CHRAPA, UN Women, Italian Government Empower GBV Survivors, IDPs Economically.

November 03, 2019

By Raymond Dingana In Bamenda.

Last Saturday’s event saw the more than One Hundred and Fifty vulnerable women with desperate conditions benefiting from the setting up of Rapid Income Generating Activities which will go a long way to help take care of themselves and their families and in the long run, help others in the various communities they find themselves.

During a two day training program on rapid income generating activities and simple book keeping that took place at the conference room of Mondial Hotel here in Bamenda, the women whom many have lost husbands, homes burnt down, economic life shattered, many of whom have suffered Gender Based Violence like Rape, Battery, Economic Deprivation and many others say, they will love to operate Restaurants, Provision Stores, Poultry Farming, the selling of Cooking Oil and the list is long.

Saturday November 02, 2019, closed to one hundred and fifty women, many of whom have suffered Gender Based Violence and IDPs where in a jubilant mode when CHRAPA working in closed collaboration with UN Women under the United Nations Women Development Project with funding from the Italian Agency For Economic Development came to their aid. The aim of the project is to Improve the Protection of Women and Girls Affected by the Conflict in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon by empowering them economically.

According to Ejang, an IDP from Mbengwi,the business she has embraced will help her and her four childeren since her husband is no more: “I have four children and my husband was killed in Mbengwi. I want to thank CHRAPA, UN Women and the Italian Government for empowering me economically. I will be selling cooking oil and the proceeds I get from there will help take care of my family.

Mairama,an IDP from Bawock says, she will also help others from the proceeds of the provision store that will be opened for her praying that Allah should give her the Grace: “I will be operating a provision store where things like Maggie, cooking oil, Sugar and many others will be sold. I thank CHRAPA, UN Women and the Italian government for this opportunity they have given me. Inshaa Allah, I will also help others in my community”.

Evangelist Grace Waindim, an IDP from Belo, who decided to do poultry farming saluted the gesture by CHRAPA and her partners saying, those she has been with for sixteen years could not help her: “My house was burnt down in Belo and I have three kids. I am going in for Poultry farming. I thank CHRAPA and her partners. Those I preached with for sixteen years could not help me but I thank God for today”.

Evangelist Grace Waindim , An IDP.

The lone male among the beneficiaries is Peen Awah, IDP from Piynin.His choice is business is a provision store which he says will help him not to be depending on others for food: “I have benefited a carton of soap, Omo, bags of rice, a bag of flour, and many others. These items will help me start up a provision store.I will no more be depending on others for food and other basic necessities again.Thanks to CHRAPA,UN Women and the Italian Government,i have been thought how to fish”.

Peen Awah, A Beneficiary.

According to the UN Women Coordinator in the NW Region, Madam Mary Nyuyinui, the priority for now was for very critical cases while promising that,others will be taken care of in the nearest future : “More than Six Hundred cases were identified but we went for the critical cases. We are going to keep on sourcing for more funding that will permit us help many more victims in the nearest future. The beneficiaries for this project are Gender Based Violence survivors, IDPs and host communities”.

UN Women Coordinator in the NW Region, Madam Mary Nyuyinui.

Mr. Tata Wilson is in charge of the implementing phase of the project and throws more light as to the sustainability of the project. He says, allowing the beneficiaries to choose what is best for them and not being imposed upon them is clear indication that,the project is bound to succeed: “We recognised that many of these projects do fail because projects are always imposed on the beneficiaries. With this project, we gave them the opportunity to chose what they have been doing before, meaning they are not getting into the field new”. “Those who are going in to the field new, we have vocational training centers that will train them. We have fourteen paralegals that have been trained on book keeping, project monitoring and guidance. Our main focus is getting the beneficiaries succeed” . He added.