My
trip to Cameroon
was very enjoyable and without any adverse challenges. Mr. Emmanuel Sunjo, our country coordinator, picked me
up at the airport and drove me to his house. On Thursday, May 3rd I
picked up our funds which were sent through Moneygram.
On
May 4th Mr. Sunjo and I visited St. Stephen’s International
College in Yaounde.
On
May 6th in Yaounde we met with our
students from Buea and Yaounde.
On May 9th I traveled to Bamenda in a new air
conditioned bus. We purchased basic school supplies and science lab equipment
and prepared for our journey to Tatum. In addition, thanks to a grant from the Riverside Church
in New York,
we also purchased school bags for 175 students. Additional bags were purchased
later. Tailors in many villages were given some funds to purchase material for
sewing new school uniforms also thanks to the Riverside Church
grant. On May 16th we drove to G.H.S. Kedjom Keku to give prizes for
the first time and also to distribute school uniforms and school bags. On May
18th we traveled to Tatum.
On
May 22nd we visited a newly created Government Secondary School
at Ngendzen and met with three of our former students who are now teachers. In
the afternoon we visited G.H.S. Kitiwum but even though it was the last week of
school, which is always very busy, we found only students and a day watchman
there There were no administrative staff or teachers present. We left our
brochure there for the principal but he never contacted us.
Thanks to the Riverside
Church grant over 200
students received new school uniforms and about 250 received new school bags.
Basic school supplies for the 94 best students from G.H.S. Kedjom Keku, G.H.S. Talla,
G.B.H.S. Tatum, G.H.S. Nseh, G.H.S. Taku, G.S.S. Mbu-Warr and G.H.S. Ntumbaw
were purchased and given during prize giving ceremonies between May 23rd
and June 2nd. Donated toothbrushes,
toothpaste, additional school supplies and other donations were distributed to 79 students. 23 students received financial assistance for their immediate needs such as school
fees, G.C.E. registration fees, rent, kerosene, food, school uniforms, shoes
and transport to their villages. About 100 students received pens. About 170 staff members from G.H.S. Kedjom Keku, G.H.S.
Talla, G.B.H.S. Tatum, G.S.S. Nseh, G.H.S. Taku, G.S.S. Mbu-Warr and G.H.S.
Ntumbaw received pens for encouragement. Each
school also received four boxes of chalk. New science lab equipment was
purchased for G.H.S. Ntumbaw.
So far four schools contributed funds to assist with transport. Funds
for students on our priority list and
other students were set aside to pay
school fees directly to the schools in September.
Two
Wellesley College Book Awards were given to the best female science
students from G.B.H.S. Kumbo and G.B.H.S. Ndu. G.S.S. Njilah and G.H.S. Taku
received new short wave radios donated by the Ears to Our World NGO from North Carolina.
On
Saturday, May 26th, we met with students and parents at G.B.H.S.
Kumbo. On June 6th we had discussions with students and parents at
G.H.S. Taku. On June 7th we distributed school uniforms and school
bags at G.S.S. Njilah. On June 9th we distributed school uniforms
and school bags at G.S.S. Mah. In the afternoon we participated briefly in a
P.T.A. meeting at G.H.S. Talla to inform them about our building project. On
June 12th
we met with the mayor of Tatum, new P.T.A. chairlady from
G.B.H.S. Tatum and Mrs. Josephine Berinyuy, our former student who now teaches
in Tatum. From June 11th until June 15th we met with
students and parents in Tatum. On June 13th we met parents and
students at G.H.S. Mbu-Warr. On June 17th we traveled to Bamenda and
on June 19th we met with students from Bamenda and Bambili. During
my trip we chose 133 students to assist in 2012/2013 school year. We chose over
30 new outstanding students for the next academic year.
Finally we have a project proposal for the first phase of
Educare-Africa/Community Resource Center in Tatum. The Tatum Council which
included the Mayor promised 30% support for our building project. The first
building will include our office with conference room/library/reading and
computer rooms, several guest rooms, indoor kitchen and so on. We plan to use
local materials. We will need to raise $71,840. Community contribution will be
about $10,000 mostly in manual labor and some local materials.
We were encouraged by Tatum people to go ahead and invite one of
our board members, who have been interested for quite some time, to come next
year to Tatum. They will provide a place for her to stay so she can participate
in some of our activities, meet local people and enjoy the beauty of the
surroundings.
Thanks to our neighbors’ generosity we were able to use their TV
during the week of discussions with parents and students. While people were
waiting for their turn they had an opportunity to watch great DVDs such as the
BBC Planet Earth series, Elsa’s Legacy and the Dog Whisperer. They enjoyed this
tremendously and encouraged us to get even more educational and inspirational DVDs for next year and also to
get our own TV so many more could benefit wherever we go, including in our
Bamenda office.
As a side project, Justin Tagne from
the Cameroon Baptist
Center in Bamenda, also a member of a newly created NGO called Born Free
Cameroon, and I organized the handing over of donations from the Reid Veterinary
Hospital, Periwinkle Pet Clinic in Albany and Hopes Haven Rescue group in Salem. About 12 dog owners, breeders and
veterinarians participated. On May 13th Dr. Ghogomu, Justin and I
rented a taxi and went around town to treat and check on 25 dogs in need.
UPCOMING
ASSISTANCE: We hope to assist about 125 secondary/high school students and about
25 university students.
Approximately $10,000 by mid September 2012 would take care of
these students’ essential educational needs. Since the deadline for payment of
school fees is in mid September, it would be desirable to have the funds
available before September 10th. When the school fees and the GCE
exam registration fees are not paid in time, students are often sent home from
school, which has a detrimental effect on their exam results.
We
hope to start with the building project as soon as possible. The first step is
to build a road to the building site. We can start as soon as we will have some
funds.
You can view some of our activities during 2012 trip on the
following video clips:
