Relief group travels hundreds of kilometers to feed school children in Cameroon, braving roadblocks to grow orange-fleshed sweetpotato in conflict-affected areas

Two humanitarian staff recount their two-day road trip in the Northwest conflict-stricken region of Cameroon to establish a sweetpotato demonstration plot to be used later to feed schoolchildren in the few schools still operational. This is part of an initiative seeking to help localize humanitarian assistance in DRC and Cameroon using existing local crops for food security and income generation.

“We embarked on a journey from Bamenda to Oku with the hope that the road would be unblocked, but alas, pathways remained obstructed due to roadblocks caused by ghost towns imposed by separatist groups,” said Karen Tatah, a humanitarian staff at Nascent Solutions, an NGO committed to fostering a self-reliant and poverty-free Africa, operating in the Northwest region of Cameroon.