By Kesah Princely, in Buea
Amidst an armed conflict in Anglophone Cameroon, the Hope Social Union for the Visually Impaired, HSUVI, an association of blind/visually impaired people in Bamenda is in dire need of resources to enable them run a project to rekindle hope in its members.
Founded in 2003, HSUVI stands out as an organization that promotes the rights of blind people while enabling their inclusion in mainstream society.
For nearly 6 years, the Bamenda-based organization has encountered a lot of difficulties as it struggles to protect persons with visual impairment from the brunts of a deadly separatist war in Cameroon’s minority Anglophone regions of the North West and South West.
“The conflict has affected us so badly that even those who were breadwinners in their families now live at the mercy of goodwill donations,” Ngong Peter, HSUVI’s President revealed to TWIF NEWS.
Despite the warring atmosphere in Bamenda, one of the localities where separatist fighters continue to battle with government forces to establish a breakaway country, Ambazonia, HSUVI is determined to realise an empowerment project for blind and visually impaired people in the region.
This, however, is only possible if the initiative is supported with financial and material resources.
The project according to the President of HSUVI, is to set up an inclusive office where different activities will be carried out to empower blind people in Cameroon’s North West region and beyond.
“As a self-reliant regional association for the blind and partially sighted which has existed for over 19 years now, HSUVI Bamenda, with your anticipated assistance, desires to set up an all-encompassing multipurpose office space wherein diverse activities shall be established for the empowerment of her members,” a communique announcing the life-changing office space project states in parts.
HSUVI intends to use the project for different empowerment activities such as the teaching of Braille, ICT, and craftwork.
President Ngong Peter is hopeful that realizing the multipurpose office space project will serve as a milestone in fostering the inclusion of blind people in Bamenda and beyond.
TWIF NEWS understands that the HSUVI multipurpose office space project symbolizes hope of a better life for many blind people in the North West Region who have lived in precarious conditions for nearly 6 years owing to unending hostilities between separatist fighters and government forces.
Most of them have been forced out of school while others completely lost their sources of livelihood.
Statistics from the Coordinating Unit of Associations of Persons with Disabilities revealed that thousands of Persons With Disabilities are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, adding that hundreds of others have been killed since the conflict broke out in 2016.
It is against this backdrop that HSUVI is seeking assistance to rekindle hope within the community of blind people in Cameroon’s North West region through the office space empowerment project.
According to the communique announcing the project, HSUVI will, Sunday, April 24 organize fundraising which will enable the organization to commence work for the long-awaited multipurpose office space project.
To support the initiative, reach out to the organization via Email at hsuvibamenda@gmail.com or Whatsapp/telephone at +237 677 362 657.
