Greetings from RCS Cameroon!

October- Welcome to our very first Kurume Project newsletter

from the Royal Commonwealth Society of Cameroon.
December It’s a bit of a momentous occasion; we’re chuffed with
the progress of the project made to the point that we Cameroonian Proverb
felt a newsletter was warranted! We’ve had a really
2007 positive response through the support and interest
we’ve received, so this will hopefully keep people in
“ He who asks questions cannot
the know. Read on with ease and tranquillity (it’s the avoid the answers. ”
Cameroonian way).

Project Launch Weblinks

We were overjoyed to launch Kurume Project "Living Kurume" on Friday 14th September Brand spanking new RCS
2007. Our very own Mr Dikong Dickson, a veteran educator from Kumba and the Ministry of Cameroon website now online
Education conducted an educational workshop on conservation of Kurume’s forest. Kurume (still subject to tweaking!)
is his tribal home village, so he was overjoyed to be put in charge of coordinating the
education initiatives in the village. During the day we also begun assessment of the school’s
structural restoration with an architect, before planting the 500 palm nut seeds provided by www.rcs.hearusplay.com
RCS for the communal palm nut tree plantation with the villagers. Palm oil is a valuable
market commodity in Cameroon and will be an important and dependable additional source Foreign & Commonwealth Office
of income for the villagers. The villagers are in charge of the plantation but will be under the Cameroon profile page
guidance of RCS in collaboration with agro-forestry experts. A nursery has been built for the
germinating seedlings, and we’ve since visited the village twice to monitor progress and http://tinyurl.com/2mxz5z
receive feedback from the villagers. The Chief Sona Epie Mboe is also keeping us updated
on development between visits. Overall a splendid start to the project and a cracking day out
too!
Forest Conservation Meet the Team

Forest Conservation is of paramount importance in a village which is blessed with such a

wealth of forest as Kurume is. A source of freshwater regulation, local climate control,
subsistence, building and craft material; it’s safe to say the forest is part of the identity of the
Bafaw people (Kurume is the “home village” of the Bafaw). We are currently working
towards forest conservation both directly
and indirectly.

We are increasing awareness in the

village of the harm of unsustainable
logging practices through educational
workshops with relevant materials and
guest speakers to advocate the benefits
of using the forest sustainably. We want
Mandi Manga Obase is the
to further develop hands-on practical
President of RCS Cameroon; and
educational programmes of harvesting
leading the co-ordination of social
Kurume’s forest products sustainably and
welfare programmes in Kurume
bringing them to market. This is our goal
village at ground level. With his
going into the new year.
popular demeanour, Mandi has
worked with a network of skilled
To decrease the influence of timber volunteers, local NGOs and
logging companies we have to give the villagers the power to say “no” to loggers. To help international voluntary networks
them do this we are fundraising for the replacement of the village’s leaking water storage which have allowed past project
tank, which is relied upon during the dry season for the irrigation of crops as well as human successes, such as the thriving
consumption. This decreases the economic expenses of the village as they pass through communal palm nut plantation at
the dry season and gives the people more power and ability to say “no” by making their own Kokobuma, SW Province.
financial stand.
Mandi quotes the famous
Palm Nut Chinese proverb when speaking
on the project:
The seeds are germinating quickly into seedlings which will soon have to be replanted into
a larger nursery. After concerns were raised by some villagers, RCS have provided “ Give a man a fish and you
watering cans for the nursery and are fundraising towards building a brand new water feed him for a day. Teach a man
storage tank for the village to manage irrigation of the plantation into the dry season. In the to fish and you feed him for a
long term we want the plantation to further help Kurume to make its own financial lifetime. ”
independence and keep away those pesky loggers.

Student Intern
Our first student intern on the project, Ikose Franklin
Makia, completed a month with RCS at our Kumba
office and participated in the field work during the
project inauguration. He’s now completed his internship
(and we’ll miss him) so will be returning to Buéa
University where he will be writing up his experience
and what he’s learnt from being at RCS. Here he is
with a bag full of palm nut seeds in Kurume.
Medical Centre Pidgin English
Pidgin is a dialect commonly
A medical practitioner recently visited the medical centre to make an assessment of its spoken in informal conversations
immediate need regarding medical equipment and drugs. We have had an encouraging by the anglophone communities of
offer from an individual to personally connect us with a large medical organisation which Cameroon. Have a go, and don’t
provides used but operable medical equipment from USA and Europe for hospitals in Africa. forget that strong African accent!
We’re hoping to obtain all the items on the “shopping list” as soon as we can and then
secure the training of locals with the equipment “ …na ma small ting ”
needed as soon as we can!
means:
School
“ …is my girlfriend ”
The condition of the school is despicable and the
government should be ashamed for allowing it to “ I go for chop ”
get into the state that it is. Two different
architects have now visited the site and made
means:
estimates, which we’ll look at carefully before
approaching the educational and development
funds available for such causes. We’re hoping “ I’m going to eat ”
our Mr. Dikong Dickson will make the role as
regional school inspector which we allow us to
make some real changes in terms of teacher
numbers and resources (there are currently just
two PTA members and the headmaster running
the school).

Kurume Project

Email: thompsonj_06@heythrop.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0) 7858 840 789

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