Schools For Africa

About Us

Marianne Johnson

Marianne is a retired teacher and is the Chair of Building Schools for Africa. She is also a trustee of AidCamps International, the charity from which Building Schools for Africa evolved. Through her work with AidCamps International, Marianne has taken numerous groups of volunteers to work on rural village school building projects in India, Nepal and Cameroon.

Ian Johnson

Ian is a retired doctor who has also led groups of AidCamps International volunteers on projects in India. He has undertaken several medical electives in hospitals and rural clinics in South Africa, Malawi and Kenya and has recently been awarded a Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Nicky Hayward

Nicky Hayward is a retired business woman who sat on a number of government committees for the DTI & DCMS having won the UK Quality Award for Business Excellence and the Queens Award for Sustainable Development. She has travelled extensively in Africa and has taken part in a number of AidCamps International projects in India, Nepal and Cameroon. She is also a trained counsellor.

Nick Hayward

Nick Hayward retired having successfully run a business with his wife Nicky for 25 years. Nick worked with a number of schools and training companies to enable young students, particularly those with special needs, to take part in Modern Apprenticeship schemes. He is also a trustee of the Isle of Wight Youth Trust.

In November 2006, on our first trip to Cameroon, we visited the remote village of Ntseimbang. This community of subsistence farmers had been trying for several years to rebuild their primary school which was in a severely dilapidated state. The sum required to compete the school was just £7000, and we decided to fundraise for this project. The overwhelming support we received in response to our appeal inspired us to conitnue our fundraising efforts in order to provide as many schools as possible for the village children in Cameroon.

Last Updated ( Friday, 27 March 2009 )

About Schools for Africa

We started fundraising in April 2007 through AidCamps International, a small London-based charity which also works closely with SHUMAS, our partner NGO in Cameroon. Our initial aim was to raise the money to rebuild one particular rural primary school in the village of Ntseimbang, but the response to our appeal was so fantastic that we have continued funding more and more schools.

Although we maintain close links with AidCamps International, we decided in December 08 to apply for charitable status. Building Schools for Africa became a registered charity in January 2009 and our charity number is 1127661

Our Partner organisation, SHUMAS

Stephen Ndzerem

Stephen Ndzerem is the General Co-ordinator of Strategic Humanitarian Services, Cameroon (SHUMAS). SHUMAS was established in 1996 and now has over 35 members.

Stephen was one of five children, only two of whom survived childhood because the extreme poverty of his parents meant they could not afford basic medicines when their children fell ill. His parents were subsistence farmers and Stephen's education was periodically disrupted when the harvest failed and school fees could not be paid. He eventually studied Law at University and, having practised Law for three years, decided to establish SHUMAS - a Non Governmental Organisation involved in a wide range of sustainable development activities which help to build the capacity of the extremely deprived and marginalised sectors of the communities in Cameroon.

"I will continue to devote my life to helping to create a more just world through sustainable development."

Billian Nyuykighan

Billian is the Project Co-ordinator at SHUMAS. She is responsible for statistical, problem and stakeholder analysis and for formulating project proposals. Billian has ten years experience in development work and is an expert in organic farming and community mobilisation.

SHUMAS is focused on sustainable development issues within Cameroon. Their aims include

the reduction of poverty through the empowerment of deprived, poor and marginalised groups.

the promotion of health, education and gender equality,

the promotion of sustainable agricultural activities.

In 2009 SHUMAS opened a Biofarm complex in the NW Province. The aim is to teach sustainable farming techniques to women's groups and young adults who, in turn, teach these techniques to others in their communities, thereby increasing yield and reducing their dependence on chemical fertilizers etc.

The Biofarm near Kumbo, NW Province