Yaounde:Children lack sufficient distraction centres

Distraction is very important for children, especially during holidays. However, there exists few leisure facilities for children in Yaounde. Perhaps, the only ones are the merry-go-rounds at the Yaounde Conference Centre and in the premises of the Mahima Supermarket at Elig-Essono. Certainly, these are not enough to enable the city’s little children to have fun.

Moreover, getting to them and being attended to is not often easy, given the regular traffic jams in the city and the huge number of kids always waiting for their turn to enjoy themselves.

In these centres, there are games like “Toboggan,” “slider,” “sand houses” and even swimming pools. There is also foodstuff like popcorn, ice-cream and drinks, especially those children prefer. The leisure centre at Elig-Essono is open from Mondays to Sundays, but children prefer going at weekends, making it always full.

Surey Kumar Singh, the man in charge of the Elig-Essono Mahima Leisure Centre, told Cameroon Tribune on July 26, 2016: “Even though there are few children around today, the little ones who come have real fun with the different games provided for them.

The entrance fee is 1,000 FCFA and they are able to enjoy Toboggan and slider. For those who climb on to the merry-go-round, there is an additional 500 FCFA to pay because it needs electricity.”

In order to enable little children have real fun, music is provided for dancing. “So, when going home, they are very happy because they enjoyed their stay,” Surey Kumar Singh noted.

As a result of the paucity of children’s leisure places in Yaounde, some parents prefer to get their kids engaged in other activities like sports, music and dance classes and outings in order to have fun and distraction these holidays.