Long before violence tore through communities in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, Reach Out Cameroon was already at work on the ground. Under the leadership of its Executive Director and Global Peace Champion, Omam Njomo Esther, the organization chose a path that many considered risky at the time by sitting with communities, listening deeply, mediating tensions, and raising early warnings about grievances that, if ignored, could erupt into violence.
This approach was rooted in a simple but powerful belief that dialogue should come before bloodshed, not after. As the Anglophone crisis intensified and fear, mistrust, and silence spread, Reach Out Cameroon, along with sister civil society organizations, many of which are grassroots and women-led, began facilitating community dialogues for peace and social cohesion. These efforts emerged at the height of the conflict, when public engagement was perceived as dangerous and communities were deeply fractured.
Rather than responding only after violence occurred, the organization deliberately used dialogue as a preventive tool. Community systems, women leaders, traditional authorities, youth, and other local actors were brought together to openly discuss grievances, fears, and expectations. The aim was to address tensions before they hardened into cycles of retaliation and mistrust. In a context where many felt unheard and abandoned, these spaces restored a sense of agency and collective responsibility.
Over time, these community dialogues evolved into more structured Peace Tables that connected grassroots voices to national-level platforms. For many women involved, this marked the first opportunity to share their lived experiences of loss, fear, and resilience directly with decision-makers. The emotional weight of these testimonies was profound.
Observers recount moments when audiences listened in tears, confronted by realities they could no longer ignore, while others were left speechless by the courage and clarity of the women speaking.
The impact of this work did not remain confined to Cameroon. The community dialogue and Peace Table models developed and implemented by Reach Out Cameroon and its partners have since been shared internationally as practical approaches to peacebuilding in contexts of protracted crisis.
More recently, these experiences were presented in Italy, including engagements with local councils and schools in towns such as Bergamo and Nembro, as well as through the Perugia–Assisi peace platform. In these spaces, the Cameroonian experience was discussed not as abstract theory, but as a lived process grounded in trust, proximity, and sustained community presence.
As interest in the model grows, many national and international actors now turn to Reach Out Cameroon to better understand how these approaches were built and what lessons they offer. One lesson stands out clearly from years of practice, community dialogue is not a slogan that can be adopted overnight. It is a long-term process that demands consistency, credibility, and deep-rooted relationships within communities.
This experience continues to reaffirm a fundamental truth about peacebuilding. Communities must begin to heal before externally driven solutions can take hold. Sustainable peace cannot be imposed through force or policy alone, it must be built alongside those who have borne the daily weight of conflict. For this reason, meaningful progress will depend on sustained collaboration between public authorities and civil society actors who have remained present throughout the crisis and whose community-led efforts have already demonstrated tangible results.
The work led by Omam Esther and Reach Out Cameroon offers a clear counter-narrative to approaches that prioritize coercion over connection. It shows that choosing dialogue over violence, proximity over force, and people over politics is not a sign of weakness. It is an act of prevention, responsibility, and foresight. Above all, it is a reminder that security becomes truly effective only when it is grounded in humanity.
Comments
Post a Comment