Mental health FAHEDEF at the rescue of war victims  

More than 85 refugees and displaced persons from the Central African Republic and the Far North, North West and South West regions of Cameroon living in Nkolanga’a, a locality on the outskirts of Yaoundé, have benefited from a month-long language course organised by the Foundation for Family Health and Development, FAHEDEF, to help them overcome stigma and discrimination.

From 6.30am on Thursday 11 July, these refugees and internally displaced persons, made up of women (most of whom were pregnant), men and children as young as 5 years old, rushed to class so as not to be late for their lessons. In the various classrooms of the Nkolanga’a public school, they quickly refresh their memories by going over what was taught the day before. Teacher Vanessa soon entered the classroom and the pupils stood up to greet her before sitting down again. After responding to their greetings, she proceeds with the revision. This is the last day of school, the time for them to quickly rehearse their activities in preparation for the closing ceremony scheduled for the following day. While Mireille, 38, dictates from a book, mum Aicha listens attentively and copies from the blackboard. Other learners take various turns at the blackboard, either to read or to write.

During the closing ceremony on 12 July 2024, most of these learners were able to write or read in front of an audience, a testimony that was like a dream come true for them. “I left school very young. I could barely speak French. I then found it very difficult to integrate with the people of Nkolanga’a, because they didn’t understand my mother tongue. Writing messages to my people or to anyone else was impossible. Things were worse every time I went to the market to buy because I couldn’t write a list or read market prices, let alone communicate. But thanks to these courses, I can now speak, read and write French,” says Mireille, 40, a refugee from the Central African Republic.

For many of them, it was difficult to socialise and find a job because of language barrier. “I think I’ll be able to find a job now that I’ve overcome this barrier,” exclaims Brenda, a displaced person from the North-West region of Cameroon.

Many of the parents who sent their children to this free educational programme thanked FAHEDEF for instilling a new sense of belonging in their children, who were initially unable to interact and socialise with their peers because of the language barrier. Dr Emmanuel Chiamanji Nforlem, general coordinator of the programme, explains that it was a necessary activity to strengthen the spirit of more than 100 people living in foreign lands, who are constantly undergoing psychological trauma and feel reduced because of their disabilities. “The main aim of the course was to help these people overcome their stigmatisation, their backwardness and their poor social integration.

Nkolanga’a is a commune in the Mefou and Afamba department in the Central region of Cameroon. This is one of the communes that host refugees and displaced persons with limited access to healthcare, nutrition and education, among other things. With this in mind, FAHEDEF has been providing humanitarian assistance to local people in the region, particularly the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, since 2013. “At FAHEDEF, we strive to improve the lives of disadvantaged families by giving them access to healthcare, education and other essential services.”

We work closely with the communities to identify their specific needs and develop programmes that meet those needs,” explains Françoise Nwabufo Josh, FAHEDEF’s coordinator. However, the association, which has limited sources of funding, is calling on the government, organisations and people of goodwill to come to its aid in order to give a better life to the refugees, displaced persons and disadvantaged population of Nkolanga’a.

Ingrid KENGNE

Interview

Emmanuel Chiamanji Nforlem

“ When people are kept from reading and writing, they suffer from stigmatization, withdrawal and backwardness”

Doctor can you tell us what brought you here at the Nkolanga’a community?

As a professional psychologist, I was invited here by FAHEDEF to come assist refugees and IDPs with some psychosocial issues, especially in the aspect of reading and writing. When people are kept from reading and writing, they suffer from stigmatization, withdrawal and backwardness. So when I came in, we had about 22 adults and 64 children who registered, making a total of 86. Many other persons came later, but were referred for a different program because my time here was short. For the 86 registered, only 75 went through and were all able to read and write during the program. The 11 others were distracted by illness or their jobs since they are mostly house helps.

What was the content of the course?

The content of the course was to first of all make these people to came out of their stigmatization, backwardness and poor social integration. To make the people come out of the stigma, we had to design something. These are people who are mostly refugees. Most of them have never been to school. So when we came, we design this one month course of reading and writing, which led to all of them reading and writing. But what I want to note is that when it comes to social integration, this is very little done. We have just started to bring them out of their low esteem. More is still left undone. FAHEDEF has to follow up these individuals to see that they are properly integrated in the community and in social life by getting some of them learn mere trades. Some of them can now make estimates, make a list and take down information or provide short statistics on what they are doing. Learning  little trades like sewing, hair dressing…. will make them socialize properly.

Did you face any challenges in the course of the program?

The main challenge is faced is that this is my first time of carrying out such an activity here in Yaoundé, even though it had taken place in the North and the result was so wonderful. But here in Yaoundé people had not understood what it was. They were taking it for normal alphabetisation which was not the case. We were actually trying to bring people to be able to socialize. So before people could actually understand what was going on, it was a little bit too late for me to bring them in. Another challenge I faced was that the women I was working with were too poor. They could not meet up with daily bread. For the majority of those who could not go through the program, hunger was the problem. They lack the means to meet up with daily bread and other basic needs. So it made some to them to leave school and go wash dresses in homes where they wash dresses and they could not be regular during the course. It was however not the reality for the children who depend on their parents.

Would you propose that this course should continue? Because one month isn’t enough.

Yes! I already told FAHEDEF that this is just something that has begun here. I’m sure that this community will understand that what they are offering is not very common in communities. I’ve also said that when it comes to issues of psychosocial intervention, I don’t think my authorities in the disarmament Centre will not allow me to come and carry a program in the community. This is our own heartbeat. We want to see that members of the community integrate and socialize properly because that is where everything begins.

Interview by Ingrid Kengne