Honey makes money in Cameroon
Fifty seven year-old, Pa Nzonteu Simon, lives with his wife, 11 children, and 22 grandchildren in Batoufam near Bandjoun, Cameroon.
Pa used to be a driver, transporting petrol from the South West to the West provinces of Cameroon, but lost his job after suffering from gout in both his legs. The condition was so bad that Pa needed to be operated upon.
After leaving hospital, Pa was faced with a hospital bill he knew he couldn't pay.
This was the lowest point for Pa. With no job and no income, Pa hoped for better.
And hope came ...
Rather than pity himself, Pa relocated himself and his family to the centre of the village where Pa started farming. This would be his full-time job. With support from his family, Pa succeeded in harvesting 90 buckets of corn and 15 bags of groundnuts in the first year – a great achievement for a first-time farmer.
Unfortunately, this was not enough to sustain his family and pay for his children’s education. Pa needed to supplement his income. One day while he was in the village, Pa heard about Bóthar’s work with bee-farming and applied to take part in the project. Through the Bóthar training programme, Pa learned about modern bee keeping, composting, agriculture and gardening.
After successfully completing the training, Pa received 6 of the 60 hives that were given the group. “Five of my children are fully involved and they help me daily with clearing, raking around the bee hives and fetching water.”
Adopting the Bóthar method of passing on the gift, Pa will use part of his income to finance the purchase of six hives of honey-bees for another needy family who are waiting to receive the bees. “With six hives, I promise to help another family the way that I have been helped. I want to ensure that this project continues long into the future,” Pa declared.
Pa owes his success to donors like you who continue to support Bothar’s projects in the field. “My life has changed, my family is now proud of me, and I am now fully recognized in my community. In addition my family is healthy as a result of the knowledge I have gained and the honey has strengthened the immune system of my entire family,” he proudly stated.
