The former internally displaced man from Widikum, Momo division of the North west region who returned home to a fresh start is today reaping the fruits of his good choice.
Forced out of his native Biffang village in Widikum at the break of the crisis, Napoleon returned three years after following call for peace. He took up Palm oil production as an activity. Displacement had disrupted his life and livelihood, and he sought safety away from home. However, when signs of peace began returning, Napoleon was amongst those who chose not to remain in displacement. He returned to Biffang, determined to pick up his pieces and rebuild. Today his story has evolved from one of displacement to one of resilience and enterprise.
Back home, the brave son invested in palm oil production and gradually ventured into its sale and distribution. What started as an effort to restore his livelihood has grown into a business reaching beyond Widikum. According to him, “the journey has not been easy, starting life afresh in the midst of a crisis required much patience, courage, determination and above all God’s protection”.
Napoleon’s experience is like an open book. It teaches that peace is primordial, and in the face of challenges; peace can be the foundation upon which individuals and communities can recover.
As a strong advocate for peace, Napoleon today uses his experience to encourage other displaced persons to consider returning home. As he puts it “retuning is usually just the big step. The bigger challenge is what people do after they return”, he said.
In the constant quest for a permanent return to peace in these crisis areas, more people ready to work, invest, support one another and create opportunities that give families reason to hope again are needed.
Napoleon’s Palm oil enterprise is more than a business venture. It represents, a personal response to a difficult circumstance, the determination of a person to demonstrate that life can be rebuilt after displacement and peace a truism.
Irene Aweneg
