Jesuit Priest Fundraises for Education of Hundreds of Displaced Children in Cameroon

During the August 5 launch at the Jesuit Retreat Centre in Douala, Fr. Lado said, “Education has been at the heart of the conflict, particularly in the English-speaking areas, with nearly 600,000 children dropping out of school and 90% of schools closing, with only 6% of children attending. Many children have not set foot in a classroom for nearly four years.”

The Jesuit Priest who serves at the Centre for Studies and Training for Development (CEFOD) in Chad added, “Children who turned 3 in 2016 missed out on their first year of schooling.”

In the August 6 interview, Fr. Lado called on people of good will to support the initiative saying, “Children did not cause this conflict and it is unfair that they are deprived of quality education.”

“We need to act together to ease their burden. A child who goes back to school has a good reason to hope. Let's all sow seeds of hope through education,” he said, adding, “Our message is that only compassion and solidarity will heal the wounds of the victims of the current crisis.”

Crisis erupted in the NOSO regions of Cameroon in 2016 after a protest by teachers and lawyers turned violent.

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Following the protests, an armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged after the government launched a crackdown on the demonstrators.   

Since then, the violent conflict has led to the displacement of over 679,000 people.

More than 600,000 children have not been able to go to school in the two regions, and at least 3,000 lives have been lost during the five-year unrest.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.