By Sah Terence Animbom
Over 1000 internally displaced persons from the four council areas of Boyo division have begun receiving relief material in Yaounde, donated by the United Cities and Councils of Cameroon Boyo Chapter headed by Fundong Mayor, Denis Awoh Ndang. The IDPs are receiving gifts ranging from mattresses to food items from their mayors, as a sign of communion and psycho social support to them, especially at a time when they have been forced to live through very challenging situations away from their homes as a result of the socio political unrest in their native North West region.
While houses of Boyo sons and daughters in Yaounde have been over crowded by relatives fleeing the socio political unrest in the North West Region with as many as 15 persons in a studio and sometimes six persons in a single room, coupled with scarcity and high price rates on food items, with people sleeping on the bare floor because of overcrowded beds and lack of extra mattresses, some people have simply resorted to moving from town to town hawking some basic household items in a bid to survive.
Internally Displaced Persons from Bum, Fundong, Njinikom and Belo Sub divisions happily went home with vegetable oil, bags of rice, washing soap and mattresses to ease their suffering.
Talking to the press, an IDP said she ran away from Fundong due to the burning of houses that took place in Abuh and the frequent attacks and gunshots that threatened their lives while in Fundong. She expressed a lot of joy and appreciation to the mayors of Fundong, Bum, Njinikom and Belo for their very timely intervention through the UCCC.
Another IDP from Bum sub division said he left home to go visit in Yaounde for a period of two months but couldn’t go back home since the situation escalated back in Boyo while he was away. He has so far been managing to make ends meet in Yaounde but says it’s not been easy. He however says the intervention of the mayors is really consoling.
Denis Awoh Ndang, the President of UCCC Boyo told the press at the end of the ceremony that “Yaounde counts more than a thousand internally displaced persons from Boyo; many of them are suffering. We have seven/ eight/ nine/ ten persons living in one room and we thought that if we brought some assistance to them, it can ease their suffering a bit. We came to encourage them that all is not lost and that one day things will get back to normal”.
The women who came to be assisted by their mayors graced the occasion with songs of celebrating, chanting the Njang Wain telling their children the mayors of Boyo how proud they are of them and reiterating that they do not regret bringing them to the world.
Also present at the event was the SDF senator for Boyo, Senator Barister Ajuo Honore Ngam, who also has been reaching out to the IDPs in a very special way. He recently celebrated his birthday with IDPs in Bamenda, handing over food items and other gifts to internally displaced persons in Bamenda.