Improving welfare of abandoned children: Plan Int’l Cameroon, gov’t brainstorm on new best practices.

This was during the second session of the 2023 meeting of the implementation of the National Commission for the Protection of Children at Moral Danger, Delinquent or Abandoned. 

The session which held in Yaounde yesterday held under the theme: “Alternative care for children with no known family background”, was opened by the Minister of Social Affairs, Pauline Irene Nguene. 

The close to 40 participants at the session discussed among other things, on the alternative ways through which children with unknown family backgrounds, abandoned children and those in moral danger, can be secured or reintroduced to family lives.

The session was also dedicated to the identification of various stakeholders[the state, communities, families] and their responsibilities in the children’s well-being as well as the stakes and values of such interventions. 

Presentations were anchored on how to accompany potential foster families and individuals ready to take in the children, according to existing state laws and guidelines.

Plan International Cameroon Country Director speaking at the event

Minister urges authorities to be selfless in fostering change

Speaking as she declared open discussions during the working session, the Minister of Social Affairs, Pauline Irene Nguene said the situation of abandoned children and their peers with unknown family backgrounds or with moral danger is a major concern to the state.

She said despite the multiple crises happening in the country, the plight of such children remains a major priority and should be treated as such by all actors involved in the commission. 

“At the end of this session, we are supposed to bring out concrete solutions and strategies to take care of these children administratively and at the level of families. It is a very important step to take. I count on your expertise. I recommend that you work without being compromised so that the future of these children can be shaped through your actions,” Minister Irene Nguene said. 

The minister saluted the contributions of partner institutions like Plan International Cameroon in efforts towards addressing the situation. 

“I salute Plan International Cameroon for the remarkable work done by his institution. It is only together as a team that we can be able to attain this objective. I hope that by coming together, we can effectively attain this objective,” the Social Affairs Minister said.

Plan Int’l Cameroon reaffirms commitment

The Country Director of Plan International Cameroon, Dr Donkeng Eddy Patrick used Wednesday’s working session to reaffirm the organisation’s dedication in pushing for children’s welfare in the country. 

The official said the second session of the National Commission for the Protection of Children in Moral Danger, Delinquent or Abandoned gives Plan a fresh opportunity to recommits itself to what it has been doing in the last 27 years.

“It is during these critical moments that the support of temporary foster families plays an essential role, given that every child has the right to a family, a child's first line of defense is his or her family. Every child has the right to a family environment, no child should be separated from his or her parents, and every child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment must be supported,” Dr Donkeng stated.

He concluded by saying: “Our aim is to provide holistic care not only for the children; but also, for the families who take them in. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children in emergency situations. Together, we can give them the environment, security and opportunities they need to fulfill their potential”.