About Us

Westkam was founded in 2009 by Gilbert Kana who himself is from West Cameroon and would especially like to support the children in his home town Bakoko. Based in Reutlingen, Germany, Gilbert organises and coordinates the activities of Westkam with the help of more than fifteen active members. Find out how to join us here.

Our members are a diverse group of people with a common interest in supporting the aims of Westkam. Although we all live and work in Germany, we originally come from a wide range of different countries.

We meet twice a year to discuss and plan Westkam’s activities and new ideas as well as resolve any questions.

Our Team

Gilbert Kana – Chairman

Gilbert Kana is from Bakoko in Cameroon and has been living in Reutlingen with his wife and four children for the last six years. Gilbert’s professional training is in business and he studied both in Cameroon and in Germany. İn 2009 Gilbert visited his old school in Bakoko and was shocked by the appalling condition of the building. “The parents are scared to send their children to school” Gilbert told us. Now Gilbert would like to use his education and resources to allow the children in Bakoko access to a school education and an independent and successful future.

Beata Wloch-Ortwein – Deputy Chairperson

Further Active Members

Evren Erkol – Website Administrator
Elizabeth Hawkins
Cedric Jiago
Gabrielle Huber
Jutta G. Huber
Valerija Katsnelson
Thomas Kegel
Sergiej Kinderknecht
Galina Krüger
Irina Lorenz
Kai Potratz

How the work from Westkam is financed

All members of Westkam work on a voluntary basis. We carry out a number of fundraising activities including our annual mango campaign, attendance of Africa festivals and collecting donations through various sponsored events. Each member of Westkam pays a modest annual membership fee. Our administrative costs are kept very low which means almost all of the money raised goes straight to our building projects in West Cameroon.

If you have any ideas for fundraising events, please let us know. (info@westkam.org/) You can also use the Contactform to reach us.