In our region of Cameroon, when the head of a household dies it is common to see family relations (brothers, uncles, etc.) or members of the community claim rights over the property of the deceased. Without legal wills testifying to the contrary, homes, farm plots and related property are often usurped by others. This property should pass to the rightful heirs, namely the widow and her children, to safeguard their future.

Instead, the widow is often forced by necessity to return to live with her family, either with her children or leaving them in the informal custody of their grandparents. Once the widow herself is deceased, the child’s future becomes uncertain. Many children end up in orphanages because inheritance and plans for child placement were not formally secured by the elderly guardians, who had no access to needed legal and social services.

After witnessing this cycle of poverty in the communities it serves, the LINK-UP Development group decided it was time for a new approach. The Village Diary was begun to address this need of protecting the rights of inheritance for children and windows. We don’t claim to have the solution to poverty, but we strongly believe that the Village Diary can help prevent women and children from falling into this particular cycle of poverty, both in Cameroon and throughout the African continent.