Cameroon Heritage Foundation


1) Short summary of the crisis (context & scale)

The Anglophone Crisis began as a peaceful protests in 2016 in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions and escalated into armed conflict by 2017 after a heavy security crackdown. The fighting between separatist groups and government forces has produced long-term instability, serious protection concerns, and major displacement. As of 2024–2025, humanitarian actors estimate hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) inside Cameroon, large numbers of refugees in neighbouring Nigeria, widespread disruption of education and basic services, and thousands of civilian deaths. Humanitarian planning documents for Cameroon emphasize multi-sector needs (food, shelter, protection, health, education, livelihoods) and call for scaled funding to respond. Wikipedia+2ReliefWeb+2

Key facts to quote:

  • The humanitarian response planning process has targeted millions of people in need across Cameroon, with a Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) requiring significant funding to reach the most vulnerable. ReliefWeb

  • Independent monitoring and press reporting put displacement figures in the high hundreds of thousands (commonly cited: ~700,000+ displaced by 2024–2025) and continuing displacement and protection incidents through 2025. 


2) How Cameroon Heritage Foundation is helping IDPs (practical activities)

(Below are evidence-based, field-tested interventions that CHF can implement or expand — framed so you can use them directly in reports or donor pitches.)

Core program areas (what CHF does / should do):

  1. Emergency food assistance & household kits

    • Distribute monthly food baskets or multi-purpose cash transfers (MPCA) so families can meet immediate needs and buy culturally appropriate food.

    • Provide hygiene kits and kitchen sets to reduce health risks in displacement sites.

  2. Shelter & non-food items (NFIs)

    • Provide emergency shelter kits (tarpaulins, ropes, basic tools), and transitional shelter support for families hosting IDPs.

    • Supply bedding, mosquito nets, solar lamps.

  3. Health & psychosocial support

    • Deploy community health volunteers or partner with mobile clinics to deliver primary health care, vaccination catch-ups, and maternal/child health services.

    • Offer psychosocial first aid and trauma counselling for children and adults exposed to violence.

  4. Protection & legal assistance

    • Operate protection desks that register vulnerable households, run family tracing, document rights violations, and refer cases (GBV, child protection) to specialized services.

    • Provide legal aid information and support for access to services and documentation.

  5. Education-in-emergencies

    • Set up temporary learning spaces and provide school materials, teacher incentives, and catch-up classes for children who missed school due to conflict.

    • Run vocational training for youth to reduce recruitment risk and build livelihoods.

  6. Livelihoods & cash-for-work

    • Implement small grants, inputs or cash-for-work programs to allow displaced households to rebuild livelihoods and reduce dependency.

  7. Advocacy, coordination & data

    • Map needs, coordinate with local authorities and humanitarian clusters, maintain a case management database, and advocate for humanitarian access and protection of civilians.

These activities reflect common practice in crisis settings and are the most direct ways an NGO can reduce suffering and protect dignity among IDPs. (Examples of NGOs working in similar ways include organizations that run emergency cash, temporary learning centers, mobile clinics and shelter/NFI distribution.) crisisresponse.iom.


3) Mission & objectives

To protect and restore dignity, safety and sustainable livelihoods for internally displaced Cameroonians affected by the Anglophone crisis through timely humanitarian assistance, protection services, education and durable solutions.

Objectives 

  1. Provide life-saving assistance (food, shelter, health, WASH) to IDPs and host communities in priority districts.

  2. Protect vulnerable groups (women, children, elderly) through case management, GBV mitigation and child protection programs.

  3. Re-establish access to education and safe learning for school-age children in displacement settings.

  4. Support short-term livelihoods and cash assistance to restore economic resilience.

  5. Strengthen community-led recovery and durable solutions, including reintegration and local recovery planning.


4) Areas covered (operational geography)

Primary areas of focus (where needs and displacement are concentrated):

  • Northwest Region (including peri-urban and rural areas around Bamenda).

  • Southwest Region (including areas around Kumba and surrounding districts).

  • Secondary/host areas where IDPs relocate: West Region, Littoral (Douala), Centre (Yaoundé), and border areas near Nigeria where refugees and cross-border movements occur.

These regions are repeatedly highlighted in humanitarian maps and displacement tracking. CHF should state precisely which districts/communities it supports (e.g., Bamenda, Buea, Kumba, Limbe) in operational communications. response.reliefweb.


5) People helped since 2016

  • Total people reached (direct) since 2016-Present is 4716 persons.

  • Households assisted with food / cash is more than 1287

  • Shelters / NFI kits distributed: 12018.

  • Children enrolled in temporary learning spaces/schools supported: 490.

  • Protection cases managed (GBV/child protection/legal referrals): 366.

For context, national estimates put IDPs in the high hundreds of thousands (commonly cited ~700k+ by 2024–2025); small-to-medium local NGOs often directly reach thousands to tens of thousands over multiple years depending on funding.


6) Key challenges CHF faces on the ground

  1. Access & security constraints: active fighting, roadblocks and checkpoints complicate deliveries and field visits; humanitarian access may be denied or dangerous. mapping-africa-transformations.org

  2. Funding shortfalls: the national HRP is underfunded; competition for scarce grants makes sustaining programs difficult. 

  3. Logistics & supply chains: increased transport costs, limited storage in affected areas, and seasonal road damage hamper distributions. OCHA

  4. Protection & staff safety: staff and volunteers are exposed to security risks; protecting staff while maintaining presence is a constant tension.

  5. High levels of need & donor fatigue: the crisis is protracted; donors may give less to long-running crises while needs grow.

  6. Data & monitoring gaps: limited population movement tracking and registration makes targeting and avoiding duplication hard. ReliefWeb


7) What Cameroon Heritage Foundation needs from donors (concrete asks)

A. Unrestricted cash — most valuable because CHF can deploy quickly to the highest priority needs (food, rent for shelters, medical bills).
B. Fund specific packages (examples with suggested budgets):

  • Emergency food basket for one household (1 month): US$ 40–80 (local price-based estimate).

  • Emergency shelter kit (tarpaulin, tools, rope, fixings): US$ 150–250. Per household.

  • School-in-a-box (materials + teacher stipend for catch-up classes for 400 children): US$ 15.000–30,000.

  • Mobile clinic visit (medical supplies + staff for 1 week): US$ 3,000–6,000.
    (Use local costings to set exact prices — these example ranges are to show donors the impact of a gift.)

C. In-kind donations & technical support: hygiene kits, bedding, school supplies, medical kits; also technical assistance in M&E, financial management and logistics.
D. Long-term program funding: multi-year grants to support education, livelihoods and durable solutions (preferred by most humanitarian responders).
E. Partnerships & referrals: introductions to international NGOs, UN clusters, and diaspora networks for scale and co-funding.
F. Advocacy & visibility: help amplify CHF’s appeals on social media, with diaspora groups and corporate partners.


8) Monitoring, evaluation & accountability (what donors expect)

  • Monthly distribution & beneficiary lists (anonymized where necessary).

  • Simple outcome indicators (food security indicators, % of children enrolled in temporary learning spaces, protection referral outcomes).

  • Post-distribution monitoring (sampled household follow-up after distributions).

  • Transparency: public annual report, financial audit on request, complaint/feedback mechanism for beneficiaries.


9) Examples of program responses 

  • Cash-first approach: issue unconditional cash transfers to vulnerable households during emergency months, combined with market monitoring to avoid inflation and support local traders.

  • Mobile health + referral: a nurse/clinician team travels weekly to IDP hosting sites, providing primary care and referring serious cases to the nearest health facility.

  • Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS): erect community TLS and hire/coach displaced teachers for remedial learning and psychosocial support.

  • Community Protection Committees: set up local committees to map vulnerable households, collect protection complaints, and coordinate referrals.

These program types are cost-efficient and emphasize local participation and sustainability.


10) Suggested short donor appeal paragraph (ready to paste)

The Anglophone crisis has forced hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians from their homes. Cameroon Heritage Foundation provides emergency food, shelter kits, mobile health and school support to the most vulnerable families. Your gift of US$50 feeds a family for two weeks; US$200 supplies an emergency shelter kit. Please donate today to protect families, keep children learning, and restore hope. (Donations are tax-efficient where applicable; CHF provides regular reports and beneficiary stories.)

11) Practical next steps for CHF

  1. Finalize a short M&E one-pager with yearly totals (people reached, kits distributed, schools supported) so donor messaging is accurate.

  2. Prepare a donor packet: mission, impact numbers (verified), program descriptions, a 1-page budget, and one beneficiary story with photos (with consent).

  3. Map local partners and UN cluster contacts (protection, food security, shelter) — coordination increases credibility and reduces duplication. ReliefWeb+1


Sources and further reading 

  • UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — Cameroon situation & dashboards. OCHA+1

  • Humanitarian Response Plan / Humanitarian Needs Overview — Cameroon. ReliefWeb

  • UNHCR country page — displacement & protection context. UNHCR

  • ACAPS / humanitarian analysis synthesising needs and education impact. ACAPS

  • Recent independent reporting on displacement and refugees (press coverage, displacement estimates)


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