Building the future in Gayack: How Eneo is helping to restore the dignity and safety of Stone-Crushers

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Abiba is 18. Younger—four years ago—, she was already carrying the full weight of adulthood on her shoulders. At 14, she still had childhood dreams when she dropped out of school. Not for want of ambition, but out of necessity. In her family, every franc matters...and this is how she found herself, day in day out, in the quarries, a makeshift hammer in hand, her face covered in dust, and her eyes constantly under threat from stone particles.  “Sometimes, we get hit in the face by pieces of stone. We have nothing to protect ourselves...,” she says, her palms still carrying the hallmarks of the repeated hammering.

Around her, other women, some still teenagers, others mothers to many children, repeat the same dangerous gestures, bent over under the scorching sun and their feet resting on unstable stones. For Abiba and many women in Gayack and Djounde, stone crushing is the only way to keep their households going. A tedious, risky, unprotected job, where each day is a battle against injury, extreme fatigue and sometimes even fear. On 1st December 2025, something changed. During the speech by Eneo’s General Manager, there was a new spark in Abiba’s gaze. “We are delivering more than equipment. We are delivering dignity. We are delivering safety. We are delivering a future,” Oumarou Hamandjoda, our Deputy General Manager, declared.

In total, 80 personal protective equipment kits, meant solely for the women stone crushers in Gayack and Djounde, were handed over. These kits included

• chinstraps,
• handling gloves,
• particle protection goggles, and
• steel toes.

In addition to these kits, Eneo also offered

• gristmills, and
• oil extractors.

For the first time ever, Abiba will be able to work without being scared for her eyes, without the risk of a fracture in her leg, without being hit in the head by a piece of stone.  “This is the first time we are being seen as people worth protecting,” murmured a woman stone crusher, moved.

What happened in Gayack is not a one-off gesture. It is the culmination of a shared vision between Eneo Cameroon and Release by Scatec, a vision where energy transition goes hand in hand with social transformation. Thanks to a funding of 23.9 million CFAF, this partnership has already made it possible to support many CIGs in local development, to build the productive capacity of women, to launch reafforestation initiatives, to improve school infrastructure through the distribution of benches, as well as to maintain close and constant dialogue with community leaders.


Eneo Communication | December 2025

 

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