MEET THE FOUNDER

Since 2007, GivHOPE Founder, Helene Pieume, assisted groups of school dropouts and drug-addicts in her neighborhood and encouraged them to either go back to School or undergo vocational training. She provided them with food, shelter and contributed to the payment of their school fees. Over the years, she expanded the scope of her work to consultations and research work with some of these youths that have demonstrated that they can make a difference in fighting poverty through their actions and advocacy via individual, collective activities or joining other youth organizations. Youths are key agents of change, but too often the nature and impact of their projects are not recognized or documented sufficiently. They also face difficulties being voiceless and not engaging enough directly in civic life. As a result, they need a motivational push that can definitely move them. In order to help them take this move and make a difference in reducing poverty among themselves, after retirement, GivHOPE Africa Founder decided to expand her activities, using this first batch of trainees, to other neighborhoods of Yaoundé. Prior to founding GivHOPE Africa, the Founder of GivHOPE Africa, held positions at the World Bank Group, Cameroon Country Office as Program Associate and Strategic Communications Officer and at IOCS Computer Services, Inc. in Washington, DC as a Consultant in charge of training, working with many US companies. She also worked for IOCS-African Informatics in Cameroon in charge of Office Techniques and Public Relations, helping the Government to computerize its key services at the Ministry of Finances and others. She also has previous private sector and diplomatic experience from the industry and embassies. Hélène holds a Degree in Computer Sciences and Business Administration with Honors from Strayer University, Washington, DC. Country experience: France, USA, Cameroon, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Belgium, Senegal, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa.