The Minister of Women Empowerment and the family, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa donated the sum of 40,000,000 fcfa to 200 women, selected from all 7 divisions of the North West Region.
This gesture comes two months after the President of the North West Regional Assembly visited the Ministry and had a working session that noted the concerns of Gender Based Violence, and the need to budget in order to improve the wellbeing of women in the Northwest region.
According to the Minister, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa, the initiative is born out of the fact that the ministry is saddened by what women and their children in the North West Region are going through; many of whom have lost husbands/father's due to the ongoing Anglophone crisis turned an armed conflict.
"My hope is that the Beneficiaries make good use of the support they receive, so that we can see a change. This support is meant for you to do something useful, to be empowered economically. I know women know how to multiple money."
Feedback on the gift in cash recieved from the Minister of Women Empowerment and the family, describes the relief the women felt. Prof Anjoh Frii-Manyi Rose - Commissioner for Education, Sports and Cultural Development expressed gratitude to the Minister on behalf of these women.
"By the time you call one mama to come to the Regional Assembly for assistance she would call another one woman. Your excellency these women are soo delighted to see you here as they have gone through crisis for seven years; suffered, lost their husbands, their children and some of them have died, some of them raped, and some have gone through all sorts of pain."
"Women in the North West know how to carry out economic activities and with the ongoing crisis, some of them have told stories of the difficulties they face to go to the farm and bring home farm products. Some of them cannot access the farms to grow anything so they are idle, not because they want to be idle but because of insecurity. Giving them some money is a way of encouraging them to start undertaking economic activities that would get them out of idleness and dependency and for them to take care of family matters and even create job opportunities for others", Commissioner for Education, Sports and Cultural Development, North West Regional Assembly.
The women holding peace plants in their hands, chanting songs in gratitude also demonstrated proof of being peace brokers, as some of them promised talking to their children, their husbands about the message of peace, spreading this in the communities.
Indepeth report by Bamenjo Petronila