Belie Health Foundation Challenges Buea Youths To Combat GBV

The Belie Health Foundation (BHF) under the Chairmanship of Pastor Abigail Abamukong over the weekend rallied some 40-plus youths to train and equip them on Gender Based Violence (GBV).

Holding in Buea, the workshop according to the Executive Director of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) BHF and Youth Advocate on Ending Harmful Practices with the African Union was intended to rally, train and empower Youths to advocate against Violence via purging and providing them with information, knowledge and skill on Ending Violence.

Geared at awakening a sense of championship among the participants, the Executive Director affirmed that the Socio-Political Crisis plaguing Cameroon and the Southwest Region in particular are outlets for Violence so, mitigating such practices falls within the framework of the workshop.

Going by trainer Stella Eyabi, a Mental Health Coach and Lead Therapist at Diversity is Beauty Africa (DIBA), every individual is human so we don’t have to tamper with their human rights.

She further enjoined fellow participants to view all and sundry from God’s perspective. This to her will bring a decline in Violence Against Women and Girls (VAW/G).

“We need to watch out for the negative repercussions of our mental health so that we can seek help and heal from the pain of the past. This can lessen the number of perpetrators and prompt survivors get psychosocial help because by being self-aware of the things we are dealing with internally we can be on the road to recovery, better cope with trauma and make society a better place” she intimated.

The drills and exercises Stella Eyabi coordinated have been enriching as participants pledged to become champions and change agents for the course while identifying what type of advocacy they want to get involved in. She said, “People are tired of living the crisis in the hands of the leaders singlehandedly and now want to be involved in influencing and creating change for their communities”.

As Community heads and individuals we have to play our parts to educate people given that, some people are ignorant of the legal implications of their actions. The knowledge gotten from the workshop is of dire need to adequately accompany humans function in their Gender roles whereby they can fully express their uniqueness, given that society needs their physical, social, mental and economic wellness.

Enow Bissong Moses, a participant and Head Teacher of Full Gospel Nursery and Primary School Molyko Buea on his part acknowledged that, the workshop has created a sense of awareness in him. It will also help him quell the pain inflicted by perpetrators on survivors with regard to GBV by reporting to the authorities that be.

Now, he fully knows that GBV transcends and touches men too as they were drilled on ways through which they can help because everyone is involved when it comes to reporting victims of GBV to the State Counsel, Military, Healthcare Services and Social Services amongst others.

To get this done the Head Teacher adds that he has leaned that evidence must be culled in less than 72 hours when proper medical check-up is done as failure to do so will be tantamount to jeopardising evidence.

His take-home projection is to inculcate the values gotten from the workshop to the children in his School through campaigns that will tilt their minds beginning from level 3 which targets class 5 and 6 pupils with young minds. To him, it’s all about knowledge transfer so that as the pupils grow older and wiser, they will be able to fight for themselves, irrespective of their gender.

Pastor Abigail Abamukong said “Our God is a God of diversity so we better learn to accept, appreciate and honour our differences. It is only through this and by this alone that in love, we will make the world a better place for each and every one.

By Honorine Cheng

Data Journalist/Content Creator