About Us

The idea for the creation of African Empowerment and Development Association (AEDA) is the vision of Mr. Victor Elokan Ndando Ngoo - a seasoned Qualified Mental Health Professional, Prevention/Intervention Specialist trained in the United States of America. Mr Victor is born of a Cameroonian mother and a Nigerian father. After spending 33 years in the USA, decided to give back to his country of birth Cameroon. His experiences with the community gave rise to the vision of creating an Association such as AEDA which tackles Behavioral and Mental Health issues. After a lot of research and meetings with some learned individuals the process for the creation of the Association began. On the 9thAugust 2021, AEDA was created officially with Authorization No: 619/2021 /DR/Cl9/SAAJP. AEDA is presently funded by her parent organization, NDANDO HOUSE TEXAS - U.S.A

From its creation, AEDA has embarked on a national campaign to fight mental health diseases in Cameroon by conducting a feasibility study and establishing a plan of action. We believe that it is not sufficient to identify someone as “crazy”. For a mental health label to be concluded it must be supported with empirical data confirming the origin of the problem and the necessary treatment. AEDA’s campaign targets mostly the youth population, focus on education, substance abuse, traditional practices, and effects of the civil strife in Cameroon. AEDA strongly believes that it’s use of therapeutic drama, focus group studies, interviews, as well as structured/unstructured questionnaires will demonstrate commitment to mental wellness. 

During this period, AEDA noticed a deficiency in professionals in the fields Psychotherapy, Counseling and Case Management. This Association thought it wise to introduce a program wherein, it trains young people to become professionals in these fields so as to address the issue of lack of experts. This idea birthed Vocational Training Institute - AEDA Mental Health (VTI - AEDA). VTI - AEDA is one of AEDA’s programs which was authorized 17thOctober 2022 by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training. Our Vocational Training Institute offers six courses which includes Psychotherapy, Psycho-Spiritual Counseling, Case Management, Counseling Education, Medical Secretary and Marriage and Family Counseling. Several meetings / board meetings were held to structure the activities to run throughout the academic year. Classes effectively began on 17th October 2023 with 7 registered trainees. By the end of October we had 11 registered trainees taking all six courses. These trainees were able to take all 6 courses due to the scholarship granted them by AEDA.

Victor Elokan Ndando-Ngoo was born and raised in the colonial city of Victoria (today known as Limbe) in the Republic of Cameroon. His upbringing in Cameroon, as well as his subsequent years of early adulthood in the United States, inspired his passion for mental health advocacy within the global black community. Victor Elokan Ndando-Ngoo grew up without his parents for most of his early life and beyond. Such an experience negatively impacted his own mental health as other aspects of his life began to be affected. Having attended the American HBCU known as Prairie View A&M University, he was encouraged by his professors and fellow peers to engage in activities that promoted Pan-Africanism and black civil rights. Eventually, Victor Elokan Ndando-Ngoo felt inspired to combine his passion for black social issues and his past struggles with parental-induced mental health adversities, to create the TADI-AEDA collective. These organizations serve as his own personal gesture of giving back to the communities that raised and educated him. Now he can provide support to individuals experiencing similar and/or differing struggles relative to his own.