By Vanessa Mosenge, Communications Officer, CARE Cameroon
CARE in Cameroon supports refugees from the Central African Republic with food and relief supplies
Despair has taken a whole new meaning in Kette, in the East Region of Cameroon where desolate bushes sprawled with make-shift habitats have now become home to thousands of Central Africans fleeing their country. Most refugee families sleep on bare ground. A few holes have been dug for use as latrines. Food, water, shelter, basic human necessities and rights seem a distant wish for these refugees.
The faces of the people are laden with sadness and uncertainty. Children with no clothes on their backs or shoes on their feet, suffer from malnutrition. They are in need of urgent medical care.
In one corner, the shrill cries of women draws attention. With veiled faces and hands covering their heads, these women mourn the loss of a beloved child. Sadly though, children dying is no longer news in this settlement it is almost expected considering the bleak conditions.
There is a strong sentiment among the CARE team that this suffering is only the beginning as other refugees are in similar predicaments one way or another.
Didja fled the Central African Republic with a pregnancy that was already at term. “I was running because I felt the baby coming. I knew I needed to get somewhere safe to have my baby,” she says. “I gave birth just like that,” she adds to emphasize the lack of any medical assistance. There was nothing with her for the baby; no food, no clothes. When she arrived Kette, one woman, a native of the area gave clothes for her son and that is what Didja has been using.
Like other nursing mothers, Didja tries to breast feed but it is of no use, the milk is quickly diminishing from lack of sufficient nutrients. “We have nothing else to give the baby not even clean water to drink,” she says.
On this camp, several babies breast feed for comfort more so than for sustenance. Women who are still pregnant can only wonder what their own stories will be like.
On another side of the settlement, ten year old Amina, with a broad smile, takes off her head scarf then quickly ties it back on her head. “Am ready now,” she says as she poses to have her picture taken. Amina has been patiently waiting in a long line for her turn to collect food for her family. A CARE team is distributing food such as rice, beans, sugar, vegetable oil, salt; as well as soap, buckets, cups, kettles; and sleeping mats. Amina is one of the 1,640 people, including 256 women and 1,182 children receiving aid today. Her older brother Sali joins her and begins arranging the items collected.
Amina and Sali have four other siblings and have sought refuge in Kette with their father and step-mother who recently gave birth to twins. “We arrived here passing through forests and we have gone at least a month with very little to eat,” the 20-year old Sali states. Amina adds: “It is the first time we have received this type of support. We are very happy for the help.”
These stories depict the various struggles of Central African citizens seeking refuge in Cameroon and it represents their realities as they settle in. The crisis in the neighboring Central African Republic has displaced over 80,000 people into Cameroon, some of whom were lucky to escape with their families. Others, however, came alone and remain unsure of where their loved ones might be. With nowhere else to go, these refugees, notably women and children are weak from malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria.
CARE has mobilized efforts and resources to respond to the needs of refugees in the East of Cameroon, specifically in Kette where there is currently no presence of other aid agencies. Kette is one of the newer settlements where the number of new refugees arriving rise each day; making the needs immensely outweighing available resources.
During CARE’s distribution, recipients could hardly contain their gratitude. Moussa Abdoulaye, who serves as the leader of the refugees says, “There are several families who have been going very hungry for quite some time, and thanks to help from CARE we now have some food to eat. We are very happy and proud as this will help us overcome some of our worries.”
CARE staff, Miriam Stein recalls what it was like being in the midst of the refugees. “The most difficult aspect was to hear the tragic stories of refugees, many of whom have lost their children, their spouses, their livestock and their property while fleeing the Central African Republic. Many of them crossed the border on foot and have been unable to get nutritional support or health care that they urgently need. I am convinced that a well-organized and rapid humanitarian response will help those who have suffered to begin recovering gradually. However, we would need more funding to reach all those affected. ”
CARE plans to continue helping refugees in Kette with nutritional and psychosocial assistance as well as partnering with other aid agencies to provide medical care to the refugees.