Cameroon - Second short story

Aminatou Gambo 

Aminatou Gambo’s eyes are smiling when we meet. She is an imposing woman: tall and joyful, she always greets us with Merci or Bonjour, the few words she knows in French. Even though she doesn’t remember when she exactly came to Cameroon, she tells us that she was part of the first refugee groups that settled in Boulembé in 2005. In the Central African Republic she made a living by subsistence trade: she was selling milk, corn flour and peanuts. Aminatou Gambo widowed shortly before the situation in the country deteriorated, so on her own she had to find a way of protecting her 9 children when bandits and rebel groups arrived in her village to steal cattle and kill locals. Every night, Aminatou Gambo brought her children to the countryside to sleep, as to avoid staying in her house and being an easy target. Finally, she decided to sell the few cattle she still had and pay a car to take her family to the Cameroon border. Through Sport Network funding, she is working the field and sells the clothing she makes, thanks to the machine donated in the frame of this project. With the benefits she earns through her trade, she is dreaming of buying a goat and a good bed.

Read the introduction and the first short story about our beneficiaries in Cameroon.

More information about the project

Written by África Coloma, Sport Network's volunteer in Cameroon

Cameroon - First short story

Aissatou Bakari

We meet Aissatou Bakari in the shed constructed in Boulembé, where every Tuesday, women participating in the income generating activities (IGAs) meet to calculate the value of their weekly incomes. Quietly she tells us that she came to Cameroon five years ago, together with her husband and their six children, after fleeing Central African Republic, as the security situation was untenable. They left their home during the night, without looking back; they walked for long hours until, at the first light of the morning, they reached the car that would take them to the Cameroon border, and their entrance to a safer environment and a new life. After spending time in a UNHCR refugee camp, finally they settled down in Boulembé, their new home. Through Sport Network’s funding, Aissatou started to work with manioc (Cassava work) and she notices how her life has got better, her three children can now attend school in the neighboring village. With the benefits that she has been gaining, Aissatou would like to buy a calf and keep her children going to school.

If you'd like to read more about our project in Cameroon, click here, or visit our webpage.

Written by África Coloma, Sport Network's volunteer in Cameroon

Cameroon: Short stories about our beneficiaries

This is the first in a series of articles about the different groups of beneficiaries of the project “Improvement of life conditions for Central African Refugees in Cameroon”.

Since 2005, Cameroon has welcomed over 104,000 refugees from the Central African Republic who are fleeing from bandits and rebel groups that attack Mbororo settlements in order to steal cattle and kidnap women and children for ransom. For this reason, the Mbororos are forced to sell their livestock and take refuge in the neighboring country, Cameroon. The refugee population is present in over 300 Cameroonian communities. 

The Central African Republic, which ranks as one of the world’s poorest countries, has seen its conflict exacerbated since the events in March 2013. A coup d’etat lead by the rebel coalition “Seleka” overturned the former president and forced people to leave the country. Approximately, 4,200 persons left for Cameroon, 40,500 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 13,000 for Chad and 4,800 for Congo. The access to humanitarian aid in this “forgotten conflict” is very difficult and according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – with which Sport Network is conducting its intervention – mortality rates and acute malnutrition among the population is very high. 

It is in these circumstances that Sport Network supports a group of 50 women (35 refugees and 15 Cameroonians) of the Boulembé community, thanks to the introduction of income generating activities (IGAs), in the shape of training about agricultural techniques and small business financing.

The ethnic Mbororo’s, which the refugees belong, are essentially nomadic livestock farmers and therefore do not know as much about agriculture, and for this reason their food supply is very limited. Thanks to this project financed by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), Sport Network has trained 50 women on agricultural techniques through demonstration plots of different crops. Subsequently, they put into practice their newly gained knowledge on their individual fields, thanks equally to the distribution of seeds. The new incomes enable them on one hand to improve their nutrition, and on the other hand, enable them to sell their products at the market.

The first in the series of stories will be shared in the coming weeks!

Read more about our project in Cameroon

Written by Beatriz Gómez, Sport Network's coordinator in Cameoon

International Day of Peace

On the 21^st September 2013, the United Nations celebrate the International Day of Peace.

Established in 1981, the International Day of Peace is devoted to strengthening the values of peace throughout the world.

Sport has been recognized as an important tool to convey messages of peace around the world.

As an organisation, we have gained experience of the unique power sport can have on communities afflicted by conflicts.

In a message, 100 days before the international peace day, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, "It is not enough to teach children how to read, write and count. Education has to cultivate mutual respect for others and the world in which we live, and help people forge more just, inclusive and peaceful societies."

We believe that sport provides an environment where people can put their differences aside, build peaceful relationships, respect each other and most importantly have fun.

In eastern Cameroon, we are currently implementing a project that aims to foster social integration among locals and refugees. Refugees displaced from their country of origin face numerous physical and emotional traumas.

In regions where formal education is already limited, the arrival of more people can be impossible to manage. In these situations, sport can be a useful medium to convey key messages and build self-confidence.

“We consider that sport and physical activity is the best possible way as it has the capacity to unite people and create friendships: while playing sport we forget all the things that divide us and the barriers disappear. On the field we are all equal. Sport is also a very good means of communication” Jean Pierre Boundar, Sport and Cooperation Network instructor.

Read more about the project in Cameroon

The twelfth player

Taking advantage of the summer holidays, Sport Network is organizing an 11-a-side football championship in Boulembé, which will take place on the recently inaugurated sport fields, constructed as part of the project “Improvement of life conditions for Central African Refugees in Cameroon”. 

The inauguration of this eagerly awaited event took place on the 13th of June with the celebration of the first football games. The tournament will conclude on the 25^th of August, with a grand final. 

The tournament has had a fantastic reception from the participating teams, as well as spectators that come together every Thursday and Saturday to support their teams. All of this combines to create a fun, festive and sporty atmosphere that unite families, youth and children, as well as multiple vendors selling; donuts, corn on the cob, bananas, peanuts, meat and drink. 

The level and commitment of the players is very high, always led by their coach, who gives instructions and makes changes from the side of the pitch. However, I dedicate this blog to the 12^th player of each team. They are the most tireless, the most loyal and I have to say the craziest and loudest players of the tournament, and it’s none other than the supporters of each team. The fans can almost feel more involved than the players themselves, they suffer from every decision made against their team, they celebrate each goal as if it was a goal in the final and while the game is played, they continue to debate refereeing decisions. 

The most beautiful thing about sports and football in particular, is the passion that it generates and its ability to mobilize people. And here we are not talking about famous football clubs that spend millions and millions of Euros on players and advertising. We talk about passion that arise in ordinary people, who enjoy living the sport, either as a player or supporter, and who take pleasure in the capacity to unite people through a common passion regardless of age, gender, religion or nationality. And for this we don’t need many resources, just a bit of creativity, which is highlighted in Africa, where players in the tournament lack proper football boots and play in sandals (the ones that are used on the seaside to prevent accidents caused by rocks).

The tournament continues under the watchful gaze of their 12^th player. Stay informed to find out who wins!! 

Find out more about the community championship in Cameroon!

Written by África Coloma a Sport Network volunteer in Cameroon

World Refugee Day 2013

Today, June 20^th, marks the United Nations World Refugee Day. A day, where people in countries around the world will be recognizing the strength and determination of those forcibly evicted from their homeland. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “...Refugees leave because they have no choice. We must choose to help”. It is a time when people can reflect and raise awareness of the situation of refugees around the world and show global solidarity.

Refugees face physical and emotional trauma when they are displaced from their country of origin. However, sport can provide a useful distraction and tool to build self-confidence, encourage teamwork and foster peaceful relationships between the host and refugee community.

Sport Network believes that sport is a powerful tool for human and social development. Sport, not only provides a healthy lifestyle for children and adults alike, but can also encourage children to attend school, raise awareness about health issues, promote gender equality and foster integration.

On World Refugee Day, we take this time to reflect on a number of our projects that have supported refugee and host communities around the world.

Cameroon

Sport Network, is currently implementing a project in Cameroon, which aims to improve the quality of life of refugee and local communities in the Eastern region, through education, sport and socio-cultural activities.

“Once they have a place to play, the kids will forget, even if for a moment, about their problems and their differences” Sport Network coordinator.

To facilitate this aim, Sport Network in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has constructed a primary school and sporting facilities, which include, two football pitches, as well as volleyball and netball courts. A key aspect, of the Cameroon project is the training and education of young people as peer leaders, which will contribute to the success and sustainability of the project.

Read more about the project in Cameroon.

Algeria

Sport Network have completed two projects in the Sahara that aimed to improve the living conditions of children and youth, living in refugee camps by promoting sports and education. The projects involved the construction of sporting facilities, training sport monitors, arranging cultural and sporting activities as well as the publication of a bi-lingual (Spanish and Arabic) handbook of Physical Education. The second project, which included the publication of a handbook was part funded by the UNHCR.

Read more about the projects in Algeria!

Sport Network begins new project in Tinduf Saharawi settlements.

Sport helps Saharawi women boost self-esteem.

The children of Boulembe

Children are children in every part of the world.

At first, it may not always seem so: when you get to Boulembe, a village in Eastern Cameroon, where Sport and Cooperation Network is working, and you see 6, 7 or 8-year old girls selling fritter or fruit instead of going to school; or when you see their worn out clothes, or their broken shoes (if they have any). They just don’t look like what children should.

 But today is Thursday.  And they know that Thursdays is “ball day”, it’s sports day. As soon as Sport Network monitors appear, their faces change and they run out to the school court, where they usually play. They jump, they shout, they wave, they push each other, they fight, they hug…

About 100 children are watching, impatient to start playing. They take their broken sandals off and start running after the ball, barefoot on the reddish dust.

The girls form their teams. Today they are 4 teams of 5, enough to play a mini football championship. Not all of them understand the rules yet  - one grabs the ball with her hands, another runs in the wrong direction. But they all participate, and they all want to participate.

Like in every school ground, sometimes the boys get in the way of the girls’ games, pulling their hair and laughing. The older girls defend themselves with a kick or a push. “This is the girl’s team!”

And like in every school ground, you can find the shy ones, the leaders, the funny, the daring, the competitive or the curious.

“Everyday before going to school I wash the dishes, sweep the floor and clean the house”, an 8-year old girl tells me, with a smile on her face and the ball in her hands, ready to play.

Although it doesn’t always seem so, children are children everywhere.

Most of them don’t have shoes, but running doesn’t hurt their feet. They don’t cry when they fall, and don’t complain about the uneven field that gives a clear advantage to the other team.

Soon they’ll have a real football field to play on, as well as a volleyball and netball court. But until then, they make do and enjoy.

More information on our project in Cameroon.

Maira Cabrini is a Sport Network collaborator. She is currently working on a cooperation project in Bertoua, Cameroon.