Project: Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Children Born of War in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon
Organization: Global Welfare Association Cameroon (GLOWA)
Country: Cameroon
Aim: In response to the neglect, stigmatization and abuses of children born of a relationship with enemy fighters in the Anglophone conflict, GLOWA was funded the full proposal amount of USD 8,438.78 to secure the rights of these children to a name and nationality, protect their inheritance rights and reduce stigmatization through outreach community.
Conclusion: The implementation of this project provided the opportunity for GLOWA to research the phenomenon of conflict related sexual violence and children born thereof in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon.
Summary: Since the mid-term report this project continued to carry out its programed activities of increasing public knowledge and building alliance for action on the rights of children born of war and strengthening the care environment of these children during the last six months. During this period, 15 young girls were identified and enrolled in the vocational training and livelihood support scheme of the project. The ultimate objective of this activity being to strengthen the care environment of children born of war. The project executed all planned activities with considerable interest in building and sustaining the mother-to-child relationships with the program participants as this was discovered to be deteriorating. Using vocational training and small business development as the appropriate catchment, the project continued to engage and use survivors experiences to raise awareness on conflict related sexual violence, the rights of children born as a result. The commemoration of international collaborations offered additional opportunities for visibility, coalition building and advocacy.
The project registered major successes in advocacy and coalition building. The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and the Cameroon Human Rights Commission (CHRC) visited and held working sessions with the project team including some survivors.