UNICEF

COMINSUD TRAINS 6 COMMUNITY MOBILIZERS TO CARRYOUT LIFESAVING SERVICE DELIVERY IN COMMUNITIES.

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Within the framework of the project o“Strengthening Access to WASH Facilities and Services in Child Friendly Spaces and surrounding Communities”, COMINSUD with the support of UNICEF has trained and deployed 6 Community Mobilizers in the North West and West Region.

Training in session with facilitator Munda Terence.

The project to run for four months is expected to sensitize 4,260 persons (IDPs and host community) on good hygiene and sanitation practices, including lifesaving messages on COVID-19 and cholera prevention.  To this effect, Community Mobilizers will ensure that 1,200 children at Child Friendly Spaces and surrounding Communities have access to adequate sanitation facilities thanks to the construction of 6 latrines each with 4 cabinets, distribution of menstrual hygiene kits to 60 adolescent girls and 600 WASH kits to households, 3000 persons(IDPs and host community) are sensitized on good hygiene and sanitation practices including lifesaving messages on COVID-19 by December 2022. The Community Mobilizers will as well identify child protection needs and ensure proper intervention and referrals to appropriate service points. 

Community Mobilizers and Facilitator Munda Terence pose for a group picture after session.

This training took place at the Adolescent and Youth Friendly Space in COMINSUD head office on Tuesday 5th April 2022, under the Coordination of Munda Terence the Supervisory of UNICEF projects at COMINSUD.

COMINSUD and UNICEF Partner against child malnutrition

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This is within the Emergency nutrition response project in Bali, Batibo and Mbengwi Health Districts in the North West Region.

To this effect, a training of 30 Community Health Workers on screening, referral and Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergency in COVID 19 context was organized at the COMINSUD head office in Bamenda on Saturday 9 October 2021

The purpose of the workshop was to empower them on screening, referral and sensitization so that they can implement the knowledge gained in their respective communities.


The project is sponsored by UNICEF and implemented by COMINSUD. The Project duration is 6 months.

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SUPPORT GIRLS GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE NORTH WEST REGION – CAMEROON

/ Scoffy N. Wangang-PMP

The North West and South West Regions of Cameroon have since 2016 face an armed conflict. The crisis has been characterized by school shut downs, wanton killings with many children caught between rape and forced marriages amongst other vices. This has necessitated humanitarian actions to protect girls who have faced significant forms of violence and are still highly at risk to see more violation of their rights if increased measures are not taken.

Statistics from UNICEF (Nov. 2019) indicate that more than 855,000 children remain out of school in the North West and South West Regions, ReliefWeb (April. 2020) reported over 14 children killed. COMINSUD field reports from April to September 2020 indicate that 38 girls have been victims of rape, 69 others suffered sexual assault, 74 succumbed to physical assault, 61girls have been forced into early marriages, 90 girls have been denied resources and services while 98 girls have gone through psychological/Emotional violence. The numbers are from 10 of 34 council areas in the North West Region.

COMINSUD on October 11th 2020 joins in the commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child under the theme: “My Voice, our Equal Future,” with activities in 15 localities across Mezam, Menchum and Momo Divisions of the North West Region. We reached out to over 1,000 girls aged 9 – 17. With a series of activities and drills, we shared ideas that will enable them in voicing their rights to life, health, education and protection as well as envisioning a better future.  

Some girls expressed joy with the new window of opportunity they have to go back to school after staying home for over 4 years. They regret some of their peers who are deprived from accessing education due insecurity, lack of means, unplanned pregnancies, forced marriages and even deaths.

COMINSUD working extensively in the domains of inclusion, fight against Gender Based Violence and child protection is very concerned with the rights of the girl child to return to safe schools.  The International Day of the Girl Child as a platform  for us to amplify the voices of voiceless girls across the North West Region in their quest for the right to education and an equal future.   

These activities were realized thanks to the partnerships with UNFPA, UNICEF, Bread for the World – Germany and the Cities of Gorinchem/Dordrecht – Netherlands.

Contact: info@cominsud.org or cominsud_ngo@yahoo.com   (+237) 677666486 

#Supportcominsudtosupportgirlsgobacktoschool #internationaldayofthegirlchild #InternationalGirlChildDay  #inclusion #fightagainstGBV #childprotection #UNFPA #UNICEF #breadfortheworldgermany  #cityofgorinchem #dordrechtbamaendafoundation  #cominsud

Working with volunteers: Transforming people in distress to pools of knowledge

/ Scoffy N. Wangang-PMP

For the past years, Community Initiative for Sustainable Development (COMINUSUD) in its quest to promote community engagement, development and accountability has been building a strong network of community volunteers in the North West Region. Little did it even foresee that this network of volunteers may subsequently serve in a situation of crisis?

But it has come to pass with the outbreak of the now Anglophone crisis in November 2016. From a socio-political crisis it metamorphosed into a deadly armed conflict. This has resulted to thousands of displaced persons either moving out of their usual habitat, out of the Region and some to neighbouring countries especially Nigeria.

To adapt to this new dispensation, COMINSUD developed a project titled “TRANSFORMING PEOPLE IN DISTRESS TO POOLS OF KNOWLEDGE”.

OBJECTIVES:

  • To have a network of community volunteers to contribute in Community Engagement and accountability
  • Contribute to transforming those in distress to pools of knowledge.

REALISATIONS:

We now have a network of 50 trained volunteers (5 of them who are now permanent) from all 7 Divisions of the North West Region. 21 of this community based volunteers are internally displaced persons who were empowered during a workshop and later integrated into the transforming people in distress to pools of knowledge project.

APPROACHES/STRATEGIES:

Most of these volunteers have taken part in the following trainings aimed at re-enforcing their knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable then to be veritable community agents of change especially in a crisis situation.

  • Volunteering training organized by COMINSUD in August 2018 to enlighten the volunteers on what volunteering is and is not, the advantages of volunteering etc.
  • Workshop on Project Proposal Writing held at COMINSUD conference hall and organized by COMINSUD from the 8 – 10 August, 2018. This workshop was aimed giving more understanding to the volunteers on the various steps and aspects in project proposal writing.
  • Workshop on the provision of Psychological First Aid to Internally Displaced Persons – IDPs in North West Region, notably women, girls and boys on the 17 October 2018 at COMINSUD in Bamenda.
  • Workshop on Social Inclusion, Humanitarian Action and Peace Work in the Context of Conflict organized by COMINSUD and funded by UNFPA

CHANGES/IMPACT OF THE ACTIONS

  • Having a network of volunteers covering all the 7 Division of the North West Region has greatly increased our access to certain inaccessible communities.
  • Through the TRANSFORMING PEOPLE IN DISTRESS TO POOLS OF KNOWLEDGE initiative, we have been able to empower at least 21 IDPs giving them hope.

LESSONS 

  • Community development is valuable to the targeted communities when Community Engagement and Accountability is promoted.
  • Internally Displaced Persons shouldn’t be only seen as needy people but persons with pools of knowledge that can be transformed into agents of change.

CHALLENGES

  • The difficult and insecure working environments across the region.
  • Most of the transformed IDPs cannot give the optimal best due to lack or insufficient financial means.

In spite of the challenges COMINSUD is striving to ensure that community engagement and accountability should be promoted through the engagement of Community Volunteers and members of the concerned communities.

Nfon Peter

Volunteer and Youth Coordinator

Women’s Day used to demand More Women in Councils

/ Scoffy N. Wangang-PMP

“More women in my Council” was COMINSUD’s key message for this year’s international women’s day celebrations across the North West Region. Everyone who wants to see more women in their council is encouraged to wear a yellow ribbon until they have enough women in their Council. This campaign is linked to the work COMINSUD has been doing for more than a year to mobilize Women, Youth and Minority Potential Candidates across the Region.


To let their voices be heard in society, women in the region joined their counterparts worldwide in various celebrations of the international women’s day on 8th March. This day is dedicated to celebrate economic, political and social achievements of women and to create more awareness of future challenges, while appreciating progress made in the struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.


COMINSUD animators and promoters used the day to call for “More Women in Councils” by distributing yellow ribbons, badges, leaflets and placards to various groups in 25 sub-divisions of throughout the Region.

According to Sarah Koye of Ndu Sub Division
“Women were excited and badges got short we ran out of ribbons and men also joined the march pass and put on badges. The only female Parliamentarian from the North West Region Esther Ngala should be encouraged by bringing in more women, I will love to be one”
In Bamenda, men and women reached out for yellow ribbons and placards carrying messages of encouragement for women standing for elected decision making positions as their own way of supporting women into leadership positions.

This campaign painted the whole event yellow making more news for the day. Different groups who marched under this idea with their yellow ribbons and posters felt happy to create impact on decision makers and motivate women who are standing for Council elections.


The Divisional Officer in Babessi presented a speech in which he encouraged women to support other women standing for decision making positions. Mrs Ngen Florence Chinya, COMINSUD’s promoter in Babessi, noted that almost everyone present was wearing a yellow ribbon and that many people were talking about the campaign.

In the North West Region there are currently 177 women councilors out of 1,088 Councilors, let there be 330 or more women Councilors after the 2012 municipal elections. The situation in Parliament is even worse with only 1 woman Parliamentarian out of 20 for the region, let there be 5 or more women Parliamentarians after the 2012 legislative elections.