Understanding and appropriating Cultural Diversity is one of the keys to building peaceful communities. The Anglophone regions of Cameroon are facing the worst time in history as they battle two escalated crises – armed conflict and Covid-19. In this conflict, children have been the most affected after losing about 3 years of school. This has heightened the chances for these children getting involved in violent activities.
Living in a community where cultural differences have become a source of conflict, the world Cultural Diversity day becomes an important day for us in this region.
SHF bought together about 60 children to celebrate diversity and enhance social cohesion through indigenous games. These children learned team building skills, trust and cohesion by engaging in different games. The uniqueness about these games is that they are handed down games from generation to generation and do not belong to a particular culture neither do they have just one name. As the kids argued over how to call these games given the lingual variety, they could only learn that it is okay to be different and appreciate the beauty in difference. These kids also learned about their culture and to uphold their values and rights as children. This is important as the armed conflict in #Noso worsens.
SHF also carried out acts of charity by sharing writing materials to these children to support them as the gradually get back to school. Every act of kindness goes a long way to mitigating the devastating effects of the crisis on these children.
