Après la pluie, c'est le beau temps

“After the rain comes the beautiful weather” 

This phrase became our moto during the project to open an MC² in Danfili.  We had to keep reminding ourselves that all of the obstacles would be worth it in the end.

Representing Danfili in Ngaoundal on Labor Day (May 1, 2015): Alhadji Bachirou, Bamanga, Me, Fadi, Iya

It all started back in May 2014.  I had been at post about 6 months and was celebrating “May 20^th” in Ngaoundal.  I spent the holiday with another volunteer, Brian, and his counterpart, Mohamed.  Mohamed is the accountant at the Ngaoundal branch of a Cameroonian microfinance institution called MC².  The rain poured all afternoon and we were stuck in the bar chatting.  After hearing that I live in Danfili, Mohamed told me about a project that had been started back in 1998 and to that day had not been realized.

When MC² opened in Ngaoundal in 1998, many “Danfilians” opened accounts there.  They were very interested in the bank and how it could help them.  Within a year or so, they tried to open their own branch here in Danfili.  For various reasons, it never happened.  Fastforward to 2008.  Again, a group from Danfili decided that they wanted to open a branch of MC² in Danfili.  The idea was to open a “caisse rurale”.  Microfinance is already designed to meet the needs of the poor, but a “caisse rurale” goes a step further by reaching out to villages.  It is essentially a scaled down operation that functions in a small village.

This time, the community’s effort got much further.  They found a building to rent, sent two individuals to train in Ngaoundal for two months, and obtained a donated safe.  The safe was fixed, building prepared, and training finished, but the branch never opened.  There were many reasons for this, but it mostly came down to miscommunication and an untimely, but unrelated problem at the existing MC².

This brings us to May 2014.  Mohamed explained to me the history of the project and how he came to work at the MC² in 2008 after the failed attempt.  He knew that the staff in Ngaoundal still wanted the project to succeed, but the question was: Was Danfili willing to try again?

Admittedly, this project grabbed my attention right away because before joining Peace Corps, I had read about microfinance and was very interested in the success it had had.  In addition, as volunteers we are often the one to suggest a project and explain the importance to community members.  To find a project that the community had already identified as valuable and useful was a dream come true. 

After meeting with Mohamed, I went back to Danfili and met with Bamanga, the president of the board during the previous attempt in 2008.  I had known him through other work projects, but it was during our work on the MC² that we became close friends and work partners.  After hearing his take on things, he brought me to all of the other board members to hear what they had to say.  Although there was clearly a lack of confidence and trust, everyone agreed that they were willing to give it a try one last time.  Both the community members and the bank personnel agreed that by having an outsider facilitate, they just might succeed. 

For the next year and several months, we worked through constantly emerging hurdles.  Each time we thought we had it figured out, a new problem would arise.  If it wasn’t the landlord changing his mind about selling, it was a lack of willing personnel or red tape from the group financing the project.  Each of us tried to back out at one time or another out of pure frustration, but each time was talked back in.  Finally, in March 2015 a community member agreed to sell us land at a reasonable price and we started building.  At the same time, we found two staff members, Fadi (one of my best friends) and Iya (a young guy in village).

The inside of the building in March 2015

The building from the outside in March 2015

Bamanga in the lobby in April 2015

Informational meeting to answer questions about the project in April

Meeting attendees

The finishing touches the day before opening

Once the building process started and Fadi & Iya headed to Ngaoundal to train, the project started to feel attainable, but we were still wary.  Between March and the day we actually opened, we still had at least ten incredibly discouraging obstacles to overcome.  (The last of which happened only four days before we had scheduled the opening.)  I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that the day the bank was functional in Danfili was an unbelievable success for those of us involved.  From the day we dredged up this worn out problem, many people only had words of discouragement.  They said that we were wasting our time on a project that two generations had already spent their time and money on only to see it fail.  Others simply refused to participate and preferred to watch from a distance to find out what would happen.  For Bamanga, myself, our two staff members, and the rest of the board members, standing inside the building on opening day watching Danfilians open their accounts was unbelievable.  MC² Guichet de Danfili started operations on August 31, 2015.

Fadi, Madame Bobo (the director of MC2 Ngaoundal), and Iya starting work on the first day

Board members wait to open their accounts on opening day

Iya opening accounts for Bamanga and Alhadji Bachirou

Fadi at her desk on opening day

My partner in crime, Bamanga, and I exhausted, but proud after a week of preparations 

Myself, Fadi, Madame Bobo, Iya, Alhadji Bachirou, Monsieur Abo, Alhadji Moctarou

Picnic at Lake Mbella to celebrate a successful end to the first week of work

Great friends and work partners: Iya, Fadi, Me, Mohamed, Bamanga 

 Oftentimes as PCV’s we are frustrated by the lack of community buy-in on our projects.  That is what made this project so rewarding and such an honor to be a part of.  Through all of the obstacles, I had the most wonderful work partners.  They put incredible amounts of their own time, money, and energy into this project in spite of the discouraging remarks and continuous obstacles.  Not all volunteers have the opportunity to work with such motivated community members on such a rewarding project and for that I will forever be grateful to the members of MC² Danfili.