By Doh James Sonkey
Youth Affairs and Civic Education Minister, Mounouna Foutsou has told street children from the seven councils of Yaounde to always feel free to come back to the Madagascar Reference Youth Empowerment Centre to refresh the lessons taught them during the 2025 citizens and patriotic holidays. The Minister was speaking last July 31, 2025 at Madagascar Reference Youth Empowerment Centre as he chaired the closing ceremony of the 10th edition of citizens and patriotic Holidays under the theme “youth, peace and security.’’
Speaking at the occasion, the Youth Affairs and Civic Education boss thanked the street children for having listened to his voice and said, it is the will of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya that no child is abandoned on the street no matter the situation that forced him or her to be there.
In his opening speech, Minister Mounouna Foutsou called for general ovation for street children who voluntarily opted to take part at this citizens and patriotic Holidays.
After the futsal final, he told the street children who came from all the councils of Yaoundé, that ‘‘there was no winner nor loser, it is the living together spirit in Cameroon.’’
233 youth and adults participated at the 2025 citizens and patriotic Holidays, (51 girls and women and 182 boys and men) who all competed in several categories.
The Minister thanked UNICEF for supporting government in taking care of the street children. He said the citizens and patriotic Holidays was launched last July 1, 2025 at Madagascar Refence Centre.
Speaking earlier, the Head of the Centre, Armand Pierre Dominique Mveme Atangana rejoiced that ‘‘Minister Mounouna Foutsou has given back hope to street children which appears as a veritable innovation and a new kick-off in this electoral year. I am very grateful to the Minister for orientating this new intervention approach. He did not only give confidence to this youth, but also allowed them to benefit from a kind of sensitisation in this electoral period.’’
He told reporters that, ‘‘in the framing modules, there were not only sports activities, but above all, activities of moral, civic and entrepreneurial development…Everything that has allowed young people to be sensitised in relation to the dangers they face in the electoral period…Everything that has also allowed young people to know that nothing is lost, even if at the moment they are called street children”, he said.
