Since 2016, conflict between government forces and separatist groups in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions - North-West and South-West – has displaced nearly 600,000 people. With support from the European Union, the World Food Programme is helping families like Joyce’s and Manfred’s to recover and rebuild their lives.
In the hills of Bamenda, northwest Cameroon, the aroma of ekwang - a traditional dish of grated cocoyams, smoked fish, and palm oil - drifts through the air. It’s lunchtime, and Joyce Mankuhu is serving over 20 customers at her modest roadside cafe. Just a few years ago, she and her family were struggling to find a single meal a day.
Joyce, a woman in her 40s, fled her village of Bafut in 2016 when armed conflict engulfed her community in the wake of the conflict in the anglophone regions of Cameroon. She left behind her home and means of income, seeking safety for her large family--11 people in all, including her only child, grandchildren, sisters, and a visually impaired brother.
Displaced and hungry
’When the fighting reached us, all I could think of was getting my family out’, she recalls. They found temporary refuge in an unfinished building. With no income and no access to land, Joyce often had to beg neighbours for food.
’At night, I would lie awake wondering how we would eat the next day’, she says, holding back tears.
They were later hosted by a kind family, but that ended abruptly after the death of their host. Joyce and her loved ones had to move again and find refuge elsewhere, surviving on small donations and odd jobs.
Small sum, big difference
It was in the new community she joined, that in December 2024, Joyce was identified and selected for emergency cash support through a humanitarian programme that helps people affected by the violence in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. She received the first of 3 instalments: 19,000 CFA francs (about €29), a modest sum but for Joyce, it meant a fresh start and the first step to develop an income-generating activity enabling her to support her family.
'This assistance gave me more than money—it gave me hope', she says, smiling as she dishes out boiled yams and fresh vegetable soup for her grandson. 'It’s a chance to rebuild, little by little'.
The hope farm
Like Joyce, Manfred Saahkem was also forced to flee due to violence. A retired civil servant and father of 7, he left his home in Bamumbu in the southwest region in 2019. He settled in Bamenda’s Mendankwe neighborhood and used his savings to buy a small plot of land.
Manfred began farming to feed his family, but rising food prices and the ongoing instability in Bamenda—marked by regular shutdowns imposed by armed groups—made life increasingly difficult. ’Sometimes we can’t move around town for days. It affects everything—what we eat, what we earn’, he explains.
The emergency cash assistance he received made a difference. Manfred used it to support his small poultry and pig farm, which he now calls "The Hope Farm." While he waits for his retirement pension, the farm has become the family’s main source of income. ’It’s what keeps us going’, he says.
A more certain future
These are just 2 of more than 2,000 people in the Northwest region who have received this form of EU-funded emergency support since 2023. For families like Joyce’s and Manfred’s, this cash is more than a safety net—it’s a lifeline. It allows them to invest in small businesses, feed their families, and regain a sense of control over their futures.
Behind the numbers are stories of courage, resilience, and the determination to rebuild amid crisis—1 meal, 1 harvest, 1 customer at a time.
