Cameroon Catalyst logo

Cameroon Catalyst is an international development charity with the mission to be a catalyst for sustainable change in rural Cameroon. The charity was founded in 2009 and since then has accomplished the construction of a medical centre, school buildings and wells, supplying safe drinking water to more than 1,000 people.

Together with chapters across the UK, our projects have brought healthcare, improved education and a water supply to the villages we work with. Supported by a team of dedicated trustees and engineers, us students lead the design and fundraising of the projects.

The Society is composed of three parts: Design, Fundraising and Grants. Over the past year, we have been designing a communal latrine facility. By joining the Design Team, you will have the perfect opportunity to use your engineering skills to change lives. You will contribute to technical discussions where we brainstorm ideas and perform a range of calculations from slab thicknesses to cost estimates. If you enjoy using programs such as AutoCAD, we create 3D models and detailed drawings (as you can see on the slide). We also perform risk and safety assessments. 

The Fundraising Team organises events such as bake sales, quizzes, and Pangea, which is our cultural showcase, to raise money and promote our charity. The pub quiz that we held with the Civil Engineering Society was a huge success last year, and was even nominated for an EPS Societies’ Award! This year the Fundraising Team has collaborated with other groups such as the Yoga and Baking Societies to host virtual events and are currently undertaking a sponsored walk referred to as ‘Walk to Cameroon’, as well as planning more events for next semester.

To top it all off, every year our members have the opportunity to take a trip to Cameroon to put our work into practise. Working with local leaders and villagers, we conduct research and take part in surveying to see first-hand how the projects we help design have changed lives. We hope we’ll still be able to make our trip in 2021!

Joining Cameroon Catalyst will enable you to make friends and meet people from different backgrounds. You will gain experience and new skills ranging from designing to organising events that unites everyone in a challenging and rewarding way. 

If you are interested in international development, engineering or just want to make a change, this is the society for you. We’re free to join and are always looking for new members, new ideas and new activities so get involved! Take a look at our Facebook page, and follow us with @camcatbham on Instagram to stay up to date with us. You can also find more information about the charity in general and our past projects at: www.camerooncatalyst.org.

We can’t wait to meet you!

Isa Manneh
Birmingham Student Chapter Chair

trip photos

To find out more about Cameroon Catalyst visit their website www.birmingham.ac.uk/eps/camcat.

There are 42 student groups in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. To learn more about their projects and activities head to www.birmingham.ac.uk/eps-societies.