15 December 2011

Cameroon: UN Online Volunteer Akanksha Shukla from India helped the Cameroonian NGO Goodness and Mercy Missions (GMM) improve its “Children education through women empowerment” project.  The project aims to enable 100 women to secure their family income through palm oil trading, and send their children to school.  

With Akanksha's support, the project won the World Bank’s Cameroon Development Marketplace Competition. It was the third of 15 projects that were awarded for a replicable innovative approach and a high potential for development impact.  

Initially, Akanksha was tasked with developing a funding strategy for the project. With her background in agriculture and business management, however, and having worked with women self-help groups in India, she immediately spotted aspects that could be improved. In close consultation with GMM she redefined the project framework and developed a self-sustainable income generation model. Through its collaboration with Akanksha, the organization expanded its knowledge in inclusive development project management.

After finalizing the project concept, Akanksha searched for potential donors and prepared the award winning proposal.

In addition to receiving funds, the winners were invited to a week-long training to strengthen their capacities to implement the awarded projects. “It was a unique chance for the organization to gain recognition in a national platform as well as interact with and learn from other development organizations in Cameroon. This was the greatest exposure for the organization since its inception in 2007,” says Teh Francis, the organization’s founder and director.

Her contribution to impacting the lives of 100 women in Cameroon was a life changing experience for Akanksha.

“This feeling can’t be expressed in words, but I can just say that the joy, satisfaction, recognition and freedom that I had enjoyed working as an online volunteer are unparalleled.”
-- Akanksha Shukla, UN Online Volunteer

After this experience, Akanksha has decided to shift her career from for-profit marketing to nonprofit fundraising. To work towards this goal, she has already enrolled in an online course in International Development.