Cameroonian Sports Federation for People with Disabilities (FECASH; French: ') was one of the primary national sports federation for people with disabilities in Cameroon prior to the organization being dissolved in August 2011. It served as the country's
National Paralympic Committee
A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NPCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the ...
for many years. Problems with internal governance arose starting in the early 2000s and continued until the federation closed.
FECASH was one of the organizations to support the introduction of goalball in Cameroon. They also participated in United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities activities.
Governance
Cameroonian Sports Federation for People with Disabilities (FECASH) was created in 1998 for people with a variety of different types of disabilities. The federation was based on
Doula
A doula () is a trained professional who provides expert guidance for the service of others and who supports another person (the doula's client) through a significant health-related experience, such as childbirth, miscarriage, induced abortion o ...
For a long while, the organization was largely run by the president after all the members resigned. During its early history, FECASH had trouble securing funding. For three years, they had an annual government grant of 4.5 million
XOF
The West African CFA franc (French: ''franc CFA'' or simply ''franc'', ISO 4217 code: XOF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency used by eight independent states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA; ') ...
(€6,854). After the initial three years, government terminated the subsidy.
FECASH was founded in 1998, and became affiliated with the
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
(IPC). At the time, the President of FECASH did not seek government approval prior to affiliating with the IPC. FECASH's original president subsequently moved to Japan. In 2004, a former FECASH Vice-President created a new NPC for Cameroon without approval from the government. He subsequently moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In the late 2000s, a third NPC for Cameroon was then created after that called Cameroon Paralympic Club (CPC)The name of the organization in French is, '. which also failed to get government approval before trying to become the IPC recognized NPC. The CPC was led by President Etienne Songa. Songa challenged the government's claim of failure for recognition. Songa claimed that FECASH, as a result of owing the IPC money, had notified the IPC that the Cameroon Paralympic Club should be recognized as the NPC for Cameroon. Songa's statements were supported by CPC Technical Director Jean-Marie Aléokol Mabiemé. FECASH had other issues in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Having statues was a then requirement of the International Paralympic Committee to be a member of the IPC in good standing. FECASH lacked governing statues in 2008. These problems related to internal governance were one of the reasons why Cameroon was unable to inscribe any participants for the
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
.
FECASH was restructured in March 2011, before being dissolved in July 2011 as a result of Law No. 2011-18 of 15 July 2011 related to the organization and promotion of Physical and Sporting Activities. It was replaced by the
Cameroonian Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired
Cameroonian Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired (FECASDEV) (French: ') is the national sports federation for people with vision impairments. The organization is one of four member federations of the Cameroonian Paralympic Committee and is ...
Cameroonian Federation of Sports the Intellectually Disabled
Cameroonian Federation of Sports the Intellectually Disabled (FECASDI) (French: ') is the national sports federation for sportspeople with intellectual disabilities competing in International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disabi ...
(FECASDI)The name of the organization in French is, '. and the Cameroonian Sports Federation for the Deaf (FECASSO).The name of the organization in French is, '. These four organizations were thane made members of the newly reformed
Cameroonian Paralympic Committee
Cameroonian National Paralympic Committee (french: Comité national paralympique camerounais, CNPC) is the primary body in Cameroon for the promotion of sports for people with disabilities. It has four member organizations: Cameroonian Sports F ...
.
Before the organization's dissolution, Chairman Mbozo'o blamed some of the organization's failures on the Government Minister Pierre Ismaël Bidoung Mkpatt for appointing members to FECASH's board who then were completely absent from governing the organization. He also blamed the Government not providing funding to the organization.
History
FECASH supported the introduction of goalball in the country during the 2000s to diversify the number of sports available to people with vision impairments.
For the 2009 United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities, FECASH organized nationwide sporting activities for people with disabilities. They held three regional wheelchair basketball tournaments, with the tournaments taking place in central Cameroon, southern Cameroon and coastal Cameroon. One of these tournaments took place in Douala, on the basketball courts of
Military District
Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...
2. A goalball tournament also was organized at the Sports Palace in Yaounde. Deaf soccer, handball and basketball events also took place, with the Lions Indomptables Sourd playing a friendly match against a high school team from Nkomotou. The events also served as a celebration for the national delegation who went to
Niamey
Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...