Multiple Award Winner Omam Esther On Stage Once More

 

By Tarhyang Enowbikah Tabe

Esther Oman is the Executive Director of Reach Out Cameroon, leading Civil Society think tank that has been at the forefront for the quest of peace especially with focus on the role of women.

This has earned her a lot of recognition both home and abroad in various categories.

This time around, holding in Bafoussam, Chief town of the West Region, the peace front line activist and humanitarian par excellence was a laureate for the 19th Edition of The Guardian Post 2021 Achievement Award.

She was voted by readers of the Guardian Post as the 2021 Civil Society Activist of the year due to her role and sustained efforts in mobilizing women across the board in search for peace in the Northwest and Southwest Regions.

The event which took place at Talotel Hotel, Saturday February 26, was chaired by the Governor of the West Region.

The surprised receiver of the award told the Advocate Newspaper that she can only be humble to accept the honor brought o her through the award.

To her, she believes that to whom much is given, much is required hence she reflected on the many who have lost their lives, those who are still in pain and suffering as a result of the ongoing crises in our country in general and our two restive regions of the North West and South West in particular. 

“It further pleases me to accept this award on behalf of all those still alive, striving day and night to make ends meet. Here, I am talking about the refugees, the returnees,  the IDPs, people at risk especially women and children, and all women peacebuilders/mediators working hard to bring back the lost peace in our communities” she said adding that, these are the people who keep her going in that doing what she has  committed to do day-in, day-out.

Speaking about the work of her organization, she said 600,000 Persons and above have benefited from their life-saving missions in the area of medical care, educational support, food and nutrition, economic empowerment, GBV management and referrals, WASH, capacity strengthening, human rights monitoring, legal aid, rights advocacy, mediation, peacebuilding, and shelter just to name a few.

These, she noted  is thanks to all thier partners, especially those that have supported the work of women in peacebuilding and mediation; International Civil Action Network, Women Mediators across the Commonwealth, Canadian, German, Swiss, British, US Embassies to Cameroon,  Friedrich Erbert Foundation.

Esther Omam said in the course of the Anglophone Crisis and its effects, women have cried, have spoken and denounced, but still, feel as if nothing has been done because of the changing dynamics of this conflict each time they make positive gains.

She opined that the time is now for everyone to stand as one and say no to violence, no to wars, no to all atrocities committed in our land. Let us learn to look at each other and speak out about the issues.

“There is so much injustice, pain, and suffering happening in our communities these days which needs urgent attention; Killings, hunger, GBV, deprivation, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, threats, corruption, etc…. let us be honest enough to decide to talk to each other and let every one of us consider talking to “the enemy”.  It is only by so doing that we can give meaning to this award.” She explained to the listening crowd.

About Reach Out

Mission 

REACH OUT supports underprivileged groups within the communities on Health, Human Rights, Governance and Wealth Creation issues using a community-centred approach and advocacy.

Vision

Reach Out was born during the widespread HIV epidemic in the South-West, to serve rural communities which were left unattended. The organisation supports underprivileged groups especially youth and women through a community-centered approach and advocacy. Today, the organization has grown to have more than 70 staff organized under three programmatic pillars: Health, Human Rights and Wealth Creation in the South-West, Littoral, and North-West Regions of Cameroon.

Activities:

I. Health: Provision of primary healthcare, awareness-raising, Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation (WASH) and health stakeholder strengthening. REO’s main core focus issues are HIV, Sexual Reproductive Health, Malaria, Diarrhea, tuberculosis, respiratory infections and COVID-19. 

II. Human Rights and Governance: Institutional Strengthening, Human Rights monitoring and promotion, case management for children and survivors of violence, peace-building and conflict prevention, gender equality and women empowerment using advocacy and capacity building.

III. Wealth Creation: Poverty graduation programs, entrepreneurship promotion, microfinance and provides capacity building for improved agricultural outputs.

The focus of the organization’s activities are underprivileged people, minority groups, and the extreme poor, with a special focus on women and youth. Most activities focus on hard-to-reach areas.