Child soldier rehabilitation
Bringing children out of armed groups and back into childhood
Children who have been associated with armed groups return carrying experiences no child should have. Reintegration is slow, careful work — with the child, with the family, and with a community that may be frightened or resentful.
Release and interim care
Working with community and church structures, we support children leaving armed groups and provide interim care while their situation is assessed. The child's safety and confidentiality come first at every stage.
Psychosocial recovery
We provide structured psychosocial support to help children process what they have experienced, rebuild trust and re-learn how to be with peers. Recovery is measured in months and years, not weeks.
Family tracing and reunification
Wherever it is safe and in the child's best interest, we trace families and support reunification, then continue to accompany the household afterwards — the return home is the beginning of reintegration, not the end.
Community acceptance
A child cannot reintegrate into a community that will not receive them. We work with community and religious leaders on acceptance and reconciliation, and support the child's return to education or skills training so they have a visible future.
Doing no harm
This work is carried out in line with child protection principles. We do not publicise identities, we do not photograph children in ways that could identify them, and we do not share case information outside the professionals who need it.
Stand with the families we serve
A gift to Caritas Bamenda becomes food on a table, a roof over a displaced family, clean water in a village, a child back in school.