By Kesah Princely, Cameroon
Armelle Nogning, 41, once a source of hope; providing support to hundreds of girls and women with disabilities affected by conflict in Anglophone Cameroon, now in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Her present predicament seems even worse than the most vulnerable person she has ever rescued. This is due to a recent fire outbreak at a local market which is host to her Community Creative Centre, CCC.
Many who had watched Armelle grow are certainly well aware of her long life struggles to become someone known to put smile on the faces of her peers with disabilities. Unfortunately, she is compelled to start gathering the pieces of her life all afresh.
The Community Creative Centre is a powerhouse to many an internally displaced girls and women with disabilities who have a rare opportunity to learn art and craft, and related skills that could enable them fit in society amidst a raging armed conflict in Anglophone Cameroon also known as Northwest and Southwest regions.
About Anglophone Cameroon Conflict.
In 2016, Anglophone lawyers and teachers in separate protests demanded better working conditions from the country’s francophone majority government. Calls for reforms included a return to a two-state federation, withdrawal of francophone magistrates from Anglophone courts, the amelioration of technical education, and removal of francophone teachers from Anglophone schools, among others.
Cameroon’s government, according to Crisis Group, delayed to grant the demands, spurring thousands of angry youths to join the protests. On September 22 same year, youth in their thousands engaged in street demonstrations in Bamenda and Buea; the main cities of the Northwest and Southwest regions and met stiff resistance from defence and security forces. According to Rights Groups and local media, some of the protesters were killed and dozens others arrested.
These actions resulted in the formation of armed groups sponsored by individuals in the diaspora which began advocating for a brake away state called Ambazonia. What started as a socio-professional crisis soon escalated to an armed conflict in 2017.
Since then, at least six thousand persons including disabled people have been killed and nearly a million others displaced internally and externally.
The said conflict, now seven years, has had an adverse effect on persons with disabilities. The question of their safety, education, healthcare, shelter, food and economic empowerment remains unanswered as bread winners now become beggars. Most of them depend on alms for survival as intervention schemes are often hardly inclusive.
Amidst the darkness hovering over thousands of persons with disabilities in the conflict ravaged Anglophone regions, Armelle Nogning through her Community Creative Centre project, identified and trained internally displaced girls and women in art and craft related works. This is in a bit to give them hope, while promoting self reliance within the community of disability.
Far from what had become a tradition to rekindle hope among her peers, Armelle now finds herself in a nightmarish situation; so devastating and difficult to comprehend.
“My centre was completely razed by fire, and as I speak to you, I am only partly alive,” she revealed emotionally in an interview with DNA.
That day, she was already having that bad feeling before later learning of a fire outbreak in Bamenda’s main city market. Bamenda is the regional capital of the conflict-hit Northwest.
“I lost virtually everything without taking out even a pin from the flames,” she intimated sorrowfully.
About Bamenda Main Market fire outbreak.
February 22 would forever remain a black Thursday on the minds of store owners in Bamenda’s largest trading centre where over 300 shops were reduced to ashes. While the cause of the inferno is yet to be established, officials say the damage is alarming.
Local media reported that the region’s Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique during a short inspection tour to the area, promised victims of government’s “adequate compensation”.
At least 30 shop owners including Armelle were rushed to hospital due to shock following the fire incident which engulfed half of the market.
Meantime, traders blamed the incident on poor planning, intimating a new dawn would limit future fire outbreaks in the market.
About Armelle Nogning and Her Community Creative Centre.
Due to her mobility impairment developed at her eighteen month after birth, Armelle’s mum would concentrate resources on her treatment, hoping things could turn around. Little was done to have her acquire formal education but as a fighter, she understood the value of education.
Growing up, Armelle raised income from selling groundnut on the streets of Bamenda to sponsor herself in primary school. She would later lose her mother who was a great source of encouragement to her efforts in 1999.
Poised to make a difference and help her peers with disabilities, she struggled and completed elementary education in 2006. Due to lack of sponsorship, her groundnut business could not sustain her college education, prompting her to drop out for three years to raise funds.
Fully determined to continue school, she had raised quite a bit of financial resources to enable her return to school by 2009, eventually obtaining her Ordinary and Advance level certificates all by 2015.
Armelle then delved into art and craft, soon becoming an expert in embroidery, beads making, production of local soap and body lotion, including detergents.
Discover Armelle’s vision.
As soon as Armelle was able to stand on her own, she will not have self fulfilment without ensuring her peers too were able to put food on their table, especially amidst the Anglophone conflict which had made life miserable for girls and women with disabilities.
Armelle established the Community Creative Centre initiative where she trained disabled girls and women on the very skills she had learned. Her workshop which had been strategically implanted at the heart of Bamenda’s largest trading centre was a spice for survival to every disabled woman who came across Armelle.
The outstanding humanitarian work of the disability inclusion crusader would make her be elected Regional President of Coordinating Unit of Associations of Persons with Disabilities in the Northwest, an office she has occupied since 2022.
Despite her dedication to foster inclusion within the disability community, natural disasters know not good people. Armelle lost all she has worked for in the glimmer of an eye in the Bamenda Main Market inferno.
“From the centre, I took care of my fellow women with disabilities and my family. I am so broken and don’t know what next to do. I am completely confused and lost in thoughts,” she revealed on her recovery bed.
Impact of Community Creative Centre initiative.
Hundreds of girls and women have benefited from the now destroyed Community Creative Centre project, and one of them, Agnes Nwah says it all seems like a dream to her. She can’t believe what has just happened to their training centre.
“Such should not happen to our Madam,” she said in tears.
Agnes is a successful embroider, lotion producer and beads maker, skills she says now settle her bills and put food on her table.
She is just one among dozens of beneficiaries of the Community Creative Centre project which is now in ruins. She is worried that such an initiative of “Light” is now almost history.
“I pray someone somewhere helps my Madam to rebuild the centre for us,” she hoped.
Way forward for Armelle.
Armelle does not know if she will ever be able to revive her centre. This is because she is not too sure of government’s announced compensation plan.
“Even if there has to be any state intervention, I wonder how inclusive the plan would be because persons with disabilities are hardly considered especially when I have no legs to go fighting,” she sorrowfully revealed.
At the moment, she has no hope of resuming work any soon and any little penny may rekindle hope.
Contact Armelle directly on Whatsapp . via +237 675 619 392.
Edited by Regis Che.