MOHWA President urges womenfolk to be cultural boosters.

MOHWA President Mrs.Ogork Kate displaying money she received from a Manyu elite as support to the association

By Christopher Ambe

The  President of MOHWA Buea( the popular Manyu Women’s Association),has implored the womenfolk of Manyu Division of the Southwest Region of Cameroon to be more passionate about their culture and serve as cultural  boosters wherever the find themselves.

Mrs. Ogork Kate , a PhD student of African Literature and Chief of Service of the Teachers’ Resource Centre,Buea made the call ,August 24,2019, on the occasion of a Manyu cultural jamboree, organised by MOHWA ,which took place at Mountain Hotel Buea.

Mrs. Ogork Kate

Organised under the patronage of Southwest Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai( represented), the event, which  had as theme “Handing Down the Manyu Culture to the Younger Generation,” assembled not only Manyu womenfolk but also male elites of the division  who included  “sesekou”,as well as national dignitaries such Senator Mbella Moki and the Managing Director of SOWEDA,Buea Dr. Ogork Ntui Besong.

In her highly applauded welcome address, Mrs. Ogork justified the holding of the jamboree:

“Yes, we have to struggle to hand down our culture and tradition to the next generation so that they too can uphold it and eventuality pass it on to the succeeding generations.”

The dynamic MOHWA president expressed the hope that lessons learnt from the cultural come together would “spur parents and children themselves to become more passionate about issues of [Manyu] culture.”

But she lamented: “Just like many other cultures in Cameroon, we’ve realised that our tradition is gradually fading out. There are many aspects of our culture that even us, adults, do not know or do not remember. 

“Today, rural to urban migration has taken so many people out of the villages, and so we cannot take our children to the village because the village has come to us. 

“Civilization has caused many of us to abandon our prestigious native languages in preference to the Whiteman’s tongues; modern technology has caused our children to prefer wearing their trousers below their butts in imitation of American prisoners instead of dressing in our decent traditional outfits. 

“We have all abandoned our sweet palm wine and delicious ‘tanchot soup’ to poison our system with hamburgers and other unhealthy meals.”

The President further regretted: “Parents have become so busy that moonlit stories or even night-time family get-togethers where mothers used to recount folktales to their children have become very scarce.”

Noting that culture is an aspect of humanity that makes life more gratifying and pleasurable, the soft-spoken Mrs.Ogork boasted that, the culture of Manyu people is very rich, thus a cause for celebration. 

She disclosed that the Buea Cultural Jamboree was prompted by the fact that, Mohwa women “have looked at all factors that impede the continuity of tradition and decided that if we cannot take our children to the village, we shall bring the village to our children”. 

She was thankful to MOHWA patron,Senator Mbella Moki Charles ,who  forwent  his trip to Yaounde just to attend the occasion.

 “Actually, we all know that wherever MOHWA is, just turn around and you’ll see the Senator, “she remarked before acknowledging the presence of other invitees from different regions and divisions, who joined MOHWA in celebrating the rich Manyu culture. 

“In fact, when we talk about living-together, this population of non-Manyu people here present is proof of the fact that we Cameroonians support one another in everything.” 

The president extended special thanks to the General manager of Mountain Hotel, who,she said, “ is a Banso woman by birth and Manyu woman by education” for being  very supportive  to MOHWA ideals.

MOHWA girls perform a cultural  dance  

Mrs. Ogork equally had kind words for Mrs. Grace Ngoh Ewang,Southwest Regional  Delegate for  Arts and Culture, adding that the latter “ sounded more excited about this event than even some of us and  has remained enthusiastic about it to the point that she had to postpone her trip just to be here”. 

She urged MOHWA husbands to keep encouraging their children in matters of tradition and exposing them to all aspects of Manyu culture like Commissioner Takem Collins has always done.

The president  said MOHWA has  women of all walks of life:nurses,Judges  , divisional officers, medical doctors, academics  , educationists, business women  etc , all waxing strong in their various functions .She then challenged  Manyu girls to “use these career women and men as a catalyst for your future professions.”

The president noted that education is the Manyu man’s only weapon in life; reason why “we shall be celebrating academic excellence in this occasion”, by awarding prizes to students who excelled in their end-of-course exams such as GCE O and A levels.

Dr. Mbua Hannah Etonde :"The education of children should be collective effort".

Cameroon's  Southwest Regional Delegate for Secondary Education, Dr. Mbua Hannah Etonde, , has appealed to parents, teachers and the general public to help ensure that the 2019l2020  school resumption becomes  a huge success.

The Delegate, who holds a PhD in Education Administration, cautions parents to know that 80% of the future of their children lies in their hands.

Dr. Mbua Etonde sat down, last week, for an interview with The Horizon Newspaper's Contributing Editor, Christopher Ambe, on preparations for resumption of schools.

Excerpts:

Madam Regional Delegate, schools are expected to resume on September 2^nd, how has the back-to- school campaign been faring this far, especially with regards to secondary education?

We started back -to -school preparation as far back as June .Immediately after end- of- course   exams were written and marked; we started preparation for the new school year. We did interviews into form one; we had a coordination meeting in June; we validated lists of students who gained admission into form one. And, we looked at challenges ahead of us as education stakeholders of the Region and we came up with common grounds on which we are going to work; we looked at the instructions from hierarchy as far as the formation and running of admission commissions are concerned.

The fact that a good numbers of schools did not function last year and in an effort to get them function this year, we have created a taskforce, which has   stakeholders from all works of life- at the level of the region, right down to divisions and subdivisions; of course, this taskforce has to work with all stakeholders in their immediate communities to ensure that schools are functioning.

What actually is the taskforce supposed to do?

The taskforce is supposed to sensitize all stakeholders, give them roles for instance, that parents have the duty to send their children to school, pay the fees and supply every other essential school need prescribed by the Ministry of Secondary Education; and that parents cannot just sit and wait for schools to reopen. Parents should know that 80% of the future of their children lies in their hands,so they should try to give their suggestions to school principals, and PTA executives and school management boards; and even elites, that they put their own suggestions through to them on how they can best manage the schools and ensure security. The taskforce is supposed to liaise with the sub divisional administrations, divisions or depending on where the school finds itself; to liaise with the administration to ensure security in the schools; the mayors and councilors to make sure they have vigilante groups; liaise with elites and put all their efforts in one basket all intended to ensure the smooth functioning of the school.

We thought that if we allowed the effective running of schools in the hands of  just  principals, their collaborators or PTA executives it may not bear enough fruits as we expect. So we thought that everybody should put hands on deck; the education of our children should be a collective effort.

And so the task force is working and from the feedback we have got it is possible that schools will reopen and security will be reinforced; and many more schools will open their doors in September than we had  last year school year.

There is this problem of some internally displaced school children seeking admissions in their new-found localities rather late. How do you address this problem when confronted with?

Since the crisis erupted we have not denied any internally displaced student who comes for admission. We even have cases where children come without a single report card but once we are sure that the child’s house was burnt or that he or she ran from the village because of the crisis, we admit them. We have had cases without birth certificates, they are admitted; once we are convinced that they are IDPs we encourage them by admitting them to study. That is why some of the functional schools last year were overcrowded and the teachers overworked themselves.

So, internally displaced students are welcomed. But at the same time we think that if students had left say GHS Mile 16 and moved to GBHS Mutengene, and there is calm in Mile 16 now, we expect that such students should return to their original school.

With this crisis situation, are school fees for the various classes in government schools and PTA levies fixed ?

Nobody has changed school fees. There is a text that was signed long ago that stated that students who attend general secondary school-form one to five they pay 7,500frs as school fees; lower sixth and upper sixth they pay 10,000frs

Students of technical education, frist to the fourth year, they pay 10,000frs and for fifth to seventh year they pay 15,000frs.

This school money, according the development in Secondary Education, is paid through mobile money (either MTN,Express Union,Campost) and this year there is the introduction of the UDA bank. The ministry has arranged with Afriland Bank,and when the money is paid ,the bank will send it to the school accounts.

There is PTA for secondary schools. Every parent of a student in secondary school contributes depending on the demands of the school in question. And so PTA is not a globally fixed amount. If for instance, this year a school thinks that because of insecurity the PTA should assist in building a fence round the school, they decide an amount. The levy will not be the same in another school that has a fence and needs money to pay but teachers.

 While the Government spends so much money to pay teachers, the schools are too many, and there is no school in this region where we have teachers for all subjects. You will have teachers for subjects ABCD and no teacher for subjects E & and F. So the parents need to come in.

By now, schools that hoped to function already had their PTA meetings and projects to the PTA and school management boards and parents have already chosen what they can do to help the school.

Is the PTA levy also paid via online?

No! It is paid to the school directly. The Minister of Secondary education Professor  Nalova Lyonga  has done so well by giving a vast time span for payment; that for registration money, parents can pay gradually –even up to the end of December. But we need that at least they pay their PTA levies so parents can carry out what every security or pedagogic projects that they have accepted to carryout in the school.

How many secondary schools are in the southwest Region?

 We have four hundred and two (402) secondary schools including lay private and confessional schools.

Is there any banned school in the region?

For this year, there is none at least for now. Remember that the minister is doing everything to encourage schools to function and for children to go to school. We have written our reports about schools and submitted to the ministry and we are still waiting for decisions to come to us; but for now, no school has been banned.

What percentage of schools functioned last year?

As at last year the overall percentage of school attendance was about 32%. Thirty-two percentage because the whole of Lebialem Division no school opened its doors ;Kupe Munenguba juts about 7% opened their doors; Meme Division, only about 15%;Ndian Division had about 23%; Fako Division had about 72% of attendance.

In all, school attendance was about 32%, which was very poor.

We hope that by God’s grace the attendance will increase significantly. We are not expecting 100% because we know the challenges schools in very remote areas face.

Do you have any special appeal you to the public?

I am sure that from the way I am talking those [reading me] would know that I am talking as a mother. I am not talking like a boss but like a mother. I know the importance of education; I know what schooling does to people. I am a living example. If my mother did not send me to school I wouldn’t be sitting here as Regional Delegate for Secondary Education. And my dream for our children is that they should have a brighter future than we of this generation do.And the only key to that bright future is education. To all the children in Akwaya,Bakassi,Kupe Mueneguba,Bafia-Muyuka,Munyenge,Mbonge,konye and Lebialem, etc who have not gone to school for two years now ,I am appealing to them not to darken their future; anyone who advises that the child should not go to school doesn’t like that child. Any parents who do not want their children go to school want to kill their generation and the next generation. Education is the only thing that can change the situation of an individual, a family and community, and if we have schools at our doors please let us make use of it.Let parents send their children to school.

You are first of all a teacher; do you have a message for teachers?

I would like to appeal to teachers that, theirs is a vocation and not a profession; and in a vocation, there are times when things are really bad but as a teacher you understand that the future of children, the future of a whole community and a whole generation lies in your hands. I urge teachers to take their responsibility. They should work as the ones who have volunteered to be the torch-bearers of society and go and teach.

For those whose schools cannot reopen for due to insecurity, I am appealing that they redeploy themselves and voluntarily go to functional schools, take up timetables and teach.

For principals who think that their schools will not be able to function, they should move to safer sites following the recommendations of the Regional Delegation.

NB:This Interview also appears in The HORIZON newspaper,Cameroon,of Thursday ,August 29,2019

Cameroon:Ex-Buea Mayor’s development drive extolled at his funeral

The remains of former Mayor of  Buea John Mokake Endely being buried at his Residence in Buea

By Christopher Ambe

The no-nonsense former Mayor of Buea,John Mokake Endeley,who died on July 5,this year was last Saturday August 24, buried at his Likoko-membea ,Buea residence following a funeral church service, officiated by pastor, Kelly Agahowah  of Winners’ Chapel International ,where the deceased was an elder.

Mokake Endeley, aged 69, died at Baptist Health in Mutengene after a protracted illness. He was born on February 10, 1950 at Mokunda,Buea Town,to Ursula Ngowo and Mbella Endeley.

At his funeral, his various efforts to enhance development in Buea and improve the living conditions of Buea denizens were variously extolled.

The funeral and burial were also attended by a good number of dignitaries including Senator Charles Mbella Moki.

Mokake Endeley, who was elected Mayor of Buea in 1996 on the SDF ticket, served a five-year mandate plus a one-year prolongation and was on several ceremonies honored with different awards for his development drive.

He was replaced in 2002 as mayor by Charles Mbella Moki, of the ruling CPDM.

Eulogies at the funeral, which came from the National Chairman of the SDF Fru Ndi, Senator Charles Mbella Moki, former SDO of Momo Division Ngale Kinge Jacob, Mayor of Buea Ekema Patrick,and the Chief of Likoko Membea, Fende Ngeke,among others, described the deceased as an honest, selfless and development-focused  person, whose loss is highly regretted.

In his eulogy, Senator Mbella Moki, who replaced the deceased and served as Mayor of Buea for eleven years admitted that “we learned a lot from the deceased”, adding that his predecessor was truthful, humble and “governed Buea with the fear of the Lord”

The SDF National chairman Fru Ndi (who was abroad for medical attention), was represented at the funeral by George Likiye,a NEC member, who extended the SDF party’s Condolences to the bereaved family and Buea municipality.

Likiye, alluding to the visible projects realized by the fallen mayor, said Mokake Endeley was a development pillar and that “the history of Buea will not complete without reference to his achievements.”

Likiye was corroborated by John Efokoa,Buea SDF  Vice President who noted  that Mokake Endeley “ would be remembered as the mayor with the highest number of executed projects so far.”

Speaking for the current Mayor of Buea Ekema Patrick -unavoidably absent, was the Secretary-General of Buea Council,Njie Ewome,who also acknowledged that “ during his mandate, Mayor Mokake demonstrated a mastery of local government administration”  and “ knew how to blend politics and administration to bring about the much-desired development”

He added: “We still find today footprints of this great man through his infrastructural developments in Buea”

For his part, Chief of Likoko Membea,Fende Ngeke , disclosed that it was thanks to Mayor Mokake that the village enjoys a stretch of tarred road.

Retired SDO for Momo Division, Ngale kinge Jacob, who spoke as a SOBAN and classmate of the deceased, described him as principled and disciplined personality.

Projects realized during his tenure of office  that attracted the commendation of council supervisory authorities and the  Buea public, include: bridges, roads,markets, slaughter houses and meat slabs such as those at Clerks’ Quarters-Buea and Buea Town;the laboratory building of Buea Town Health Centre. He also supported schools and other organized communities in the municipality in different ways

Late  Mokake Endeley , who was a civil servant occupying the position of research officer at IPAR Buea  before becoming Mayor of Buea , had, among other academic qualifications, a Master’s degree in Education, from  University of Ibandan.

The deceased has left behind his mother, wife, children, two brothers, other relations, and a host of friends, as well as a large Christian family to mourn and remember him.

The deceased was the eldest grandchild of late Chief Gervasius Mbella Endeley, late Paramount Chief of the Bakweris(1925-1982).

Cameroon:Manyu Women celebrate culture in Buea

By Christopher Ambe

Manyu women and   girls under the banner of Manyu Women Association (MOHWA), on Saturday August 24, at Buea Mountain Hotel, celebrated the cultural values of the Division, in a ceremony dubbed MOHWA Cultural Jamboree.

MOHWA women dancing during  the cultural jamboree in Buea

The event, placed under the theme” Handing down the Manyu culture to the Younger Generation”, had as special guests Doumbe Jean Marc,head of Division for Administrative and Legal Affairs at Southwest Governor’s Office, who sat in for Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai;MOHWA Partron,Senator Mbella Moki;Dr Ogork Ntui Besong,Managing-Director of SOWEDA;Southwest Regional Delegate for Culture, Mrs.Grace Ngoh Ewang.

In her welcome speech, MOHWA Buea President,Dr.Mrs Kate Ogork, said  the culture of Manyu is very rich and it is the duty  of the Manyu women to pass on such values to the younger generation.

She said since it was difficult now to take the children to the village in Manyu,”we have decided to bring the village to the children in Buea” 

She hailed Senator Mbella Moki, who is a noted MOHWA patron and other MOHWA men for always supporting the association’s activities intended, among others, at encouraging academic excellence and empowerment of the girl child.

Dr.Mrs. Perpetua Fonki,a Mohwan, presented a talk on “Career Orientation” to  Manyu girls at the ceremony. She advised them to take their studies seriously and endeavor to distinguish themselves in whatever activities they undertake, and to value the sacrifices of their parents towards their upbringing and empowerment.

“If you are able to work hard, you will be able to have what your parents you liked and your parents could not give you”, Dr. Mrs. Fonki, who is a pastor and counselor, told her target audience. She advised them not to consider failure as the end of life but rather as an opportunity to concentrate more on their weaknesses, in order to succeed.

Dr.Mrs.Fonki further advised them: “Wisdom is very important. Listen to the wisdom of your parents plus your intelligence and you will all be distinguished Manyu women.”

After watching the cultural dances and exhibitions by MOHWA, Mrs. Grace Ngoh Ewang, Southwest Regional Delegate for Culture, affirmed that God has really blessed Manyu people with a rich and beautiful culture.

The Delegate said the main objective of the Ministry of Culture is to preserve, valorize and promote important culture.

“What Manyu Women are doing here is just what we are crying for,” she said, adding that “we should not neglect culture which is the first thing God has given us”

Apart from traditional Manyu dances such as Moninkem and kokoma, thrilled the association’s members and guests,the  jamboree was further graced by poems,folktale, fashion parade,exhibition of Manyu artifacts and cuisine,as well as  award to prizes to Manyu children, who excelled at various public exams this year such as the GCE.

An elated gubernatorial envoy, Mr.Doumbe Jean Marc, who is also a senior administrative officer, extended words of encouragement to MOHWA, noting that he would attest to the richness of Manyu culture to his hierarchy.

JAILING OF SISIKU AYUK & CO. TO LIFE IN PRISON :IRRELEVANT PARODY OF JUSTICE!

By Barrister Charles Taku*

The politically motivated life sentences slammed on Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and nine Ambazoinian leaders by a Court-martial in Cameroun with the complicity of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is one more unfortunate example of the militarization of justice, civil and political rights in African through inter-state terror.

The ten victims who were in Nigeria under the protection of international law, were abducted from a hotel in Abuja Nigeria in a coordinated operation carried out by Nigeria and Cameroun intelligence and paramilitary operatives. 

A Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria has since decided that the abduction and rendition of these victims was illegal and violated the Nigerian constitution and international law and ordered the return to Nigeria of the abductees; a decision, the Nigerian government has so far ignored. 

The entire operation leading to this Cameroun staged night judicial terror is a slur on the rule of law credentials and constitutional governance of Nigeria and Cameroun.  It provides cattle fodder for the validation of the criticism made by an increasing number of observers that the two countries may be paying lip-service to the supposed fight against Boko-Haram in which the international community has deployed extensive resources. 

Going by the interstate abduction and court-martial of these victims in a night judicial ritual, a method allegedly used by Boko-Haram in its operations,  could this hydra-headed  monster so-called Boko-Haram not be but a stealth interstate ruse used to create instability to justify political brigandage and the corrupt eternalization of political power relying on international resources and support?  Why will supposed sovereign nations prefer interstate terror to the international rule of law in the conduct of international relations?  

This irrelevant parody of justice against Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and Southern Cameroons leaders is about ten individuals.  It is about the consequences in Nigeria, Cameroun and Africa of the legitimization of abduction and state terror as alternatives to the international rule of law.

The international community must make a strong statement condemning this travesty and judicial brigandage and seek the unconditional release of these victims.  Its indifference may unfortunately be construed as a tacit validation of impunity in an explosive region where violence is not a rare commodity.    

No one should be under the illusion, that the impugned court-martial process and its outcome is a victory for Cameroun or Nigeria that collaborated in it.  It is an international symbol of shame for the two countries and a validation of the just claims of the Southern Cameroons to sovereignty and freedom.  The ten did not present the case of the independence of the Southern Cameroons by violent means.

 At their abduction, they were merely articulating the claims which the Southern Cameroons have strenuously presented for the past fifty-seven years, at the United Nations, at home and worldwide.   Rather than seek dialogue to resolve the conflict, Cameroun declared war with impunity, hoping to subdue the aggrieved people of the Southern Cameroons through genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.  The Nigeria government which Africa and the world relied on to mediate in this and other African disputes, decided to throw its support to the government of Cameroun in the mistaken belief that the abduction of these victims would end the crisis.  By its own miscalculation, Nigeria, lost an opportunity to oversee a peaceful solution to a potentially protracted conflict in its own backyard.  

Ambazonia is an albatross on the neck of the Republic of Cameroun which will loosen its grip only when Ambazonia is fully liberated.  

The life sentences only extend the duration and complexity of the conflict which neither the present leaders of Cameroun nor Nigeria will be around to see how it plays out.  May be only their progeny, may as fate often does, have the chance to have glimpses of these victims when they will be liberated to partake in the celebration of an independent and free neighbouring Ambazonia. The night justice of shame will not define the cause they stand for. 

The  sustained resistance, self-defense and the unbreakable will and resolve of a people who have craved for justice with peace plants, memoranda to the UN and the international community, their precious blood and the eternal conscience of humanity will determine the outcome of this conflict and not conspiratorial carnage, terror and the arrogance of ephemeral power of a frail failing dictatorship.  For this reason, by imposing the so-called life sentences and other coercive conditions of life on Southern Cameroons captives, they might in this occasion, have put their own poisoned portions on their own lips and that of their nation.

*Charles Taku,a Cameroonian and noted International lawyer( with a penchant for criminal justice) ,posted this commentary on his Facebook page on August 20,2019 following the jailing of the Ambazonian leaders to life in prison

Cameroon Separatist Leaders Condemned to Life in Prison

By REUTERS

YAOUNDE — A Cameroonian court handed life sentences to 10 separatist leaders on Tuesday after finding them guilty of charges including terrorism in their fight to break away from the Francophone-dominated central government, their lawyers said.

They included Julius Ayuk Tabe, a key figure in the Anglophone movement in western Cameroon, whose followers have made his release since he was arrested 18 months ago a condition for talks with the authorities.

An insurgency broke out in late 2017 following a government crackdown on peaceful protests in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions by lawyers and teachers who complain of being marginalized by the French-speaking majority.

In the following months, protests turned violent and newly formed armed groups began attacking army posts in the Anglophone regions.

Tabe and his co-defendants were among 47 Anglophone Cameroonians arrested in Nigeria and deported to Cameroon in January 2018 where their trial started in December. The group's lawyers say the accused have not received fair treatment.

"This judgment is biased," Afah Ndetan, one of the group's lawyers, said on Tuesday. "They violated the rights of the accused because the law was not taken into consideration."

Tabe, a former businessman, is seen as a moderate voice in the separatist movement and has in the past promoted dialogue over violence. Since his arrest, other more hardline leaders with more militant followings have come to the fore.

These groups, which roam the lush and hilly woods of west Cameroon, have this year stepped up a campaign of kidnapping, including of high profile politicians and schoolchildren.

Both the authorities and the separatists have said they are open to talks, but violence by both sides has intensified, forcing thousands of civilians to seek refuge in Cameroon’s French-speaking regions and neighboring countries.

The United Nations estimates that since 2017 about 1,800 people have been killed in the conflict while 530,000 have been displaced.

Prospects for real dialogue are slim, Human Rights Watch said in June, accusing both sides of abuses.

"Ayuk Tabe became the symbol of the movement, but that movement has moved on. The groups on the ground now are inflicting violence," said Akere Muna, an opposition politician and former presidential candidate. "Whatever happens to him now might radicalize moderate Anglophones."

The oil, cocoa and timber-producing nation was among Central Africa's most stable until a few years ago. But, in addition to the separatist uprising, it also faces a insurgency by Boko Haram, a militant Islamist movement, which has spilled over from Nigeria into its northern territory.

($1 = 597.9700 CFA francs)

(Reporting by Josiane Kouagheu; Additional reporting by Edward McAllister; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Edward McAllister and James Drummond)

UN official on Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon : “Humanitarian aid is not the solution”

UN Resident Humanitarian coordinator launching  UN Common office in Buea

By Fanwi Patience Toge

The UN Resident Humanitarian coordinator in Cameroon, Alegra Del Pilar Biaocchi, has said humanitarian assistance given to victims of the Anglophone Crisis should not be mistaken as the solution to the crisis, which has left hundreds of people dead and hundreds of thousands of others internally displaced.

The UN official made the statement, last weekend, in Buea, capital of in the Southwest region of Cameroon while on a visit to coordinate some humanitarian activities and meet with partners ahead of the 2019 International Humanitarian Day, which is celebrated today August 19.  

This year’s International Humanitarian Day (WHD) is celebrated under the theme “Honoring Women Humanitarians”

It is a day to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian services and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world.

The UN Resident Humanitarian coordinator also used the visit to inaugurate the UN Common Office in Buea, and she addressed UN partners and participants at a humanitarian fair.

In Kumba,Madam Biaocchi  took stock of projects carried out by some of their partners. 

After visiting some internally displaced Persons (IDPS) in Kumba, one of the hardest-hit towns in the South West Region with regards to the ongoing Anglophone crisis, she told   reporters that, humanitarian assistance was not the solution to peace, adding that they had no ambition to be a solution. 

“We are here to act as a bandage, just like when you cut yourself you put a bandage on[ the affected area] , that is what humanitarian assistance is all about. 

The Humanitarian Coordinator emphasized that they were only out to assist those suffering and needy because of the ongoing Anglophone crisis, especially those still stranded in the bushes.

She noted that in spite of enormous humanitarian assistance offered already to the affected, much more has to be done to reach greater communities and people suffering as a result of this crisis.

 To achieve the humanitarian goals, the UN official said, there was need for adequate funds, but regretted that at the moment they did not have adequate funds to do so. 

She lamented that they were only at 20% funding and could not meet the increasing demands and needs of these IDPs displaced in the North West and South West Regions. She applauded the humanitarian work that has been ongoing in the North West and southwest in the past three years, but added that there was still need for more work to be done.

 “There is a lot of humanitarian work going on the ground. We have just been to a fair and have seen all the works our partners are trying to do; we talk about distribution shelters, non-food items, gender-based violence and protection.”

She added that the work they were trying to do was enormous but unfortunately the needs were even bigger than what they could do.

  Madam Biaocchi believed that, there are still a lot of people out there that have not been touched or reached through humanitarian assistance. She mentioned worries voiced out by  IDP’s she met  in Kumba as pertinent. 

She recalled that some said they were too afraid to come out of the bushes because their houses had been burnt down; others due to lack of money while others because they were not in possession of their national identity cards to enable them travel to other saver regions.

“These are the hardest to reach people and we cannot rest until all these people have been taken care of. So there is need for more capacity, more access but it definitely needs more resources,” she observed.

 The Buea humanitarian fair was part of activities marking  the this year’s International Humanitarian Day, which  Madam   Biaocchi said offered an  opportunity for UN partners to showcase their activities to the public.

Asked how peace could be achieved in the North West and South West Region the UN official quipped they are still looking for a way out. 

“On Behalf of the UN and in name of the UN Secretary-General we have always asked for a solution to this crisis, which has to go through dialogue obviously; we’ve also asked for inclusive dialogue, it also has to do with addressing the human rights abuses which we continue to hear today are rampant and until we start protecting civilians and changing our behaviors on the ground it will be very hard to change solutions because people are getting radicalized every day because of the violence on the ground.

“We have to push for dialogue; we have an initiative which we called a Swiss-led initiative going on and the UN has fully supported this initiative and is encouraging all the parties to be part of that” 

 She noted that the Swiss initiative was a great starting point but appears to be a long-term solution “since negotiations usually take a long time to be achieved”

Nationally, she acknowledged recent peace efforts by Prime Minister Chief Joseph Dion Ngute, the Women Task Force in the Northwest and Southwest, 

According to her, dialogue is not only about airing your position, but also about changing behaviors because “we need to see the impact of dialogue initiatives.

“In order to achieve this much-talked dialogue there is a need for peace. The people have to feel safe in order to come out of their hidings, so that they can dialogue without which dialogue will be impossible.

“We need to stop the violence first, and then work towards regaining the people’s trust. We need to build confidence and genuine willingness to rebuild this nation, especially the North West and South West region” she stated

In the NW/SW regions, for example, humanitarian workers are on the frontline of the humanitarian crisis facing enormous dangers and difficulties in providing assistance to those who need it most.

Even though the United Nations is present in the NW/SW since 2018, alongside some faith-based and civil society organizations to provide assistance to affected populations, many communities these organizations have reached out to remain uninformed or confused about the mandate of the United Nations and the work done by them.

This year’s WHD, according to a press statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), will be the perfect opportunity for the humanitarian community to engage directly with affected communities in order to explain their work and listen to the people’s concerns and priorities.

The Cameroon government, as well as other non-state actors, has been called upon to ensure that these women together with other humanitarian aids are guaranteed the protection afforded to them under international law.

The WHD 2019 celebrations in the NW/SW will have two main objectives.  One will be to sensitize affected communities and the public of these two regions, on the mandate of the humanitarian community and the principles that guide their actions. Secondly, to honor humanitarian women in the NW/SW for their heroic efforts in providing assistance to affected communities.