00:00 This is the village of Dibuncha in southwestern Cameroon.
00:05 The people here have come from near and far to get medical consultations and free medicine.
00:11 Clashes between separatists and the army have disrupted life and left communities to fend for themselves.
00:18 This clinic was set up for the day by Esther Omam and her NGO Reach Out Cameroon.
00:24 We know that there has been a complete break in follow-up of medication for people living with HIV and AIDS.
00:33 We know that the community people cannot access health centers easily without being afraid that they will be targeted.
00:40 For more than 20 years, Esther Omam has led efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people.
00:48 Thanks to her, 1,000 people, mostly women and girls, benefit from free health care every week.
00:55 You see the need for potable water, the need for safe education. These are the issues which they are facing.
01:01 And I suffer those same things.
01:04 Esther Omam stands with the women of Cameroon and amplifies their voices.
01:09 By helping them set up small businesses, she aims to break the cycle of poverty and oppression, one woman at a time.
01:17 It's the start of a new school year in northern Cameroon.
01:22 Lawyer and women's rights activist Marthe Wandou is here to talk to the pupils.
01:27 She has a special eye on the female pupils.
01:30 Not all parents let their girls go to school here in Cameroon's far north.
01:34 My dream is that every girl and every boy has the possibility of going to school up to the level they want to.
01:42 It is not just cultural and religious customs that restrict women in this area.
01:47 The extremist group Boko Haram is also active. Aisha, not her real name, is 21.
01:54 In 2016, Boko Haram captured her entire family, and she was forced to marry one of her captors.
02:02 Women are beaten for no reason and constantly raped.
02:06 Some marry to at least have a minimum of protection. When your husband dies and you're not ready to remarry another man within 24 hours, you're immediately beheaded.
02:17 Aisha escaped Boko Haram with her baby. Thanks to Marthe Wandou, she received psychosocial help and financial support.
02:27 She can now run her own business.
02:29 We sometimes live through very difficult experiences, but it is important that you leave these experiences behind you,
02:39 that you regain hope and courage to take your life back into your own hands, like a person with dignity.
02:46 Like Aisha, many of the women carry a traumatic past. Yet Marthe Wandou is determined to help them build a better future.
03:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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