The future of Africa depends on how we educate the African youth today. A bible-based, Christ-centered curriculum of education with Christian community development at its core is necessary to empower the children of Africa to develop the character, competence, and the tools needed to solve Africa’s problems.
The African woman remains the most marginalized person on Earth. A good personal relationship with Christ combined with a good education can be a powerful liberating force behind the African woman's struggle for equity and economic independence.
Today, Foundation encouraged Torches (Christian prayer small groups) are educating and mobilizing Africans to accept responsibility for solving their own problems. With the assistance of Foundation provided neighborhood Facilitators and with the establishment of local Christian Community Development Centers Torchbearer Foundation for Missions, Reconciliation and Development is empowering African adults to develop the character, competence, and tools necessary for problem solving. Our mission is to develop character and competence helping students acquire such tools in a way that is consistent with Christian faith is Christian discipleship.
Most importantly, our schools provide a rare-opportunity for sharing about Jesus Christ in areas of Africa where proselytizing is legally prohibited and culturally unacceptable.
Education
With only 67% of the labor force in Cameroon productively employed and economically active, the country has both a challenge of unemployment as well as serious underemployment. We teach holistic community development educating rural populations on how to establish self-sustaining projects at our agricultural and vocational training centers thereby teaching individuals how to lift whole communities out of poverty.
This year the Foundation was blessed with several very large plots of land for the establishment of comprehensive farm and vocational training schools. Hearing of the achievements and goals of the Foundation, village community leaders and landowners have come forward and granted to the organization several thousands of acres of open undeveloped fertile land upon which to establish a series of self-sustaining regional farm and trade-technical educational centers.
Vocational Education
Foundation CO-OP Stores respond to a crucial community needs and have become an active tool in the relief of poverty among our small group Torch members. Here members of small groups can borrow basic goods from the Foundation cooperative store and return or pay back for them after a given time. The goods that are in highest demand by the Torch communities include: rice, palm oil, soap, groundnuts, fertilizers, farm inputs, and farm tools. The Foundation currently operates CO-OP stores in five subdivisions of the North West Region of Cameron in the villages of: Nkambe, Ndu, Belo, Njinikom, and Fundong providing essential components that compliment the educational program of the Foundation.
As an example the Ndu CO-OP started in 2007 continues to be a source of hope to a multitude of small group Torches in the community and surrounding villages. Requests for goods continue to be high often out-stripping the seasonal resources of the CO-OP. Presently members of more than 20 small group Torches are doing regular business with the NDU coop store. In combination with the agricultural training of the Foundation’s Ndu Sub division provides the CO-OP then becomes a resource for the seeds and tools the students need in order to implement the lessons learned on their own plots of land. Additionally, it is at the CO-OP where Torch members learn about and participate on the Foundation’s demonstration plots. Four Torches have active demonstration plots of Irish potatoes in village of Wowo.
CO-OP Stores
The Doctor to patient ratio in Cameroon is one doctor for every 40,000 people. Compare this to the United States where there is one doctor for every 320 Americans! No wonder that the great majority of Cameroonians never see an academically-trained physician their entire life.
The health sector of Cameroon has been a major challenge for the national government. The scramble for medical attention is so alarming that one can term it survival of the fittest. The country has a respected physician training program, unfortunately many graduating professionals end up migrating to other countries for greener pastures.
The lack of quality health services is a visibly expressed and a serious felt need of most of our Torches in Cameroon. To respond to this need, the Foundation has established two community health clinics in the villages of Nkambe and Njinikijem, both in the Belo sub division of the North West Region of the country. These small health institutions, despite all the difficulties they face, are providing vital services to their communities.
Presently the clinic is facing serious challenges securing a qualified full-time staff. We therefore are appealing to retired physicians, missionaries and volunteers that our doors are open to welcome them spend short term missions and frequent medical missions with us here so that we can effectively meet the need of these poor communities.
HEALTH CLINICS
The Foundation operates five CTIs in rural communities within the Northwest Region of Cameroon. These Computer Technology Institutes have trained and graduated hundreds of students in both computer software and hardware maintenance and more than 30 people visit each center daily to either do research on the internet, check emails, or do documentation services. Every year more than 200 short-term “training for students on holidays” has taken place in the institute where one to two week intensive introduction programs expose the basics of computer use and world access via the internet to the rural poor.
Computer Technology Institute
The establishment of Computer Technology Institutes (what we call CTIs) started in 2004 with objective of creating computer awareness in rural communities across Cameroon and to bring the advancement of science and technology to the grass roots. The primary target audiences are underprivileged youths, high school drop-outs, and local school teachers. As an adjunct, documentation and internet services are also available for the local businessman and rural government official.
The Foundation works in the poorest areas of western Africa. In the Ndu area alone, where we have an active missionary presence, there were now over 1,000 orphans in the small community. Most of these children are orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Due to the poor distribution of HIV medications, AIDS is the second cause of deaths after malaria. This area of Cameroon has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the nation and as a result, the largest number of orphans.
Orphan Sponsorship
 Vocational EducationWith only 67% of the labor force in Cameroon productively employed and economically active, the country has both a challenge of unemployment as well as serious underemployment. |  Computer Technology InstitutesThe establishment of Computer Technology Institutes (what we call CTIs) started in 2004 with objective of creating computer awareness in rural communities across Cameroon and to bring the advancement of science and technology to the grass roots. |  Computer Technology InstitutesThese Computer Technology Institutes have trained and graduated hundreds of students in both computer software and hardware maintenance and more than 30 people visit each center daily to either do research on the internet, check emails, or do documentation services. |
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 Orphan SponsorshipThe Foundation works in the poorest areas of western Africa. In the Ndu area alone, where we have an active missionary presence, there were now over 1,000 orphans in the small community. |  Health ClinicsThe Doctor to patient ratio in Cameroon is one doctor for every 40,000 people. Compare this to the United States where there is one doctor for every 320 Americans! No wonder that the great majority of Cameroonians never see an academically-trained physician their entire life. |  Basic EducationThe future of Africa depends on how we educate the African youth today. A bible-based, Christ-centered curriculum of education with Christian community development at its core is necessary to empower the children of Africa to develop the character, competence, and the tools needed to solve Africa’s problems. |
 Co-Op StoresFoundation CO-OP Stores respond to a crucial community needs and have become an active tool in the relief of poverty among our small group Torch members. |