Leo Fotsing Fomba ’16, Zwelani Ngwenya ’15, Chanda Singoyi ’17, received a $10,000 grant from philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis to implement their project, “A Better Transportation Decreases Poverty Gap.”

The goal of the project is to provide 33 families living in the Baleng village in West Cameroon with bikes and carts. Certain communities in Baleng are 15 to 20 miles away from the nearest markets, forcing most people to walk to farms and markets. With bikes and triangular carts, they will be able to travel faster, transport a larger quantity of goods, spend less time on the road, and increase their income.

“My family was lucky to be close to the capital city of the western part of Cameroon, Bafoussam, but every time I was going to the farms I could see they were totally disconnected from the city and other urbanized areas, just like in a bubble, because of the lack of an adequate transportation system,” Fomba said.

The community will also receive two pairs of grain grinders that will allow them to process the grains for consumption and sale. This is the eighth year the University has been involved with Projects for Peace. The University is invited to nominate student projects for the program as it is a Davis United World College Scholars Program partner school.

“This year, behind our project there’s a collective effort; there are three different students with different skills, whereas usually these kind of projects are presented by individuals. It’s also the first project that will take place in Cameroon,” Ngwenya said.

“As an international student, I have this feeling that I want to give back to my community. I want to use my privilege of being here for the best of others. We are not just giving bikes and carts to the Tchada community, we are showing them that if people work together, they can achieve great goals, and I hope that our project will also inspire other communities,” Singoyi said.

For additional information, see the following link: https://www.bucknell.edu/news-and-media/current-news/2014/april/bike-and-cart-program-earns-project-for-peace-grant.html.