Our Mission

The mission of Lenan is to improve the quality of life in rural Africa by mobilizing the Menoua Community in the US and their friends around "LENAN POUEH MENOUA" means in YEMBA , one of the 200+ languages spoken in Cameroon, "Living in Harmony in the Menoua Community ". Lenan Poueh Menoua, a non-profit organization , was founded in 1998, incorporated in the state of Maryland in 1999, and was granted the Tax-Free status in 2000. Lenan aims at rallying the Menoua Community in the US and their friends around the basic idea of improving the well-being of deprived people in our villages back home. Living in Harmony is critical since members and friends' contributions are the single most important source of funds for Lenan's Development projects. In the coming years, we intend to raise more funds from the public as demands from the field are growing in number and relevance.

A Bottom-Up Community-Based Approach

The originality of Lenan’s approach lies in the leading role played by local communities at different stages of the project, especially at the selection phase. We believe empowering and building the capacity of local communities is key to successful development assistance. In the case of the Menoua Division in Cameroon (Central Africa), besides having local representatives, Lenan has developed a strong network around:

· Traditional Rulers
· Villages’ Development Committees,
· Current and former Mayors,
· Public and private institutions leaders in our field of interest (University, Primary and Secondary education commissions, Association of Medical Doctors…),
· Other NGO’s active in the field.

As a consequence, our projects are demand driven. We target what people in the field identify as their most important immediate needs. As a result, the projects are fully owned by the communities, better internalized and better managed for sustainable results.

Our action focuses primarily on three sectors: Education, Health, Safe drinking water provision and reforestation.