OUR MISSION
Building bridges, passing on a heritage, acting back home.
Founded in Friedberg on 27 July 2007, registered association under German law (e.V.), registered under VR 2551 – Amtsgericht Friedberg.
OUR ORIGINS
How ABH came to be
In 2007, in Friedberg, Cameroonian students and young graduates from the Bamboutos region began meeting regularly. They shared the same roots, the same challenges of building a life in Germany, and the same attachment to their home region.
Together, they decided to pursue two goals at once: concrete mutual support among diaspora members, and active assistance to their home communities. On 27 July 2007, the Association des Bamboutos-Hessen e.V. was founded in Friedberg and officially registered under number VR 2551 at the Amtsgericht Friedberg.
Today, the association has around 90 active members. Its executive board is made up of 9 members elected at the general assembly. The annual membership fee is €40.
OUR COMMITMENTS
Three inseparable
commitments
Diaspora solidarity
Mutual support among Cameroonians from the Bamboutos region living in Hesse and across other German states. The association stands by its members in joyful moments — weddings, births — as well as in times of hardship. Monthly meetings and quarterly extraordinary sessions are organised so that members living further away can remain involved and active in the life of the association.
- →Monthly meetings in Friedberg/Giessen
- →Quarterly extraordinary sessions
- →Support during major life events — weddings, births, bereavements
- →Help with integration in Germany (administrative processes, sharing experience)
- →Support network extended to members in other German states
Culture & transmission
Active promotion of Bamboutos and Cameroonian culture in Germany: annual cultural days open to the public, sharing of traditions, language and history.
So that children born outside Cameroon grow up with a rooted identity.
- →Annual cultural days open to the public
- →Transmission of Bamboutos language, traditions and history
- →Cultural activities for children born in Germany
- →Promotion of Cameroonian culture beyond the association's circle
Development in Cameroon
Concrete projects in the Bamboutos department, in partnership with schools, parent associations (APEE), local councils and community actors. School supplies, classroom construction, roofing, latrines, boreholes, computer equipment.
- →Direct partnerships with village chiefs, schools, APEE and local councils in the Bamboutos
- →Education projects: school supplies, computer equipment, classrooms
- →Sanitation projects: latrines, boreholes, access to clean water
- →Logistical coordination from Germany with on-the-ground presence
- →Financial transparency: receipts, accountability, reports at the general assembly
OUR AREA OF ACTION
One territory, one identity
The Bamboutos department, located in the Western Region of Cameroon, takes its name from the mountains of the same name, whose high plateaus rise between 1,200 and 2,740 metres above sea level. It is a region with a dynamic agricultural and commercial economy, and the home territory of the vast majority of the association's founders and members.
HOW WE OPERATE
Three founding principles
Non-political and independent
The association is strictly non-political. It supports no party or candidate, neither in Cameroon nor in Germany. Its purpose is exclusively social, cultural and developmental.
Democratic
The 9-member executive board is elected at the general assembly. Monthly meetings are open to all members; decisions are made collectively. Extraordinary sessions may be called by one third of the members.
Recognised as a public benefit
Registered association under German law (eingetragener Verein, e.V.), recognised as a non-profit under §52 AO. Registered under VR 2551 at the Amtsgericht Friedberg. Donation receipts (Spendenbescheinigung) issued on request.