Meet Bobbo Moussa
'Courage, courage, courage. Together, we will win.'
Bobbo is a 2023 Resilience Fellow who began working on community resilience initiatives in northern Cameroon in 2016, following a research visit to the localities of Mora and Kolofata. These areas have been affected by the activities of criminal groups since 2013, with thousands of people killed and displaced in attacks conducted by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
Subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French
What is your Resilience Fellowship project?
Bobbo and his network of volunteers have been helping vulnerable community members affected by criminal violence, particularly women and children, in the wake of Boko Haram attacks on villages and military bases in northern Cameroon. Working with local groups in the communes of Mora and Kolofata, a regional women’s network and psychologists, they have responded to the many human rights violations suffered by these communities.
'We have conducted educational and psychotherapeutic sessions with women who have been mutilated, raped and forced into marriage by criminal groups. Our sessions have allowed them to express themselves and alleviate their pain. We have also supported orphaned and displaced children who have fled their villages due to armed incursions by criminal groups, providing them with school kits that enable them to continue their studies in the areas where they have found refuge.'
'The GI-TOC Resilience Fund is an invaluable resource to help thousands of families get back on their feet through various programmes implemented in their communities.'
Where do you work?
Bobbo works in a community located in the Mayo-Sava department, on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria. The community is home to the Mandara, Podoko, Mafa, Kaba, Arabe-Tchoa and Kotoko people.
'The children we support come from families who have fled the abuses of criminal groups in villages on the border with Nigeria, including Kerawa, Zamga, Ashigashia, Djibrilli, Zeleved, Moskota, Tourou and Limani, and have found refuge in Kolofata and Mora.'
As part of his project, Bobbo has helped local vigilante groups to reclaim agricultural land that will allow them to feed their families. It has been a challenge for these communities to monitor their villages while working in the fields, as security measures are considered voluntary and receive very little support from the government.
Working their own land, community members will be able to form teams and rotate between tending their crops and patrolling the villages. Part of the harvest will go to their families, while the rest will be sold to buy equipment and protect their land for years to come.
'Despite the violence they have endured, this community is determined to rebuild, to live and to thrive.'
What does resilience mean to you?
'For me, it is a community’s ability to continue living, functioning, growing and thriving after experiencing trauma or a disaster.'
'Sometimes we are powerless in the face of these traumatic situations, but I hope to inspire solidarity, courage and determination. Together we will make our communities truly resilient; communities that are able to rebuild themselves, to function and to thrive, despite the human rights violations experienced daily.'
What does a day’s work look like for you?
'My working day starts at 8 am and involves going to the field, gathering communities and setting up activities. My main challenge is working with vulnerable people, some of whom are traumatized, in an area where atrocities committed by criminal groups are a daily occurrence.'
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