Ridev Information

RIDEV was founded in 1999 by a group of development actors who previously had individual interventions in local communities. They decided to join efforts so that their actions would be more effective and harmonized. For a long time, Cameroon was known as a success story in the context of Africa's development. However, the country underwent a severe socio economic and political crisis in the 80s and early 90s. This crisis caused the failure of the development and industrialization strategies that had been pursued until then. This was accompanied by a severe deterioration of the social infrastructure and the erosion of public services, especially in rural areas. Poverty continued to spread to all levels of society, in urban as well as in rural areas and people had to tighten their belts. According to some source more than 50% of the populations were living below the poverty line. Such a difficult economic environment provided a fertile ground for street demonstrations, riots, and protests. Opposition politicians took this opportunity to push the president to accept a multi party- system. In response to the demonstrations that had spread throughout the country, the government carried out a large number of arrests. Many people suffered human rights abuses. Over time, corruption in all sectors rose to an outrageous level. Human rights violations were common and widespread. Despite the process of decentralization initiated in 1974, local groups and rural communities were rarely implicated in the elaboration and application of the development process. At the same time, in December 1990, the National Assembly adopted a series of laws, among which featured a law on the freedom of association and the creation of political parties. This was a good opportunity for civil society organizations to become more involved in the public domain. Considering this context, it became clear that there was a need for dynamic and imaginative organizations endowed with solid technical know-how and a desire to initiate relevant ...