About Yekov Foundation

We believe in young people. Then we back them.

We believe that by providing opportunities, skills training and support, we can create a positive and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to the betterment of society.

Our vision

A world where every young person thrives and transforms communities.

Our mission

To empower youth, promote gender equality, advocate for the rights of the girl child, and support single mothers in our community.

Our story

It started with a question: who is in their corner?

Our founder, Yekov Cindy, kept meeting the same young people: bright, hard-working and stuck. Some had fled the crisis in Cameroon's North West and were starting over with nothing. Some were girls who had been told, one way or another, that ambition was not for them. Others were young mothers raising children alone.

What they needed was not pity. It was a skill they could sell, a mentor who believed in them, and a door to walk through. So, with a handful of volunteers and a few committed trainers, Yekov Foundation was born, and launched in Bamenda before a hall full of young people, educators and mentors.

Our first cohort learned pastry, IT and hairdressing alongside displaced youth from across the region. Since then we have hosted wellbeing retreats, celebrated women changing their communities, taken career guidance into high schools and helped young people chase global opportunities.

Dr Pascalin Ndukum speaking on the panel at the launch of Yekov Foundation
A young woman asking a question from the audience

Our objectives

Five commitments that guide everything we do

Skills for self-employment

Practical, hands-on training that turns into income: pastry, IT, hairdressing and business basics.

Girls in information technology

Putting computers, code and digital confidence in the hands of girls who are too often left out of tech.

Rights of the girl child

Speaking up on menstrual dignity, education and safety, so every girl can stay in school and stay safe.

Linking youth to opportunity

Scholarships, fellowships, conferences and careers, locally and internationally, explained without gatekeeping.

Empowering single mothers

Skills, support and a community for mothers raising children alone, so they can provide and thrive.

What we stand for

Our values

How we work matters as much as what we do. These are the promises we make to every young person who walks through our doors.

Yekov Cindy with guests and speakers at the launch event
01

Every young person counts

We start where young people are, including those displaced by the crisis, and walk with them from a first skill to a first income.

02

Girls at the centre

When a girl learns, earns and leads, her whole community moves forward with her.

03

Practical over perfect

Hands-on training, real mentors and real tools. Skills that put food on the table, not certificates that gather dust.

04

Stronger together

We build with schools, universities, tech hubs and fellow organisations, because no one changes a community alone.

The people

The team behind the work

Volunteers, professionals and mentors who give their time so young people can grow.

Leadership

Portrait of Yekov Cindy

Yekov Cindy

Founder

Cindy founded Yekov Foundation to give young people, especially girls, displaced youth and single mothers, the skills and support to build the lives they dream of. She leads the foundation's programmes and partnerships, and is often found in the training room herself.

LinkedIn profile of Yekov Cindy

Team

Portrait of Soh Juvitus Leong

Soh Juvitus Leong

Team member

Software engineer, and co-founder and CEO of Skye8, the foundation's technology partner. Juvitus helped organise the foundation's launch and spoke on its panel.

Portrait of Lem Meklia

Lem Meklia

Team member

Development communicator, youth advocate and advocate for the inclusive participation of persons with disability. Meklia helped organise the foundation's launch and spoke at it.

Advisers

Portrait of Akuo Gideon

Akuo Gideon

Adviser

Proprietor of Keep the Faith Nursery and Primary School and an academic administrator with over 30 years of experience. He advises the foundation and served on the panel at its launch.

Partners

No one changes a community alone

Universities, tech hubs, student associations and fellow organisations walk this road with us.

  • Skye8
  • WTM Bambili
  • GirlFORCE
  • GGIT
  • Her Blueprint Africa
  • ASWEDO
  • Med Techies
  • The Everyday Doctor
  • UBaMSA
  • UBaMELSA
  • CATUC-MSA

Give today

Be part of the next chapter

A gift of any size buys ingredients for a baking class, computer time for a girl learning to code, or a seat at a wellbeing retreat. Give by card, MTN Mobile Money or Orange Money.