Yaoundé is set to launch a “House of Trust for Peace” initiative, aimed at addressing underlying social tensions in Cameroon through early intervention and mediation.

The project will be unveiled alongside the apostolic visit of Leon XIV, in a national context marked by persistent tensions, including the protracted crisis in the Anglophone regions, strains on social cohesion, and recurring mistrust between citizens, communities, and institutions.

At its core is a simple premise: open conflicts are often preceded by a gradual erosion of trust. The initiative seeks to intervene at this early stage, before tensions escalate into violence. It is led by Catharsis, in partnership with The Okwelians and the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC).

Inspired by the “Trust Tree” framework developed by Pierre Winicki, the project combines conflict prevention, early warning, and community-based mediation. It aims to address what its promoters describe as the often invisible roots of conflict—mistrust.

A network of local mediation hubs

The initiative goes beyond the creation of a single space in Yaoundé. It is designed to operate as a national label, to be deployed through a network of third places and social mediation hubs across the country.

The first phase will focus on identifying and certifying these spaces, which will serve as local platforms for dialogue and conflict prevention.

The long-term objective is to establish locally grounded mediation mechanisms capable of restoring dialogue in areas where tensions are already weakening relationships between communities and institutions.

Another key component is the training of 20 “trust for peace practitioners.” These individuals will be selected from regions exposed to tensions, including Buea, Douala, Maroua, and Garoua-Boulaï. They may include traditional leaders, religious figures, civil society actors, and administrative representatives.

Their role will be to identify early warning signs of tension, facilitate dialogue among local stakeholders, and intervene before disputes escalate into open conflict. The approach relies on proximity and local knowledge.

At the intersection of expertise and local engagement

The launch of the initiative coincides with broader calls for peace linked to the visit of Leon XIV. Its promoters see it as a way to translate these calls into concrete action through structured prevention and mediation tools.

The project brings together Catharsis, The Okwelians, and UCAC, combining expertise in trust-building, knowledge of local social dynamics, and academic support. Backed by an international foundation, it also aims to test a model that could be replicated in other contexts facing similar challenges.

Its effectiveness, however, will depend on its ability to deliver sustained results at the local level. Beyond its symbolic dimension, the initiative will be judged on whether it can foster practical mechanisms of dialogue capable of preventing the escalation of conflicts.

Source: Business in Cameroon

It is not unusual for people of Manyu descent to talk and openly demonstrate, albeit hypocritically, that they love each other. We have Manyu associations all over the world where we eat and dance as if without the other person, our lives will be incomplete.

Orally, our love of the land given to us by God is immeasurable but genuine love is never measured in words. It is measured by our actions and deeds, and an assessment of our actions as a people clearly falls short of our own expectations. We usually get deceived by our oral profession of love for Manyu. But if we scratch beyond the surface, we will always figure out that the foundation of our unity and love for Manyu is shaky. We have been paying lip service to the notion of Manyu unity for far too long and it is time for us to engineer a mindset shift.

The first crack in the dam always shows up when someone else is in the spotlight. The demon in our minds will always rear its ugly head when one of us is stealing the show. The taste of the pudding is always in the eating and, on many occasions, we have fallen short of our own expectation. Our ego is our worst enemy. It will, on many occasions, stand in the way of collective action. Nothing destroys unity like a bloated ego and nothing ruins lives like the love of the spotlight.

For decades, concerned Manyu citizens have been asking why our oral love cannot be leveraged to give Manyu development a shot in the arm.

Our formal education is supposed to inject a deep sense of humility and collective action in us, unfortunately it has only shattered our hope for unity. Many of us are usually unwilling to participate in flagship development projects because we do not like or agree with those who are leading the charge. We have the nasty habit of throwing away the child with the bath water because of our warp thinking.

We live in the permanent and morbid fear of project leaders being known. We feel diminished when others get known. We spend a lot of time and resources just to deny those among us who can lead our Division into a new and modern era. Gossiping and defamation have become our favorite sports. If we cannot get the prize, then none of us should have it.

Until we purge our minds of this negative mindset that has bred visceral hatred in us, we, as a people, will not make any giant strides forward. Progress, if not collective and generational, will not see the light of day, or if it does, it will not stand the test of time.

Over the last thirty years, real development has suffered in Manyu Division, though the Division’s human development index has grown exponentially. This unfortunate situation has been exacerbated over the last ten years due to the socio-political crisis which has killed many and left thousands in the throes of a devastating financial crisis.

Our towns and villages are today shadows of their former selves. At best, they look more like war zones waiting for a messiah with sound town planning knowledge and skills to step in to engineer a modern urbanization solution.

The Division’s economy has taken a nosedive, causing thousands of our young men and women to flee their ancestral land for greener pastures in other parts of the country or the world.

However, rather than focus on the issues which have strapped us to poverty and underdevelopment in Manyu Division, it will be smart for us to identify possible solutions which can help us detach our self from the claws of underdevelopment. Of course, our insidious disunity has constrained our ability to unlock Manyu’s sophisticated development potential but it is time for us to collectively face our demons in order to bring about transformative change in Manyu Division..

Manyu is blessed with many formally educated people in various domains. Our academic prowess and achievements have never been questioned. Our personal academic achievements speak to our determination to be at the zenith of the intellectual world. Many development experts are usually fast to point out that no community or country can make giant development strides forward without soundly educated minds.

Strangely, Manyu’s physical development achievements are at variance with the educational narrative that has become our hallmark.

Our villages are chaotic. Despite our high-sounding academic titles, development outcomes on the ground in our Division demonstrate that in spite of our academic titles, our minds are still bereft of that structural thinking that is born of deep philosophical thoughts.

The true proof of our educated minds is how we think and how we perceive collective action, leadership and the spotlight. We are chaotic naturally like most species on the face of the earth. We like to lead without having followed. True, reliable and experienced leaders are usually those who have learned the ropes and have humbly followed others who have shown the light for them to follow.

Strangely, most people of Manyu descent confuse academic achievement with leadership. We hold that if we hold high-sounding academic titles, then we are natural leaders.  That is absolutely not true!

Leadership is about character. It is about selflessness. It is about playing by established rules to set the right examples so that others can follow without questioning the order of things. Leadership is the courage to serve and not the power to command. It is not about being in the spotlight. It is about playing a key role in joint efforts without seeking to crush others. It is about disagreeing without being disagreeable. It is not about hurting others just because we want to attain personal goals.

Our perception of leadership is warped. We think leaders know it all and when they make mistakes we become so disappointed. Leaders are humans. Until we see them as being fallible, we will not stop fighting them. We are supposed to support our leaders, especially our political leaders who are putting their best foot forward while playing our roles in whatever we are collectively doing. Every one of us has a role in Manyu’s development efforts and regardless of what we achieve, not all of us will be in the spotlight.

The objective should never be the spotlight but the development of our beloved Manyu. If we learn to shrink our ego, we will build solid teams which will deliver the development results we all are looking forward to.

Development, indeed transformative development, cannot only come from Yaoundé. As a community of educated men and women, we can change the negative development narrative which has characterized our Division for decades.

If we spend more time fighting our political and traditional leaders, we will be running all over the place like neckless chicken, thereby wasting valuable development time. Violent divisions only tear people apart. What is the benefit to the Division if we continue to openly challenge our ministers, Members of Parliament, Senators, etc, when we know that with our unwavering support, they can fight for us? We don’t appoint our ministers. The president does.

I hold that once somebody has been appointed as a minister, we should sink our differences and stand by him so that we can post some impressive development results.

We don’t have to love the person. We are not going to love every action of his. We must however understand the person is not infallible and, regardless of how united we are, we will never see everything in the same light.

We must learn to accept that when we disagree, we should avoid destroying our unity of purpose. By so doing, we will build a solid team which will help transform Manyu Division into the El-dorado we all have been looking forward to for decades. Everyone on a team must not be a star, even if everyone was a star; some stars would definitely outshine others. A word to the wise is sufficient!

Dr. Joachim Arrey

Executive Director, the Global Think Tank for Africa