Cameroon
Stories from change-makers in Cameroon
“The shooting in our village was very serious; my family and I ran for our lives,” Yeluma told us.
“The bushes became the safest place for me. I stayed there for weeks.”
Yeluma had a happy life with her parents and her six siblings in their village in Cameroon. She loved school and dreamed of becoming a doctor. But then the conflict changed everything.
Life in her village became terrifying. It was common to see gun violence and the burning of houses. Schools were closed down. When Yeluma and her family fled an attack, she got separated from everyone else, and was never able to find them. She was on her own.
Yeluma made it to Bamenda, the regional capital. It was there that Plan International found her. She enrolled in counseling and started attending a Plan child-friendly space, where she was learned life skills and discovered her talent in beadwork. Plan helped her enroll in vocational training and later provided her with resources to start her own beadwork business.
“I am very grateful for everything,” said Yeluma. “I was constantly advised to get married to survive the hardship of the crisis, but the learnings from the child-friendly space have brought me hope for a better future. I will grow up and marry when I decide.”
Protect girls like Yeluma today
Yeluma had a happy life with her parents and her six siblings in their village in Cameroon. She loved school and dreamed of becoming a doctor. But then the conflict changed everything.
Life in her village became terrifying. It was common to see gun violence and the burning of houses. Schools were closed down. When Yeluma and her family fled an attack, she got separated from everyone else, and was never able to find them. She was on her own.
Yeluma made it to Bamenda, the regional capital. It was there that Plan International found her. She enrolled in counseling and started attending a Plan child-friendly space, where she was learned life skills and discovered her talent in beadwork. Plan helped her enroll in vocational training and later provided her with resources to start her own beadwork business.
“I am very grateful for everything,” said Yeluma. “I was constantly advised to get married to survive the hardship of the crisis, but the learnings from the child-friendly space have brought me hope for a better future. I will grow up and marry when I decide.”
“I hate COVID-19 because it kills,” says Sonia.
Sonia is one of thousands of girls in Cameroon caught between two crises: conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the region where Sonia and her family live, a deadly conflict has been destroying lives for years. Things have now gotten even more difficult with COVID-19. Sonia’s family is struggling to survive, and she’s terrified of the increased gender-based violence she sees in her community.
“The pandemic has badly affected my parents’ business and it has become difficult to take care of our basic needs,” Sonia explained.
The pandemic is also threatening her education. The conflict had already closed many schools in the area, but Sonia was able to attend an education center supported by Plan. She loves learning, and wants to be a teacher someday. But then COVID-19 temporarily closed the doors to the center, too.
Adolescent girls are at especially high-risk when it comes to crises like this conflict and the pandemic. That’s why Plan’s emergency response in Cameroon is aimed at protecting girls and vulnerable children. Sonia, and millions of girls like her around the world, should never have to sacrifice their futures.
Learn more about our humanitarian work
In the region where Sonia and her family live, a deadly conflict has been destroying lives for years. Things have now gotten even more difficult with COVID-19. Sonia’s family is struggling to survive, and she’s terrified of the increased gender-based violence she sees in her community.
“The pandemic has badly affected my parents’ business and it has become difficult to take care of our basic needs,” Sonia explained.
The pandemic is also threatening her education. The conflict had already closed many schools in the area, but Sonia was able to attend an education center supported by Plan. She loves learning, and wants to be a teacher someday. But then COVID-19 temporarily closed the doors to the center, too.
Adolescent girls are at especially high-risk when it comes to crises like this conflict and the pandemic. That’s why Plan’s emergency response in Cameroon is aimed at protecting girls and vulnerable children. Sonia, and millions of girls like her around the world, should never have to sacrifice their futures.
Cameroon
Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Cameroon since 1996.
Our work in Cameroon
Offices & operations
Plan International Cameroon’s country office is in Yaounde, with programs in Bamenda, Bertoua, Biteng, Garoua and Maroua.
Number of sponsored children
As of June 2022, people like you sponsor 22,924 children in Cameroon through Plan International.
Gender equality is a fight we must all take on together. Through sponsorship, you can change lives and create long-term impact in communities.
The full circle of Fate
When you sponsor a child through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.
But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:
Send them birthday gifts and cards.
Give them special holiday presents called Little Treasures.
Subscribe them to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.
Arrange a visit (pending any travel restrictions), with individual travel assistance from us.
Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and with the exception of Little Treasures they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.
Meet a child to sponsor