By IKOME CHRISTIE-NOELLA EPOSI
A three-day campaign tagged ‘sex can wait’, organised by the Centre for Youth and Family Empowerment (CEYOFE), to sensitize young girls on the effects of engaging into sex at an early stage, has ended in Buea.
The programme which drew female children from the Tole community in Buea held at the Cameroon Cultural Centre on Thursday June 13 2019. The campaign was also geared toward educating the girls on ways to reduce unwanted pregnancies in adolescents, maternal mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS among the girl child.
The campaign had in attendance the CEO and Founder of CEYOFE Eteki Stella Dopgima, who opined that “We decided to carry out this campaign to sensitize the population in general and youths in particular on the effects of early sexual engagements and to advice them on delay sex”.
The Anglophone crisis she said has created idleness among female children in Tole, especially exposing them to rape and violence. Some of the cases she said were reported to her organisation by the regional delegation of Women Empowerment and the Family and this is what prompted her to embark on the training.
The CEO equally made mention of the fact that, a generational gap has been noticed between parents and their children, hence the campaign was also to alert the parents on the role they have to play so far as child parenting is concerned, especially on sex education so as to enable the children not to fall prey to peer pressure.
According to the South West regional delegate of Women Empowerment and the Family, Judith Mofa, many children have been displaced as a result of the crisis and there are many young girls roaming the streets. “With this campaign, we want to make young girls understand themselves and to know that they should not allow themselves to be manipulated by people”. She also advised that the girls should look for activities to engage in, rather than rely on men who will deceive them and get them pregnant.
Eteki Stella noted that the campaign will not only end at the level of empowering the Tole girls but will soon spread to other areas like Mile 16, 17, Muea and other areas.
At the close of the campaign, the young girls were pleased with such a brilliant initiative from CEYOFE and promised to put into practice what they have learnt as well as spread the good news to their peers who could not make it for the seminar.