By Albert Njebusi*
A campaign that aims to foster social cohesion and nonviolence in schools across the country has been launched in Yaounde. Christened “Access to Love Campaign”, the innovative initiative kick started on Friday, December 20, 2024 with the official launch at the Mada International College Yaounde.
An initiative of youth-led, non-profit and non-governmental organization, Local Youth Corner (LOYOC) Cameroon and B Boy Records, the campaign is powered by Cameroonian Afro-pop/afrobeats artist Magasco.
Organizers say the campaign will include a series of engaging competitions designed to promote social cohesion and foster a violence-free school environment. Participating schools will compete in arts and crafts, storytelling, essay writing, and a Miss and Mister pageant all designed to fight against social disunity, gender-based violence, bullying, and other forms of violence within school milieu with prizes for best proposed solutions.
The campaign’s ambassador, Magasco reiterated that the national campaign is to promote social cohesion among youth, combat violence in schools, educate students and teachers while providing practical tools for violence-free schools communities.
“There will be sensitization against drugs abuse, hate speech, cybercrimes and the creation of access to love clubs in schools,” Magasco explained. “This shall be accompanied with training sessions on financial literacy, conflict management and student/teacher relationship. I am here today because we need to be our brothers’ keeper and we will provide solutions to these ills together,” Magasco stated.
The principal of Mada International college, Foinmujang Calistus Tubuo, expressed satisfaction to the organizers of the campaign for choosing his institution as host of the official lunching of the initiative in an era of increasing violence in schools.
“Youths have taken on to violence to settle their scores. We suffer these situations daily where students take the laws into their hands,” Foinmujang said. Mada, the Principal disclosed, has created the peace club, the counseling and the child protection departments to combat such. “Now with the advent of the access to love campaign club, we hope it will go along way to help us in the fight we already started. We are certain it will make our students to be more humble, respectful and more tolerant towards each other, making our school environment a safe place for everyone,” Foinmujang added.
The Access to Love Campaign will run from December 2024 to February 2025.
*Albert Njebusi is a journalism student at the Advanced School of Mass Communication (ASMAC), Yaounde.
