Internally displaced persons encouraged to actively participate in development of their host communities
Many IDPs, upon arrival in host communities, deliberately remain dormant while waiting for humanitarian aid from NGOs and the government in order to improve on their living conditions.
This mentality according to Adah Mbah Muyang, Executive Director of the Mother of Hope Cameroon non-governmental organization, should be eradicted. She was speaking at the conference hall of the Babadjou Municipal Council speaking this December 12 during a workshop, organized by hre NGO to drill IDPs on techniques of finding economic opportunities in the Babadjou municipality.
The workshop was within the framework of the project “peaceful coexistence and empowerment of displaced youths in the Littoral and West Regions” launched in Cameroon on June 25 this year by the International Organization of Migration.
“This Project was basically to reinforce the economic capacity of internally displaced persons who have been affected by the ongoing crisis in the North west and South West regions of Cameroon, so that they can have some basic ideas on financial structures and petit businesses that exist around, resulting to their employment and their contributions to the economic development of the host community,” she declared.
“We also had as aim to sensitize the IDPs on the effects of the violence that they have in them so that they survive in the municipality and contribute in its development process,” she added.
The over 50 participants were also drilled on gender-based violence, human rights, and hate speech so as to promote cohabitation in any community especially those hosting IDPs.
Bernadette is an IDP who took part in the workshop:
“This is really a way of calling on IDP women to preserve their dignity because many have been become prostitutes here because of laziness. Our brothers and sisters here should really preserve their dignity”.
The workshop rounded up with the distribution of some basic commodities to the IDPs for end of year festivities.
