Personal testimony - Stephen Ndzerem

Country: CAMEROON, Central Africa Name:Stephen N Ndzerem Date of birth: 20th July 1970 Home: Bamenda EMail: bs_njodzeka@yahoo.com Organisation address: Strategic Humanitarian Services, PO Box 5047, Mile 6, Bamili Road Nkwen-Bamenda, Northwest Province, Cameroon, Central Africa Personal history I was raised in Kumbo in the mountainous middle belt of Cameroon. My parents were poor subsistence peasant farmers like a majority of the other inhabitants of this area. I was the second child of a family of five, but unfortunately just two of us were able to survive till today due to the acute poverty of my parents. My elder sister died at the age of eleven. My twin brothers died before they were two years due to inability of my parents to pay the hospital bills and their lack of knowledge about oral rehydration therapy. My elder sister needed a specialist which unfortunately my parents could not afford. It was just about US $ 100. This situation highly demoralised my parents and the entire family who all lost interest in mundane activities and materialism. This is how my entire family all became involved in charity work which we all found very fulfilling and satisfactory. My parents inculcated this way of life in us and we found it part and parcel of our daily lives. While my mother is deeply involved with many church related charities, my father had been particularly helping the training of orphans in his trade (bricklaying he learned at an advanced age after the fall in world coffee prices in the 80s). My sister could not continue to further her studies because of the effect this had on the income of my parents. My father could not pay for two of us to go to secondary school. My sister joined the nuns of the tertiary sisters of St. Francis Catholic Church earlier than planned. For three years I earned a good wage at the Hillman Company, but the work wasn't fulfilling at all as I did not see its direct impact on the people. I later on introduced the idea of creating a charity to some Cameroonians and they bought the idea and this is how Strategic Humanitarian Services (SHUMAS) came into being and has brought hope to thousands of our target groups. The financial situation of my parents not only resulted in the loss of three of my brothers and sister, but it affected the history of my education and that of my sister. We would spend four to five weeks in our house after each term even when I was in primary school where the fees were less than a pound. While I was in primary school my father had to give advanced payment from the proceeds of his coffee sales to a missionary who was curate of our parish for my secondary school education. However, when my father went to collect this money it was not given to him because he had not obtained a receipt. As a result of this I had to spend another a year out without going to college. The next year I managed to go to a poorly managed secondary school with almost no infrastructure. Before the year could go through the world coffee prices failed drastically and my sister, who was also in secondary school, had stay back at home to enable me to continue my education. Further hardships resulted from a disease which caused 80% of coffee seeds to rot in the fields. The farmers were helpless to prevent this as they lacked the technical know how and the means to fight this problem. At the same time world market prices of coffee fell yet again. Not withstanding all these difficulties my parents became more and more committed and obtained a loan to enable me to complete my high school education. I won a prize of a photo camera and this played a fundamental role in my life. I did photographing as a hobby which enabled me to gain an income to assist my parents to pay my university fees. I was also able to help many other poor students in this way. I will continue to devote my life to helping to create a more just world through sustainable development. One of my greatest satisfactions is when I see the impact of my work directly on people. My perspective on world problems One of my greatest worries in life is the sharp inequality existing between people and between nations and regions of the world. And this is further compounded by the approach that is adopted by multinational bodies and other funding agencies to address these problems. Most of these measures are often stereotyped, blinded and full of political dogma and bias. For a more purposeful change and for desired results to be attained , the grass roots must always be consulted, not at seminars and workshops, but right where poor people live. Billions and billions of dollars are sent to less developed countries but there seems to be no change. Different concepts come and go while the poor grow poorer. The solution to problems of "less development" My ten years working at the grass roots and my personal experience tell me that the only way forward is for these multinational donors to pause and take stock of whether in reality they are succeeding. I have come to see that the only way problems of countries in the South could be ended is by helping them to be able to consume more of what they produce. Loans should be directed towards the establishment of manufacturing processes for local need and consumption. No amount of "structural readjustment","privatisation" or "debts cancellation" will provide a solution. In my locality, it is clearly accepted now that people are poorer now than they were 20 years ago. Personal Data Wife: Nee Billian Nyuykighan Father: Daniel Ndzerem Mother: Helen Ngo Languages: Lamnso, English, French, and Pidgin Education Primary: - St. Joseph School Rohkimbo -1973 - St. Theresa's School Kimbo - 1975 Secondary: - Bui College of General Education- 1981 - Government High School Mbengwi- 1985 University: - University of Yaounde (Private law) -1988 - University of South Bank - (enrolled UK 2002) (for Msc in Environmental and Development Education) Employment -College Tutor - College Jean Baptist de la Salle - DOUME...2yrs. - College Tutor- Institute Star -Yaounde-1yr. - Market Researcher--British American Tobacco- Yaounde- (part time) - (Executive Director/Legal Adviser) Hillman company - 3yrs. Present organisational post: · Strategic Humanitarian Services (Shumas): General Co-ordinator · 21st Century Bamenda Forum (Local Agenda 21 programme): Delegate Nature of organisation: SHUMAS is a Development Non governmental Organisation involved in a wide range of sustainable development activities and helping to build the capacity of the extremely deprived and marginalised sectors of our communities in Cameroon.