victims of the disaster and a strong delegation of MTN employees led by Mrs. Jacqueline Iyock, representative of the CEO of MTN Cameroon.

“MTN Cameroon did not come to Buea empty-handed. In addition to our words of comfort, we are providing the victims with basic equipment for those who have been rendered homeless, didactic materials for students who have lost their school supplies and food,” explains Mrs. Marie Germaine Ndzie, Senior Manager Corporate Affairs at MTN Cameroon.

This initiative, far from being an isolated action, is part of a regular programme of humanitarian assistance to national causes provided by MTN Foundation aimed at helping victims of accidents, natural disasters or epidemics. Such gesture is a duty of solidarity that has enabled MTN to stand with victims of several catastrophes that have hit the country.

“As Africans, solidarity is deeply rooted in our DNA. Our presence with the victims of Buea is therefore part of a long tradition, given that MTN Foundation has been working daily for the well-being of our communities in Cameroon since 2005. By contributing to the improvement of their quality of life, we are working together for the progress of the country and of Africa”, said Mrs. Jacqueline Iyock.

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MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation in Cameroon, is pleased to announce the launch of its traditional #YelloXmasTree caravan on 16 December 2022 in Limbe, South-West Region. This 9th edition of our Caravan is mainly focused on internally displaced children.

Indeed, a 2020 report by the Ministry of Social Affairs indicates that there are approximately 437,000 internally displaced persons in Cameroon, most of whom are women and children, facing a serious humanitarian situation.

With the celebration of Y’ello Xmas Tree, MTN Foundation is part of the global effort to support the most vulnerable among the displaced, especially those under 15 years of age. MTN Foundation therefore hopes to enable these children to celebrate Christmas with joy while receiving gifts.

In addition to Limbe, the cities of Bamenda in the North-West Region, Bertoua in the East Region and Ebolowa in the South Region will also be visited by the #YelloXmas caravan.

Celebrating Christmas is an important activity of the MTN Foundation. Since 2013, more than 10,000 children from over 100 orphanages and foster homes have been supported through this initiative, made possible through the contribution of MTN Cameroon employees.

” MTN Foundation is particularly sensitive to issues related to the development of children notably the underprivileged. With this initiative, we continue to give them back smile and hope,” reassured Danielle MBOME, Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation.

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MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation in Cameroon, is pleased to announce the launch of the first edition of  Y’ello Digital Talent on 9 December 2022 at the Cameroon Digital Innovation Centre in Yaounde.

This was during a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, in the presence of representatives from the Ministries of Higher Education, Secondary Education, Basic Education, and the CEO of MTN Cameroon, Mitwa Ng’ambi.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Yello Digital Talent is a computer programming challenge by which MTN Foundation gets public and private universities as well as higher institutions of learning with computer and technology fields based in Cameroon to compete against each other.

For this first edition, the competing institutions must propose distance education solutions. Potential competitors are invited to form mixed teams of 5 people to represent their schools. They must first register for free via https://mtnf-hackathon.mtn.cm, wherein they will also find the terms and conditions of  Y’ello Digital Talent.

The first phase of the competition will take place at the regional level after which a national final will be organised with the regional winners. In addition to the instant prizes and allowances that range from 1,000,000 FCFA to 2,500,000 FCFA, there are other benefits such as the participation in a high-level incubation programme for the winning team.

“With this competition, MTN enables the youth not only to express their talent and mastery of Information and Communication Technologies, but especially contribute towards accelerating the digital transformation of the country. We can only encourage this type of initiative which is in line with Government’s policy of developing the digital economy,” said Minette Libom Li Likeng.

“MTN is at the forefront of developing digital solutions for Africa’s progress. And this is achieved through inclusive access to quality education using innovative and environmentally friendly solutions.  Y’ello Digital Talent will therefore enable our brilliant students to develop today the solutions of tomorrow; to invent the future. We wish them good luck and we are committed, with our partners to support them in this important mission,” said Mitwa Ngambi, CEO of MTN Cameroon.

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Tradition respected. Once again,  MTN Foundation,  first corporate foundation in Cameroon, has made its contribution to the Back to School of underprivileged children. Between 2 and 9 September 2022, the #MTNBack2Skoul Caravan made five stops across the country to offer school kits to children cared for in foster homes.

Young Jonathan is one of the beneficiaries. Hailing from the village of Ikilindi in the North-West Region, he lost his father, taxi driver.  Being an orphan, he was forced, like others to flee the area because of the security situation. He was received by Hope Rehabilitation Association (HARO) in Yaounde, after a few moments of wandering. The Centre, which supervises IDPs from the North-West and South-West Regions, made it possible for Jonathan to return to school.

Young Jonathan is amongst the 500 children to receive backpacks, exercise books and other school stationery offered by the MTN Foundation in 2022. In addition to the North-West and South-West Regions, beneficiaries include victims of Boko Haram attacks in the Far North Region and other children who have lost their parents under other circumstances.

“We sincerely appreciate the gesture of  MTN Foundation which contacted our care center to provide internally displaced children with school kits. This  is a gesture that comes at the right time and whose impact is significant. I am grateful to the MTN Foundation for helping us put a smile back on the faces of these vulnerable children”, said HARO Director Fritz Kwa Mendi.

Joy and gratitude also in Bafoussam in the West Region. “I lack words… However, on behalf of the children I thank you and pray that you always go further in your initiatives”, said Father Epah of Give Hope to our Children.  There was also surprise in the Adamawa Region. “We didn’t even know that the mighty company, MTN can get here where we are. We greatly appreciate this”, reacted Dongmo Annick Florence of the Orphanage dubbed Coeur d’Amour of  Ngaoundere.

The #MTNBack2Skoul caravan is one of the initiatives of the Friends of the MTN Foundation, which is a benevolent programme  driven by staff of MTN Cameroon. “The activities on the ground are deployed with the support of  members of this club who play a very important role in the selection of  beneficiary structures and the organization of field deployment,” explains Danielle Mbome Efoula, Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation.

The first corporate foundation launched the #MTNBack2Skoul caravan in 2014 and has already supported the enrolment of more than 16,000 vulnerable children in the 10 Regions of the country.

 

Annexure: List of beneficiary institutions of the 2022 #MTNBack2Skoul Caravan

Institutions Regions
Maison de la Charité de Garoua Djalingo North
Association pour la Création du Centre Enfance et le développement des communautés Far North
Orphelinat Coeur d’amour Adamawa
Hope Rehabilitation Association Center
Give Hope to our Children West
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MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation in Cameroon, is pleased to announce the handing over, on 7 April 2022, of a significant stock of medical equipment to the South-West Region to fight against the current cholera epidemic.

The donation was received during a ceremony at the Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Public Health in Buea, in the presence of the Regional Delegate and his entourage as well as representatives of MTN Cameroon.

The stock provided to the Ministry of Public Health consists mainly of Ringer Lactate solutions, which is a sodium chloride composition administered as a drip to cholera patients to help them resist chronic dehydration that can lead to their death.

The drugs provided are for the relief teams of all the health districts supervised by the Regional Delegation.

“Faced with threats such as epidemics, the duty of solidarity  compels us all. And for more than 10 years of activity in Cameroon,  MTN Foundation has always responded. With this donation provided today, we hope that lives will be saved, and families will find a smile. This is also an opportunity to thank the medical staff for their dedication,” said Danielle Mbome Efoula, Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation.

This humanitarian aid operation is part of the support to national priorities, one of the areas recently approved by the MTN Foundation Board of Trustees during its session of 24 March 2022.

Another priority domain is the contribution to the development of a solid and impactful digital ecosystem to foster the empowerment of young people, notably women and access by the greatest majority to quality education.

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MTN Foundation, very first corporate foundation in Cameroon has announced the adoption of its new action plan at the end of its Board of Trustees  meeting held on 24 March 2022 at the MTN Cameroon head office in Douala.

The meeting was headed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of  MTN Foundation, former Minister Sanda Oumarou, assisted by five (5) other Directors, namely Dr. Ruth Engo Bamela, Vice-Chairperson of the Board, Dr. Henriette Meilo and Mr. Alain Malong, all public figures on the one hand, and on the other hand, Mrs. Jacqueline Iyok-Egbe as well as Mr. Jean Melvin Akam, representatives of MTN Cameroon in the said Board.

On the agenda of the meeting were the evolution of the institution’s governance, presentation of the financial report for 2021 and adoption of an action plan in line with the new priorities of the MTN Group.

MTN Foundation’s action plan for 2022 gives pride of place to the digital transformation of the continent in line with the MTN Group’s Ambition 2025 strategy.

Following this repositioning, 60% of the 2022 budget will be dedicated to the key programme dubbed “Open the Digital World” dedicated to the development of a strong and impactful digital ecosystem to empower young people and women as well as provide access to quality education for all. Secondly, 30% of the budget will be dedicated to supporting national priorities and local development initiatives under the “Good Together” programme.

At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees  said he was satisfied with the quality of the discussions and density of the projects proposed. “It is important to remember that in an inclusive approach, MTN Foundation will work to enable communities to benefit from the advantages of a connected world. Because this is the duty of MTN, an African company born in Africa, to go beyond business to bring sustainable value to communities,” said Mr. Sanda Oumarou. “The implementation of these initiatives will certainly contribute to building an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable society,” he concluded.

The implementation of the projects selected by the MTN Foundation will be the subject of specific communications in the coming weeks. Individuals and organisations with projects can continue to submit their projects to the Foundation via the following email address: Foundation.CM@mtn.com.

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MTN, Cameroon’s leading telecommunications company, announces the launch of the Y’ello Xmas caravan dedicated to the celebration of the 2021 festive season with disadvantaged communities from the ten regions of Cameroon.

The city of Douala hosted the first lap of this caravan on 8 December 2021 where 150 children received their gifts from the hands of Father Christmas. The ceremony took place under the patronage of Mrs. Tracy Blewett, wife of the CEO of MTN Cameroon. She was accompanied by the Friends of MTN Foundation and members of the MTN Cameroon Women’s Development Programme.

“Dear children, we want this day to be one of your fondest memories. We have taken the opportunity offered by the end-of-year celebrations to assure you that you are not alone. And we intend to stay by your side to build a brighter future with you,” said MTN Cameroon’s General Manager of Human Resources, Mrs. Evangeline Biboum in her circumstantial address.

The cities of Limbe in the South-West region and Yagoua in the Far North region will simultaneously receive the Y’ello Xmas caravan on 15 December 2021. Then the caravan will move on to the cities of Yaounde in the Centre region, then Bafoussam in the West. The operation will enable 500 children, all internally displaced by the ongoing crises in the North-West, South-West and Far-North regions, to experience a dream Christmas.

This 8th edition of the Y’ello Xmas caravan was made possible thanks to the employees of MTN Cameroon who donated all the gifts distributed during this caravan. Initiated in 2013 by the MTN Foundation, this caravan has already brought smiles to more than 10,000 underprivileged children in 90 orphanages and foster homes across Cameroon.

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MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation in Cameroon, announces the handing of a significant donation to several associations in the district of Batié on 1 May 2021. This was during a ceremony at the head office of the Francis Ngannou Foundation, presided over by the Senior Divisional Officer of the Upper -Plateaux Division, in the presence of the Divisional Officer, Mayor, Paramount Chief of Batié, several parliamentarians and consuls as well as the population of Batié who massively turned out to welcome the new UFC Heavyweight World Champion in Mixed Martial Arts. Continue reading “The Francis Ngannou and MTN Foundations assist the underprivileged in Batié”

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The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Cameroon, Stephen BLEWETT was received by the Minister of Public Health, MANAOUDA Malachie, on 25 March 2021 in Yaounde. The two personalities essentially exchanged views on the contribution by the leader in mobile telephony to the national response against Covid-19.

This support will be provided within the framework of the African Union’s Go Africa initiative, through which the MTN Group has financed the acquisition of millions of doses of the anti-Covid19 vaccine. The priority of this programme is to vaccinate health workers who have paid a heavy price since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Discussions between the two institutions considered the possibility for Cameroon to benefit, through the Ministry of Public Health, from other doses of vaccine in the same way as several other African countries.

This approach is part of MTN Cameroon’s commitment to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus in Cameroon through several actions taken since March 2020.

It should be noted that MTN Foundation has already provided substantial support to the Government’s National Response Plan. In addition, it has distributed protection kits (face masks, overalls, hydroalcoholic gel, etc.) to the most exposed professional and social communities, facilitated communication for health personnel, equipped several primary schools with hand-washing stations, installed an oxygen plant at the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala, etc.

MTN Cameroon remains at the side of the Government and Cameroonians to defeat this pandemic which is a common enemy.

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MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation in Cameroon is celebrating #WorldWaterDay on 22 March 2021, under the theme “valuing water”.

The company echoes the message of the United Nations which reminds that “water is at the heart of sustainable development and is essential for socio-economic development, healthy ecosystems and human survival. Water is vital for reducing the global burden of disease and improving health, well-being and productivity.

MTN Foundation’s commitment to providing access to potable water for all in Cameroon for several years now fits perfectly with this vision. Thus, it has just commissioned a modern potable water supply system in the young farmers’ village of Wassandé, in the Adamawa Region. The system also enables the irrigation of plantations of hundreds of water-deficient communities. In 2019, a similar system was deployed in Nlobesse in the South Region. For the happiness of hundreds of farmers and families living along the river.

Since 2006, MTN Foundation has been involved in the promotion of access to potable water. In this regard, roughly 50 potable water points have already been built across the regions of the country, benefiting some 180,000 people on a daily basis. Priority is given to rural areas where access to the precious liquid is still an enormous difficulty for communities exposed to water-borne diseases, as illustrated through a survey by the National Institute of Statistics dating from 2018. 77% of the urban population had access to drinking water in Cameroon, compared to 44% in rural areas.

The potable water access points built by the MTN Foundation are of several types: wells with hand pumps built in partnership with the Otélé Potable Water Project (PEP Otélé), boreholes constructed in partnership with organisations such as GIZ, entire potable water supply projects with distribution networks such as the one in the locality of Nzemelem, in the Western Region, or those in Nlobesse and Wassande.

“This year’s celebration comes in a particular context, which is that of Covid-19. This health crisis reminds us of the necessity and urgency for everyone, and especially for disadvantaged communities to have access to potable water in order to respect hygiene measures and remain safe from the virus. MTN Foundation is proud to contribute to protecting Cameroonians and remains committed to continue promoting access to safe drinking water, in addition to Education and Health”, says Jean-Melvin AKAM, MTN Foundation Trustee.