IDP Women, Girls Receive Financial, Psycho-social Support

The trauma healing session and financial support, organised by the Hope and Rehabilitation Organisation, HaRO Cameroon, had as prime objective to empower IDPs, women and young girls in particular with sustainable and entrepreneurial skills. The meeting held Thursday, March 12, in Yaounde was equally done to train them on income generating activities.

The event that brought a good number of IDPs together results from the fact that, most of those concerned are really not productive on the field when given finances to start up a business because of the pain and trauma engraved in their minds.

Subsequent to a similar previous training, Fritz Kwa Mendi, Director of HaRO Cameroon holds that, “for this financial assistance, we have targeted 25 young women and girls. At the end of the training, we will give each of them FCFA 10,000 because, we believe that with this, they can fry puf loaves, cupcakes, fish and meat pie, and yogurt.” He furthered that, this training follows one which they did some time back and saw how successful it was.

Asked of what measures they use to ensure beneficiaries use the finances adequately, Fritz Kwa said they use the phone call and visit sites strategies. “We do follow up in two phases. We do the calling phase of which we usually invite them to come up here at the orgnisation and, we visit them at the site where they do the business. So, we try to follow up in the field to make sure they work and that it is successful.”

To him, this is a method is a means to wipe the tears of the needy IDPs who have over the time received food items which is not sustainable and really not of help to the latter. In the same light, SylviaNdenkeh, IDP Project Manager at HaRO highlighted that, the trauma healing of the session comes in because, HaRO officials have noticed disinterest on the part of the IDPs when it comes to material support.

“We have discovered that, most of these IDPs do not need just the material and financial support but most of them need trauma healing and psycho-social counsels. This is because, when you empower them, the little you give them, when they go to the field they are not productive. So, when we noticed it, we started doing trauma healings, we counsel them before giving them something,” she affirmed.

According to Sylvia, the counsel method and trauma therapeutic yield positive results as the recipients tend to show more interest from their outputs. She added that, receivers of these supports are people who went through trying situations and they just need someone to talk to in order to be relaxed.

“Actually, we have a data base of 3000 IDPs but then, not all of them need finances, most of them just need someone to listen to them though a amjaority of them need the finances, material support as well as the counseling too,” Sylvia Ndenkeh professed.

Going by a former beneficiary of HaRO’s support, Bridget NgantuBofah really received a sum of FCFA 10,000 with which she began her chin-chin business. However, she aspires to enlarge her productivity by supplying a large quantity of the chin-chin and cup cakes, which to her would be made easy given that she owns a cooker at the moment.

“I used to do 10 to 12 bottles of chin-chin and as for chip cakes, I did just for FCFA 5,000 since I was limited with the finance. With the gas cooker, I cam even do for FCFA 20,000,” she said.

Addressing new beneficiaries, Bridget Ngantu told them there is a starting point in everyone’s life. She reiterated that, “any great ladder started somewhere. Do not minimise your beginnings, so, make proper use of anything you grab. Don’t sit and look for office jobs.”

Going by Mami Judith Ndome, one of the receivers, who has been frying chips and akara, the money given her will help her purchase an unembrella that will protect her from the sun. With this, she intends to multiply the purchase of her plantain and groundnut oil in a bid to make more profit.

By Annie Babelle Odounlami in Cameroon