CRRI’s December 2020 Food Drive, To Cameroonian Refugees In Taraba State, Nigeria, An Initiative Worth Remembering
The memories are still fresh and the zeal to do more for refugees is still there, as the Community Refugee Relief Initiative, CRRI, looks back at last year’s activities, projecting a more promising future. As the year 2020 approached its end, CRRI decided to respond to a major outcry of Southern Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria.
During the COVID-19 campaign organized by CRRI in the month of August 2020, one of the major points of need expressed by refugees (after livelihood) was that of hunger.
In as much as a major focus of CRRI during the year 2020 has been on livelihood, CRRI could not give a deaf ear to the request for food assistance. Based on the resources available, CRRI had to prioritize the December distribution to Taraba state where refugees have a higher level of vulnerability since they are not yet beneficiaries of the UNHCR cash-based intervention as is the case with those at the settlements in Cross River state.
The CRRI decided to send a team of volunteers to five (5) locations in Taraba State for the purpose of food distribution to the refugees including Takum in TAKUM Local Government Area, Mubi-Tosso, Baissa, and Abong, all three in KURMI Local Government Area, and Gembu in SARDAUNA Local Government Area.
In addition to providing food relief to the locations mentioned above, CRRI provided cash-based Christmas support to CRRI trainees and trainers of the ongoing livelihood vocational training programs in six locations including Takum, Baissa, Abong, all in Taraba State, Ogoja, Ikom, and Calabar, all in Cross River State.
The final gesture was at the Kids for Tomorrow Orphanage at Ikom, where CRRI donated a Cash-based Christmas Support of N 100,000 to enable the children at the orphanage to enjoy a befitting Christmas celebration. The food drive took place from December 17th to December 24th, 2020. At the time CRRI visited the locations in Taraba, the refugee population in all three locations exceeded 10,000. While the recipients were grateful for the gesture, it is more than evident that more hands are needed, not only to meet up with the great demand for food relief but to also provide sustainable livelihood support to the vulnerable populations who fled to these locations.
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