Basic Information

  • Founded in: 1991 (Football programmes started in 2005)
  • Located in: Mamfe, Cameroon

Short Description:
Back in 1991, ELENA started as a projected aimed at training girls and women who had dropped out of school or were deprived of a further education. Located in Mamfe, in North-Western Cameroon, its general goal was to improve the living standards of women well acquainted with daily poverty and destitution. ELENA not only sought to educate women, but also to empower them. In cooperation with the Local Council and Ministry of Social Affairs, Youths and Sports, ELENA developed Women in the Field - a project which has incorporated football in its mission to disseminate knowledge and improve social conditions for Cameroonian women. Its current football programme consists of 27 women's teams and over 400 female footballers. After matches, these women learn about critical issues affecting them, such as HIV/AIDS, female genital mutilation, domestic abuse, etc. The streetfootballworld network member (since 2005) continues to serve its community and hopes to develop its initiatives and partnerships to one day be able to assist women with small loans to initiate and run small businesses, and to open nursery homes and schools for vulnerable children.

Target Group:

  • Underprivileged women

Thematic Field(s):

  • Health Promotion,
  • Children's Rights & Education

Support in the Framework of the Football for Hope Movement:
Football for Hope is supporting the implementation of ELENA's Women in the Field project, aiming to communicate information and protective strategies about the spread of HIV/AIDS to the entire population of Manyu Division in Cameroon. This will be done on 27 football pitches by the use of 27 female football teams belonging to 27 communities respectively. The project's objectives include: bringing together non-infected persons and people living with HIV/AIDS to address stigma and discrimination; providing women of different educational levels with access to knowledge on how HIV/AIDS is transmitted and the fact that HIV/AIDS is a fatal disease; encouraging both men and women to undertake HIV/AIDS testing to know their health status; providing information on safe sexual practices and formulating a strategic action plan with the 27 women football teams on the best means of providing HIV/AIDS education to fellow women all over the Division. These aims are being achieved through the conduction of workshops, information dissemination actions, football competitions and various other activities.

Contact Details:
Contact Person: Tambe Dickson Ashu
Address: BANYA QUARTER
Postal Code: P.O. BOX 38
City: Mamfe
Country: Cameroon
Telephone: +237 768 95 98
Fax: +237 334 10 70/ +237 334 13 82
Email: mailto:elenangocam@yahoo.co.uk