Social Welfare

The conflict in Bamenda has had a significant impact on its people in the region impacting social and economic parts of life. A number of initiatives have been developed to help rebuild communities and address the trauma and poverty that has arisen as a result.

One significant project that has been running since August 2024 is led by the Justice and Peace Commission to support the Strengthening Peaceful Co-Existence. The project is to identify and train of 30 frontline outreach community volunteers to lead local Peace Processes in their communities. Through the year a number of initiatives have been run including workshops with local community leaders, individual counselling for people who have lost homes and livelihoods or who are victims of gender-based violence, and sports tournaments that help bring people together.

‘From surviving to thriving’ With the conflict across the area now in its 9 year and there has been a growing need for trauma healing support in the more rural communities. This project seeks to train and empower psychological counsellors to diagnose and address trauma, or refer more serious cases to help foster healing, build resilience and restore hope.

A newly initiated project is to improve the standard of living, social status, family income and increase the assets of 20 Internally Displaced single mothers directly and an additional 300 others indirectly. The women will receive training and support to gain the skills to carry out income generating activities and create small businesses thanks to the start-up fund that will be provided to them. At the start of the project, 10 are enrolled in fashion/designing, 7 in hairdressing and 3 in embroidery training.