Assisting Internally Displaced Persons in Cameroon

Challenge

Of the total 18 million displaced persons in Africa, more than 12.5 million are persons (IDPs) living in their own countries. According to UN estimates more than 437,000 people are currently displaced in Cameroon, as a result of the civil war that started in 2016. These IDPs share the agony and costs of being forced to flee their homes. They have urgent needs such as food, shelter, medical attention, education and the need to participate in the local economy. They need to survive, with dignity.

Solution

This project will address immediate and long-term needs of the IDPs. It will: 1) Establish a local network to provide medicine, food at each of the seven sites. Volunteer doctors, led by Dr. Fotalewung Tah, will facilitate access to medical care; 2) Fund IDPs with business skills to start small retail businesses. This will benefit other IDPs through the "Njangi" system - (see attached); 3) Give IDPs a chance to participate in the local economy, build livelihoods, and restore their dignity.

Long-Term Impact

In the long term, this project will: 1) Help children and youths attend school, get tutoring lessons for important exams. Many have been out of school since 2016; 2) When infrastructure, public services, and resources in communities of origin are restored, IDPs can return if they want to; 3)Property restitution -if the parties in conflict create an environment for return, IDPS can return to their properties; 4) This project will improve self-reliance, help IDPs to meet family and personal needs.

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a XLSX file (projdoc.xlsx).

Resources

• http:/​/​www.fredia.org
• Foundation's blog page that shares our work.
• A description of The "Njangi" system