Jeunesse En Joie, a Douala-base association, organised a special Christmas celebration for the children over the week-end. Young people of 3-17 age groups with special needs were thrilled with Christmas songs, meals and gifts of toys, among other things over the week-end during a special celebration thrown by Jeunesse En Joie, a locally-based association. Approximately a hundred kids were present at this relieving moment attended by parents, quarter heads and some generous individuals.

Julie espouse Bakola, Founding President of Jeunesse En Joie, explained that the children, selected from diverse backgrounds such as families and streets suffered want in almost every circumstance of life, lacked self- or parental control, suffered violence from the media, showed sexual deviance, lived in crisis within their families and neighbourhoods, or undertook repeated thefts. She said even at the age of 19 a good number of some of the beneficiaries had no birth certificates. Taking her example from UNICEF statistics, Julie disclosed that 8.5 per cent of children in Cameroon, aged 0-19, are HIV-infected while 40 per cent are from very poor families. In a survey of the Cité Sic, Nkoomondo, Bepanda neighbourhoods of Douala and other villages in Cameroon, the association realised that many children yet spend their entire infantry without once taking milk, some families who live in disproportionate poverty cannot send their kids to school, some kids die because of their parents’ inability to afford first aid medication, among others.