Jesuit Entity Empowers Cameroon’s Internally Displaced Women, Girls with Leadership Skills

During these camp days, Ms. Kingsley says that “the girls worked together on topics such as sexual education, self-esteem, human rights, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution.”

She adds that the main objective of the camp “was to emphasize the significant role that girls have in society, promote leadership, and provide the skills needed to work on reducing gender-based violence (GBV).”

Through the Camp, Ms. Kingsley says that JRS also supported Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the urban areas of Yaoundé and Douala fleeing from “the socio-political conflict in the northwest and southwest regions of the country.”

She says that the conflict that dates back to 2017 “has forced thousands of people to flee”, the majority being women while many more are IDPs. 

 “The women we serve arrive in Yaoundé with traumas due to rape, murder, and insecurity. They come here hoping to find safety for themselves and their families,” the JRS Field Agent says.

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She further says that she finds it regrettable that the women are still “exposed to stigma, abuse, and domestic violence” on arrival at the place they expect to get help.

The JRS expert in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Christian Alama, is quoted as saying, “For internally displaced women in Cameroon, dreaming is difficult in a society that doesn’t allow them to do so. Helping them to dream was a wonderful experience.”

“We worked with them to build their capacity to cope with adversity. Most of them were raped and experienced a lot of violence,” Ms. Alama says about internally displaced women in Cameroon, adding that sharing their testimonies with each other during the 10-day event was therapeutic.

Daniella, a native of the embattled northwest region of Cameroon who left her home in 2019 because of the Anglophone crisis, was one of the beneficiaries of the JRS camp initiative.

In the April 25 report, Daniella says, “There were so many killings around us. When the crisis started, they burned homes, and they also killed one of my cousins, so I decided to move to Yaoundé.”

Daniella who faced a language challenge as she could only communicate in English and not French is further quoted as saying, “I didn’t know a day could be like this in my life. I have learned from the GLOW camp that, as a girl, I should not minimize myself. I can do what a man can do.”

On her part, Nadine, another beneficiary of the camp, is quoted as saying, “In the GLOW camp, I learned that no one can force a woman to get married. Not even the family. I also learned about GBV (Gender-based violence): how I can deal with it, overcome it, and denounce it.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.