Centre: Oku Women Empower IDPs

Yaounde (Mfoundi) - Oku women within and without Cameroon grouped under the umbrella association –Oku Women in Development (OWID), have donated equipment to internally displaced girls and women from the Subdivision resident in Mfoundi Division of the Centre Region. The equipment comprising sewing ma­ chines were handed over to the benefi­ ciaries on Saturday September 26, 2026 in a colourful ceremony attended among others by a cross-section of the elite and members of the charitable associa­ tion. The donation is part of a project on, “Developing the Professional Skills of IDP Young Women and Girls from Oku Subdivision Found in Mfoundi Division, Yaounde.” The sewing machines are the­ refore more than pieces of equipment. They are tools for economic empower­ ment to enable the beneficiaries put their newly-acquired skills into practice, improve their productivity, generate in­ come and, hopefully, create opportunities for others in their families and commu­ nities. Speaking during the ceremony, the Pre­ sident of OWID, Mrs Kendemeh Vivian Jioy said, “This occasion is not simply about handing over machines. It is about hope, empowerment, dignity, self-re­ liance and a better future for women and girls who have been affected by security crisis.” She underlined that the journey began on May 10, 2025, with a fundraising for the initiative. From that starting point, the project gradually took shape through the commitment and de­ termination of all those who believed in the potential of the young women and girls, forced out of homes to what would have been a strange land. But OWID, an epitome of women of valour, decided to give hope where despair would have taken shape. “Today, we are particularly happy to see the progress that has been made. Trai­ nees in the domain of Hotel Management and Catering Service, Hair Dressing, Aes­ thetics and Decoration are almost at the completion of their training, de­ monstrating that per...