My Success Story

Wirmvem Mengnjo Jude

I was born on Tuesday, April 14, 1981 in Mbam Health Centre, to the family of Lanyuy Roland Wirmvem and Kibong Perensia who live in Ngendezen Village, Bui Division, North West Region, Cameroon. I attended Government Primary School Ngendzen, for 7 years from 1988. In 1995, I was admitted as a student into the then Government Secondary School (G.S.S.) Tatum, now a High School. Every morning I trekked for a distance of 5Km from Ngendzen village to Tatum to attend classes as there was not enough money for accommodation. Despite the tedious trekking, my zeal for Education gave me courage to keep on. During my second year (Form 2) in G.S.S. Tatum, the school was enormously blessed with a pioneer American Peace Corps Volunteer, Mrs. Pavla Zakova-Laney. She was a Biology teacher. I must say that this was my first time in Form 2 to be taught by a white person. Though I enjoyed her teaching, at first it was difficult to understand as I was never before taught by someone with a different accent.
That not withstanding, I did very well in her and other subjects too. This created a good relationship between Mrs. Pavla and me. She later on found out that I lived far away from school and wrote a note asking me to come and stay with her alongside one other student. This was strange for me to live with a white person. I could not imagine that. I informed my mum and dad about it, telling them that I was not ready to do that. My loving mum persuaded me that it was my blessing and finally, in late 1996, I packed from my village to live with Mrs. Pavla. I was now free from long treks to school though I was very worried about my friends and others who still had to trek. Even today, some still trek further than I did.
From that time my life changed. For the first time, I read at night with electric light. I had enough school materials (pens, pencils, ruler etc) textbooks, food, time and all that a student needed. Mrs. Pavla with her sympathetic heart realized that I was not the only desperate student and so bought school materials like shoes, books, pens, pencil, rulers; paid fees, sew uniforms, paid house rents, electric bills, bought fuel for bush lamps used by some students. More than 95% of the students were in need and she could not satisfy all. Even some teachers were also needy and she offered them assistance as well. ‘What a big task’. While living with her my performance improved and I received scholarships in 1997 and 1998 from the Cameroon government. I was happy with my results. I should say that I was worried when Mrs. Pavla was to leave. I could not imagine how I could live without her support. Before leaving Cameroon in 1999, we knew that Mrs. Pavla loved us very much that she would not forget us. She then created an NGO called EDUCAM (to help ameliorate the living conditions of students and teachers in Cameroon) now EDUCARE- AFRICA. Through this organization, I benefited a lot as before but this time she was able to help more students, thanks to loving care and generous support from many kind donors.
With this continuous surge of help I was able to register the Ordinary Level Certificate of Education exam in 2000 (Form 5) in which I passed in 6 subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics, Economics and English language). Since there was no high school then, I moved to Government High School (G.H.S.) Kumbo. Mrs. Pavla continued through Educare-Africa to assist me and many other students with our school needs. My accommodation was partly taken care of as well as other essential needs. With the collective efforts of Mrs. Pavla through Educare-Africa and my parents, I registered the Advanced Level Certificate of Education exam in 2002 (US4) in which I passed in two subjects (Geology & Chemistry).
My parents were unable to sponsor me in the University. The number of needy students kept increasing and Educare-Africa could not fully take care of most my needs. I had to suspend my education. With the two certificates achieved thanks to Educare-Africa, and with the spirit of concern for others learned from Mrs. Pavla, in 2003, I coordinated student activities in my village. I also founded NESA (Ngendzen Elite Student Union Association) for development; through which my village is fruitfully drinking potable water.
In 2004, my parents assisted me to register at the University of Buea, Cameroon where I read Geology. Educare-Africa again came to my salvage and paid part of my accommodation fee in 2005. With this support, I did so well in studies as usual and in 2006, I again received financial assistance for academic excellence from the Cameroon government. With more support, I successfully graduated in 2007 with a second class honors degree in Geology with a minor in Environmental science scoring a GPA of 3.25 on a scale of 4 (16.25/20).
After one year at home coupled unemployment, I decided to register for a Masters program in the University of Buea where I am presently reading Applied Geology. By the grace of God I will graduate in 2010 with a specialty in Hydrogeology and to PhD level through which I intend to develop potable water resources in Cameroon and elsewhere.