By Doh James Sonkey
The Young Rehabilitated Blind of Cameroon better known by its French acronym, CJARC has looked back in the past to see the paths which they have covered since the creation of the association. This was during the celebration of its 36th Anniversary recently at its Ekie neighborhood in Yaounde. Chaired by the General Manager of the Young Rehabilitated Blind of Cameroon, Coco Bertin, the anniversary was attended by volunteers from several countries.
In a chat with reporters, the General Manager of the Young Rehabilitated Blind of Cameroon, Coco Bertin said “There are some months that mark us a lot such is the month of creation of CJARC. That necessitated our fight. And when we started working at the residence of my parents and at Essos in a small wooden barrack. When we leave from there and came here in a building at Ekie inaugurated by the First Lady of Cameroon, Madam Chantal Biya, wife of the President of the Republic December 30, 2003, it is a high moment for us.”
Coco Bertin continued that, “When we look at the various persons suffering from disabilities that we brought out from darkness and discouragement to lead them to a better life of hope. Today, many have found a job, many develop activities that earn them a lot of money, many were able to get married and to take care of their families and we can say that is 36 years of activities for us here at CJARC.”
He added that, “CJARC today we can say, it is the Bilingual Primary School with about 400 pupils, it is equally the Private Louis Braille Bilingual Teacher Training College better known by its French acronym ENIEG, an inclusive Digital Center offered by the government through the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, Coco Bertin Inclusive Vocational Training Institute etc.”
Talking to reporters, a volunteer, Carole Le Moing explained that, “We knew CJARC when they were still in a wooden barrack at Essos. When we look at how far they have gone with their vision, indeed, we can say a big up to Coco Bertin and his team. We have always admired their courage at the service of visually impaired persons in the Cameroonian society. We worked with them so as not to spend much and economise in order to give the money to visually impaired persons.”