WOMEN AND MICROCREDIT
IN AFRICA
Friday, November 11th, 2005
A very special brown bag presentation
by Francois Onodobo and Professor C.R. Norwood
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During
the summer of 2005, Dr. Norwood assistant professor of sociology, traveled
to Cameroon, Central Africa, to learn more about microcredit organizations
in Africa. During her travels. Dr. Norwood met Madame Francois Onodobo.
Madame Onodobo is the founder and current president of Les Chrysalides,
one of the microcredit groups locally referred to as Tontines. Microcredit
programs are informal banking operations. In French speaking Cameroon,
the establishment
of
microcredit programs is said to have originated among the Bamileke
ethnic group in the northern region of Dscheng. Microcredit is an old
concept
and practice that dates back Cameroon’s pre-colonial era.  |
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In
November 2005 the Sociology Department, with co-sponsorship from the
Center
for Women’s Intercultural Leadership (CWIL) and the Department of Business/Administration,
the Women’s Studies Program, and the Intercultural Studies Program, had
the great pleasure of hosting a visit from Madame Onodobo. She shared her experience
in a microcredit program in Cameroon. She discussed how the organizations are
typically structured and the benefits they offer women in particular. Madame
Onodobo discussed how her organization does both – empower women and
take the initiative to address the HIV epidemic in their community. In regards
to
the former, she spoke about a project in which one of the women participants
engaged. This woman makes hats with money she receives from the tontine. The
hats are beautifully designed and she sells them for a small profit. This woman’s
participation in the tontine is done in secret. Her husband opposes her involvement
in activities outside house and tries to regulate her mobility. Through membership
in the tontine, she is able to make some money of her own and maintain a small
savings for herself. |