The occasion which was programmed to begin at 9:00am, finally kicked off at 9:20 am. This was because the Parish Priest of the Holy Family Parish Tabenken who was the Officiating Priest had to celebrate mass in his own Parish before coming to Binju.
Amongst the different government officials present at this celebration was the Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung, Mr. Biwang Nchaffu and his wife. He was so delighted to be in Binju Mission again. This was the second time he was coming to Binju Mission since his appointment as SDO for Donga Mantung,
The Chief celebrant, Fr. Patrick Nchuwa in his sermon thanked the SDO for honouring the invitation. He also thanked the Priests of Binju –Nkambe Parish and the Christians for giving him the honour to celebrate mass with them on this special day.
He reminded the people present that he was proud of this honour accorded him. He went on to tell the Christians and invitees that he was the first son of the soil to become a priest and the people had enough reasons to thank the Almighty. “ if you cannot thank Him for what he has given you, thank him for the air you breath; thank Him for your Senior Divisional Officer; thank Him for sending the Colonel who is a catholic Christian to Binju.” So, no one should say “I am poor, what I am thanking God for?”.
Before the final blessing, it was time for fund raising. This was done in Church because they did not want to move to the Hall since it will be difficult or time consuming to reorganize the people. It started with a speech from The Parish Chairman, Mr. Henry Bawe.The Divisional Officer for Nkambe Central, Mr. Mbinglo Francis was appointed chairman of the occasion.
In his speech, he said Binju-Nkambe Parish is one of the most important Parishes in the Diocese of Kumbo. It has produced men of God who have a say and who are today pillars of the catholic Church in Cameroon. Here, he mentioned Rev. Fr. Robert Tanto who left Binju-Nkambe Parish and is now working with the Church in Yaounde. He also mentioned the magnificent Church building that is standing in Binju.
This building he said, is a cause for concern to any one who comes to Nkambe. He ended by thanking the SDO for making possible to be part of this occasion despite his busy schedule. It was only then that many people heard the sad incident that occurred on Saturday at about 9:30pm. The SDO was on a night patrol with soldiers in search of bandits who attacked a car from Bamenda, between Binka and Nkambe. These men of the under world cut off the fingers of one of the passengers, a girl of about 18 years old with a gun and made away with heavy sums of money. They are still being hunted. The Senior Divisional Officer thanked the Bishop through the officiating for what the Catholic Church has done and is doing for the country. He said though he is not a catholic Christian, He and the Divisional Officer were former students of St. Joseph’s College Sasse. He went further to call on the Catholic Christians to collaborate with the forces of Law and Order to fight against criminality in the Division. After his speech, the time was ripe for him to fire the first gun shot for the occasion that was geared towards the repairs of the church roof. The SDO gave an envelop with the sum of 20.000FCFA.. The Congregation shouted with joy. Then came the Colonel who is a catholic Christian of the Parish. His envelop contained 50.000FCFA. There were shouts of ululation from the congregation especially the choir. They were supported by the different heads of services present. Mrs. Monica Nchuwa, an elite, a parishioner and Vice Principal of Government Bilingual High School Nkambe donated the sum of 100.000FCFA.
The Church was mute for a few seconds. They did know weather to shout, sing, dance or clap. All was done at once. The organizer ordered for silence. “The greatest surprise has reached me. Do you people know Captain Chuye Mbunkur?” The answer was yes. He is a native of Binju, “He has donated the sum of 200.000FCFA”. The occasion continued with support from many other people. They all donated generously.
After fund raising, the invitees where ushered to the presbytery for cake cutting and lunch. The cake was a feast day gift from the ICM sisters.
BenAfor
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