CIRMAD seeks in this Project to provide clothing and bedding for 1000 internally displaced persons affected by the ongoing armed conflict in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. It is to set up center for the collection of donated clothing items from well-wishers for distribution to IDPs. The funds raised will help for rent of office and storeroom, equipment, transport, communication for appeals for donations, and the mending and cleaning of some donated clothing before distribution.
The 3-years running Anglophone crisis, now an armed conflict between government forces and separatist fighters has seen many homes burnt down in over 200 villages, besides much killings. This has led to serious internal displacement to mainly urban areas. The IDPs lack and need everything, including clothing. While well-wishers provide mainly food and bedding items as humanitarian aid to the IDPs, their clothing needs are generally overlooked. This project is to fill that gap of human need.
This project addresses a rather overlooked need of the IDPs, most of who escaped their burning homes with just what was worn - virtually naked. It's a structured form of an informally applied and slightly ongoing strategy of humanitarian support during the 3 years old crisis.
The potential long term impacts of the project include: Provision of clothing solutions Prevention of health problems from lack of adequate clothing, like pneumonia. An operational centre where needy IDPs can come to solve clothing needs. Run a project that can be replicated in other localities for the same humanitarian goal. Help some IDPs to keep aside money that could have been used for clothing instead to use for the reconstruction/refurbishment of their destroyed/abandoned homes.
