In 2021, at the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Cameroon Migrant Network (CMN) launched a humanitarian outreach initiative aimed at supporting Cameroonian migrant workers living in Bahrain’s labor camps those who were among the hardest hit by the crisis.
As factories and construction sites shut down almost overnight due to lockdowns, many migrant workers were left jobless, isolated, and without access to basic necessities like food, hygiene products, or medical care. For these men and women already enduring difficult working and living conditions—COVID-19 made a tough reality even more unbearable.
Recognizing their desperate situation, CMN organized a compassionate and hands-on intervention. The initiative involved visiting nine labor camps across Bahrain to not only deliver vital food packages but to listen to their stories, their pain, their fears, and their hopes. More than 250 Cameroonian migrant workers received essential food supplies, including rice, oil, canned goods, and hygiene items.
But the support went far beyond physical needs. With every camp visited, we witnessed a common theme hardship, resilience, loneliness, and above all, an unbreakable spirit of hope. Many spoke of going days without food, of being forgotten, of feeling voiceless in a foreign land. Our presence, however small the offering, became a sign that they were seen, heard, and not alone.
As we moved from one camp to another, smiles broke through the silence, and though eyes filled with tears as we said goodbye, there was a visible shift hope was rekindled. For many, this outreach was the only form of external support they received throughout the pandemic.
This initiative reminded us all that solidarity is powerful, even in the darkest times. With limited resources but unlimited compassion, CMN stood in the gap for its people, affirming that no one should be left behind especially in times of crisis.
