Completed Projects

The Balaveng Water Project (2011-2013; Balaveng, West Region)

We partnered with the community of Baleveng in west Cameroon to build a well and install a water reservoir and electric pump. Prior to the project, the community relied on the water from a small spring into which villagers had to wade in order to fetch their water.
In addition to building the pump, which provided 3,500 people with clean drinking water, we also worked with the community and the local health centers to organize an education program. The education program taught basic hygiene as well as water treatment techniques.
The primary goal of this project was to reduce the number of water-borne diseases in the village, improving the community's overall health and reducing the economic burden of medical costs. We partnered with One Day's Wages to raise the funds for this project - you can see photos of our work here.

Completion of the Keuleng Preschool and Community Center (November 2009-August 2011;Keuleng, West Region)

The village of Keuleng collectively decided that the construction of a two-room preschool building, which would serve as a community center also, would greatly benefit not only the children but the entire village and surrounding area. The villagers raised more than $1000 towards the project. After more than 18 years of savings, they succeeded in constructing the building's foundation and vertical beams. 

Thanks to a generous grant from the Obakki Foundation, Breaking Ground worked side-by-side with the village leadership of Keuleng to launch construction in November 2009. While the grant from Obakki and additional Breaking Ground funds served to purchase materials, the community contributed the manual labor for the construction. Classes began in September 2011.

Visit our gallery for photos of the Keuleng project >

Construction of the Menouet River Bridge (February 2008-May 2009; Les Villages F4, West Region)

Construction of the Menouet Bridge Project finished in early 2009, connecting tens of thousands of villagers to a nearby city and increasing their access to markets.

From the beginning, the community tackled this project alone, without government funds and support or without a major contracting company involved. 

We were alerted to this project by a Peace Corps Volunteer and were immediately inspired by the energy and commitment of the community. Once we jumped on board, the U.S. Embassy and British High Commission followed. The project management committee, composed of community and traditional leaders from the villages, worked to maintain communication and coordinate effective collaboration between the different parties. Many members of the community waded deep into the waters of the river to build this bridge, working through rain and through many nights over the course of the months it took to complete the project.

Visit our gallery for photos of the Menouet River Bridge construction >

Menouet River Bridge Project - Detailed Proposal

Construction of Glory Bilingual Nursery & Primary School (January-March 2008; Ngaoundal,Adamaoua Region)

Madame Becham, a participant in the 2007 session of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Program, is a certified teacher and single mother of four. In 2004, Becham used her own savings to start Glory Bilingual Elementary School in Ngaoundal, a district where government studies estimate that only 35% of children attend school. In the first year she had only 11 students, but by visiting parents and raising awareness, Becham has expanded the school to 43 students.

With funds from Breaking Ground, work began in March 2008 to build a three-classroom facility. The school was inaugurated on June 28th, 2008.

Visit our gallery for photos of Glory Bilingual Nursery and Primary School >

Continued Construction of Doumbouo Primary School (January-April 2006; West Region)

Independent of any government funding, the community of Doumbouo made tremendous progress in constructing the Doumbouo Primary School. Because of limited funding, the work was halted with just a basic, six-room cinderblock structure in place, leaving dirt floors, walls bare of any instructional materials, and windows open to the elements. The parents and teachers identified cementing the floors as major priority, the aim being to get the youngest children out of the dirt and protected from the pervasive chiggers, insects that bore into the children’s bare feet and cause distracting irritation and dangerous infections. Executive Director Lindsay Clarke & the Breaking Ground’s early community raised $6,000 to transform and finish construction of the school, including cementing classroom and office floors and walls, installing a potable water source, expanding blackboards and affixing cabinets, and painting classrooms and adding educational murals.

School Upgrades completed:

•    Classroom and office floors and walls cemented
•    Potable water source installed
•    Staircase and flagpole constructed
•    Blackboards expanded & cabinets installed
•    Classrooms painted
•    Educational murals painted in classrooms and around school grounds

Construction of Public Library of Bafou-Sud (May-July 2006; West Region)