WILD-CAMEROON: GBV/SHRH & Self Defense Techniques for Persons with Disabilities

I began this initiative as part of my WILD program. The first workshop took place in March, 2022. After the in-person part of the Women Institute for Leadership and Disability (WILD) program in Eugene, Oregon, in June 2022, we had to put on the trainer cap and implement our in- country WILD programs.

We were  trained on various topics. Since I initially started on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) for people with varied disabilities, I had to continue with this given the large awareness gap on these and the fact that the disabled community are the most vulnerable yet often sidelined.

We targeted 20 young ladies and women with varied disabilities  ( Blind, deaf and hearing impaired, Wheel Chair Users and Crutch users , Down's Syndrome etc) and together with facilitators and interpreters, we had 30 people present.

It was an opportunity to again collaborate with World Pulse Sisters and Regina and Veronica were present to make this a success. I owe special gratitude to Regina who tirelessly working with me for months to plan this. My health not withstanding , especially as we had to push the dates several times because I was on bed rest, we still made good use of technology (Whatsapp) to brainstorm and plan.

As the convener and WILD Alumni, I had to be present and so, last Saturday the 21st of Jan, 2023, I was present in Bamenda along side these beautiful ladies to have the workshop. They proved in so many ways that disability is not inability by their eagerness and active participation during the workshop. We had talks on GBV, SHRH. We had group discussions on how to identify, prevent and support GBV. victims.  We had sessions on Action Plans where participants told us what they planned to do to pay it forward as ambassadors to their communities and we had fun moments in dance and fashion parade. Before then, we had a session on Self-Defence techniques. This is very handy given that Bamenda is situated in the restful Anglophone Crisis area and  the risk of assault on disabled girls and women is particularly high.

I wish I had the means to provide seed capital for their Action Plans but nonetheless, it was a Saturday well spent. At the end, we spoke about World Pulse and encouraged them to join and share their stories. It was a positive motivation and the desire to plan and work harder to reach even more disabled communities with this vital information is only ever so strong. 

I am always grateful to World Pulse for paving the way and for making it possible to have willing sisters ready to go the extra mile to collaborate for the better of the greater community and also to Mobility International (MIUSA), for providing the training and the funding to see this through.

We are ready to keep challenging ourselves to change our world, one community at a time.