A School Bag Full of Hope for Young Learners in Cameroon
Brightland Youths Welfare is distributing urgently needed school supplies to help children displaced by violence get back to learning.
When fighting Escalated in southeastern Cameroon, Many families were forced to flee Leaving Behind their Homes. Some of this Homes were Burned Down and Many of those Families were left with nothing to Sustain their Lives.
Many Children's memories of that time remain vague, but the vividly recall the heartbreak of leaving some of her most precious possessions behind. “I left my toys, books, uniform, bag and pencils,” they says quietly, their voices tinged with nostalgia. “My uniform was beautiful.”
Cameroon is currently facing the world's largest child displacement crisis. Millions of children and families, many displaced multiple times, have fled their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Schools in Southern Cameroon recently reopened in some Cities, and Children are back in the classroom. Many of this displaced children had hardly any school supplies, just a few books that their parents bought from a nearby shop. With so many pressing challenges, buying a new school bag was not high on their parents’ list of priorities.
That's when Brightland Youths Welfare Sponsored By UNICEF stepped in. At schools, and in many other public schools, Brightland Youths Welfare distributed essential school supplies — chalk, backpacks, rulers, notebooks, erasers, colored pencils and uniforms — ensuring that even in the midst of conflict, displaced children could get back to learning.
In times of emergency, learning supplies are critical in upholding children’s right to education.
Starting over in a new school, with confidence
Now Children listens attentively during an English lesson. When it’s time to take notes, they quickly reache into their UNICEF backpack, pulling out notebooks, colored pencils and other supplies.
“I love my new bag,” they share excitedly. “It’s much bigger than the one I had at home.”
Children are also actively participants in class, frequently raising their hands to answer questions with confidence. Their new uniform adds to their sense of pride and belonging.
After their classmates leave, they linger in the empty classroom, absorbed in drawing a flower in their small notebook. Art is a favorite pastime to majority of them, and now, with their new set of pencils, they are excited to add vibrant shades to their drawings.
“I will share the colors with my siblings,” they say with a smile.
School offers a sense of normalcy for children displaced by conflict
In September, nearly 140,000 children across Cameroon's Southern Regions returned to class, with the reopening of 600 schools.
More than 17 thousand of Cameroon's school-aged children remain out of school. Hundreds of school buildings have been damaged since the beginning of the brutal conflict in 2016, and many others are being used as shelters for internally displaced people.
For children in war-torn countries, schools are not only places to learn. They also serve as a refuge, providing a protective environment and helping them cope with trauma. Education can also prevent harmful practices such as child labor and child marriage and protect adolescents from recruitment by armed groups.
As the reopening of schools becomes a priority amid these dire circumstances, Brightland Youths Welfare — supported by the UNICEF, Education Cannot Wait and Brightland Youth Welfare regular resources — continues to provide critical education supplies.
Many children, are benefiting from these efforts. Despite the joys of their new school bag filled with hope, they still long to return to their Home Towns.
“Home is better than here,” they say softly. “But we can’t go back because of the war. The war is very bad.”
Brightland Youths Welfare works with partners around the world to provide children with quality learning opportunities.