Binju/Nkambe Managerial Area: Catholic School Binju

We are grateful to Sr. Emelinde a Franciscan sisters. For two years sisters have been paying school fees for 30 children.
Fr. Robert Tanto even though he has been transferred still takes care of many children in the three schools in the managerial area. Father, may the spirit of the Lord be with you.
Furthermore, our friends of Eschoffen parish in the diocese of Limburg equally assist in paying school fee for 20 children in the parish.
The Diocesan Family Life Office as well pay school fee for 58 children. We are most grateful to all of them.
On behalf of the whole parish, I the parish priest wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year 2010. may the Lord be your shepherd.

On the 07th of November 2009, St. Martin de Porres Parish Binju-Nkambe amongst the other parishes in the diocese of Kumbo was privileged to welcome His Lordship Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz, Bishop Limburg, during his pastoral visit to the diocese of Kumbo.
We have earlier received the sum of 650.000 FRS from our friends in the parish of Eschoffen to enable us renovate our church.
At the moment, we are encouraging Christians to contribute generously so that we can at least cover the areas that are leaking especially directly on the altar.
Furthermore we thank the vicar General of Kumbo diocese Fr. Roland who led a delegation to Limburg and expressed our needs to our brothers and sisters in the Parish of Eschoffen. May the Lord bless them.


On the 29th August 2009, St Martin de Porres Parish Nkambe welcome the sisters of the “Daughters of Mary” from Yaounde (Filles de Marie de Yaounde).
On the 30th of August the installation ceremony was presided over by the Vicar General, Fr. Roland Berge.
These pioneer sisters were four in number.: Sis Lucile, Ange, Christine and Scholastica.
Among the four, three of them are teaching. One in St Rita’s Technical College and two in St. Martin de Porres primary school, Binju.


Mr. J. Hughes and Miss Mary Hughes from the U.K on February 18, 2010 visited Binju-Nkambe Parish to encourage and pay school fees for some vulnerable children in the parish. May God bless them.

Fr. Robert Tanto came with them and donated 1.000.000frs CFA a gift from his friends from Switzerland to help complete the St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Kungi.

Fr. Emmanuel Mbeh
Parish Priest.

THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY OF ST. MICHAEL’S CATHOLIC MISSION KUNGI CELEBRATE FEAST DAY.

On Sunday 08/02/2009, the Christians of St. Michael’s Catholic Mission Kungi in Binju Nkambe Parish celebrated the feast of their Patron Saint. They used this feast day of St. Michael their patron saint to invite friends, well wishers and elites in and around their village to support them raise some money geared towards the completion of their new church building. This fund raising occasion was held at the new church site . It began with a Holy Mass presided over by the Parish Priest, Fr. Emmanuel Mbeh. In his sermon, he called on the Christians of Kungi to place all their trust in God for he alone can heal all diseases. He wondered aloud why some people spent their time and money visiting witch doctors who cannot help them. These witch doctors are only there to exploit them. GOD OUR FATHER IS ABLE AND WILLING TO DO ALL FOR US HIS CHILDREN, he said.

The Holy Mass was attended mostly by the Catholic Christians of Kungi, Mamba, Kumbaw, Ngotong-Ntumbe, Binju and Nkambe Town Quasi Parish. Those out of the Kungi zone came on invitation. Delegations came from Nkambe Town Quasi Parish and Binju Mission to represent their various church groups. They all took part in the celebration of the Holy Mass. Also present at the Holy Mass was His Highness the Fon of Kungi who is a Moslem.
Immediately after Holy Mass was time for the official opening of the occasion by the Fon of Kungi. It was at this juncture that many from the different denominations in Kungi came into the Church. He thanked the Catholic Community of Kungi for all their contributions towards the development of the village. And especially for the blessings God is bestowing on this village as a result of their prayers. He supported the project with the sum of 10.000FCFA. This attracted a lot of applause from the congregation. He went further to promise the Christians that he could not support them financially and will therefore do his utmost best to offer man power in the course of the project. This promise was highly welcomed. One of the elites of Kungi, Simon Ndi, though resident in Nkambe Town Quasi Parish overwhelmed by this gesture of his Fon supported the project with the sum of 50.000FCFA. Next was the Parish Pastoral Chairperson, Henry Bawe. He gave the sum of 20.000FCFA. The final amount realized on the feast of St. Michael was close to 350.000FCFA. This amount the Parish Priest promised was going to be used for and only for the church project. He thanked all who squeezed time out of their busy schedules to be part of this occasion and prayed that the Lord Almighty bless them abundantly.
After the fund raising, it was time for refreshment. Different dishes and drinks were served on the tables for all present. They ate, drank and departed.
All these was done under the watchful eyes of the omnipotent God.
BenAfor

(Sorry images cannot be uploaded. I will try loading them later)

SAINT THERESE VISITS BINJU –NKAMBE DEANERY.

The Bishop of Kumbo Diocese, George Nkuo, last Saturday 20th December, 2008 accompanied the relics of St. Therese to Binju Nkambe Deanery. The first stop was in Binshua, an out station of Nkambe Quasi Parish. From there, it was carried to Nkambe Main Mission. There was a long procession by the Christians which was closely monitored by Fr. Cyprian Tata, from Kumbo. He was the head of the team charged with the movement of the remains of this God fearing lady. From the Nkambe main mission they moved over to Binju-Nkambe Parish.
The Christians who expected the relics at 10.00am as programmed were patient until 2.00pm when it finally arrived. It was handed to them by the Christians of Nkambe Deanery at the borders between Nkambe and Binju Missions.

This ceremony marveled non catholic Christians who could not hide their feelings. One could here them making comments like: “These Catholics will show us some thing”, “Their tradition is quite different from that of the Baptist. We have never had such in our own Church”, amongst others. Just the coffin gained the admiration of all on lookers.

Children too commented about the beauty of this coffin and every one looked forward to seeing the content of this splendid coffin. The beautiful photos of St. Therese were also carried along side the coffin.
When the relics finally got to Binju-Nkambe main Mission, It was placed in front of the Alter where all Christians went in pair to venerate it.
It was during this time of veneration that the Bishop announced his coming. While in Ndu, he telephoned Fr. Cyprian Tata to find out how the Christians of Binju-Nkambe Deanery welcomed the Relics of St. Therese. He then told Fr. Cyprian he, the Bishop was going to be in Binju at 4.00pm for Mass.
The Christians of Binju-Nkambe Parish were so pleased to have the Bishop in their mist. They were happy the Bishop George Nkuo had a lot of concern for their Parish. The Dean thanked the Bishop for being part of this wonderful ceremony.
After Mass, the relics stayed in Church were different church groups came in at different hours to pray to St. Therese. This continued until 5.00am when it was carried to Djottin Parish.

Bernard Afor

BINJU-NKAMBE PARISH DAY CELEBRATION.

Last Sunday, 30th November, 2008 was the Feast of St. Martin De Porres, Patron Saint of Binju-Nkambe Parish. In Kumbo Diocese, Parish Days are set aside for fund raising to run the various Parishes. This day brought together all the parishioners from the different out stations to the main mission in Binju. It was such a grandeurs occasion as the Church was jammed to capacity by Catholic and non Catholic Christians who were invited.
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

CORPUS CHRISTI CELEBRATION IN KUNGI MISSION

The Feast of Christ the King was wonderfully celebrated by the Christians of Mamba, Ntumbe, Ngotong-Ntumbe and Kungi who all gathered at the Kungi new Church.


The Celebration began at 8.00am with Holy Mass and the Parish Priest of Binju Nkambe Parish, Fr. Emmanuel Mbeh as Celebrant. In his sermon, he called on the Christians to think well and decide on which way to go, for they had just one more week to get into Advent. The occasion was a very colourful one as different church groups were present in their different uniforms. Though the church was still without a roof, mass was still said there.

The sun was too hot so many of the Christians especially the children were ushered to the walls which provided shelter. The position of the alter too was changed because of the sun. Some of the timbers donated for the roofing of the church were supported with stones and used as benches for this occasion. One of the Mass Intensions was offered by the Kungi Mission Chairman, Mr. Patrick Nfor, for the happy repose of his son who slept in the Lord last year, with special offertory.

Some of his invitees saw the church for the first time and were so overwhelmed that one of them, donated a tree for timber. The whole congregation was so delighted with this gesture and clapped as a sign of their appreciation.
Immediately after mass, there was benediction a then a procession with the Blessed Sacrament from the new and uncompleted church to the old one. This was announced by gunshots. From the church, benediction was done at the Kungi market square, here the population increased because every one who was in the market, catholic or not joint in the benediction.

From the market, the next stop was at the Kungi Fon’s Palace. Everyone in the palace came out to be part of the blessing. Even the Fon of Kungi who is a Moslem came out with his bible to honour the Fon of Fons.
The procession then continued to the old church were there was the final benediction.
The Parish Priest Then Went back to the palace to thank the Fon for letting them use his palace as one of the prayer grounds.

Ben Afor

SENIOR DIVISIONAL OFFICER PAYS A MAIDEN VISIT TO BINJU MISSION.

The new Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung Division, paid a maiden visit to the Catholic Mission Binju during his meet the people’s tour.

This is a custom to all Divisional Officers sent to this part of the Country. There, he was welcomed by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Mbeh, The Parish Chairman and a few Christians of the Catholic Church. The Parish Priest his welcome address listed a series of problems faced by the Catholic Church in the area amongst which was theft.

This was the major problem. The Senior Divisional Officer in his response, promised to do all in his powers to check criminality in the Division which is becoming very rampant. It is worth noting that theft and prostitution are the preoccupations of most of the young people who have nothing doing. They get involved in these activities as a result of idleness. Because of this, they resort to stealing and the church is one of their targets since they believe it is a rich institution.
The population of Donga Mantung and other Administrative Officials have promised to collaborate with the Senior Divisional Officer to curb down this high rate of criminality in the Division.

THE BISHOP OF KUMBO VISITS THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY.

His Lordship, the Bishop of Kumbo, George Nkuo today, 19 November, 2008, visited the Binju-Nkambe Parish Children’s Library. It is a few months back since he was in Donga Mantung Division.

This visit was a surprised one. Nobody expected him in Nkambe this time. He was accompanied by some French Speaking sisters. The Bishop was delighted to learn that the Library was being used by the children. He had news of more books for the Library from the Benefactor, but was told that the books were still in transit. He was disappointed, the internet was still not connected.
From the Children’s Library, he moved with the sisters to the Church where they meditated for a while and continued to the school campus and to the pastoral Centre. While in the school, Catholic School Binju, they met neither teachers nor pupils for this was the Catholic Education Week and the pupils and teachers had all gone down to Catholic Primary School Akweto for other activities.

There, the Binju-Nkambe Parish Chairman joined them. Together with the Parish Priest, They made the Bishop see the vast land that Binju Nkambe Parish has. They Parish Priest also showed the Bishop the piece of land he has applied for and was waiting for The Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung to respond. This Land is not far from the mission.
From here, they had a launch break at the Presbytery and then continued to St. Rita’s College Nkambe. From St. Rita’s college, they took off for Kumbo.

Ben Afor.

The Holy Family Parish Tabenken begins her Harvest Thanksgiving.

The Holy Family Parish, Tabenken, last Sunday launched her Harvest Thanksgiving. Their target this year is to raise some money to enable them repair the windows of the Church in Tabenken, rebuild the steps leading to the church from the Health Centre and to build a new Parish Hall which can contain the Christians. The present hall is small and dilapidated. Refurbishing the hall will be a waste of time and money since it is not that large for the Catholic Christians and invitees to sit in when there is an occasion in the Church like the Harvest Thanksgiving which is currently going on.

On the launching of this Harvest Thanksgiving, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Patrick Nchuwa in his sermon which was centered on LOVE, called on the Christians to show “true love” for one another. He told the different families to imitate the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
He also told them to be conscious of the fact that he is their brother. They should not take him for a stranger because he hails from a different village. His brothers and sisters are Christians of Tabenken. Fr. Patrick Nchuwa went on to explain to the Christians that, what will be realized from the harvest thanksgiving, shall be used for church projects, and especially the ones listed above which are very necessary. He told them he came to Tabenken as a missionary and is very ready to do the work he came for to the best of his ability. And this he can only accomplish with the collaboration of the entire Christian population.

After the sermon, it was time for offertory. There were a series of offertories. It began with general offertory and ended with Thanksgiving by St. Raphael Small Christian Community Kieku. The procession was wonderful as the Parish Priest himself commented at the end of the celebration, “I thought I could fly when I saw and heard the people of Kieku sing and dance with baskets on their heads.” These small Christian Community did not let the Church Choir sing for them.

They chanted their own beautiful song that moved the entire congregation. There were carrying baskets of maize, beans, groundnuts, palm wine, bamboo chairs etc.
The Parish Priest was very delighted for this was the first time he was witnessing Harvest Thanksgiving in Tabenken Parish. He expressed his satisfaction to the Small Christian Community of Kieku and called on the other Small Christian Communities to emulate this example.

All these gifts were at the end of the mass carried out and auctioned to Christians. Next Sunday shall be the turn of St. Martin the Porres Small Christian Community.

Ben Afor

KUNGI COMMUNITY WORKS FOR ROOF ON THEIR CHURCH

The basic roofing works of Kungi new church building is estimated to cost thirteen million, four hundred and forty-three thousand, three hundred francs CFA (13,443,300 FCFA). The Christian community of Kungi is very grateful to St Cuthbert’s Parish, Seaham, in England, who helped them to raise the building from foundation to the structure that is there now. If they get the roof put, they will move into the new structure for Masses and all their activities while continuing to work to gradually continue with all the other aspects of the building. That is why they have appealed to the village community of Kungi to assist them in any small or big way to tackle the roofing of the church building.

The resources of the people are meagre, but they have the will to join hands to complete this house of worship. Some Catholic Christians of the village have donated trees from their forest reserves to be felled and sawn into timber for roofing the Church. At the time of writing this news, 30 Eucalyptus trees had been donated by Catholics and non Catholics of Kungi village. Seven of the trees have already been felled and sawn into 284 pieces of timber.
The timbers are transported by head-load from where they are sawn to the Church Plot where they will be used. On “country-Sundays” (days when farm work is not done in the village) men and women go to the forests to transport the timbers. Everybody is encouraged to transport at least three timbers on each “country-Sunday). At the time of writing, 232 pieces of timber had already been stacked on the building site.
It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. The Catholic Community of Kungi have taken a giant step at the beginning of a long journey. Their journey up till this point has missing footsteps. Was God carrying them at those points where their footsteps are missing? Will God still carry them through the course of the rest of the journey? It takes faith to begin a Church project like the Kungi Community have done.
By Giwa Immaculate
(language assistance by R.Tanto)

HAPPY CHILDREN OF BINJU NKAMBE PARISH.

The children of Binju Nkambe Parish were very excited this Sunday morning when they heard from their Parish Priest, Fr. Emmanuel Mbeh that the Children’s Library was again opened. The children did not have access to the beautiful story books and other didactic materials offered to them by one of their parents from Canada whom they are really anxious to see and know. Parents and children have been made to understand that education is the key to development.

A society with only illiterates is bound to remain underdevelop. The children of Binju Nkambe Parish are bent on using the available means at their disposable to make a difference. They would not want to repeat the mistakes their parents made by not reading books and going to school. They thank God each time they come into this library for sending a saviour to free them from the hands of illiteracy.

The library remained closed for some months because the key to the room got missing between the then Librarian, Evaristus Nfor and the Parish Priest. This was reported to Fr. Robert Tanto who came to visit the site before leaving for Yaounde, his new station. He immediately made available money for a new lock for the door and a Carpenter was brought in to do the replacement. The children are now happily using the library with many books and games. Thank God nothing in the library was damaged by rats. The place was cleaned and made ready for use.

Not only children are interested in reading these books. Some adults who came to see how the library looked like found the stories very interesting and come there too to learn. They prayed that the library grows into a University so not only children would benefit but the entire population of Donga Mantung Division and why not Cameroon at large.
The children and adults using the library are being supervised by a volunteer who is a Christian of the Parish.
Ben Afor

FATHER ROBERT TANTO FINALLY AT YAOUNDE

We thank God for the quick recovery of Father Robert Tanto. His last hospital check up was at Shisong on Friday 5 September 2008. He left that afternoon for Yaoundé and spent the night at the Mill Hill House in Bamenda. On Saturday he travelled to Yaounde and assumed his duties as Assistant Secretary General of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon.
His new mailing address is:
Father Robert Tanto,
SGA,
Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Cameroun,
BP 1963, Yaoundé,
Cameroun.He remains grateful to all who supported him with prayers during his illness.

TABENKEN PARISH CELEBRATES THE LIVES OF THEIR SPIRTUAL LEADERS BOTH LIVING AND DEAD.

It was on July 20th 2008 that the Tabenken parishioners came out massively from all out stations to join at a Memorial Mass for all the Spiritual Leaders that have served in the Parish since its creation in 1937. This was in respect of the initiative of the Parish Pastoral Council. As a Parish Community they prayed for all the priests who have helped to plant and nurture the faith in their villages. Many of the present parishioners do not know the early missionaries who served them, but they have heard names like Fathers Cornelius Hoevenaars, Anthony Akkermans, James Kroon, Michael Murphy, Lambert Kiggen, James Hogenboom, Joseph Boekema, Arnold Kerkvliet, James van Bleisem, Martin van de Werff, Gerard Balering, Thomas Fitsimons, Michael de Rooy, Francis Wagennar, Willem Zwarthoed, Cornelius Schouten, John Mckeogh, Cornelius Oprins, Anthony Gatt, Oswald Holzer, John Willeit, Bernard Stopel, Franz Meulemans, Gerald Bouma, Peter Watson, Peter Glancy, Joseph Hozknecht, George Hanser, Remo. They also remembered and prayed for the Cameroonian priests who have worked in their parish, both living and dead: Fathers Aloysius Wankuy, James Suhnfor, Patrick Losha, Charles Acha, Joseph Veranso, Roland Berngeh, Joseph Wirba, Daniel Ache, Cyprian Tatah, Edwin Njongai, Peter Kini, Gabriel Fotzebo, Charles Mbuntum, Polycarp Yukeng. They also mentioned specially the late Reverend Sister Stella Kidze who served them in the medical ministry.
Masses were offered for the priests currently serving in the parish: Rev. Fr. Patrick Nchuwa and Rev. Fr. Denis –Martin Njobam. These Masses were to be celebrated during the week.
The Eucharistic celebration started at 9.00a.m. with the Parish Priest as the Chief Celebrant. The liturgy was animated by the Holy Family Parish Choir. Highlights during this liturgical celebration were the beautiful Entrance and Lectionary Processions led by the Choir. During the sermon, the parish priest expressed his gratitude to the entire parish for taking such an initiative to set aside a day of prayers for spiritual leaders who have served them in the parish especially those who have died. During his twenty-two minutes long sermon, he told the Christians that it was neither by accident nor by coincidence that such a day of prayer was organized, but that it is a Christian obligation to pray fro their priests and religious even if they are dead and that this be done irrespective of their deeds to the Christians. He went on to say that the church is a holy institution founded by Christ and what is important for us is the efforts we are making to be holy. He very much deplored the attitude of condemnation of anybody by whosoever, and said that only God alone shall judge all of us the last day.
At offertory, alms were given according to zones namely: Mbaa, Mbot and Tang respectively. Considering that they were also some memorial intentions given by some families in honour of their loved and lost ones, these families took their turns to do special offertories.
After mass the Mission Samba, the Holy Family Choir, and the CWA appeared in grand styles in a more cultural way of death celebrations to grace the occasion. All these took place before the watchful eyes of His Royal Highness the Fon of Tabenken who was also present at the occasion in remembrance of these our spiritual leaders. It is worth mentioning here that the family of late catechist Emmanuel Ngayi displayed his photo and some reeds on his grave just infront of the church. During this phase of the celebration, many old Christians recalled that the present Tabenken Parish Church which remains our Christian shrine in Donga Mantung was constructed by late Fr. Murphy who left the parish in 1966 and died a year later in Bota in May 1967. Permit me to mention here that our parish priest Fr. Patrick Nchuwa was present at his burial when he was a student at Bishop Rogan College.
Adding his voice to the celebration, the Fon of Tabenken appealed to the Christians to adhere steadfastly to the teachings of the church so that one day Christians may join to celebrate their lives in the same manner in which the lives of these our leaders have been celebrated.
There was serious feasting, eating and drinking as the day went down.

By Nsami Linus Ngafi
Catholic Health Centre, Tabenken

GIFTS TO BINJU-NKAMBE AND TABENKEN PARISHES

FATHER ROBERT TANTO HANDS LETTERS AND GIFTS TO WHERE THEY BELONG. 01/07/08

After returning home from England, Fr. Robert Tanto brought gifts to various commissions and schools.

In the presence of the Parish Priest and the Chairperson of the Tabenken Parish Pastoral Council, he handed a letter which was sent by members of the Justice and Peace (J&P) Commission of St Francis de Sales, Wash Common, Newbury, England , to the Justice and Peace Commission of Tabenken Parish.
In their letter, they stated that, after discussions with Fr. Robert, they were very interested to be in partnership with the Justice and Peace Commission of Tabenken Parish. Both the Parish Priest and the Chairperson of Tabenken Parish Pastoral Council were pleased with the letter and promised to reply to it immediately.

They also said it’s a great thing for anybody to sit and think of such a wonderful friendship. They thanked him for the letter and told him they will inform members of the commission on Sunday. They promised they will keep the partnership burning.

Father Tanto then proceeded to Binju-Nkambe Parish where he met the Manager and staff of the Catholic primary schools who were in the main mission waiting for him. He apologized for coming late and thanked them for their patience. Not to waste much time he told them the kind of gifts he brought and where they were coming from and why the gifts were being sent to the kids. The gifts were:- Pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, balloons, playing toys for nursery kids, 3 footballs, pumps and a T-shirt for the captain of the first team that will win with the first match played with the ball. These things were distributed to the three schools of the parish: St Martin de Porres, Binju, St Michael’s Kungi and St Michael’s Akweto. He told the teachers to be the ones to encourage the children to be regular in writing letters and to use the internet. In response to this gesture, both the manager and the staff thanked him for his concern for the schools and promised they will do their best to keep the children up to date. After this presentation, there was light refreshment.
In the absence of the Parish Priest of Binju-Nkambe Parish, he was accompanied by the Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council to see the new church building under construction in Kungi mission. He was happy to see that they have made much progress on the project, and also thanked the foreman for the work he has been doing to see that it reached where it is now. He also met the project Chairperson to keep on encouraging the people to continue doing their local contribution for the completion of their Church. They promised they will not relent their effort
By Giwa Immaculate (Fanny Zabu)

NB: We are publishing this article late because we had technical problems and could not update our weblog. We are sorry.

BISHOP GOERGE NKUO IN BINSHUA

The Bishop of Kumbo, Goerge Nkuo was in Binshua, Nkambe Quasi Parish for the inauguration of the Divine Mercy Youth Formation Centre. The Bishop thanked the ICM Sisters and Sister Josephine Jaya in particular for the good work she is doing in the Diocese of Kumbo. It is thanks to her incessant effort and hard work that Binshua and Moh villages now have Health Centres.

He called on the people of Binshua to work hand in hand with Sister Jaya for the development of their village and the Diocese of Kumbo in general. This youth centre is not only for the youths of Binshua. It is going to serve the youths of neighbouring villages like Binka, Njema, Tabenken, Nkambe etc. The ICM sister intends to set up a computer and internet training centre her for the youths. This will truely help the young people of this Division even more than she things. It is as a result of idleness and joblessness that they get involved in certain activities that send mosts of them to prison.
The parents have promised to make good use of this Formation Centre.

Bernard Afor

ST RITA’S COLLEGE NKAMBE (SARICO) CELEBRATES HER 20TH ANNIVERSARY

St. Rita’s College was born in 1988. on Saturday May 24, 2008, she celebrated her 20th birthday. In 1988, it started in Binju with one department and today, it has six departments.This celebration had as august guest, His Lordship Bishop George Nkuo, Bishop of Kumbo Diocese. This was the third time he was coming to Nkambe in ten days.
The celebration started with Holy Mass at 9am which had as chief celebrant, His Lordship the Bishop of Kumbo and five other priests who joined to concelebrate with him. In his sermon, the Bishop congratulated Students and Teachers for the hard work and good performances during past GCE examinations and also the improvement in their style of singing. He also thanked those who have worked in the school.
After Mass, everybody went to the school premises where they took photographs. It was a good sign that both the administration and the traditional leaders of the Division were present for the Mass and they also participated in all the activities that followed.
All parents and invitees ushered to the hall where they were being welcomed with a song by the final year students of the institution. While in the hall, the Principal of the institution, Fr. Anthony Lawir, welcomed everybody and gave statistics of the school, starting with the number which he said was about 240, dominated by boys. He said as compared to the past years, there have been great improvement on the enrollment. He also told the population that, the best in Accountant in the country was a form student of t SARICO.
The celebration continued with prize giving, where many student were given various prizes in order of merit.
The students also had the opportunity to ask questions to the administration of the institution. Nne of the questions asked by the students was:
Question: Why is it that senior prefects are not given allowances or certain sum to compensate them for the sacrifices made on behalf of the school like it is done in other schools?

Answer: True enough, a hard working Senior Prefect like other school prefectss deserves some allowance. It is only that a school like ours that lives from hand to mouth, always ending the years in the reds due to low income, cannot afford that. However, we always give them token prizes at the end of their reign.

Fany Giwa