Flood victims offer their girls as young brides for dowry

When the President of Cameroon has been a long time outside of the capital city, something exceptional must be happening. President Paul Biya had spent four days in North and Far North Regions of Cameroon, comforting his countrymen who had been displaced by the flood and had congratulated aid agencies for their hard work. As he left Maroua, I was on my way to Kai-Kai, located near the Chad border.

When I was first told that I would be going to Kai-Kai, it sounded like a place in China! That was the first time that I had heard of this tiny rural town. But my colleagues told me: “Visit Kai-Kai and you will understand the gravity of the situation”. And so I agreed to visit.

Læs mere om hvad han oplevede i kai-Kai her!

Flooding in Cameroon may result in child-brides-in-waiting

The North and Far North of Cameroon is currently facing one of the worst flood disasters the area has ever known. Rising flood waters have left an estimated 67,000 people displaced. This flooding has destroyed homes, cattle, crops, and has disrupted entire households.

In the Far North, Plan has been providing displaced families with emergency assistance. But a far more insidious future problem awaits: child marriage.

It takes nearly five hours or over 155 miles to travel from the district capital of Maroua to Kai-Kai, a village close to the Chad border. However, the last 31 miles consists of a dirt road that is half-submerged by the rising flood waters. Families from surrounding villages are camped out inside of a Catholic primary school. Overcrowded, squalid conditions have made worse by continuous rainfall. With the worsening conditions, we are concerned that many girls will soon be in danger of becoming child brides. 


Læs mere her!