Since 2016, Cameroon, our beloved home country, has descended into civil strife over the marginalization of the minority Anglophone population in the North West and South West regions. Over 3,000 people have been killed, villages looted and burned, hundreds of thousands of children out of school, and hundreds of thousands of anglophones internally displaced since the beginning of the ongoing crisis. 

 

We experienced the horror of this crisis firsthand. On March 28, 2020, we found out that our father, Mr. Ngek Constantine Jumbam, had been brutally killed by Ambazonia fighters. He was part of a group of local councilors tasked with organizing local legislative elections in Oku, in the Northwest region. On their way back from Oku, the group was ambushed by Ambazonia fighters. Eight people were killed on the spot and five were taken as hostages. 

 

Our father was among those killed and brutally beheaded. We buried him three days later without his head. Our mother did not get to see the face of her husband one last time. Desmond, his son, could not travel from Ghana to attend the funeral because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. He mourned him alone.

 

Sadly, many other Cameroonians share and continue to experience similar stories of suffering, death, and destruction. Moved by compassion, three months after the murder of our father, we set up a MightyCause fundraiser to raise funds to support widows who have also been tragically affected by the crisis. Thanks to the generosity of over 150 friends around the world, we raised over $18,000 to support widows who had lost their husbands in the crisis. 

 

In August 2020, we held our Widow’s Empowerment Initiative in which 20 widows from the NW and SW regions were invited. Psychosocial support was provided to these women who had experienced such horrific and heartbreaking loss and trauma. This was the first time that they had all had the opportunity to share their story, receive closure and mental health support. We also provided the widows with business training, mentorship and capital to be able to start small businesses and create livelihoods for them and their children. They have now returned to their communities where they have set up businesses. The full report from this event can be read here.

 

 

In honor of Mr. Ngek Constantine Jumbam, our father and husband, we have created the Jumbam Family Foundation (JFF) to honor his legacy. The Jumbam Family Foundation is an apolitical Non-governmental organization that aims to support communities that have been adversely affected by the ongoing Anglophone crisis through women empowerment, education and health.