Salesians bring together 600 youth from 9 oratories in the Yaoundé region to celebrate Regional Oratory Day

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries and sisters brought together 600 youth from nine oratories in the Yaoundé, Cameroon region to celebrate Regional Oratory Day. There was an opening Catholic Mass, followed by a presentation, lunch, and friendly soccer, basketball and volleyball tournaments. The highlight of the day was the cultural festival, where each oratory presented cultural songs and dances.

Father Privat Fouda, delegate for youth ministry of the Salesian theological students of Yaoundé, said, “It is an overwhelming experience to be surrounded by so many young people. As Don Bosco said ‘for you we live and for you we are also ready to sacrifice our life.’”

Salesian missionaries in Cameroon provide education and social development services to poor youth so they are able to gain the training needed to find and retain long-term employment. They in turn are then able to give back to their families and communities.

In 2020, Salesian missionaries expanded the secondary school in Yaoundé to provide better access to quality education for vulnerable youth in the Mimboman neighborhood. A three-story building was designed that features 12 classrooms, laboratories and offices. The project allowed for an increased number of youth to attend school. The new building also paved the way for additional educational programs including a bachelor’s level course.

The expansion at the school came at a critical time for youth in Cameroon. Ongoing violence in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest has created a fast-growing humanitarian emergency affecting some 1.9 million people, according to the United Nations. More than 700,000 children have been impacted by school closures due to often brutal violence.

The U.N. has indicated that nine out of 10 regions of the country continue to be impacted by one of three humanitarian crises: the crisis in the North-West and South-West, conflict in the Far North, and a refugee crisis, with people fleeing the Central African Republic. As a result, the U.N. noted that more than a million children are in need of educational support.

Forty percent of Cameroon’s 23.7 million people live below the poverty line and human development indicators remain low, according to the World Food Programme. Poverty is the highest concentrated in the Far North, North, Adamawa and East regions. In northern regions, people are often affected by natural disasters and below-average harvests which contribute to a continuing cycle of poverty and hunger. The World Food Programme has noted that the number of people facing food insecurity in Cameroon is estimated at 3.9 million, including 211,000 severely food insecure.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Cameroon – Regional Oratory Day with 600 young people

Salesian Missions

United Nations – Violence in Cameroon, impacting over 700,000 children shut out of school

World Food Programme – Cameroon