One Man’s Mission to Reestablish Respect and Dignity in African Communities
Child trafficking and slavery are not just terrifying concepts that we learn about in history classes. No matter how inconceivable they might sound to most of the modern world, they are an everyday reality for children all over the planet.
Born in Cameroon, Clement Manfouo was separated from his parents under false pretenses and taken into slavery. “I was deprived of most of my basic human rights,” he says. “I endured that until the age of 20, when I decided to move out on my own because I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to work hard to survive.”
Many years later, Manfouo learned about the Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) program, which resonated deeply with him. It provided many answers to his childhood suffering and a way out—not just for him, but for children experiencing the same nightmare today.
“I fell in love with it,” he says. “I was learning for the first time that I had human rights and what they were. I immediately ordered the information kit, as well as the educator kit, so I could learn more for myself, help other people discover their human rights and assist youth in not having to endure the same things I did. I know thousands, if not millions, of young people are probably going through child abuse, child trafficking and other human rights violations today.”
Fired up by his desire to help others and armed with the tools he needed, Manfouo had two main goals: first, to make people aware of solutions available to handle or reduce crime and other social ills; and second, to involve as many educators, community leaders and other stakeholders as possible in using the YHRI educational materials on every platform available.
“My ultimate goal is to reestablish human values such as respect and dignity and make our communities better and safer places to live.”
Manfouo encountered some difficulties trying to reach schools. “At first, I had some issues with school principals who were reluctant to welcome me,” he says. “However, over time, they changed their minds—especially after hearing good feedback from other colleagues and sometimes seeing what we are doing in local newspapers. One of the schools has now included human rights education as a topic in its curriculum. I am working with three other schools to do the same. I have already delivered the educator kits to them and held a workshop with them so they can now use the tools to teach human rights in their schools.”
Manfouo is continuing to expand his activities, impacting South African communities.
“My greatest accomplishment so far has been distributing the What Are Human Rights? booklets to more than 30,000 people—and counting!” he says.
Reaching out to so many people was not only an achievement in itself; it created a domino effect by inspiring others to start their own human rights groups in their areas.
“A man to whom I presented the Human Rights materials in early 2021 took it so seriously and became so excited to spread the message that he has now moved to another province here in South Africa and started a Human Rights group that is working on raising awareness in schools and in the community.”
It only took Manfouo sharing a single booklet to begin a ripple effect across his country. “The message I would like to give people is to always be ready to impact other people’s lives. Do something that can put a smile on somebody’s face and make sure they share humanity with others.”
