HISTORY

In 2006 Afri-link founder Andy Burger-Seed spent 6 months volunteering for Berudep (Belo Rural Development Project) in Cameroon. Whilst working on developing the eco-tourism project for Berudep, a good friend (Kate Lee) back in the UK asked Andy if she could send £20 a month over to Cameroon to sponsor an orphan in the village. After extensive work researching the feasibility, sustainability, cost assessments and needs analysis it was decided that for all the work needed to set this up it made sense to develop it so that other friends could get involved and become sponsors as well.

The Berudep Sponsor an Orphan project was born, and its goal to ensure all the sponsorship money sent was spent to the benefit of the child rather than being lost in bank fees and administration costs became paramount.
As an African non profit NGO, and not a ‘registered charity’ as recognised in the UK, Berudep found it difficult to do simple things UK charities take for granted. Essential operational activities like; opening a dedicated bank account for orphan sponsorship money, sending money for free through Pay pal, joining volunteer recruitment websites, registering for gift aid, applying for funding and being internationally recognised were impossible. To help overcome these obstacles and ensure the sustainability and development of the Berudep Sponsor an Orphan Project, Andy set up Afri-link in 2008.

The Berudep Sponsor an Orphan Project currently has 46 sponsored orphans. Sponsored orphans do not live in an orphanage, rather as is tradition in Cameroon, they are housed by relatives. Most of these families are extremely poor and have children of their own to clothe, pay school fees and medicine when they are sick. In Cameroon if you cannot afford the school fees then you cannot go to school, likewise if you cannot afford medicine when you are sick then you cannot receive treatment and you may die. Orphans are the last in the pecking order to be taken care of. 

Through careful evaluation and needs analysis on the ground, sponsorship is strictly on a neediest first basis. Sponsorship covers education costs and text books, hospital bills and medicine, food supplements (U12) to combat malnutrition, clothes and a dedicated local fieldworker.

Although Afri-link’s main objective is to support and develop the Berudep Sponsor an Orphan Project the wider goal is to help support other projects run by Berudep in areas which aim to improve medical welfare, social welfare, education, environmental protection and conservation in the local community.

Afri-link’s long term goal is to be able to offer this help and support to other African non profit NGO’s with the same aims.