Some over 20.000 elderly persons drawn from 232 groups of the Community
Development Volunteer for Technical Assistance, CDVTA, converged on Bamenda for
the 3rd National Convention of older people on
Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
At the groundbreaking
convention chaired by the North West Governor, the trappings of Francis
Njuakom< the CDVTA Director were acclaimed. Monono< Secretary General at
the North West Governor’s office, representating his Boss, Urged Njuakom to get in touch with
the Protocol Service of his office to finalise moves for the award of a Secial
Medal.
The Medal,expected to be
bestowed on Francis Njuakom next May 20th, would be the first home award/medal
to the CDVTA Director. He had however been bestowed with traditional awards,
especially in the Palace of the Fon of Kedjom Ketinguh(Cheuh-Fon),
including numerous Press awards, for his outstanding billings.
Francis Njuakom had
nevertheless been received by Prime Minister Philemon Yang; Social Affairs
Minister Catherine Bakang Mbock: these after he was received by Gordon Brown,
the British Prime Minister at the Number 10 Downing Street in London. There,
Njuakom was handed the Sheila McKenin award in 2008.
During the first Elderly
people's day staged by CDVTA in Belo in 2010, some 10.000 elderly persons
answered present; last year was the second in Oku, with some 15.000 old people
in attendance. Last December 5, 2012 was the third. At least 20.000 elderly
people converged at the North West
Regional headquarters of Bamenda. They joined CDVTA to plead with the Head of
State, President Paul Biya of Cameroon to look again into the burning issues
affecting the lives of the elderly with compassion and not only upgrading the
ageing department in the Ministry of Social Affairs into a full national
government programme on ageing, but more importantly to enshrine into law a
national policy on ageing in Cameroon.
They also pleaded with
the government to create room for meaningful budget in the government
programmes in support of ageing projects all over the country.
In his keynote address at
the occasion, the founder cum Director of CDVTA, Francis Njuakom Nchii,
observed that in his 17 years of committed actions in support of the older
people in Cameroon’s most remote villages, he has often seen with sorrow the
human face of poverty, signs of rejection, ostracism, frailness and poor health
on the faces of many elderly people. “Some of them live in poorly
constructed and poorly ventilated houses with levels of hygiene poor. The
effects of HIV/AIDS have in recent years been devastating on the lives of young
people whose children are usually left behind to be catered for by their
grand-parents”. He said in spite of the elderly persons’ misery, they remain
the most important supporting pillars in the society in terms of the
traditions, cultures, beliefs, medicinal plants, health, security, peace,
transformation and social cohesion.
The CDVTA Director
stressed that the population must uphold and advance the norms and values of
old age with dignity, ensure that older people live as long as God wants them
to live and that they enjoy the basic fundamental services that are rendered to
citizens by the government, the civil society and the international community.
Elderly People
Statistics
Harping on elderly
people’s statistics in Cameroon, the CDVTA Director counted that rough
calculations show that out of close to 20 million Cameroonians, at least 1
million of them are elderly persons, “about 15% of them have received some
form of education, can read and write and perhaps may have worked in the public
or private sector and are enjoying some form of pension”. He said the rest
of the 85% are likely to be illiterate without pensions, live in remote rural
communities and possibly surviving at the mercy of chance.
From the statistics,
Francis Njuakom opined that it could be imagined that a sub-department is not
good enough at the Ministry of Social Affairs to handle old people’s problems.
Elderly People
Testimonies
Some 3 elderly persons,
who count CDVTA largesse to the elderly people in the North West Region, were
all unanimous that the organization does not discriminate when reaching out to
them irrespective of their sex, religion, tribe, political leaning, race or
nationality. They disclosed that CDVTA has given them farm inputs ranging from
seeds, farming tools, fertilizers and has equally trained them in bee-keeping,
omo, savon and rubbing oil production among others.
Above all, they instanced
the last presidential elections during which CDVTA helped over 6000 elderly
persons financially, to procure their national identity cards which helped them
to perform their civic responsibilities by voting in elections and enabling
them to travel freely within the country.
The North West Regional
Secretary of the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR), Ndi Nelson, who
deputized for the National President of NCHR, Divine Banda, doffed his hat to
CDVTA for assisting the elderly in many domains. He said old people need special
protection and care from all and sundry but emphasized that respecting and
caring for the old people should begin from the families. He ipso facto saluted
CDVTA initiative of assisting the elderly persons.
CDVTA Recommended for
Medal
Marveled over the
whopping assistance to the elderly people in the country, the Secretary General
at the North West Governor’s office who represented the Governor at the
occasion said CDVTA has done so much for the elderly people that the North West
Governor will recommend the Director, Francis Njuakom for a national medal. He
said CDVTA activities of helping the elderly were in line with Cameroon
government’s policy of assisting the elderly persons.
Above all the governor’s
representative called on funders especially the Methodist Relief and
Development Fund (MRDF) in the UK etc, to continue the assistance to CDVTA
because the NGO (CDVTA) has proven its seriousness and transparency in all his
deals with the elderly persons.
20.000 Elderly March
Before Dignitaries
One of the highlights of
the occasion was the over one hour march-past by some 20000 elderly persons
drawn from 232 elderly groups across the North West Region. The elderly persons
marched in their respective group uniforms alongside some 210 CDVTA volunteers
recently formed in all the 7 divisions of the North West Region.
Elderly Persons’
Exhibition
The occasion which held
under the theme: “Realizing the rights of older persons, celebrating the
strength and positive image of old age, complementing government efforts in the
care of older persons, shaping the future and giving our grand parents the
dignity and respect they deserve”, wrapped up at the Bamenda congress hall
with the viewing of arts and craft exhibited by elderly persons, eating, music,
dance, laughing, cultural dance and fashion parade competitions by the elderly
persons from the various project areas. Some handsome prizes were eked out to
competitors.
CDVTA Achievements
CDVTA was founded and
legally recognized by government in May, 1998. It works in collaboration with
the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry
of Territorial Administration and Decentralization and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development. It has special consultative status with
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of United Nations since 2010.
Through CDVTA, elderly
people are made to feel more included and cared for by the community through
active club membership, regular home-visits by volunteers, intergenerational
learning and sharing with local school children etc.
For the idealistic
monumental unreserved services to the elderly in Cameroon in the last 15 years
and on the recommendation of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF)
in the UK, CDVTA was accorded on 22 July 2008 an international award in London
by the then British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown at Number 10
Downing Street. And in a recent international conference by MRDF in Kampala
Uganda, CDVTA was rated the MRDF’s success story.
Last month, November
2012, CDVTA was appointed Representative of Swiss International Body and Donor
Nouvelle Planète.
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