Art for Peace

" Art for Peace" is a sub project of Collective Arts Development Association(CADA). An initiative which seeks to transform the mindsets of drug addicts,ex-child soldiers,ex-convicts between the ages 12-25 years old through life skill education,art,vocational training and social entrepreneurship. Through this initiative,we rebuild resilience among marginalized groups and communities in the Northwest region of Cameroon to ensure their social,mental,psychological and economic livelihood.

Due to the Anglophone crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon,schools,villages and economic infrastructures have been burned down.Over 700,000 youths and children are deprived of formal education,families have become internally displaced.Frustration,confusion and poverty has push more youths to get involve in substance use,abuse,crime and violence. In Cameroon,according to the national anti drug committee,21% of the population had used substances,60% of whom are youths between 15-25 years old.and 12,000 below 15 are users of narcotic drugs and other psychoactive substances. As a consequence to the crisis, in the Northwest region of Cameroon,the level of youth involvement in substance use,abuse and crime is on the rise.Couple with the fact that Cameroon is a transit zone for illicit drugs like cocaine,heroin and amphetamine type tablets.Cannabis is the most widely consumed drug among youths while local beer and gin also hold a special place in communities. Giving this circumstances,insurgency and violence perpetrated mostly by the youthful population is a common occurrence.

Against this backdrop,Collective Arts Development Association(CADA),from the year 2016 has been using life skill education,art,vocational training and social entrepreneurship as a sustainable preventive measure to substance use,abuse,crime and violence among youths in our communities.Every year,we train 15 youth from different marginalized groups in our communities to acquire skills for economic self sustainability and of good moral standing. We seek to address the root causes of substance use,abuse and crime among youths and to advocate for a non violent society.

The attached pictures shows our  beneficiaries undergoing training in our art and vocational training institute.They receive training in painting,sculpture,computer literacy programs like graphic design among others.