L'Effort Camerounais (English Version)

Father Emmanuel Bong called home

Father Emmanuel Bong was called to the Lord on Sunday, May 10 at St. Elizabeth’s

Catholic General Hospital, Shisong. He had been sick for the past 3 months or so

Rev. Fr. John Kubuo passes on to glory

By Jude Abanseka

After several months of illness, Rev. Fr. John Kubuo died at the St Elisabeth Catholic General Hospital, Shisong on May 2, 2009, where he had been rushed to, for further treatment, from the Regina Pacis Health Centre, Mutengene.

Editorial: Dabbling with the commercial motorcycle rider dilemma

By Ireneaus Chia Chongwain
After a Prime Ministerial order announcing sweeping changes in the public transport sector in urban centres, with specific focus on commercial motorcycle riders, a collective consciousness seems to have gripped government and municipal authorities as they gear up to implement the envisaged reforms.

Priestly and Diaconate ordinations:Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province Admits More Labourers to the Lord's Vineyard

The joy of the Easter season continues to be felt in the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province as Mamfe and Kumbo Dioceses have admitted more priests and deacons to the priestly Ministry. While there is every reason to celebrate, a formator has expressed concern over the quality of contemporary priests, stressing there is a need to match quantity to quality. During his recent Pastoral visit to Cameroon, the Holy Father equally expressed a similar concern as he urged bishops to remain ever more discerning in choosing priests. This notwithstanding, the Lord's vineyard continues to admit more labourers. Find out in this edition who was ordained and where .  

"Priesthood is a challenge," Bishop George Nkuo tells newly ordained priests in Kumbo

By Wirndzerem Emmanuel Verdzeka and Livinus Tal Bam

Bishop George Nkuo has reminded nine newly ordained priests in Kumbo Diocese of the challenges they will meet in the priesthood. He was speaking in Kumbo last April 16 during a priestly ordination which he co-presided with the Archbishop of Garoua, His Grace Antoine Ntalou.

Priestly and diaconate ordinations take place in Mamfe Diocese

By Alfred Ayuk in Mamfe
Christian Faithful from all over the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province and beyond flocked to the St. Joseph's Cathedral Mamfe on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 to witness the priestly and diaconate ordination of Samuel Tabeson, Emmanuel Asaba and Gilbert Aurose.

" Priesthood is not a status, it is all about service", Rev Agapitus Nfon, Rector St Thomas Acquinas Major Seminary Bambui

Interviewed by Emmanuel Wirndzerem Verdzeka

After the priestly ordinations in Kumbo, L’Effort Camerounais spoke to the Rector of St. Thomas Acquinas Major Seminary Bambui, who comments on the State of contemporary priesthood in Cameroon. Excerpts

Bamenda government delegate sends out early warning signals

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

After Yaounde and Douala, the government delegate to the Bamenda Urban Council has taken the cue in efforts to put an end to urban disorder. Mr Ndumu has announced sweeping measures to curb what he considers urban lawlessness. While he has given a period of grace for defaulters to comply, those who fail to toe the line will bear the brunt of the law.

Kumbo MP expresses need to implement Decentralisation Law

By Emmanuel Wirndzerem Verdzeka

Kumbo MP, Hon. Dr. Joseph Banadzem Lukong, who also doubles as SDF Parliamentary Group leader, has opined positive indicators are now available for the Cameroon government to implement the Law on Decentralisation.

Hon. P.C Fonso says all parliamentary elections are pretentious

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

Mbengwi Centre SDF Member of Parliament, Hon. P.C Fonso, has said all the elections conducted in parliament through secret ballot are pretentious "and a drama of the highest order because every thing is arranged out of parliament".

Did blood flow from a tap at GBHS Fundong?

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi
Fundong in Boyo Division,  North West Region was awash with news of blood flowing from a tap in the Government Bilingual High School Fundong on Friday April 17, 2009.Sources were concordant on what actually happened, but discordant on the actual thing they saw. Some sources said a form one student went to the tap to fetch water and started exclaiming that he had seen blood flowing from the tap.

CENDEP donates 50 modern bee hives to some Bui communities

By Emmanuel Wirndzerem Verdzeka

The Centre for Nursery Development and Eru Propagation, CENDEP, has donated modern bee hives to some Kumbo communities. The gesture, which is aimed at motivating communities presently benefiting from the Bui Analogue Forestry Project, was in response to some recommendations made during the Limbe-based CENDEP workshop, which held in Kumbo.

Mezam SDO condemns wrong use of government projects

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

Mezam SDO Mashel Jules Betrand has warned dishonest politicians in Mezam who display government executed projects as if they were personal achievements. The SDO was speaking recently in Bali Sub Division during a coordination meeting held to evaluate and seek lasting solutions to some of the problems State institutions encounter in his area of jurisdiction.

Low Execution of NW PIB blamed on bottlenecks

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

The low execution of the 2009 Public Investment Budget, PIB, in the North West Region has been blamed on administrative bottlenecks. According to a report presented at the first quarterly meeting of the PIB follow-up committee that held at the MINPLADAT Regional Delegation on Friday, April 17, out of 730 projects pending execution only 116 have been completed, while 24 are ongoing.

World Financial crisis: Cameroon's agricultural sector suffers major set back

By Kingsley F. Njoka
A  research report from the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce on the present world financial crunch has revealed  that Cameroon's commercial Agricultural sector is one of the hardest hit areas of the economy.

Father, watch your health!

By Martin Jumbam

Recently, the death of some priests in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, which comprises the Archdiocese of Bamenda and the Dioceses of Buea, Mamfe and Kumbo, in English-speaking Cameroon, has raised much concern among the lay-faithful, especially as such deaths have come sometimes quite unexpectedly.

The Pope's visit and the condom controversy

By Joseph Yunga Teghen in Bamenda

The Pope has visited Africa and returned to Rome but there is still much talk about his view on the condom. Before landing on Cameroonian soil, the Pope is reported to have said that the use of the condom was increasing the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

LAMP FOR MY STEPS: The Moment of Decision

By Rev Fr Giles Ngwa Forteh

A wise and learned teacher once put this question to his students: "Name ten things with wings that fly swiftly."  The quick-witted made their rounds of earthly creatures and only found eight. When their wit was exhausted the master completed the list. 

Editorial: Where the Ephemeral Attempts to Supersede the Divine

By Ireneaus Chia Chongwain
Every epoch is confronted with a problem that defines its time. One of the defining hallmarks of the 21st century in years to come will undoubtedly be the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This explains why any comment on the subject attracts a lot of attention. This is even more so as the disease continues to pose veritable scientific, spiritual and ethical challenges.

Condom Controversy: Cameroon Bishops Reaffirm Pope's Stance

Following a controversy generated by an interview the Holy Father granted en route to Cameroon last month, in which he stressed the Catholic Church's opposition to the use of condoms as a means of fighting HIV, the Bishops of Cameroon have reiterated the Pope's position. Their reaction follows a systematic distortion and misrepresentation of the Holy Father's position by the local and foreign media. Although the press singled out the Pope's position on condoms for comment, he, however, addressed a variety of issues- from the global food crisis, through climate change to corruption and the impact of sects and miraculous religions in Africa. But what exactly did the Pope say? Read the complete interview in this edition.                                                               

Pope’s Press Conference en Route to Cameroon

Your Holiness, we are grateful for your presence with us today; there are about seventy of us preparing to make this journey with you. We offer you our best wishes and we hope to be of service to you, by enabling many others to take part in this visit. As usual, we want to express our thanks to you for this conversation that you have granted us; we have prepared for it by collecting, in the course of recent days, a certain number of questions from our colleagues - about thirty have been received - and then we chose the ones that seem likely to put together a fairly complete picture of this journey and to be of interest to all. We are most obliged to you for the responses that you will offer us. Several journalists from different news organs and countries interviewed the Holy Father. Excerpts:

Declaration relative to the Holy Father's message on the fight against HIV/AIDS during his apostolic visit to Cameroon

After the visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Cameroon, some media reported that the Holy Father's views on the use of the condom and on HIV/AIDS were negatively received in Cameroon.
The media in question have continued to treat as irresponsible the Pope's position on the subject of the use of the condom, and to claim that his views on the subject have had a negative impact on his visit to Cameroon.

Cameroon bishop backs pope on condoms

Interviewed by John L. Allen, Jr.

Seen through Western eyes, the Catholic Church in Africa often presents an intriguing mix of deep conservatism on some issues - especially sexual morality - and remarkably progressive views on other matters, such as economic justice, peace, and the environment. Cameroon's Bishop George Nkuo, who heads the mostly English-speaking Kumbo Diocese in the Northwest Region, illustrates that mix. Commenting on day one of Pope Benedict XVI's first voyage to Africa, Mgr Nkuo strongly backed the Pope's line on condoms and AIDS, insisting that in his rural diocese, the easy availability of condoms encourages promiscuity and a false sense of invulnerability. Only personal conversion, he argued, including sexual self-discipline, offers a long-term solution to the AIDS crisis. Excerpts:

70th anniversary celebration: Sasse University College announced

By Grace Ongey

St Joseph's College Sasse will soon have a university to beef up existing universities in the country. The announcement was made in the school campus on March 28 as Sasse College commemorated its 70th anniversary.

Major Actors Speak

Views sampled by Grace Ongey
Pa Augustine Paul Valembe-Bonjonjo

We were about 39 of us when Sasse started but I cannot remember very well. I grew up as an orphan and I came to Sasse through a Common Entrance Examination in the hay days when we were attached to Southern Cameroons. At that time it was all bushy here, not like it is today. We had no cooks, so we did fend for ourselves young as we were. We had to cut fresh wood and cook for ourselves. On public celebrations we marched barefoot in our uniforms. It was tough. I left Sasse because of financial difficulties.

After the Creation of Higher Teachers Training College, preparations underway for Bambili State University

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi      
After creating a second cycle for ENS Bambili and an Advanced Technical Teachers Training College for the English Sub-system, government has now given a green light for a student's residential quarters, a restaurant, pedagogic blocks and four amphi-theatres to be constructed in Bambili. But more is still being awaited.

Douala Co-adjutor Archbishop calls on government to provide lasting solutions to youths problems.

By Grace Ongey

The Douala Co-adjutor Archbishop, Mgr Samuel Kléda, has called on State authorities to find lasting solutions to the problems youths are facing and, in so doing, stop them from seeking greener pastures abroad.

Archbishop Cornelius Esua inaugurates Njinikom Maternity wing

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

On Sunday March 22 the Bishop of Kumbo George Nkuo concelebrated Thanksgiving Mass with Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua at Njinikom for the newly built ultra modern maternity wing of the Catholic Hospital in Njinikom.

"Women must build on their strengths to effectively engage in the fight against poverty," Geraldine Chin

Interviewed by Martin Jumbam

The Women Empowerment Institute of Cameroon is a non-profit organization based in Kumbo in the North West Region of Cameroon. Its principal goal is to promote human rights and democracy, empower women to become leaders and engage in poverty reduction activities at the grassroots level. This organization has, since its foundation in 2006, undertaken bold steps to challenge some of the thinking in a basically rural environment that holds that women are second class citizens. Its founder, Geraldine Chin, recently enlightened L'Effort camerounais about some of her association's activities: Excerpts:

Technical Education is not for the mediocre, Bui SDO says

By Emmanuel Wirndzerem Verdzeka

Bui SDO Daniel Panjouno has reminded the division's education stakeholders that technical education is not only reserved for mediocre students.The SDO made the remark last March 23 while presiding at the Kumbo Government Technical High School 2009 Open Door Day.

Mrs Forjindam receives lucrative sympathy contract?

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi
Mezam II-Santa CPDM is believed to have awarded an FCFA 1billion contract to Mrs Forjindam. Addressing militants during a recent Santa CPDM initiated seminar on farming techniques and the planting of quality seeds, Santa section president John B. Ndeh said GP-DERUDEP had decided to award Mrs Forjindam a road construction contract worth FCFA 1billion.

Cameroon journalists may soon be free of professional exploitation

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

When a young man invests time and his parents' money to go through university and obtains a degree, people generally hope that he will thereafter unburden his parents, at least, taking care of himself.

Government college students celebrate Pauline Year

Sr. Rita Sebastian SSA.Kumbo
On March 7, 2009, students of government colleges in Kumbo celebrated the Pauline Year in a befitting manner. It was a day of thanksgiving to our Provident God for all His mercies and unfailing love towards His children.

CWA Bamenda stands up against social ills

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi

Bamenda Archdiocese Catholic women  recently held a one-day workshop aimed at educating women to  fight violence.The workshop which the archdiocesan executive and Mrs Susan Awa coordinated, brought together 220 participants from 17 archdiocesan divisions.

Notice of the Canonical suspension of two priests of the Diocese of Mamfe

I, Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge, Bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe, hereby inform the members of Christ's faithful in Cameroon and beyond, that Fr. Sylvester Nfah Nsemelah and Fr. Ndi Augustine Mbawi, have been suspended from the exercise of their Priestly Ministries until further notice. I kindly call on all Christians and people of goodwill to respect this canonical suspension.

With best wishes and kindest regards.

Yours sincerely,
+Francis T. Lysinge.
BISHOP OF MAMFE.

Watch Out! Don't become scammers' next victim!

A badly printed book is out in the market claiming to be the Working Document, Instrumentum Laboris, which the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, handed last month to the Bishops of Africa to help them prepare for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops which shall hold in Rome in October.

A group of dubious enterprisers are going round Catholic Churches in Bamenda presenting this book claiming it is from L'Effort camerounais. The Bamenda bureau and the Douala head office have nothing to do with the said publication.  The public is therefore warned to be on its guard.

 The book is credited to A National Echo Publication. Whoever they are, they have no known connection or association with L'Effort camerounais or MACACOS.

Catholic Men Association holds first-ever National Congress in Bamenda

By Emmanuel F. Sanosi
The Catholic Men's Association, CMA, recently held its first National Congress at Sacred Heart College in Bamenda under the patronage of the Archbishop of Bamenda, His Grace Cornelius Esua. The three day congress brought about numerous adjustments and updates in the association.

LAMP FOR MY STEPS: Our priests need our prayers

By Rev Fr Giles Ngwa Forteh

Every Priest is a fellow pilgrim on the narrow path to salvation. In seeking to respond to the universal call to holiness and in the exercise of his special ministry as a steward of God's mysteries and an apostle of grace and pardon, he too may stagger and even fall "because he too is subject to the limitations of weakness" (Heb 5:2).

Pope's Address upon Arriving in Cameroon

Mr President, Distinguished Representatives of the Civil Authorities, Cardinal Tumi, My Brother Bishops, Dear Brothers and Sisters, Thank you for the welcome you have extended to me. And thank you, Mr President, for your kind words. I greatly appreciate the invitation to visit Cameroon, and for this I want to express my gratitude to you and to the President of the National Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Tonyé Bakot. I greet all of you who have honoured me by your presence on this occasion, and I want you to know how pleased I am to be here with you on African soil, for the first time since my election to the See of Peter.

Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the Bishops of Cameroon

Dear Cardinal, Dear Brother Bishops, This meeting with the Pastors of the Catholic Church in Cameroon gives me great joy. I thank the President of your Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot, Archbishop of Yaounde, for the kind words he has addressed to me in your name. It is the third time that your country has welcomed the Successor of Peter.