To promote social entrepreneurship of socially vulnerable: Social Affairs minister calls for inclusive actions.

She made the called while closing the 7th edition of the National Solidarity and Social Entrepreneurship Week, SESES. Organised in Yaounde, the 7th edition of SESES was placed on the theme: “Disability and inclusion”.

The closing ceremony had in attendance the President of the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon, UCCC, Augustine Tamba, who doubles as Mayor of Yaounde VII Council, as well as the Board Chair of Orange Cameroun Foundation, Patrick Benon. 

The event was marked by an evaluation of the implementation of decentralisation in the social affairs sector and the handing of support to socially vulnerable persons.

Speaking during the event, the minister said inclusive actions of all are required to promote the empowerment of the socially vulnerable through social entrepreneurship.

She further urged mayors to give a place to the socially vulnerable while developing their respective programmes and engaging projects. 

In addition, she saluted the engagement of some mayors, through their President, Augustin Tamba, for his dynamism in seeing that decentralisation is effective. 

“The decentralisation process initiated by the country for some years now is irreversible. We have to work together with decentralized territorial collectivities to attain the objectives aimed by this public policy,” she said.

She then hinted that MINAS is working with the UCCC to see that a convention is signed between then to foster collaboration in the implementation of government policy in the social sector.

Reviews SESES this year

According to the minister, this edition of SESES had the two main focus. 

“The evaluation of decentralisation has become habitual for us; each year we evaluate what have been transferred in terms of competencies, resources if they are sufficient and what measures we can put in place to ameliorate the procedure of decentralisation, and evidently the promotion of social entrepreneurship” the minister said in her speech. 

The annual event was marked by a variety of innovative activities such a sensitisation and advocacy campaign for the mobilisation of the national community toward PWDs in coherence with the theme of SESES.

There was also a roundtable discussion aimed at ameliorating the procedure for the collection of data on PWDs in Cameroon, and the training of MINAS personnel on the elaboration of inclusive public policies.

“Also, within this week, we held inter-sectorial consultation for the putting in place of a national solidarity platform in Cameroon,” she added. 

Orange foundation donates

Beside the financial support by MINAS to some socially vulnerable groups, they also received a donation of equipment for their socio-professional empowerment through social entrepreneurship. The equipment included tailoring machines. 

Speaking to the press, the Secretary General of Orange Foundation, Elisabeth 

Ehabe, said they have been working with the government through MINAS since creation of the foundation in 2009. She explained that the partnership is aimed at supporting government in its initiatives to empower those that are socially vulnerable. 

“This specific project requires equipping young people and setting them up in cooperatives to enable them carry out income generating activities and to be able to meet their needs and contribute to society,” the Orange Foundation official stated. 

Meanwhile, the Orange Foundation is also work in collaboration with MINAS to set up cooperatives for the socially vulnerable youth in the cities of Bamenda, Bertoua, Foumbot and Yaounde. 

The Foundation SG explained that: “We are trying to meet young people where the needs are expressed and the choice of those four cities was made by MINAS who identified these areas as areas of interest for the setting up of these cooperatives”. 

One of the reasons for the choice of these towns, going by the official, is due to the high presence of internally displaced persons.