A new building in Yaoundé: our projects take root

Some news is simply too good not to share. This is one of them, and I am announcing it with a joy I am not even trying to contain: since this July 2026, Awaken Destiny has a larger building for its activities in Yaoundé, in the heart of the Nkolmesseng neighborhood, in Mébé-city.

When my wife Élise and I founded the foundation in 2024, we dreamed of this moment without daring to put a date on it. We knew that one day our projects would need real walls to grow — walls wide enough to hold the machines, the students' desks, the soap vats, and above all the people. That day has come.

Let me share something personal: I have not yet set foot in this building. I am writing to you from Belgium, and it is our volunteers on the ground — already working there with a dedication that moves me deeply — who bring each step to life for me from afar. And yet, with every photo, every message they send, I feel something rare: the quiet certainty that lives will change within these walls.

A plaque, two flags

One image moved me deeply. Above the gate, our volunteers welded a plaque bearing, in bold letters: AWAKEN DESTINY. Anyone who passes down this street in Nkolmesseng now knows that here, destinies are being awakened.

And on the roof of the building, two flags fly side by side: Belgium and Cameroon. Two countries, one family. That is the whole story of our foundation up there — born from the meeting of our two nations, carried by hearts on both sides of the Mediterranean. When the wind makes them dance together, the bridge between Charleroi and Yaoundé becomes visible to the naked eye.

Why this building changes everything

Until now, we did not have enough space to manage our projects well. This new place gives us what we lacked most: the ability to run our projects at the same time, under one roof, without one holding the others back.

But beyond the square footage, it is a signal. For families in the neighborhood, AWAKEN DESTINY is no longer only a passing hand extended in kindness: it is an address, a door you can knock on, a place that says "we are here, and we are staying." Having a visible presence on the street in Nkolmesseng means rooting our promise in the daily lives of those we serve.

And within these walls, three projects close to our hearts are taking shape.

The sewing workshop: hands reclaiming their destiny

In the largest room of the building, sewing machines have found their place. Women whom life had left without resources — widows, single mothers, out-of-school young women — are learning a trade there, stitch by stitch.

The principle remains the one that has driven us from the start: do not give a fish, teach how to fish. After several months of training, each woman leaves with her own machine, repaid through a staggered micro-loan that will equip the next trainee. With this new space, we can welcome more learners at once — and every additional seat means one more family that will soon be able to live from the work of its hands.

The soap-making enterprise: from lather comes independence

A little farther on, the Awaken Destiny soap-making enterprise is taking shape. Here we produce our liquid and bar soaps, branded with the foundation's logo, with all profits reinvested in our work in Cameroon.

But this place is also a school: women and men are trained in soap-making — from measuring ingredients to pouring molds to selling at the market. The new building finally gives us the space to produce and train at the same time. One simple bar of soap, two lives transformed — and now room to transform many more.

The Homework School: reigniting the desire to learn

And then there is my sweetest pride: the room where, after school, children who are struggling or out of school come to regain confidence and a taste for learning. The Homework School does not replace public school — it complements it, humanizes it, and catches those the path has caused to stumble.

In this new building, children finally have a space dedicated to them — calm and welcoming. When a child raises their hand again, asks questions again, dreams of a trade again, an entire future reopens. And behind them, a whole family begins to hope again.

This is only the beginning

I write these lines with sincere emotion. This building is not walls — it is a crossroads of destinies. Women who will enter dependent and leave self-reliant. Children who will enter discouraged and leave dreamers. Entire families whose trajectory will change, simply because a place now exists to welcome them.

None of this would be possible without you — donors, partners, and you who read these lines and carry our work in your heart. And I want to say here, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to our volunteers in Yaoundé: while I write to you from Belgium, it is they who install, arrange, weld, raise the flags, and bring this place to life. This building is theirs as much as it is ours.

As for me, I already have a promise to keep: to one day stand beneath that plaque, look up at those two flags, and embrace the women and men who make this place live. Until then, we will very soon share photos and news of the life taking root within these walls. If you would like to be part of this beautiful journey, every gift counts — and transforms.

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