History
CRS began work in Cameroon in 1961. Our priorities are governance, human rights, community health, and HIV and AIDS.
Partners
Founded in 2001, Ngoketunjia AIDS Fighters is a nonprofit, local nongovernmental organization aimed at educating people and promoting awareness about health issues, fighting HIV and AIDS, and supporting orphans and vulnerable children in collaboration with community-based organizations, administrative and traditional authorities, and other groups. Ngoketunjia AIDS Fighters' office is located in Ndop, in the western part of Cameroon.
Programs
Agriculture
CRS works with the Diocese of Batouri in Cameroon's eastern forest, the poorest region of the country, to have "community forest" reserves declared, as permitted under Cameroonian law. This status allows communities the unique right to responsibly harvest tracts of forest and use the profits to create tangible improvements for the community.
Civil Society and Governance
One of CRS Cameroon's main undertakings is the Fight Against Corruption Through Schools 2 program, which aims to reduce the rampant corruption in Cameroonian society by developing an integrity-based curriculum for students of private Catholic, Protestant, Islamic and lay schools around the country. The initial phase of the program was an enormous success with cheating reduced by 97 percent.
In the northwest and eastern portions of Cameroon, CRS is supporting local organizations in their assistance with almost 2,000 orphans whose parents died of AIDS. The organizations work to fill the gaps in support traditionally given within families, thus providing comprehensive care to people most in need.
Other
Combating Human Trafficking
CRS is making efforts to prevent and reverse the devastating effects of human and child trafficking through a project funded by the U.S. State Department. A 2000 study by the International Labor Organization found that more than 500,000 children working in Cameroon were trafficked. CRS and our partners are forming local vigilance groups to raise awareness of child trafficking, training judges and police officers, and helping children rescued from traffickers enroll in school and vocational programs.
Rights of Detainees
CRS, along with the Cameroon Bar Association, the Apostolate of Douala Prison and the Yaoundé Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission, is working to protect the rights of inmates and detainees in Douala and Yaoundé. Many Cameroonians languish in jails for years without proper trials. CRS' partners are working with court clerks and judges to improve case management systems, help prison officials better understand criminal judicial codes and help prisoners understand their rights.
