Plan International, Cameroon Educates Media Partners on its Child Safeguarding Policy

Against a backdrop of the crisis presently affecting the Northwest and Southwest Regions of  Cameroon, Plan International Cameroon just rounded up a two day worship in Bamenda with the sole objective of educating its Media Partners on its child safeguarding policy and related themes. This two day workshop took place in Bamenda at Blue Pearl Hotel from the 10th to the 11th of May 2019.

This workshop permitted media partners to first of all know what Plan International was all about. This activity which was coordinated by Tah Hedley, Communication and Media Coordinator for Plan International, Cameroon furnished the Media Practioners with all necessary information to permit them have a comprehensive grasp of what Plan International was all about. From the initial step in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War with the modest beginning by John Langdon Davis, a British War Journalist and Eric Muggeridge, a refugee worker, Plan International has grown to become a major player in the domain of child safeguarding. Today, Plan international is in 76 countries and in 26 African countries including Cameroon. In 2018, Plan International reached out to 18.1 million girls and 16.1 million boys across the world.
Now 18 years old in Cameroon, Plan International's ambition is to reach a global figure of 100 million children including 2 million in Cameroon by 2020.
With the crisis raging on in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, the movement of Internally Displaced People has mostly been towards the West Region and the Littoral Regions. Plan International Cameroon's Emergency Response in these neighbouring Regions is a matter of urgency. These regions due to the heavy presence of displaced people a reasonable percentage of them being children, Plan International Cameroon is without doubt including these regions in its Emergency Response program.
Key activities on day one included : Plan International's Child Protection Policy & Child Safeguarding, reflecting together on children's rights within a crisis context and most importantly from the perspective of media practioners Humanitarian Reporting.
In the domain of Humanitarian Reporting, a close look was taken at the importance of information in crisis. Cognizant of the importance of information in crisis and the importance of journalist in serving as the link between those with the means to help those in need, the vital role of journalists became more visible.
In order for media partners to effectively carry out this important role, they were further drilled on Plan International's Brand Characteristics. The media men and women were then schooled through Media policies or Editorial Policies which saw them touching on details such as Conducting interviews, Photographing or filming and the use of images.
An added quality to the workshop were the practical sessions coordinated by the Communication and Media Coordinator, Tah Hedley. Participants were divided into groups to maximize the benefits of these practice sessions.
Briefly speaking, attention was drawn to the fact that a media partner should never loose sight of the fact that everything had to be oriented towards protecting the survivors. In order for media partners to usefully pave a way forward working together to support the humanitarian response they were briefed on responsible reporting taking into consideration certain expectations of Plan International Cameroon.
Other Resource Persons at the workshop included Deputy Emergency Response Manager Emmanuela Nting Songbi, the Security Coordinator amongst others. Media Practioners in the region graced the occasion with their presence and active participation.

Public Outcry against Genocidal Utterances in Cameroon!

CPDM MP Succumbs in Public Apology to Anglophones

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

Essomba Bengono Engelbert CPDM Alternate Member of Parliament for Mefou and Akono Division has apologised for utterances he made on Anglophone Cameroonians on TV last week. This apology which was published on his face book page comes in the wake of an increasing condemnation of utterances that he made on Equinox Television considered in some quarters as genocidal in tone.
Several reactions had followed the statements made by Bengono Essomba. This CPDM bigwig in his statements trivialized the death of Anglophones hostile to the Paul Biya Regime.
."1850 deaths on 25 million Cameroonians, it is not serious yet," he said during his visit to the TV channel. These words automatically aroused reactions to his detriment.

Reacting to Essomba Bengono's utterances on Equinox TV Akere Muna, Legal luminary and one of the opposition candidates for last year's Presidential Elections wrote to the Honorable Cavaye Yeguié Djibril, President of the National Assembly of Cameroon.

He classified the utterances made by Honourable Essomba Bengono Engelbert, an Alternate Member of Parliament as Genocide Statements.
These statements were made during a program "Equinox Soir."
These utterances which Akere Muna described as genocidal compared populations of the Northwest and Southwest Regions to the Biblical Sodom and Gomora that needed to be wiped off as a matter of necessity.

: "..you know how many times God the creator had to shave the human species to constitute a people? You know how many times? The number of covenants that God made with men?" he said, I am shaving Sodom and Gomorah."

Among the things Bengono considered more important which should preoccupy  Cameroonians at the moment were reflecting on the dialogue proposed by the President of the Republic and the peace offensive of the Prime Minister, Chief Dr. Dion Ngute. These issues were considered more important than 1850 lives so far lost in the Northwest and Southwest Regions.

Such a statement from an elected representative of the people far from being a distraction had the potential to discredit any discourse on peace and dialogue promoted by the political party to which it belongs.
Akere Muna said he was waiting to see the reaction of Church leaders when the Bible is used to compare Cameroonian citizens, inhabitants of North-West and South-West to those of Sodom and Gomorrah exterminated. Recalling that Anglophones in the past had been referred to as "dogs," "rats," he also recalled that "we even followed an important press boss to say no to the dialogue and to plead for the closure of all the relief and first aid facilities in the North-West and South-West and the establishment of a punch operation to put an end to the crisis."

The Hon. ESSOMBA BENGONO ENGELBERT Akere Muna emphasised said that it was not necessary to count the number of deaths, but that one should be concerned only with Cameroonians alive. Appealing to the recipient of his letter he put it as follows "Mr President, a dead Cameroonian is one more death....life is a gift from God and to deny its importance is to deny the existence of our Almighty Creator. I hope that the speed with which you have reacted to the European Parliament's Resolution will be duplicated in the initiative you will take urgently to put an end to the speeches of the people who fan the flames of division, hatred and sow the seeds of genocide."
Meantime, Essomba Bengono Engelbert has in his apology written thus; "Dear Brothers, I sincerely apologise for my declarations on Equinox TV on the 13th of May 2019 about the victims of the armed conflict that is prevailing in your villages and towns since the crisis started there. A situation that has caused the deaths of civilians and Republican Soldiers. May the souls of the killed persons rest in perfect peace.
Wherever you are from, Boyo, Bui, Donga Mantung, Menchum, Mezam, Mono, Ngoketuna, Fako, Kupe Manengouba, Lebialem, Manyu, Meme or Indian....I do sincerely beg for your pardon. I deeply regret and I pray the Almighty God to help us to definitely solve this bad situation.."