Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
A group of women christened Unique Sisters, who constitute Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, PLWHA, resident in the Tiko municipality have received financial support from Reach Out Cameroon worth FCFA 1,120,000.
In the framework of a project titled; Women working for women and strengthening community systems against HIV/AIDS, sponsored by the African Women’s Development Forum, AWDF, Reach Out Cameroon Executive Director, Esther Njomo Omam explained that the fight against HIV/AIDS and stigmatisation is also about working closely with organised groups of PLWHA.
The represensative of the DO of Tiko, Charlotte Eyong(R) hands the sum of FCFA 70,000 to a member of Unique Sisters
She will mention that Reach Out Cameroon was at the beginning of the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Southwest Region and across Cameroon. “There is the need to make this fight against HIV/AIDS sustainable by working with families, communities and the country as a whole,” Omam added.
The Reach Out Executive said the stigmatisation and discrimination against PLWHA must stop by encouraging the affected and infected persons to live comfortable lives.
Mrs Esther Njomo Omam, Executive Director, Reach Out Cameroon forging ahead with the fight against poverty and HIV-AIDS
Representative of the Divisional Officer, DO for Tiko, Charlotte Eyong appreciated Reach Out for their efforts and contribution in the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS in Cameroon.
Eyong entreated the sixteen beneficiaries to put the money received into proper use as they initially promised to do.
Subsequent speakers, which included; the District Medical Officer for Tiko, the Chief of Centre, Social Affairs, the Sub divisional Delegate of Women Empowerment and the Family, the Fako Divisional Delegate of Small and Medium Size Enterprises all saw women as the heart of the family, so, they must be supported no matter their conditions.
Susan Akupa, President of Unique Sisters took a commitment on behalf of her sisters to make good use of the money given to them, while looking forward to more support from Reach Out, its partners, other benefactors and the government of Cameroon. “We have children to educate, commitments in our respective families to fulfil as well as our drugs to buy. So, we will put this money into various business ventures to make it grow and yield more and more,” Akupa noted.
After the Friday, January 31 2014 ceremony at the conference room of the Tiko DO’s Office, the Reach Out Cameroon caravan will move to the municipality of Muyuka for a similar gesture to PLWHA out there.
