Bamenda Sunday 2022
Overview by Mary Lee, Acting Chair of the Portsmouth Bamenda Committee
Whilst the socio-political situation sadly continues to be challenging for the people of Bamenda, particularly in the rural areas, which tend still to be more dangerous places to live than urban areas, the resilience of the people is inspiring as they try to adapt their lives and make the best of the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They too are faced with a rising cost of living, making everyday life and the completion of projects more difficult as prices escalate.
More schools are operating now! Whilst on Mondays, the “Ghost Town” rules are respected in the English-speaking parts of Cameroon with no business or work being undertaken, the schools tend to work from Tuesday to Saturday to help students catch up on missed education.
In early October, the Bamenda Committee was blessed with the opportunity to meet Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda for an afternoon, when he visited Bishop Philip for a few days and met with his six priests serving us in the Portsmouth Diocese.
Archbishop with Fr Bernardine Nsom, Fr Emmanuel Rinda, Mary Lee,
Mary Luk and Dina Foy from the Bamenda Committee
Archbishop Andrew spoke to us of his philosophy to “help people to help themselves” and described various schemes he has introduced to help people rebuild dignified lives with the help of the Church and charitable organisations. We will be looking at ways we may be able to support those initiatives in the future.
The Archbishop also spoke of his desire for the people of both dioceses to be able to share and develop their faith more to inspire and learn from one another. With the development of IT solutions to online meetings, this should be feasible to develop in the future.
Last Lent, we asked people to “Take Action for Lent” by writing to their MP to raise awareness of the ongoing conflict in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon and to ask for the application of diplomatic pressure from our Government to seek a peaceful resolution. A sample letter is still available here, if you would like to do that now:
There were two opportunities this year at our Cathedral to witness and share in the beauty of the Bamenda faith and culture at the Holy Mass.
On 30th July, Bishop Philip celebrated a Holy Mass inaugurating the first branch of the Catholic Men Association (CMA) in the UK and dedicating the pioneer members into the CMA. The CMA started 25 years ago in Cameroon. Lay men aged 18+ model their lives and activities on St Joseph. Their motto is Service, Love and Humility. The Mass of Inauguration was attended by members of the Cameroonian community from around the UK who created an amazing Bamenda choir.
Mass of Thanksgiving for the Service of Fr George Ngwa and Fr Bernardine Nsom
They gathered again on 17th September under the direction of Emmanuel Chiati to help celebrate a joyous Mass of Thanksgiving for the Service of Fr George Ngwa and Fr Bernardine Nsom before their return to Bamenda after many years of service in our Diocese. They will be greatly missed.
We appreciate that the effect of inflation on the cost of living is affecting everyone, but please be as generous as you can this Bamenda Sunday. Every contribution, whatever its size, helps and will be applied to projects to support our brothers and sisters in Bamenda.
You can donate in church on Bamenda Sunday or securely here
If you can afford to set up a standing order to spread your contribution across the year, forms are available on our website, along with gift aid forms.
Most importantly, please remember to pray for the intentions of Archbishop Andrew and our brothers and sisters in Bamenda; and for the restoration of peace and justice in Bamenda and the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
Many thanks!
Where are they now?
Please keep the Bamenda priests serving in our Diocese in your prayers: Fr Emmanuel Rinda is Parish Priest of Corpus Christi & St Joseph’s, Portsmouth; Fr Elijah Fru Nde is Parish Priest of Christ the King & St Colman Bitterne and Hedge End & West End; Fr Gaston Forbah Afah is Parish Priest of English Martyrs, Reading; Fr Anthony Chiatu is Parish Priest of Immaculate Conception, Portswood, Southampton.
Please pray for Fr Bernardine Nsom and Fr George Ngwa as they start their ministries in their new parishes back in Bamenda: may God bless them and keep them safe. Please also pray for the two priests whom Archbishop Andrew is generously sending to work in our Diocese and that their visas will soon be granted: Fr Benedict Ndikum and Fr Joseph Tangka.
In Memoriam
Please pray for the repose of the souls of Fr Michael Peters, one of the priests of the Portsmouth Diocese who served in Bamenda in the past and who actively continued to support the link on his return to the UK, and of Deacon Iain MacFirbhisigh of Jersey, long term supporter and fundraiser, promoting the Bamenda Commission Fund to Catenian Circles. May they rest in peace.
News from Bamenda
At his recent meeting with the Bamenda Committee, Archbishop Andrew outlined the measures he had developed since arriving in Bamenda in 2020 to improve the good governance of the Archdiocese, including fiscal transparency and accountability; plans to appoint a Projects Manager to monitor the many projects around the Archdiocese and to communicate with us and other charitable partners; longer terms of office for Heads of schools and their self-setting of goals and development plans.
His philosophy is not to encourage what some might term “charitable handouts” but to ascertain what people can contribute and do themselves to help themselves, but with help from the Church if needed.
Examples included encouraging parents to send their children back to school, many having got used to them helping them work the land during the school closures. Rather than the Archbishop’s Education Fund (ABEF) paying for their fees upfront, he has encouraged parents to pay what they can and then paid the balance at the year end from the Fund.
Another idea had been to give a group of 20 Internally Displaced Women, who had been living in the Mankon compound for a long time, relying on Caritas monthly food parcels, £70 each for them to start up in work to provide for themselves and their children; the challenge was to repay the capital at about £1/week, so that it could eventually be paid forward to another group of 20 women. This had been successful!
Archbishop Andrew called the laity to an “Economics Day” at the beginning of the year to present the Archdiocesan finances to them and to discuss what big Archdiocesan project they would like to see, to which their annual parish donations at their Chrism Mass could be applied.
The laity first chose to build a retirement home for retired priests who needed nursing care rather than them being dotted around the Archdiocese in presbyteries. 
This project was launched and, with the aid of a grant from Missio, is up structurally, but needs internal work to complete it.
Their current project is to build an extension to St Blaise Hospital to modernise the hospital and create improved diagnostic capabilities in Bamenda rather than sick people having to travel outside the province.
Future major projects include: a Youth Centre, where the youth may meet, but also where they can be trained in skills to aid employment on residential courses; the Cathedral at Mankon will be celebrating in 2025 the 50th anniversary of its consecration and it would benefit from some refurbishment.
HEALTH
The Archbishop has championed a health solidarity scheme that he had promoted in his previous Diocese: the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province Health Scheme (BEPHA). Each member of the household pays a registration fee of about £8 to receive a BEPHA card, which allows them access to a certain amount of health care per year. If they need hospital treatment, the scheme pays 75% of the fees when they leave and the patient pays 25%. The healthy support the sick and then when they are sick themselves, they are supported in turn.
FAITH
Archbishop Andrew reported that the laity remain committed to the practice of their faith in Bamenda, for example, continuing to go on annual parish/deanery/diocesan pilgrimages to various shrines around the Archdiocese, despite often having to walk long distances in rural settings, in which it is not always safe to travel.
On 8 December 2021, the Archbishop opened a new Shrine for Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of Peace, at Abangoh. Thousands attended from all over Bamenda.
The Youth of the Archdiocese play a vibrant role in the life of the Archdiocese. The Archdiocesan weekend to celebrate World Youth Day 2022, which was attended by 1,127 young people from across the eleven deaneries, many walking on foot for up to two days to reach the camp, ended with Palm Sunday Mass celebrated by the Archbishop. The event was a great witness to the faith of the young in Bamenda.
Blessing of Pilgrims and Procession of the WYD Cross and Blessed Virgin Mary
When the first Pallotine Missionaries set foot on Cameroonian soil, they had offered a Holy Mass and consecrated the country to Our Lady, Queen of Apostles on 8 December 1890. With the ongoing Anglophone crisis ravaging the country, the Bishops decided it was time to re-consecrate Cameroon to Our Lady with a pilgrimage to Marienberg. An all-night vigil on 23 April ended on the 24th with Holy Mass, during which Cameroon was re-consecrated to Our Lady, Queen of Apostles.
The Shrine at Marienberg
Ordination of Priests in 2022
Priestly ordinations in Bamenda are annually scheduled for the Wednesday of the Easter Octave. On Wednesday 20 April 2022, 19 young men were ordained to the sacred priesthood: 17 for the Archdiocese of Bamenda, one Capuchin, and one for the Archdiocese of Garoua. In anticipation of a massive turn out of parishioners for the Ordination Mass, Holy Mass was held in the plaza, outside the Cathedral - a day of great joy for the Archdiocese of Bamenda and the whole Church!
Priestly ordinations in Bamenda
PROJECT REPORTS
Education
Education projects continue to need much support. The Archbishop’s Education Fund (ABEF) helps orphans and vulnerable children to meet the costs of attending primary school. A standing order for £7.50 per month would help us support one child’s grant in an urban primary school, £2.50 per month in a rural school (£90 pa/£30 pa).
Last year’s grant to the ABEF was used to pay for the primary fees, English and Mathematics textbooks, and the feeding of 400 orphans and vulnerable pupils in four rural schools, 100 pupils each from Teze, Njikwa, Esu and Balikumbat villages. The beneficiaries were also given lunch at school from September to May, which constitutes the academic year, as good feeding has been found to contribute positively to pupils’ academic achievement. The pupils were regular attendees in school, passed class exams and 93% of the 119 of them in primary 6 passed the Government Common Entrance Exam.
We also funded the secondary school fees for 60 students at the St Joseph’s High School in Mambu-Bafut. Sr Clementine Chia reported that the opportunity to study had increased the self-esteem of the students. They all progressed with their studies. Some were able to sit their Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations.
A new computer lab with 20 computers was funded at St Joseph’s College, Mankon, to enable students to acquire necessary IT skills to enhance their studies and help them find better work opportunities in the future.
Fr Bon reports that 540 students are already benefitting from having access to the computers for practical lessons. Students in Y1-4 are now offered Computer Science and ICT with over 50% of the students being offered Computer classes in the College in 2022. 25 students in the final year of GCSE Advance Level are taking Computer Science/ICT and have expressed the wish to continue with Computer/Software Engineering.
SOCIAL WELFARE
When Sr Carla from the Catholic Chaplaincy at the Bamenda Central Prison applied for funding in 2021, the Chaplaincy was caring for some 600 prisoners, whatever their faith background, in a prison that really had capacity for a maximum of 400. She reported in May 2022 that since September 2021, the number of prisoners has fluctuated between 800 and 1,000!
This increase in prisoners puts the already scant official food under even greater pressure, there not being enough to feed everyone. Our grant has helped alleviate the real hunger experienced by many prisoners, who have no family in the city to bring them any food they might be able to spare. Funds have also been applied to pay medical fees to obtain treatment for some in severe need and to purchase medication to treat wounds and skin diseases. Help with personal hygiene has been delivered by the purchase of soap and clothes.
Church attendance has since improved as prisoners said they had previously felt they could not attend Mass for lack of appropriate clothing. Sr Carla says that the prisoners are very grateful for the help the Chaplaincy has been able to give and she is very happy that Portsmouth Diocese has enabled her to help them.
We also funded an initiative by the Justice & Peace Commission to reduce incidents of gender based violence (GBV) through campaigning, education, skills for self-reliance and sport initiatives, which are a tool for confidence building.
Despite the difficulties of travel, training was given to 30 community outreach agents to enable them to mobilise and raise awareness on GBV in communities. 250 posters were designed, printed and distributed to communities for awareness raising. 12 sets of sports jerseys have been purchased with a GBV awareness message printed on them, plus sports equipment to enable six parishes to participate in the competition. 72 women and girls and 60 men and boys registered to participate in the matches or act as officials. The football finals take place on 25 November, being the International Day against GBV. These sporting events have provided an avenue for stressed communities to come out and have a moment of excitement either as players or spectators.
Funds were also allocated to other Social Welfare applications: teaching poultry farming skills to 10 adults with learning disabilities; programme to develop responsible parenting skills for 70 teenage single mothers; the provision of a clean portable water supply at Holy Trinity, Wum, serving the mission, nursery and primary schools and neighbouring communities.
HEALTH
Our thanks go to the Catenian Circles in Jersey, Isle of Wight, Salisbury and Andover whose fundraising paid for solar equipment for the provision of a constant power supply at the Martins Catholic Medical Centre in Nkwen, which is frequently subject to power cuts. Now the Centre can operate 24/7 without fear of power failure interrupting an operation, particularly important when handling emergencies at night. The solar power system has improved the quality of life of patients and staff alike: patients can be treated locally and staff are working in a much less stressful environment.
Other health projects funded: the provision of an incinerator for the safe disposal of medical waste at Ntasen; £10,000 to the Archdiocesan Health Co-ordination Office to fund essential PPE for 745 Health Care Workers; and a project at the St John of God Health Centre in Batibo combining social outreach with medical support for: 50 physically challenged people to be fed and treated for free; 10 physically challenged children who required medical intervention; 5 physically challenged people to be helped to start a self-reliance micro business.
Thank you for your generosity, which helped so many people in 2021/22!
Finance
The Bamenda Sunday collection remained our major source of income, boosted by one-off donations, increases in regular standing orders and online donations via our Give As You Live page, and fundraising by some schools and Catenian Circles. Thank you all for your generosity!
In December 2021, £81,500 was sent to Bamenda to support 12 approved projects.
Contact the Bamenda Portsmouth Committee
If you have any queries or ideas for developing our links with the Archdiocese of Bamenda or if you are interested in serving on the Portsmouth Bamenda Committee, please email our Acting Chair, Mary Lee: mlee@bamendaandportsmouth.com or contact our Treasurer, Denis Murtagh: dmurtagh@bamendaandportsmouth.com
Other Committee contacts are listed on the Contact page