The basic necessities, worth FCFA 3 million, were offered by a faith-based Common Initiative Group on June 14.
In prelude to the 12th edition of the International Day for Refugees June 20, several refugees benefitted gifts from a faith-based Common Initiative Group, Living Christ Ministries (LCM). During a special ceremony that held at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Douala June 14.
Some 40 straps of second hand clothes were given them, including rice, soap, and pallets of drinking water, all valued at FCFA 3 million. The donations benefitted the collaboration of the Collective of Douala’s Refugees (CDR), the various churches of the Living Christ Ministries, the bimonthly newspaper Intégration, as well as the UNHCR in Cameroon.
“The gifts rekindles hope in the refugees, especially asylum seekers,” according to Rev. Pastor Jonathan Stéphane Din, Overseer of the Living Christ Ministries who doubles as the CIG Delegate. Refugees have to feel at ease wherever they find themselves, to feel loved and protected not only by the refugees arm of the United Nations and God, but also by citizens who play hospitality to them and receive them as they are.
According to a recent survey by the Group, refugees in the region live in precarious conditions; coupled with other social hurdles many have lost their enthusiasm for work. Most central African immigrants, many of them illegal immigrants, face challenging health situations due to malnutrition. Jean Louis Kalema, President of the Collective of Douala’s Refugees, said the gifts translate the good will of the Cameroonian people and the international community to give them hope again. He called upon authorities to eliminate hurdles they face like discrimination on the job market by some employers and the problem of withdrawing money from banks.
The day started with a football match that pitched refugees against LCM-CIG at the Paul Soppo Priso Stadium in Bonapriso. Since its creation, the Group has been fighting against clandestine emigration, prostitution, the proliferation of sexually transmissible infections by helping beneficiaries to involve in small income-generating activities.
