Climate in Cameroon

Prior to the beginning of the African Nations Soccer Championships, separatists threatened to stop games that would be partaking in English-speaking areas. Due to this, the government responded by reassuring that troops would be deployed to protect the players, and all attendees of the games will be safe. Although, this was not the only potentially threatening issue that raised concern amongst people who planned on attending the game. With 29,617 confirmed COVID cases as of January 28th, 2021, people also expressed nervousness regarding the implementation of social distancing precautions at the event. Evidently, this arised considering it is one of the world’s first large-scale sporting events since the start of the pandemic. However, Narcisse Mouele Kombi, Cameroon’s sports minister, asserts that all spectators are expected to wear a face mask, each stadium started at 25% capacity, and stadiums eventually increased to 50% capacity beginning with quarter finals.

Furthermore, separatists have been responsible for immense violence against citizens since late 2016. In October of 2016 people of the predominantly English-speaking region of Cameroon peacefully protested against the government in Yaounde, which is the country’s capital in the French-speaking region. The government reacted violently to these protests, resulting in a civil war amongst the two regions. As separatists are continuously fighting for secession and the establishment of their own state called Ambazonia, targeting schools have become one of their attempts to brutally pressure the government into their demands.

In Bamenda, people are accustomed to aggressive attacks of both separatists and soldiers, which has prompted an abundance of schools being closed. Though the few that are open are taught under military protection, students are still fearful of being seen in their uniforms outside of school premises. This is a result of students becoming likely targets for separatist kidnapping, which unfortunately is not an uncommon event. Due to this, students feel an obligation to arrive at school in their regular attire, and change into uniforms at the entrance. Though the majority of schools within the countryside have been shut down, Roland Are, a local pastor in the village of Numba, established a youth center for children to become involved in an alternative school program. This program allows children to attend class three times a week, and also provides an opportunity for teenagers to learn a trade. Are has compassionately professed the importance for the children to attend school, but neither separatists nor the government has accounted for the children’s education. Furthermore, the lack of urgency to provide an education is especially prominent amongst students with autism. Many parents of children with autism in Cameroon have kept their students from attending school, which has mostly been attributed to insufficient resources and the societal stigma surrounding the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Fortunately, aid workers at The Timely Performance Care Center, a school for disabled children in Yaounde, have visited homes of autistic children in an effort to encourage their parents to enroll them in school. Though many of the parents believe their child was born with autism due to divine punishment, or they are fearful of their child being insulted in school, preventing a kid from interacting with others is detrimentally harmful to them. Due to this, the organization will continue their initiative to advocate for children to attend school, and demonstrate that they can succeed in this setting.

As accessibility to educational opportunities such as these are limited, IUDI Youth has also created a tutoring program to assist students in Cameroon. The tutoring program endeavors to teach English to students whose first language is French. Many of the tutors participating in the program are from La Mirada High School in La Mirada, California, and they meet once a week to receive French lessons and create lesson plans to instruct the students on Saturdays. Through this program, the students have attained a foundation to expand their opportunities for success in the future.