Widows, Orphans of Ex-servicemen: Existing Gov’t, Institutional Initiatives

S upport to widows and orphans of ex-servicemen and fallen soldiers in the country is regu­ lated by the October 12, 1976 Pre­ sidential decree and carried out by specialised government institutions, organisations and formal partner­ ships. Some of the initiatives mainly piloted by the Ministry of Defence include survivor pension allowances, social and psychological assistance, as well as empowerment frameworks established by the National Office of Veterans, Ex-Servicemen and War Victims, headquartered in Yaounde. There is the notion of State orphans. This refers to children of ex-service men who lost their lives at the battle front while carrying out their duties of the territorial protection. As such, the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Defence takes care of the child(ren) of the deceased till they attain maturity. This legal care is contained in the provisions of the July 4, 1984 law laying down the conditions for the adoption and guar­ dianship of orphans in Cameroon. In essence, the first article of the law on orphans adopted by Cameroon states that it has to be a child, "whose father or breadwinner has been killed, either to the enemy, or in one of the theaters of operations whose purpose is to safeguard the constitutional institutions of the Re­ public.” Simply put, the State shoul­ ders the responsibility of the youngs­ ters whose parent or breadwinner was killed in the line of operation in the fight against Boko Haram in the Far North Region or separatist figh­ ters in the North West and South West Regions, and or in a peace kee­ ping mission. There is full legal adop­ tion by the State, funding their schoo­ ling, vocational training and necessary healthcare. The widows on their part constantly receive financial allocations trans­ ferred which represents the...