My Voice

Domestic Violence is becoming more prevalent but it is still a taboo subject within various communities in Cameroon. Many victims of domestic violence suffer in silence because they feel that their societies and communities will blame them for... making victims look like villains.  Instead of trying to support victims, most people try to justify the actions of the abusers. Many people feel that domestic violence victims provoke the situation and deserve what they are going through. The burden of the effects is felt in our communities such that girls and women who make up the majority of victims cannot be active participants to development as a result of this, the development process is slowed down. We have seen our friends, neighbors, and family members suffer from domestic violence but we have kept quiet either because of fear or because we consider it not our issue. Even those who have spoken up for others have been given bad names. But the truth is someone needs to STAND UP for others.

I grew up in an abusive home where years later after I learned about Domestic Violence, I realized my mum is a SURVIVOR. I can remember vividly as a kid I saw her on some days looking very sad and she even cried at times and wished she were dead after having an encounter(s) with my dad. She went as far as singing songs (Take Me, Lord, just as I am) begging on God to take her life away. The emotional trauma she went through is indescribable, but she endured for years and only God alone knows how she overcame all these to be the STRONG woman she is today. Each time I go down memory lane to think of the SACRIFICES she made for my siblings and me to be who we are today, despite all the ODDS she went through, I get that BURNING DESIRE in me to REKINDLE HOPE in the many 'broken' girls and women out there. To rekindle the hope they've lost and The Hope Center is out to do just that. Remember Love Shouldn't Hurt.

Silence breeds violence and if we cannot find peace in our relationships then our lives are not secured. The culture of silence has led to the continuous cycle of abuse