It is in the late morning of Friday, August 28, 2020 that ended the peace camp organized by the Cameroon-YMCA within the IPONI Academic Complex located in the locality of Mendong in Yaounde. More than sixty participants and young leaders from several youth associations and political parties from all corners of the country attended this event also called “Y-Peace and Living Together Camp”. With the achievements made since the birth of the project which led to the creation of this Peace Camp, Cameroon-YMCA is not about to stop on such a good path.

During this stay, which can be summed up in three days of training, lectures and discussions in the framework of peace and living together in Cameroon, several themes were discussed, including: “Culture of peace and living together in a democracy”; “Concept of conflict”; “Development, good governance and social peace building in Cameroon”; ” The methods of non-violent conflict resolution”; “Non-violent communication”; “Transformation of current conflicts and peace building in Cameroon”.

Among the many impressions gathered from the participants, the one that particularly caught the attention was mentioned by Miss Ngwanwi Lidwina, founder and head of the association Community Impact for Africa-CIfA, who came from the North-West Region for this event.

It’s an exciting programme and I’ve learned a lot. We live in a context of crisis and despite the peace talks that have been going on for a long time, peace is not yet at our doorstep as we would like it to be. As we build on peace, we will be able to put peace in our hearts and extend it to others. My wish is that when I return I will be able to train more peace advocates in Bamenda One municipality, I will be able to spread this message of peace which is one of the best ways to communicate when we do not feel happy, when we are threatened or when we disagree. There are better ways to solve problems through mediation. And it is absolutely important for us to understand ourselves as one person belonging to a country, a country that desires peace and speaks with peace. And if we manage to bring out in our different localities this characteristic of peace that we have been told about, I think that the Cameroon that we desire so much will return to what it was. This is my desire.

It is important to remember that the CIfA is an African community-based organisation that works to create safe spaces for socially vulnerable people in order to provide them with health care, solutions for their development and sustainable livelihoods.

With all the actions and activities already carried out up to now, it can be noted that the project called “Support to the participation of young people in the consolidation of peace and Living Together” still has a lot to give to Cameroonian youth. The President of the National Council of Cameroon-YMCA expressed his views on its continuation which is already underway and whose foundations have already been laid since the round table of July 29 at the headquarters of the Episcopal Conference of Mvolyé in Yaounde.

We want to continue the project. All participants have been registered on the platform for peace and living together and exchanges on various topics are constantly on the agenda. They were also given videos which they can forward to their various networks and then report back to the project office so that we can proceed, guide and improve the follow-up.