Empowering Amidst Crisis: Humanitarian Worker Becomes a Safe Space for Adolescent Girls
Adolescent girls have been among the greatest victims of the long-lasting crisis ongoing in the NW and SW regions of Cameroon since 2016. Thousands of vulnerable adolescent girls have fallen victim to rape, child labour, gender-based violence, and other atrocities. As the crisis persists, these girls face a lack of education, teenage motherhood, sexually transmitted diseases, and trauma. However, UNICEF and its partners embarked on a mission to address the numerous emergencies and impacts of the crisis area, bringing sustainable solutions.
Sandrine is a humanitarian worker for a local Non-Governmental Organization, TeenAlive, which supports UNICEF in caring for adolescent girls in different walks of life through various programs. These include adolescent girls’ clubs for those suffering from the crisis’s effects, positive parenting for teenage mothers who have experienced violence and rape, life skills and hands-on training for young vulnerable girls needing skills to improve their lives, and case management for vulnerable adolescents continuing to suffer from the crisis.
Since joining the NGO in 2022, Sandrine has been a safe space and teacher for adolescent girls in Mile 14, Muyuka, and Missellele, SW. The crisis deeply affected her, prompting her to devote herself to reaching out to areas where she could find and help vulnerable girls.
“I love to work with adolescent girls. I wanted to be able to help vulnerable adolescents in hard-to-reach areas, and those affected by the crisis, and bring help to them in my own little way. UNICEF and TeenAlive have been helpful over the past years,” she says. Over the past years, UNICEF has supported training young humanitarian workers like Sandrine, building their capacities to reach out to vulnerable communities.
“UNICEF, with support from ECHO, has always given us the opportunity to build our capacities and train us on how to approach situations and improve the lives of adolescent girls,” Sandrine shares.
Sandrine has been listening to the experiences of the adolescent girls, coaching them, and sharing their difficulties with stakeholders like UNICEF.
“My first experience was helping those who lost their identification because they fled from their homes or whose homes were burnt down and had no access to identification. I took their information and brought back their identification cards, and they were so grateful.”
Sandrine and TeenAlive have been champions in supporting UNICEF in the emergencies that continue to rage in the NW and SW regions. Their efforts are geared towards standing up for child protection, education, health, and WASH needs of young adolescents who continue to suffer because of the crisis.
Written by Chungom Emmanuel, PAC Intern in Buea Office (South-West)
