" At Tayor village, life is very hard. Many people have left the village and lack basic necessities such as food. People can’t afford even oil to make their meals.
I am currently hosting 24 children in my house, most of them are internally displaced. I am not related to most of the children living with me, some of them ran from their villages and came to Mamfe. Since they had nowhere to stay, I decided to live with them. Every morning, the bigger ones have breakfast and go out to look for something to do and make a living.
I cook for a living. It allows me to feed all of them even though it’s not easy. I saw how most of them were stranded and had nowhere to go, so I decided to take care of them.
When a kid is sick, I first try to find drugs. I only take them to the hospital for serious health issues because otherwise, the people at the hospital don’t let us meet with Doctors Without Borders staff.
My husband stays at home, he has had a stroke for almost 13 years now and can´t walk. When I can afford it, I buy food, cook it and carry it to my restaurant to sell meals. I usually make a loan to be able to buy the base of the meals, cook for the clients and keep some of my dishes to feed the children at home. At the end of the year, I have to pay back the loan, which is a very difficult moment for me and the people I’m responsible for at home. It is tough, but I don’t have any other option.
The crisis has affected my own condition. Sometimes, at night I ask myself what I will do with all these kids. I can´t send them away, but how can I take care of them in the long term?
Most of them have lost their parents. Some were shot, some died for other reasons. One lady just left her three kids here one day. Later, I only heard she had died. I can´t afford the fees for some of them. Therefore, the ones who can´t go to school only stay home and cannot build their future."
More on our work in South-West Cameroon
Doctors Without Borders is an emergency medical humanitarian organisation, who has worked in Cameroon since 1984. Today, we continue to conduct medical activities in the Far-North and South-West regions. In Cameroon, as elsewhere, our work is guided by the principles of independence, neutrality and impartiality, as well as medical ethics. Our teams provide free medical assistance to anyone in need, regardless of political or religious affiliation, nationality or gender.