Children and young people of Cameroon are some of the most disadvantaged in the world.
Cameroon is a country afflicted by pervasive poverty and rising infant and under-five mortality rates. Some 51 per cent of the population live on less than US$2 a month.

Around 43,000 of Cameroonian children under 14 live with HIV and almost a quarter of a million of children have been orphaned by the virus. In addition, many thousands of children have been forced to assume household responsibilities beyond their years in order to care for ailing parents.

Many children are denied the opportunity to receive education due to extreme poverty as their parents simply cannot afford to buy school uniforms and books. The situation of girls is exacerbated by unequal gender relations. Low retention in school, early and unwanted pregnancies and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS trap them in a cycle of poverty. 

Within this context of extreme poverty and a lack of educational and employment opportunities, children and young people are very prone to becoming involved in crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and other anti-social behaviours and as a result, are extremely vulnerable to contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Schoolchildren for Children is supporting a Community Regeneration through Sport project that will use the national passion for sport to mobilise, educate and empower children and youth to tackle these daunting health and social challenges and to enable them to actively participate in community regeneration through sport. This project also reaches out to children and young people who are not in school tackling social exclusion and giving them the chance of an education and development through sport.

Sport has a unique power to attract and mobilise young people within their community.  Success in sport demands teamwork, motivation and leadership – skills which are very transferable to other areas of life and are particularly important in community cohesion and development. 

As part of the project 450 young leaders will be trained in leadership and life skills, community mobilisation and development through sport and HIV/AIDS awareness. Once trained, these young people will be leading sporting and educational activities acting as role models for their peers and children in the community. They will pass their skills and knowledge to at least 35,000 children and young people aged 11-18 by organising themed sporting events that combine the fun and enjoyment of sport with vital HIV/AIDS and life skills education.

The project challenges young leaders to think about their role in the community and the difference they can make in addressing their community’s problems, such as a lack of safe drinking water, drug abuse and deforestation. As a result, young people take up leadership roles and lead community regeneration activities such as mobilising youth teams to dig wells for safe drinking water or plant trees to tackle deforestation.