Cameroon

With your help we can take the second step in giving children an education in a safe environment to promote the dignity of life! More volunteers are coming forward this June to reconstruct St. Mary’s school and expand with two additional buildings for the children. St. Mary’s is run by the Diocese of Kumbo, and they long to see the area thrive. To help these people we must address their long-term needs: education, security, and protecting the dignity of life. The blueprints are already done for the school but they need your help raising the funds to build it!

Illuminating the minds of more children in Nkar helps break the cycle of poverty not only for their community, but for every community they in turn help. In scripture it says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” Matthew 13:31-32

Partnering with Catholic World Mission donors like you, we know our mission will reach beyond Nkar and touch neighboring villages because we reach out with the hands of Christ. We may think we are only helping children in Nkar receive an education, but we have seen how members of one community have gone forward to help others, and to bring the light of Christ from Catholic World Mission with them.

Fr. Eugen, our beloved partner, just sent us a dire update:

“English-speaking Cameroon is going through a horrible moment. For three weeks I knew nothing about my family in Nkar and those in Kumbo and beyond, because the pro-independence fighters in their fight against government forces cut off the roads, dug deep trenches across the roads, and destroyed bridges. No communication network, no electricity, and we are still living under curfew from 6 pm to 6 am now for months. Last Saturday, I was able to talk to my elder brother, and everyone is safe.

“Every work stopped. No schools all over anglophone Cameroon. We have been indoors for two weeks now. Gunshots everywhere. No public work or activity is going on. We hope these days war will not break out full fledged once with the declaration of the upcoming election results. Pray for us. We had to stop the work at Nkar for security reasons. As soon as we can resume, I will keep you posted. Keep us in your prayers.”

Please join us in praying for Fr. Eugen, Cameroon, and especially the students of St. Mary’s School.

Summer 2016

St. Mary’s School in Nkar, Cameroon is undergoing some major renovations! The old school is crumbling, the ceiling is falling down, and the roof has caved in some classrooms. Thanks to your generosity we were able to begin construction of a new, safe school for the children. It is a huge community effort. In June, land and crops were cleared to construct the new building! Locals have donated almost all of the labor, splitting their time between building the school and working their own land and crops. They know that the school is the only way the children will break free from the cycle of poverty.

Our most urgent need is to make St. Mary’s School safe. The plan for St. Mary’s is to expand the school into two single-level replacement structures. One will be a nursery for the young children, and the other for grades 1-8. This building will be across the road from the current school and will have power and water, and can support a larger student population! Once the new school building is available classes will begin and repairs on the old school will start! You can be the miracle the students at St. Mary’s long to see.

With your help:

• we can raise $200,000 for St. Mary’s reconstruction.
• the children can study for exams even when the sun sets because they will have electricity.
• parents will no longer have to fear the roof caving in.
• all of the children from Nkar can attend school.

Help make the children’s dreams come true by rebuilding St. Mary’s in Cameroon today.

A Crowd of Villagers Gather to Witness Fr. Paul Bless the Well

In May the natural spring was dug, a basin for water was constructed, and the locals have celebrated the gift of clean water over and over! As of September 2016 the water well was blessed by Fr. Paul Verla Wirsiy and his brother priest for the community.

The water well was christened “Our Lady of Fátima Water Project” in thanksgiving for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary after a Sunday Mass.

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Our Lady of Fatima Water Project is almost complete! The well does not have a generator, and when locals need water they must go to see how much the reservoir has filled before they can fill their buckets for the day.

Unlike in America, water will not be pumped to every house in Nkar, but to the hospital, school, and the church. A generator will pump water from the source faster, and will spare the community hours of waiting for clean water to fill. Fr. Eugen says when the water reservoir is not filled in the morning the locals still look to other sources for water, including contaminated streams and puddles!

We need your support to finish the water well for Nkar and provide a vital lifeline to the community!

Bishop George of the Diocese of Kumbo, Cameroon, recently visited us at Catholic World Mission to discuss Nkar, and share his gratitude and concerns. Bishop George expressed his concern for Cameroon and the disregard for the dignity of life there. He shared that Our Lady of Lourdes medical clinic will be the first that does not require people to pay when they need medical care. Bishop George spoke of the horrors poor families face when they go to hospitals: pregnant mothers with their unborn children have died in the street because they could not pay the hospital fees.

Bishop George left an ache in our hearts for the people of Cameroon, and we pray their cause will also stir your heart to help fund the worthy projects we support in Nkar.

A little baby boy was born in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in October, 2016. His mother is so thankful they now have a hospital. Her only other option would have been to walk 10 miles, while in labor, to the only other local hospital to deliver the baby safely. As the hospital stands today it can only accept outpatients, as it is not equipped with beds, or bathrooms for patients. The Nkar community looks forward to building an inpatient facility that will enable them to care for the members of their community thoroughly.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital was named after the apparition of Mary the Mother of Jesus in Lourdes, France. Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to St. Bernadette, and told her to dig at the base of an alcove and there she would find healing waters. Lourdes, France is now a pilgrimage site, bringing millions of people each year seeking the healing waters.

Until this year, the people of Nkar only had a small clinic in their village for medical treatment. Medicine is offered there, but for many, their injuries take them 10 miles away to the local hospital for further treatment. Bishop George of Kumbo shared that this hospital is vital because it will one day have a ward for children, and a labor and delivery unit! The goal is to have multiple wards, including one for men, women, and surgery, to serve the Nkar community and the surrounding areas.

Your support and generosity make it possible to continue the construction of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Nkar.