OMI CAMEROON: Maroua Counseling Centre: Another Oblate Initiative

Originally published in OMI Information November-December 2019 - www.omiworld.org

Fr. Thomas Bang, OMI

The city of Maroua is the capital of the Far North region of Cameroon. This region is often a victim of Boko Haram Islamic terrorism. The city of Maroua hosts many Internally Displaced People (IDP’s) with refugees from Nigeria as well. There are also displaced people from the English- speaking regions of North-West and South-West Cameroon. These two regions are victims of the violence of the political crisis, which has already caused more than 2,000 deaths and more than 6,000 displaced, according to the local press.

Maroua, therefore, is now transformed into a large centre for victims of war and poverty. Most of these people have often undergone various types of physical and psychological abuse. There are children and women who have been raped, beaten, maimed, and deprived of their families, schooling, and even food. There are parents who have lost their children, and children who have lost their parents.

Passionate about the poor, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the Province of Cameroon have opened in August, 2019, a Counseling Centre in Maroua. The name of this centre is “Maroua Counseling Centre” (MCC). The centre is an initiative of Fr. Edouard DAGAVOUNANSOU, provincial superior. Fr. Thomas BANG has been appointed as its first director. The centre works in collaboration with psychologists, a medical doctor, a lawyer, and the police officers of the city.

Father Thomas listens to each victim and refers him or her to the collaborators according to the person’s need. The centre welcomes victims of abuse and violence in all its forms. So far, the majority of victims are children and women.

The main difficulty we face is that the demand is much more than what was expected. Listening to a victim can sometimes take more than 2 hours. Apart from Father Thomas, the centre has no permanent staff due to the lack of financial means. The director of the centre also has other responsibilities parallel to the centre, which makes his availability limited at times. Some people come to the centre for material assistance, like school fees for children, medical bills, food and even housing.

One of the many positive aspects of the centre is that the victims of abuse tell us how they already feel relieved just by being listened to. They are happy that there is finally a place where they can go to share and express their feelings freely, thanks to the goodwill of our volunteers and collaborators!

We also have some future projects to accomplish. Having a refectory, and utilizing it to offer at least one meal a day to those most desperate victims, is one of those projects. Further, the centre needs to be equipped with more toilets and showers for the victims for the time they spend at the centre. We also wish to have two or three resource persons as our permanent staff, so that we could serve more people a day. These are our dreams, but in faith we believe that it will soon be a reality.

CAMEROON: Giving life to displaced people

Pikba is a large village of persons, displaced by war, and immigrants, located 34 km from Poli, a part of our parish territory. Due to the lack of roads, in the rainy season, access is only possible by motorcycle.

In early 2014, people displaced by the war in the far north of Cameroon, who were victims of terrorist activity by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, settled in Pikba. Today, Pikba has about 1,500 inhabitants, with the displaced people accounting for more than half of its population. So, it is this refugee community that I visit and follow regularly. During our meetings, several difficulties were identified, mainly the absence of a school and the lack of water.

The school: thanks to our efforts and those of our benefactors, a school has been created. Today, it is officially recognized and has more than 500 students and the number is growing. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Provincial, Fr. Edouard DAGAVOUNANSOU, for his support in providing school supplies and sports equipment. Thank you to Brother Jean-Marie DIAKANOU who came to this village to offer school supplies to all the children in the school as well as linens and toiletries to some families. Thanks also to my friends, Jacques TEMPIER and Daniel BRESSY, from France for their many donations. 

Lack of drinking water: There was no drinking water supply in this large village. The population obtained supplies from polluted ponds and for that, they had to contend with domestic animals and other animals. Consequently, there were many diseases caused by water. We were very moved by this situation and decided to do something for them. Thus, thanks to the generosity of the ASMG Association, through Fr. François CARPENTIER and several other friends, three wells have been dug to provide drinking water for the entire village. 

These wells were inaugurated during a solemn Mass presided over by Fr. Gérard VONDOU, parochial vicar of Poli, followed by the blessing of each well. In a letter, the villagers asked me to express their deep gratitude to all the donors.  Here is the full text from the population: 

"Dearest Brother Ernest, 

It is with great joy that the entire population of Pikba welcomes you to the official inauguration of the wells. This day will remain etched in our memory, because it has been a long time since we have had drinking water. Your arrival in Pikba is like the arrival of the Lord Jesus. We were in the darkness and today we are in the light. You thought of us when you dug wells for us. May this work be engraved in the archives so that the youth of tomorrow can credit this to your name. May the Lord guide your steps in all your actions. Today Pikba is proud because we have benefited a lot from the donations of your friends… We are still thirsty. We ask you to knock on your friends' doors about the situation of our school without classrooms. The village is a long way from a health center and our chapel is without a roof. We are very affected by your departure. The only thing we ask you is not to leave us. Yet we say goodbye and wish you the best in your new mission." 

Personally, I am happy and humbly proud of myself to have given “life” to these displaced people, because water is life. 

Bro. Ernest Grégoire Mbemba, OMI