Q & A with Outgoing BCA-USA Comptroller

PROFILES IN SERVICE – BCA-USA

Q & A WITH OUTGOING BCA-USA COMPTROLLER (NI GABBY NJINIMBOT 2014 – 2018)

BCA-USA Mirror: Why did you run for office four years ago?

Ni Gabby: I ran for office because I am passionate about this organization and wanted to make sure that the people’s money is well spent and spent as agreed by the organization.

BCA-USA Mirror: What has the experience of serving thought you about yourself and about BCA USA?

Ni Gabby: Good question! First it has thought me that being in executive positions in a growing organization is quite challenging but teaching at the same time. Secondly that as a comptroller, playing an oversight role is very crucial for the financial health of the organization and in so doing you can’t have a thin skin. You must be confident and stand your ground in your thought, believes and the way you feel bylaws and policies should be implemented. Finally it thought me that BCA-USA, in as much as it has existed for 3 decades and done a lot in the community, there is much work to be done.

BCA-USA Mirror: What are some of the things that you think need to be done?

Ni Gabby: Targeting 2000 members in the next 5-10yrs will lead to a cascading effect in development in Bali. BCA needs to have an investment here in the United States that can give it constant flow of income. Example? BCA has grown enough to own property in at least three metropolitan cities in the United States. It’s about time! For instance, owning a ballroom that can generate daily income and reduce the burden of financial dependency on

Ni Gabby Njinimbot

its members.

BCA-USA Mirror: Tell us some of the challenges you encountered during your time in office? Ni Gabby: As part of the National Executive, the biggest challenge we had was getting more people to believe in the works of BCA. The good news is that over the years it got better as folks began to see footprints and handprints of the impact BCA left from the Diaspora to the village which I think is quite amazing and encouraging. I am hoping that over the years BCA will hit 2k membership and I

am hopeful.

BCA-USA Mirror: That's quite a big wish! Based on your experience and knowledge, what are some ways BCA could get more Bali people in the USA to buy into its missions and vision?

Ni Gabby: By reaching out more to the "unbelievers". It’s important that we don't just talk past each other because it becomes a cacophony at some point and no one can truly understand what the other person is saying. The second thing I would like to emphasize is that for BCA to constantly show its presence everywhere they think they could potentially convert folks into "believers" I say this because as a chapter president, I succeeded in winning more people by simply showing up and listening to their concerns by doing so de-mystify this crazy notion that some folks have that BCA is BCA-USA Mirror: Thank you for taking the time out of your very busy to speak to us. Knowing that you are a woman of great faith in the Lord, aware of the challenges facing us individually and collectively at home and abroad, grateful of how far BCA USA has come in 30 years, do you mind leading us in a prayer? First Lady: This prayer is dedicated to Cameroon. Almighty God, bless and preserve this nation under the shadow of your almighty wing. Remind us always to live by your mercy and not by our merit. Grant safety to all who dwell in our land, both the citizen and the guest that all who live here may go about their daily business without fear or terror. Bless our land with peace, unity, bountiful harvest, and productive labor. Defend us from all danger; guard and protect us from all evil; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. an elite organization. Hammering on the notion that we are all in this together, the notion that regardless of what chapter you belong to, or any differences that exist between us, we are all one people. Teaching folks that even though we may disagree on projects or policies, those disagreements shouldn’t break the bonds of our affection, and that no one benefits from an incomplete project or any project that takes forever to complete because folks are holding back for whatever reason. If anything all we get is an ever growing illiterate population and worst case dying population from out hospitals and health care centers,

BCA-USA Mirror: What advise do you have for your successor?

Ni Gabby: Be a team player! The organization’s

REFLECTIONS OF THE FIRST LADY OF BCA USA MA HELEN NDANGAM

finances are first and anyone else is second.

Ma Helen Ndangam, First Lady, BCA-USA First Lady: Thank you for having me. I am Helen Kangkolo Ndangam, the wife of Ni Clarence Wamia

Ndangam, the 10thand current President of BCAUSA. I am the proud mother of three beautiful children (Clarice, Annkelly, and Clarence Jr. Ndangam), and the daughter of the late Honorable JC Kangkolo and Na Margaret Guyenyonga Fohtung.

Mirror: The Pearl Anniversary of BCA USA is around the corner. The President keeps a very busy schedule with BCA USA activities and his job. How have you been able to joggle the responsibility of maintaining a stable home environment for the President and the kids?

Ma Helen and her family

First Lady: Growing up with a Dad who was a public servant, I learned at a very early age that it was okay for Daddy to be gone and that as long as Mommy is home, everything will be okay. My Mom and Dad were the typical traditional family. Dad was the head of the family and Mom was the rock of the family. She did everything at home to help him succeed on the public front. That's the same concept I am applying to my family. We also work as a team with a common goal of success at all fronts (work, school, public commitments, and home). Mirror: The Social Committee is rolling out the first red carpet event for the kids. What do the kids think? What is their favorite Convention activity?

First Lady: The kids are honored and grateful to be members of the Bali community and to participate in several BCA/Bali events. They are used to the crowd setting and love being around so many of their relatives and family friends. They get this trait especially from their Dad. Ni Wamia loves to have people around 24/7. Holidays without friends or family over is no holiday at all at our household. The kids are ready and looking forward to the red carpet event. Their favorite part of the Convention is spending time with other kids and catching up with their age mates, cousins, and relatives. They especially enjoy youth trips and gatherings, the 5K Walk/ sport events, the volunteer community outreach programs, as well as having the opportunity to show off their talents before the Bali people. Mirror: What is your wish for BCA USA? Do you see women leading BCA USA in the future?

First Lady: Happy 30th Anniversary BCA USA! My wish for BCA - USA is that BCA-USA continues to grow and expand beyond the Bali Community. That more young people come on board to learn, grow, leave a legacy and take this organization to the next level. I am hopeful that our strong Bali women will lead this organization to even greater heights. As our African saying goes, "if you educate the women, you have educated the whole community." Bali women already hold leadership roles in all walks of life. Our husbands are successful in their personal and professional roles because they have powerful women beside them.

Mirror: Thank you First Lady Ma Helen Ndangam for your time and your love for BCA USA. Like most Bali women, the First Lady represents the glue that keeps the family fabric together. Like her mother and grandmother before her, she is beautiful, courageous, loving, kind, nurturing, powerful, and resilient beyond measure and has the success and the future of all children at heart. She embodies the true essence of a phenomenal Bali woman. Interviewed by Ma Irene Tita.

PROFILE IN LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY SERVICE: NA JALLA HELEN GWANFOGBE

By Ma Lilian Ndangam Fokwang

Na Jalla Helen is a prominent community leader within Bali and beyond. Having rose to prominence through her educational career, and as president of Nkumu Fed Fed for 10 years. In the last 25 years, her passion for community service has driven her to work with many women’s and community associations to help underserved communities. “I have this passion to help. I was transferred to Yaounde while my husband was working in the Delegate of Education in the North West. While in Yaounde, I was elected the president of the Saker Baptist College alumni association in Yaounde. We did a lot of community work with people around. From there, I was elected national president of Sakerettes.” She held the post for 6 years and now serves as an adviser to the association. During her tenure leading the Sakerettes, she also became Vice President of Nkumu Fed Fed from 1996 - 1999. She was elected president of the group and served for 10 years.

Leadership and Community Development with Nkumu Fed Fed

Looking back at her time at the helm of the organization, Na Jalla is proud of the work she and her fellow women accomplished and continue to do for the

Na Jalla Helen Gwanfogbe community. It is work that has taken Nkumu Fed Fed from its humble beginnings to one of the most prominent women’s groups in the North West Region. Recalling how the association began to adopt projects, Na Jalla says “Ma Helen Tata used to work in the provincial hospital. One time she was going to Koppin Fulani for a vaccination visit, she invited me and a few women. Getting to the school there, students in the school had no place to sit. The back of a tree had been converted into a classroom table. Mice were passing in and out of the classroom. It was very embarrassing. We asked if there were girls in the class room there, they said there was one Hausa girl but she was not writing the exam because she did not have

a birth certificate.” The Fed Fed women promptly decided to help the girl get a birth certificate so that she could write the exam. Nkumu Fed Fed Bamenda subsequently took on the girl as their own project to help her get an education by paying her fees right through secondary school. Driven by the needs they saw in the community, Na Jalla and the women of Fed Fed started going into rural areas to help communities. When she and her team heard that women were having problems getting to the Bali District hospital and that the facility had only one doctor, they set about to improve the health centers in Wosing and to Gugong respectively. The Wosing and Gugong health center project was subsequently adopted nationally by the organization as a project.

Sensitization and Advocacy

Part of her leadership of the association also saw Nkumu Fed Fed play a lead role in the fight against child trafficking in Cameroon. After learning that the North West Region was the leading source area for child trafficking, the association embarked on a massive sensitization campaign in rural areas to inform families about the risks of sending their children off to work as babysitters. Many children working as babysitters

remained vulnerable to abuse.

“You know most families in these villages try to hide it from their families because their children are taken with the promise of a better life and education. We realized that some of these parents believed only boys should go to school. That boys are better than the girl child. So they were giving some of these their daughters away to go and work so that they will have money to pay the school fees for their male siblings. We started sensitization by going into those villages. Women like Ma Bertha, Ma Helen Fohtung and Ma Prudence went to schools and different interior places to sensitize people. We also had problems with the men. We live in a very male dominated and chauvinistic society. The men did not take all this work kindly. But we brought them closer by working through the traditional authorities like the Fons and letting them know what we were doing,” recalls Na Jalla. Subsequent grants from the International Labour Organization and the US Embassy in Cameron helped the group to build a hostel to help rehabilitate the children who had been trafficked. In 2005, the association helped get the government to pass a law on Child Trafficking and Slavery in December 2005. The sensitization and advocacy initiatives drew national and international attention to the work of Fed Fed. Despite hading handed over the baton of leadership as national president of Nkumu Fed Fed in

Na Jalla Helen with her grand kids 2009 she remains an adviser to she got married and worked as the organization and currently a clerk before enrolling at the co-chairs its human rights Government Teacher Training program area. College where she earned her

In 2007, she was recognized Grade 1 teaching qualification. by the Soroptimists International, She taught in nursery schools Yaounde Branch a as their for three years before deciding Woman of the Community “It to pursue further training at the was a big wonderful surprise for Higher Teachers Training College me. Their members in Ireland where she studied Modern an England came for the event.” Letters. She went on to obtain a Community work and activism Masters in Applied Linguistics came naturally for her. Growing and TESOL (Teachers of English up, Na Jalla admired her father to Speakers of Other Languages) who was a teacher. “He was from the School of Education, really my mentor. Being a University of Leicester in woman, I thought that if I go England. Her remarkable career into teaching, I will have enough in education spans from teaching time to be with the children in the classroom to helping and help their education.” develop teaching resources and After completing high school, also management. From 2000

Na Jalla Helen on the day the title was bestowed on her -2016 she headed the Teachers’ Resource Centre the community has been on improving the lives of in Bamenda, and also worked as the Director of girls and women, she admits that having men on Administration and Human Resources in the Rural board remains important to getting collective buy Electrification Agency of Cameroon in Yaounde. She in. Her advice for anyone in leadership is to hold officially retired from the Cameroon civil service strong to their convictions. “Be convinced about in 2015 what you are doing and be ready to sacrifice. When you are in a position of leadership, never quit. Just Challenges and Lessons Learned pray and let God direct you.”

Her community work and her career in education She credits her mother with influencing who has not been without challenges. “Working with she is today. “My mother always told me that I do men and working with Francophones too is not not have to marry if I am not working because one easy. Working with women too has been a challenge should not rely on a man to take of you. While her that has humbled me. I have learned to get along mother did not receive any formal education, she with people,” says Na Jalla. She credits her husband ensured that Na Jalla and her four siblings receive Ba Gwanfogbe for his incredible support for her formal education. and her work. They have three children and three In recognition of her outstanding leadership and grandkids. Na Jallas says the major lessons she has service to the community, HRH Doh Ganyonga III learned in her work in community is humility and appointed her to Bali nobility and gave her the title the ability to listen to the community. “If you don’t of Na Jalla in 2016. It is the highest title for women know the needs of the community, you will strike a in Bali. The recognition came as a pleasant surprise wrong note and you will not have their participation. for her and her family. If the community doesn’t participate, then they Na Jalla enjoys spending time with her won’t value it,” she says, adding that taking time grandchildren in California. When she is not busy to go into the community to understand their needs doing community work, she enjoys cooking, doing as well as building sustainability into projects are sports and singing. She is a member of several also very important. While the focus of her work in choral groups in Cameroon.