Victorine Biy Yongka
22 December 2008
Some 600 exposed children in Yaoundé December 15-16 were beneficiaries of free typhoid and meningitis vaccines from a Yaounde based humanitarian foundation christened Shemka Foundation.
The children, who were mostly AIDS orphans, refugees, abandoned, underprivileged and disabled, were aged between two and 12.They were selected from some 20 orphanages, centres taking care of the underprivileged and children born to inmates in Mbalmayo, Soa, Mfou and Yaounde.
The programme, which was in its 7th edition, has recorded a total number of 2400 vulnerable children vaccinated against typhoid and meningitis since its inception in 2001.
Apart from being vaccinated against meningitis and typhoid, the less privileged also received end-of-year gifts from the Shemka Foundation in a special programme dubbed "Christmas Tree'.
The gifts varied from T-shirts, toys, to didactic materials like books. But, the special gift, to the General Administrator of Shemka Foundation, Jean-Calvin Nama Ntse, was the vaccine against typhoid and meningitis. The gifts were provided by organisations working in partnership with Shemka Foundation like MTN Foundation, CAMNAFAW, the Ministry of Public Health and the US Embassy.
Jean-Calvin Nama, said the overall objective of the exercise is to ensure that the vulnerable children are incorporated into the mainstream of life. "It also aims at boosting the morale of these children who have been neglected by the majority of society", he said.
Created in 2000, the foundation promotes health in children and the third age, takes care of young girls in need especially the handicapped, empowers young girls between 17-30, sensitises youths on societal ills and educates them on STDs, cancer, malnutrition, family planning, problems related to menopause and general hygiene, fight against environmental degradation and poverty.
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