We have some exciting news! This week, Tamsin Clover launched a Go Fund Me fundraising page in order to raise money for Children of Cameroon, so that our disadvantaged children can be given Christmas dresses this year.
Christmas dresses are not only an important tradition for children in Cameroon, but can be some of the only clothes that many get each year. To find out more about this Christmas tradition in Cameroon, as well as how the fundraiser will help those who need it most, carry on reading...
Christmas dresses in Cameroon: a tradition
Christmas festivities are hugely important for the Christian population of Cameroon and so it’s a much-celebrated event in the Cameroonian calendar. Although Christmas lands in the middle of the dry-season in Cameroon (far from a White Christmas!), festive celebrations share a lot in common with the west. Much like Christmas in the west, houses are decorated, trees are put up and celebratory family meals are cooked.
Unsurprisingly for a country that has such a strong foundation in fashion, clothing also has a special place at the heart of the Cameroonian Christmas. People dress in their best clothes and rush to buy new, stylish outfits for the end-of-year festivities. One of the most important traditions for girls of all ages in Cameroon is that of the Christmas dress and they’re gifted a new one every year.
But many children, especially those in rural and impoverished communities, struggle to afford a new Christmas dress each year. Instead, due to their financial situation, many families are forced to focus their spending on basic essentials like food, healthcare or schooling so that they can survive and have a future.
The Christmas Dress Fundraiser
Clothing can be an invaluable source of joy and self-expression for children and for those living under the poverty line, it can be a rare luxury. So, in order to give disadvantaged children an important gift of hope this Christmas, Tamsin Clover set up a Go Fund Me page this week to raise money for Children of Cameroon. With the money raised, we will be able provide our children in Cameroon with the dresses they look forward to each year.
Tamsin will be walking 5km every day for a week (the average distance a child in Cameroon has to walk to school each day) and has already raised more than her target of £60, enough money to provide four girls with a Christmas dress each! Any further money raised will go towards an extra dress, Christmas shoes and a special festive meal for each child.
Christmas across the world will be like no other this year, including in Cameroon, but with your help, this wonderful festive tradition can be kept alive for those children who need it most. If you’d like to help Tamsin bring joy to children in Cameroon this Christmas, please consider donating on her Go Fund Me page.
What We Do
Many Cameroonian children are not only suffering during the festive period and so our work at Children of Cameroon extends beyond helping children living under the poverty line at Christmas. We help children in Cameroon all year round gain access to education by linking them to sponsors who support them through their schooling, so that they can break free of the poverty cycle.
Like the gift of a special dress at Christmas, knowing that a sponsor believes in them enough to sponsor their education gives a child hope and allows them to dream, leading to a better future.
To help us in this mission to end poverty for children in Cameroon, further fundraising events for Children of Cameroon are also being planned throughout the year. So, if you’d like to find out more, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
And if you’d like to help make Christmas special for children in Cameroon, why not donate to Tamsin’s fundraiser?
Or if you want to join us in our mission to change the lives of vulnerable Cameroonian children, please visit our sponsorship, donation and volunteering pages.
If you are looking to start a fundraiser for Children of Cameroon yourself, you can contact us or leave a comment below!