ISED CAMEROON
The Republic of Cameroon, situated in Central Africa, shares borders with Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the republic of Congo. Due to its strategic location at the crossroads of West and Central Africa, it is sometimes classified as both a West African and Central African Country. Cameroon consists of 10 provinces and has an estimated population estimated population of more than 30 million. The official languages are English and French.
The Initiative for Social and Economic Development (ISED) is an impact driven non-profit organisation based in Cameroon and France.
Our primary focus lies in grassroots projects centred around education, agriculture and women’s empowerment, with their of supporting underprivileged communities in rural rural areas. ISED is dedicated to collaborating with local stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of these projects. We firmly believe that prioritizing children’s education, promoting agriculture and empowering women in Africa, will contribute to poverty alleviation and generate positive social change.
Therefore, we undertake assignments that aim to educate, empower, enhance capacity and enable local communities to become self-reliant in a sustainable manner.
What is your legacy project? What do you want people to remember you for? What kind of impact have you created? Can you be the change that you want to see in the world? or at least contribute to it? These are questions I ask myself every day, and through my work with ISED, I strive to find the answer.
Born and bred in Cameroon, I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in English Private law from the University of Yaounde SOA (Cameroon). Later, I moved to Denmark and embarked on a new educational journey at the Copenhagen Business School, where I completed a Master’s degree in Business and Development studies with a a minor in Sustainable Business.
My experiences working with non-profit organisations such as Save the Children and The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights provided me with the clarity and direction I sought. They guided me towards the the kind of impact I wanted to make.
Contributing to poverty reduction, capacity building, reducing dependency, supporting women, empowering underprivileged communities and advocating for human rights became my primary objectives. In 2017, ISED was established.
Through my experiences, I have learned that understanding the needs of people before undertaking activities on their behalf is crucial for achieving sustainable results. This realization led me to engage in dialogues with youths, local authorities, single parents, agriculturalists, and teachers in various regions of Cameroon. As a result, education, agriculture and women’s empowerment emerged as the focal the focal areas of all our work.
I am fully aware of the challenges that come with working in the development and humanitarian sector, particularly in underprivileged regions. Therefore, I place great values on partnerships with local communities while ensuring accountability to stakeholders. By doing so, I believe we can contribute to the positive change we wish to see in the world and make a lasting impact in the lives of those we serve.
Louise Amungwa van den Berg
Founder & Managing Director
Some Field Team Members in Cameroon
Our team comprises of professionals from diverse backgrounds, including education, humanitarian work, agriculture, medicine and law. Not only are they actively involved in coordinating our activities and overseeing operations on the ground, but they also play a hands-on roll in our projects while ensuring accountability to all stakeholders.
We must acknowledge the unwavering dedication of our ISED family, who voluntarily devote their time and efforts to creating a positive impact in the lives of those in need. Their commitment is instrumental in driving our mission forward and making a tangible difference in the communities we serve.
Meet Our Team
Lucas Awasum / Secretary general & Agricultural consultant
Lucas joined ISED in 2017 and is the secretary general of the team. He is a holder of a BSc and MSc in Microbiology from the UK; with over four years of scientific experience in animal vaccine research and development. He is currently based in Cameroon and is a passionate agricultural entrepreneur. Lucas is very much a hands-on agricultural consultant for ISED and he uses his experience to promote rural development
Lucy Numfor Sire / Financial officer
Lucy joined ISED in 2020 as the financial officer. She is professional degree holder in Accountancy and Business Administration. As a complement, she is a professional event planner. She has 6 years of experience in the accounting department and as an event planner. Lucy is perfectly bilingual in both English and French language. She has an organisation called LuLu Venture that works for vulnerable people, empowers women and promotes gender equality. Joining ISED was an opportunity to work with an organisation whose values and are inline with the goals she wants to achieve. It is also an opportunity to put her professional skills and know how in her domain of expertise.
Cyrille Jasseau Noutcha / Project coordinator
Cyrille is a graduate in Development Microeconomics and a researcher in microeconomics. He joined ISED in 2020. His expertise allowed him to hold the position of responsible for project monitoring and evaluation manager within the NGO table Montréals – Afrique. Here, he contributed to the setting of humanitarian projects, agricultural cooperatives, ICT training programs, economic partnership between Cameroonian and Canadian companies, experiences sharing seminars between Cameroonian and Canadian decentralized communities. Being an expert in socioeconomic impact studies, he is also a consultant for the formalization of the informal sector with the trade unions of the Autonomous Trade Union Confederation of Cameroon (CSAC). Joining ISED is an opportunity for him to bring his experience to the implementation of socio-economic development projects.
Pauline joined ISED in 2017 as the media consultant. Pauline is passionate about helping charity organisations and SME’s grow their brands. She finds solace in raising funds to support charitable courses that are dear to her while at the same time creating a positive impact to the beneficiaries.
Tanga Yote Louise / Treasurer & Women Empowerment Consultant
Louise is a retired civil servant who spent more than 25 years working in the financial sector. She joined ISED in 2017 due to her passion for humanitarian work and a desire to contribute to creating better opportunities for people in need. Her ambition is to contribute to empower young women and promote gender equality.
Oscar Parfait / Legal Adviser
Parfait joined the ISED family 2021 as the legal adviser. He has a MSc degree in Law and has seven years’ experience first as a judicial assistant, then as an assistant lawyer at the Cameroon Bar Association. He was also responsible for the legal unit at the NGO-APPIFAPE for the defence of rights accredited by the UN/ECOSOC. He has always been passionate about humanitarian work especially when it entails providing assistance to vulnerable people. His ambition and willingness to align his career with humanitarian activities is the reason why he found himself working with ISED since 2021, notably to support education for youth and promote the rights of women.
Winifred Bih / Communication Officer
Winifred became a member of ISED in 2019. She holds a MSc degree in African literature. Perfectly bilingual in both French and English languages, she has been an English language teacher since 1999. She is also the vice principal in charge of pedagogy in a college in Cameroon, a position she has held since 2011. Winifred is a good listener and enjoys counselling children and parents with difficulties. She loves building mutual relationships among colleagues and friends and also values humanitarian work.
Francoise Efouba/ Women Empowerment consultant
Francis joined ISED in 2017 as the women empowerment consultant. She is a retired civil servant and has been coordinating several associations in favour of empowering young women rural and urban areas in Cameroon. Other than her organisational skills, she has been at the forefront engaging and motivating single young mothers in their search for new opportunities that will enable them to secure a better future for themselves and their children.
Genevieve Njende / Volunteer
Genevieve is currently studying Banking and Finance at Saint Therese Catholic institution in Yaounde. She has been a volunteer for ISED since 2018. Genevieve is involved in the organisation and coordination of our youth activities. She is also in charge of drafting reports before and after every fieldwork. She is dedicated, generous and has a lot of empathy. Genevieve’s love for humanitarian work makes it easy for her to fit in the team and execute with brilliance all the tasks that are expected of her.
