Bamenda DDR Centre : Permanent Site Goes Operational

"There is a great difference between the temporal site behind Ayaba Hotel and the modern new complex here in Bafut. There is a lot of space, comfortable structures, the environment is free from mosquitoes, and there are several machines that will enable us do our practicals," said Echu Moses Besem, the Senior Prefect of the North West Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre. Yofendeh Beatrice Nsam, another ex-combatant celebrated the new Centre accommodating her and her peers. She explained that " For me there are so many advantages in the new site here in Bafut. There is security here, when we were in the bushes, we used to flee whenever we discovered the military was around.” On the contrary, she said, “Here they are more like our friends, we are like a family. Our health and that of our children is taken care of.” She added that they have the opportunity to learn various trades such as tailoring, hair dressing, computer lessons, driving, agriculture, carpentry, and a lot more which is a plus to them when they finally reintegrate into their communities.
These were ex-combatants of the separatist armed group in the North West Region who had accepted the call of the Head of State, President Paul Biya and have dropped their arms, abandoned the bushes and came to the DDR Centre. They counted the blessings and opportunities of the modern DDR Centre in located in Bafut in the outskirts of Bamenda on August 2, 2023 as the DDR Coordinator for the North West presented the Centre to the press.
The Coordinator of the Centre, Kum Henry Echu explained that the over 387 ex-fighters and children are barely a week old in the new Centre and it was going to take them close to a month to be completely settled. This was partly because they are dealing with a lot of heavy materials and equipment which has to be installed...