""Used to hearing pessimistic and fatalistic things about Africa, we are not aware that there are men and women in our countries committed to fruitful initiatives to change our society. Those men and women create spaces for new life where our creative genius is set free. They construct day by day another Africa: the hopeful Africa"

Kä Mana

The International Circle for the Promotion of Creation (CIPCRE) is a Christian NGO bound by Cameroonian law, with the task of helping populations, men and women, to take their own development in their hands, integrating in it the ecological issues in its broadest sense. The will is to contribute through two national offices in Benin and Cameroon, in the construction of an African society based on evangelical values; that is just, equal, human, healthy and green democratic society.

By investing in divers fields such as sustainable development, environmental education, justice and peace, gender and development, as well as communication and lobbying, CIPCRE reveals itself, at the same time, as a support organization for local development initiatives and a tool for Christian testimony, showing that the construction of a hopeful Africa is strongly rooted in a global evangelical vision. Tackling its task in the perspective of a global ecology, CIPCRE considers that the environmental, political, economical and socio-cultural dimensions of human life should be fed by the spiritual sap of faith in God and openness to the spirit of the Gospel.

 Forty members of the CIPCRE team, that is, 26 men and 14 women, are posted in two national offices in Porto-Novo (Benin) and in Bafoussam (Cameroon) and a liaison office in Bamenda (English speaking Cameroon). These are Men and women, experienced in the task, carried out by conviviality and moved by the will of bringing their contribution for the construction of sustainable relationships between human beings on the one hand and between human beings and their environment on the other hand. In that motivated team, pastors mix with engineers (agronomic and civil engineers), educationalists, and community workers in social and cultural activities, anthropologists, jurists, in the same dynamic of promoting creation.

création.

Global ecology

A bit of history

Reference frame of our activities

The global ecology

It must be said loudly and strongly: the whole work of CIPCRE is rooted in the will of integrate global ecology in concrete projects of education, training, development, and human promotion. By joining the African ethic with vital ties and the evangelical ethic of abundant life, the way which is laid down is the one of liberating enculturation where the message of Christ fertilizes the African culture. The genius of CIPCRE is to show that this creative enculturation is not an abstract idea shook in the traditional liturgies for the people, but a dynamic in which we should give form to the social initiatives and practices of reconstruction on the field.

Building together

A brief history

The International Circle for the Promotion of the Creation (CIPCRE) was born under particularly varied circumstances, some more serious than others: degradation of the environment, growth without development, human dignity daily stamped on by irrational forces, etc. In fact, and in order to locate us in the High Plateaux of Cameroon, the birth place  of CIPCRE, it is well known that demographic pressure, which had induced a strong agriculture pressure, is at the origin of soil impoverishment. The massive use of chemical fertilizers did not help to restore the awaited balance. The populations, for long sedentary, were then obliged to migrate toward other Divisions.

To make things worse, the economical crises that hit Cameroon around the years 1986-1987, came to accelerate the confusion of the populations. Following intense political agitations in 1991; fiscal instability was used as a political weapon to claim more freedom and democracy.  The consequences of that explosive were quickly visible: lack of cash in public treasury, reduction of staff in enterprises, incapacity of local communities to improve the sanitation of urban areas, a massive return of a number of city-dwellers toward rural areas (urban exodus), survival strategies breaking up with the principles of safeguard of the creation, etc.

It was to bring their contribution to the resolution of these problems that a group of friends made of pastors, priests, medical doctors, representative of farmers, educationists, agronomic engineers, sociologists, political scientists, and economists set up under the leadership of Pastor Jean-Blaise KENMOGNE, a cell of reflection and ecological actions whose works from the beginning were guided by two necessities: the necessity to give to their theoretic reflections a practical base; the necessity of testifying the Gospel in another way.

Pastor Jean-Blaise KENMOGNE :
General Manager of CIPCRE

That vision to switch from theory to practice and to live the ecological dimension of the Gospel attracted friends from other countries, who did not hesitate to get into contact with the initial nucleus in order to try the experiment in their country. That is how cell of Reflection and Ecological Action later became CIPCRE. We are in the year 1990.

In a decor of turbulence and political protests, CIPCRE succeeded to organize a launching seminar on the topic: the State of Environment in Cameroon, in Bafoussam from April 21 – 24, 1991.

It was the first time that a Cameroonian NGO organized such a meeting on that topic. More than 100 persons, overcoming the fire, the troubles and diverse intimidations, took part to those reflection days whose papers were really a treat. It was shown that the environmental problem in Cameroon was a major challenge which must be taken up. The massive attendance of agronomic engineers, farmer representatives, pastors, priests, educationists and our European partners to those sittings demonstrated from the beginning the necessity to combine efforts in the resolution of environmental questions. It should be affirmed plainly: environmental problems could not be reduced in a unique reading without running a risk of being superficially diagnosed and treated.

Three years later, the regional vocation of CIPCRE was clear. In fact, an acknowledgement mission from the General Management of CIPCRE to Chad led to the conclusion of a protocol of agreement of collaboration with the Government of that country and of the birth of CIPCRE-Chad. Parallel to this, the creation of a circle of friends of CIPCRE in Benin gave way to the setting up of CIPCRE-Benin. Two studies were conceived for the elaboration of two programmes to be implemented in those two countries: the first was a study on “Ecology and Health”, and the second, a study on “Ecology and Handicraft”. Meanwhile, in 1996, CIPCRE organizes an international seminar on the theme: “Ecological ethic and the reconstruction of Africa”, in Batié, Cameroon. The following year, it organized two other international seminars in Batié, Cameroon, on the topic “Church and Impunity” and in Porto-Novo, Benin, on the topic “Ecology and Evangelization”.
Those studies and seminars gave room for programmes, which helped CIPCRE to start its sphere of influence, which covers the West and Central Africa through the head office and the two national offices in Benin and Cameroon, in social practices touching the rural world, the urban world, the school and university universe, the religious milieus, in short all the areas likely to incarnate “ecology” in the promotion of life as a whole.

Mgr Jean Bosco NTEP:
Chairman of the Board of Governors of CIPCRE

Reference framework of our activities

A christian NGO, CIPCRE commits to work so that the « Will of God can be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. With regards to that, it sets a reference framework for its activities, which was adopted by the Board of Governors during its ordinary meeting of April 19, 2004 and ratified by the Extraordinary General Assembly of April 20, 2005 which includes:

• the vision ;
• the mission;
• the  overall results awaited;
• the areas of intervention;
• the intervention strategies;
• the beneficiary publics;
• the guiding  principles.

Our mission

In the perspective of the fulfilment of its vision, CIPCRE has as mission to work for the promotion of creation, by contributing to the transformation of social structures and for the reinforcement of practical and strategic capacities of disadvantaged populations shape their destiny themselves.

Overall results awaited

At the end of actions for the transformation of social structures and the reinforcement of practical and strategic capacities of its partners:

• Disadvantaged populations, men and women, would better understand their problems and have the tools to solve them;
• The social structures (politic, economic, religious and cultural) would function for the interests of disadvantaged populations;
• The eco-theological vision of development would be shared with other social actors, in ecumenical and inter-religious spirit;
• Human promotion would go hand in hand with the promotion of the environment;
• Equity in man/woman relationships would be shared and practiced by the social actors.

Areas of intervention

In order to achieve overall results so identified, CIPCRE intervenes in the following domains:
Promotion of dialogue and social transformation;
Promotion of justice, peace and citizen’s rights;
Promotion of local development initiatives;
Promotion of healthy relationships between human being and his environment;
Promotion of equal man/woman relationships.

Global intervention strategies

The interventions of CIPCRE are implemented according to the following strategies:

• Advocacy;
• Accompaniment;
• Sensitization and training;
• Information, education and communication (IEC) ;
• Research-action;
• Lobbying, partnership and participation;
• Spirituality-action;
• Resources mobilisation.

Beneficiaries

We understand by beneficiaries, the partners for whom and with whom we act and that we consider as clients, i.e. those at whose service we are. It is basically:

• Women;
• Youth;
• Farmers;
• Handicraft and other actors of the informal sector;
• Believers;
• Pupils and students;
• Citizens.

Guiding principles

The actions of CIPCRE are guided by a number of guiding principles that underlie its organisational culture:

• militancy;
• respect of eco-theological values;
• professionalism and transparency;
• responsibility and dignity;
• openness and collaboration;
• courage and hope;
• team spirit.

Convinced that God has a project for his creation, CIPCRE believes that the actions undertaken in the perspective of the actual framework of reference will contribute to the realization of the human to man and to the construction of a society based on evangelical values, i.e. a democratic society, just equal, peaceful, human, healthy and « green ».