I've raised £1320 to aid the NGO Nature Cameroon in delivering emergency relief to residents of Mungo Ndor who have had their homes destroyed by civil war
Organised by Niall O'Donoghue
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For two months in the Summer of 2017 I had the privilege to travel to the Nguti Region of South-West Cameroon to conduct research for my Master's dissertation. I couldn't have hoped to achieve this without the expert assistance of Nature Cameroon - a small but endlessly passionate, precocious charity and development organisation that works to improve local livelihoods and protect the environment.
In the course of my research I visited a remote village called Mungo Ndor, where I was received with great kindness and warmth by the village council and other residents. It struck me as an incredibly peaceful, closely-knit village whose main concern was standing up to increasingly aggressive commercial interests in the region.
There have been significant social and political tensions across this part of the country for some time. The English-speaking regions of Cameroon make up about 20% of the country, and secessionist sentiment has steadily built as protests persist around anti-anglophone discrimination throughout education, governance and law. Brutal clampdowns ensued and tension mounted. Then, earlier this year, it boiled over into civil war as protesters, secessionist rebel groups and government forces clashed bloodily.
However, as with any civil conflict, civilian populations have been those hardest hit by the violence that has erupted across this side of the country. This Guardian article describes how an unknown number of civilians have been murdered, villages have been burned, and tens of thousands have fled their homes as the Cameroonian military and armed secessionists clash across the South-West.
Nature Cameroon's report states:
A visit to Mungo Ndor on Sunday 29th April 2018 by Dominic Alekeh Ngwesse, President – CEO of Nature Cameroon, to best appreciate the situation on the ground gave him the opportunity to move from one end of the village to another. He saw for himself the total destruction of 102 out 135 houses completely burnt to ashes including belongings that cannot be valued. Mungo Ndor has a total population of 1642 (including 924 children, 231 Women and 385 Men) who have been impacted by this crisis. You can only find the skeleton of what used to be the buoyant village of Mungo Ndor, now devastated and left in total ruins, with victims of these destroyed houses now taking refuge in the neighboring villages of Bombe Konye, Ntale and New Konye. The few who have relatives in the towns and cities have also fled, while the majority of the population is taking refuge in their farms under local makeshift ovens or thatched huts serving as shelter. The ordeal of this population in the bush cannot be overemphasized - stemming from a lack of clothing, no basic food items and medication, especially for the children and the elderly who are particularly affected by the cold climate of the area and diseases common at this time of the year.
Based on the actual situation on the ground, we are left with no other option than to draw the attention of the world to this village that desperately needs urgent humanitarian action.
Nature Cameroon has responded to this by launching a project that seeks to provide emergency supplies comprising of food, medicine, clothes and temporary shelter for the majority of the 1600 strong population of Mungo Ndor who have had their homes burnt down and some of their neighbours killed. In addition to this it hopes to win grant money to provide back-to-school materials to the village's children and construct new shelter for affected households.
This JustGiving page aims to raise 1,000,000 francs (£1,320) towards the initial emergency response phase of this project due to the slow movement of the grant application process. I hope that you feel inclined to donate towards this goal and aid Nature Cameroon in helping the wonderful people of this village restore a fragment of their former lives.
Links:
- "Burning Cameroon - The Images You're Not Meant to See" BBC Spotlight
- Nature Cameroon Facebook Page (coming soon)
