Mezam: Nkumu Fed-Fed to use peace project to empower over 200 mothers.

Participants during launching of project

Women-based organisation, Nkumu Fed-Fed, has launched a project to empower over 200 mothers. The project dubbed "Mother for Peace" was launched in Bamenda Friday November 8, during an inception workshop. 



It plans to empower 200 mothers of Mezam Division in the North West Region with conflict resolution and peace building skills in a bid to deradicalise the youth and counter violent extremism in communities.

The Mother for Peace project to be implemented by Nkumu Fed-Fed is funded by US Embassy in Yaounde. It has as goal to empower mothers as key agents of peace and resilience in Mezam Division. It will target notably Bamenda I, II, III, Tubah and Santa Subdivisions.

During the launching, over 50 stakeholders drawn from Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, religious and traditional circles, benchmarked and shared notes with Nkumu Fed-fed on experiences and challenges faced on the field and the role they would have to play in assisting the project attain its objectives.

The stakeholders took the engagement to open their doors and showed their readiness to share ideas, advising the project management of Mothers for Peace to copy what women elsewhere have done to deradicalise youth in conflict areas.

They equally suggested that on carrying out its activities on the field, more attention should be given to psychosocial support than to solely harping on economic assistance.

According to the Project Manager, Eunice Tita Tata, deradicalisation has been chosen for treatment among other domains because there has been a lot of radicalisation in communities in the crisis-stricken North West Region.

"The concept came in because there is a lot of radicalisation in the communities as a result of the sociopolitical crisis that is going on in the communities," she explained.

 

Protecting children from being radicalised

She went further to explain that the idea is to unzip and identify children who can be protected from being radicalised because a lot of killings in the communities are committed by children considered innocent from facial looks. 

The project, she said, is actually to empower women to be able to identify early signs of radicalisation among youth and equally prepare women to have the wherewithal to be able to cater for their children such that they should not be exposed to radicalised issues.

The project, which is earmarked to run for eight months, will involve a plethora of activities.

According to Project Coordinator, Mbimenyuy Marius Kongso, the ball was already set rolling with the inception workshop which brought together stakeholders to discuss the activities of the project and engage them to ensure that the objectives of the project are effectively achieved.

He stated that there will be an assessment of women-led initiative groups in the region in a bid to understand the challenges they are facing and have them suggest best practices to be integrated in carrying out the project.

Key workshops, he said, shall be organised for 200 mothers during which they shall be trained on how to identify any kind of radicalisation among youth and how to prevent violent extremism.

Another workshop, he went further, shall be organised on peace building, during which women shall be trained on how to communicate and create awareness about peace building.

Meanwhile, 50 women and 50 youth who have been victims of violent extremism are going to be offered psychosocial support, counseling, medical care and economic empowerment. 

The project management shall equally encourage referral pathways with other partner organisations to be able to refer cases of violence. 

By so doing it was believed that the psychosocial support, counseling, medical care and economic empowerment of the women are going to make them have ample courage and time not only to raise income to feed their families, but also bringing up children in the family in the right way.

Emphasis was also laid on the idea that Mothers for Peace project shall be looking for mothers with children under their care who must be coming from a community group such as the traditional women's organisation, church or mosque. 

This is on the premise that such group leaders or representatives, after training, can be able to take back the knowledge they gained to their various community. 

 

Stakeholders hail project initiative

Religious, traditional leaders and other stakeholders present at the inception workshop expressed commitment to welcome the project in their communities. 

Imam Musa Shwaibu Baba Malla of the Bamenda Central Mosque commited to sensitise muslims during prayers when the time comes.

Meanwhile, Rev Father Charles Nguobi, the Catholic Education Secretary, underscored the church's position which is to enable and help Nkumu Fed-Fed achieve its objectives and goals. 

Nkumu Fed-Fed, it should be noted, is a women's gender-based NGO with its roots and origin in Bali Nyongha, Mezam Division of the North West Region. It seeks to empower the underprivileged. Nkumu Fed-Fed has grown to almost all parts of the world with 15 branches. 

It is concerned with the health and education of the disadvantaged in the communities and has been able to put up a vocational rehabilitation centre in Bali Nyongha. 

 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3289 of Wednesday November 13, 2024

 

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