Cameroonian football icon is raising money and awareness amid the escalating crisis in West Africa which, he says, ‘isn’t being talked about enough but is causing huge pain and damage’. The guardian reported.
Eto’o feels that the escalating crisis in west Africa, which has gripped north-east Nigeria and spilled into north-west Cameroon – Niger and Chad is in danger of being ignored.
He has resolved to make sure it does not. Through the Fundación Privada Samuel Eto’o, which was established in 2006 with the purpose of raising awareness of the issues faced by Africa, he has launched the Yellow Whistle Blower FC initiative.
The idea behind the yellow whistle was to create a symbol of the victims of Boko Haram. The yellow has been taken from the star in the middle of the Cameroonian flag while the whistle is a metaphor for the population in the affected areas, many of whom are cattle farmers or nomads; the whistle is a part of their everyday life.
Eto’o, who plays for Antalyaspor in Turkey, has won everything during a glittering 18-year professional career, most notably four Champions Leagues and two Africa Cup of Nations titles.
Eto’o’s Foundation, in conjunction with Oxfam and the UNHCR hosted the first Yellow Whistle Ball at Claridge’s hotel in London on Tuesday night
The money raised from the organization will be given to refugee camps in Nigeria and Cameroon; to non-governmental organisations that are working in the field to help those who have been displaced. According to Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the head of the UNHCR in the United Kingdom, two million Nigerians have been internally displaced from their homes, with 170,000 of them having crossed into neighbouring countries.
The global forced migration figure has reached 60 million – the highest since the second world war.
