By DOH JAMES SONKEY
The Yaounde Chapter of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ has donated food items to some 25 families of internally displaced persons due to the armed conflict between Cameroon Defense Forces and separatist fighters in the North West and South West regions.
Handing bags of rice and symbolic financial assistance to the IDPs on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the President of CAMASEJ Yaounde, Viban Jude stated that “we did not call you here because we have more than enough to share but simply because as your children, we feel your pains. We are aware that this food cannot sustain you throughout your stay out of home but we are giving you with blessings of peace.”
Addressing recipients during this innovative aspect marking this year’s edition of World Press Freedom Day, Viban Jude said “We decided to engage in this exchange in order to pass on their pain to the public through our write-ups. It is really a very disturbing situation. More and more people are being forced out of their homes…some are leaving the comforts of their homes and coming to places they wouldn’t have dreamt of being there before now.”
Justifying their gesture, the President of CAMASEJ Yaounde told reporters that “We said as media people, we need to tell their stories. We decided that it should be part of our activities of the World Press Freedom Day by demonstrating good journalism which is telling the stories. At the same time, there is the human side of us. We cannot just only try to tell their stories but we also have to empathise with them. We don’t have deep pockets as journalists but through our stories, we are expecting that, people should react more.”
Other activities organized by the Yaounde Chapter with Cameroon Telecommunications, CAMTEL as main sponsor included, a media outreach to groom students in secondary schools on the journalism profession with the participation of CRTV’s Albert Njie Mbonde and Yerima Kini Nsom of The Post, a sport walk and a symposium at the Muna Foundation with Peter Ngu Tayong and Eugene Nfongwa as guest speakers.