Christelle Bay Nfor the Executive Director of Hope for the Needy Association HOFNA CAMEROON talks to Hilltopvoices on the successful organisation of five trainings and workshops in five regions of Cameroon as part of a National Initiative to End Violence Against Women and Girls (NITE-VAWG) involving 100 internally displace teenage mothers, women and 400 community leaders.
Hilltopvoices: Please share with the focus of the recent workshops your organisation has been organising across some regions of Cameroon?
Christelle Bay Nfor: The focus of these trainings was first to build income generating skills on disadvantaged internally displaced young women and teenage mothers, secondly, to engage communities to respond to and prevention of gender-based violence through Know Your Rights Campaigns with active community leaders and most especially set the pace to work with these grassroots communities to develop a local approach to implementation of #UNSCR1325 in Cameroon which is centered around getting the peacebuilding needs, priorities and concerns of grassroots communities and representing them as Local Action Plans to speed up the implementation of #UNSCR1325 in Cameroon.
Hilltopvoices: Why these trainings at this time?
Christelle Bay Nfor: This workshops are a part of our new project - National Initiative to End Violence Against Women and Girls (NITE-VAWG), sponsored by the German Mission to Cameroon. Before the unfortunate challenges brought by COVID-19, we had already conceived this project. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness on gender-based violence and engage communities to respond to and prevent it while establishing a community respinse system in the form of Gender violence Survivors Support networks that can facilitate this reporting in different communities, in partnership with HOFNA. Another very vital aspect of the project is bringing together grassroots Women-led organizations from all 10 regions to work together to develop Local Action Plans to speed up the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in Cameroon, thereby strengthening a grassroots women's perspective to peacebuilding.
COVID-19 only made the program more timely, with increasing acts of gender-based violence we have registered in the communities we serve, ranging from rape, child abuse and domestic violence and other forms of GBV that csme with the measures put in place to stop spread of COVID-19.
Our trainings use a multidimensional approach to solve the most challenging problems faced by women, girls and their communities. Building income generating skills, providing basic startup materials, education women and girls on their rights and using a radio drama series - NECTAR as part of our radio program #Engage, bringing various stakeholders on board to put an end to GBV and engage grassroots women in peacebuilding.
Training internally displaced young women and teenage mothers on production of soap at this time, does not only improve on their income generating skills or livelihoods but also supports the fight to stop spread of COVID-19 in Cameroon.
Christelle Bay Nfor: For the IDPs, we got young women and teenage mothers struggling their way through COVID-19 and the violent Conflict and truly in need of a program like ours to give them a whole new perspective or hope. We did need analysis and identified how our programs would improve on their quality of life.
For the community leaders we have engaged in each of the 5 regions, focus was on identifying women and men who have remain influential or active in their communities, who head other CBOs. This was to ensure that knowledge and skills acquired will be shared with other members of the CBOs to maximize outreach.
We ensured language used un trainings was easy for all to understand. We prepared comic booklets and flyers to enable even those who can't read to grasp a picture of whay GBV looks like and how it could be stopped, and what human rights and UNSCR1325 entails.
In each of the regions, we identified Coordinators, who are influential leaders based in this communities, who volunteered their time and skis and worked with us through this process.
For the next part of the program, grassroots leaders will be selected from all 10 regions based on their level of engagement in the communities so that together, we can develop local action plans to peacebuilding and realization of UNSCR1325 in Cameroon.
Christelle Bay Nfor: I have seen the excitement on the faces of the women who have gained skills in soap making, production of beaded sandals and reusable sanitary pads. I have listened to them share how much this is going to transform their lives. I have witnessed the appreciation they show especially for the basic startup materials received. I have witnessed the enthusiasm and commitment from the pledges made by the members of the survivors support network to kick out GBV from their communities.
Hilltopvoices: Does these workshops relate to previous activities by HOFNA?
Christelle Bay Nfor: Our works have always been about creative ways to respond to and prevent gender-based violence and also addressing other structural inequalities that hinder women from effectively participating in peacebuilding. This also includes strengthening the Leadership, power and voices of women and girls by economically empowering and ensuring they have access to those resources and information that allow them remain active and resourceful in their families and communities.
Hilltopvoices: Please share with the focus of the recent workshops your organisation has been organising across some regions of Cameroon?
Christelle Bay Nfor: The focus of these trainings was first to build income generating skills on disadvantaged internally displaced young women and teenage mothers, secondly, to engage communities to respond to and prevention of gender-based violence through Know Your Rights Campaigns with active community leaders and most especially set the pace to work with these grassroots communities to develop a local approach to implementation of #UNSCR1325 in Cameroon which is centered around getting the peacebuilding needs, priorities and concerns of grassroots communities and representing them as Local Action Plans to speed up the implementation of #UNSCR1325 in Cameroon.
Hilltopvoices: Why these trainings at this time?
Christelle Bay Nfor: This workshops are a part of our new project - National Initiative to End Violence Against Women and Girls (NITE-VAWG), sponsored by the German Mission to Cameroon. Before the unfortunate challenges brought by COVID-19, we had already conceived this project. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness on gender-based violence and engage communities to respond to and prevent it while establishing a community respinse system in the form of Gender violence Survivors Support networks that can facilitate this reporting in different communities, in partnership with HOFNA. Another very vital aspect of the project is bringing together grassroots Women-led organizations from all 10 regions to work together to develop Local Action Plans to speed up the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in Cameroon, thereby strengthening a grassroots women's perspective to peacebuilding.
COVID-19 only made the program more timely, with increasing acts of gender-based violence we have registered in the communities we serve, ranging from rape, child abuse and domestic violence and other forms of GBV that csme with the measures put in place to stop spread of COVID-19.
Our trainings use a multidimensional approach to solve the most challenging problems faced by women, girls and their communities. Building income generating skills, providing basic startup materials, education women and girls on their rights and using a radio drama series - NECTAR as part of our radio program #Engage, bringing various stakeholders on board to put an end to GBV and engage grassroots women in peacebuilding.
Training internally displaced young women and teenage mothers on production of soap at this time, does not only improve on their income generating skills or livelihoods but also supports the fight to stop spread of COVID-19 in Cameroon.
Hilltopvoices: What motivated your choice of participants?
Community Leaders at NITE-VAWG workshop
Christelle Bay Nfor: For the IDPs, we got young women and teenage mothers struggling their way through COVID-19 and the violent Conflict and truly in need of a program like ours to give them a whole new perspective or hope. We did need analysis and identified how our programs would improve on their quality of life.
For the community leaders we have engaged in each of the 5 regions, focus was on identifying women and men who have remain influential or active in their communities, who head other CBOs. This was to ensure that knowledge and skills acquired will be shared with other members of the CBOs to maximize outreach.
We ensured language used un trainings was easy for all to understand. We prepared comic booklets and flyers to enable even those who can't read to grasp a picture of whay GBV looks like and how it could be stopped, and what human rights and UNSCR1325 entails.
In each of the regions, we identified Coordinators, who are influential leaders based in this communities, who volunteered their time and skis and worked with us through this process.
For the next part of the program, grassroots leaders will be selected from all 10 regions based on their level of engagement in the communities so that together, we can develop local action plans to peacebuilding and realization of UNSCR1325 in Cameroon.
Hilltopvoices: What impact do you expect at the end?
Christelle Bay Nfor: I have seen the excitement on the faces of the women who have gained skills in soap making, production of beaded sandals and reusable sanitary pads. I have listened to them share how much this is going to transform their lives. I have witnessed the appreciation they show especially for the basic startup materials received. I have witnessed the enthusiasm and commitment from the pledges made by the members of the survivors support network to kick out GBV from their communities.
Hilltopvoices: Does these workshops relate to previous activities by HOFNA?
Christelle Bay Nfor: Our works have always been about creative ways to respond to and prevent gender-based violence and also addressing other structural inequalities that hinder women from effectively participating in peacebuilding. This also includes strengthening the Leadership, power and voices of women and girls by economically empowering and ensuring they have access to those resources and information that allow them remain active and resourceful in their families and communities.
Contact:
Tel: (+237) 694718577/675460750
E-mail: hilltopvoicesinfo@gmail.com
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