Life

3, August 2019

Getting married in the City of Coventry makes a special day even more significant ⁰

Music floated from the Chapel, as the final preparations were made for a busy day of a historic wedding celebration that had His Lordship Bishop Emmanuel Bibi as chief celebrant. All the planning such as finding the venue, sending out invitations, checking out Winnie Couture franchise opportunities to find the dress of your dreams and choosing bridesmaids all paid off as the big day finally arrived!

It was that of ex-military officer Albert Angafor who recently graduated from the University of Coventry and his wife Viola Fechu. Viola wore a beautifully embroidered dress while Albert had a suit that shined brightly in the summer sun.

Speaking to Cameroon Concord News Group, Viola revealed that she didn’t want a big bouquet and instead opted for a simple option. Albert and Viola milled around the crowd before the wedding started and chatted to those who made the journey to celebrate their commitment to each other.

The Eucharistic celebration held at St Mary and Benedict Church Coventry with hundreds of family members and friends from all the nooks and crannies of the UK including US, Mainland Europe and Cameroon. Both Albert and Viola are originally from Mile One, Up station in Bamenda, in Southern Cameroons.

By Honorine Akenji in Coventry

2, August 2019

600,000 children with no school in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Cardinal Christian Tumi, the Archbishop emeritus of Douala, has called for the schools in Cameroon’s troubled Anglophone regions to be re-opened at the beginning of the forthcoming scholastic year, two months from now.

The country’s North West and South West regions have been suffering an ongoing insurgency by English-speaking rebels complaining of discrimination and marginalization by the French-speaking majority.

Schools’ boycott

Since then, armed rebels have enforced the school boycott, leaving children in the two regions without an education for three years. “It can’t continue this way,” the cardinal told Crux in his Douala residence.

In a recent visit to his hometown Kumbo, Cardinal Tumi said he came home with the shocking realization that schools in that part of the country do not function anymore. “A people who go for a single moment without school – what future do they have?”

“Assuming that these boys become political leaders tomorrow, where will they get the educated ability to work with for the good of the state?” asked the cardinal, referring to the rag-tag force fighting for the independence of the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

The Prelate noted that most of these boys are illiterate, and he said he doubted whether they really understand “the importance of education for the human being.” He also admonished them for kidnapping teachers and students and described such actions as “torture.”

“There is a Catholic school in my village – St. Augustine’s College – where they went and kidnapped 150 students at night. These were children between 12 and 14 years. They were taken at night without shoes on and forced to trek for several kilometers. It’s torture,” the cardinal said.

“No matter their convictions, even if they are convinced that it’s necessary to continue fighting against established authority, they should allow schools to continue,” Cadinal Tumi said.

600,000 children with no school

Church leaders in Cameroon have accused the government of being heavy-handed in its actions against the separatists, and complained that innocent civilians are the ones suffering the most.

Rather than negotiate, the government opted for military force to quell the tensions, leading to several deaths. So far, at least 2,000 people have died in the conflict, and over 400,000 have been driven from their homes.

In 2017, several Anglophone groups called for a stop to the school boycott, calling it counter-productive, but were brandished as traitors by the separatists and school authorities who tried to reopen schools, and students who tried to attend them, were often kidnapped.

UNICEF, The UN’s children’s agency, estimates over 600,000 school-aged children aren’t attending classes in the Anglophone regions.

“Prior to October 2016, more than 6,000 schools were operational within the region. As of December 2018, less than 100 schools were operational; meaning nearly 5,900 schools were closed down with over 40,000 students out of school and over 40 schools burnt down,” said a July 9 statement by the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa.

Source: NewsBook

26, July 2019

Cardinal Tumi calls for schools to reopen in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Schools in Cameroon’s troubled Anglophone regions need to re-open at the beginning of the school year, according to the country’s only cardinal.

The boycotts began in 2016 with a strike by lawyers and teachers protesting the use of French in courts using the Anglo-Saxon common law tradition (practiced in the English-speaking parts of the country) and in Anglophone schools, and it soon boiled over to the general public, with many Anglophones calling for outright secession. Since then, armed rebels have enforced the school boycott, leaving children in the two regions without an education for three years. With barely two months until the start of the 2019/2020 academic year, Cardinal Christian Tumi, the Archbishop emeritus of Douala, has called for the schools to be re-opened.

“It can’t continue this way,” the cardinal told Crux in his Douala residence.

In a recent visit to his hometown Kumbo – located in the North West region – Tumi said he came home with the shocking realization that schools in that part of the country do not function anymore. “A people who go for a single moment without school – what future do they have?”

“Assuming that the ‘amba boys’ become political leaders tomorrow, where will they get the educated manpower to work with for the good of the state?” asked the cardinal, referring to the common term for the rag-tag force fighting for the independence of the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Tumi noted that most of them are illiterate, and he said he doubted whether they really understand “the importance of education for the human being.”

He also admonished them for kidnapping teachers and students and described such actions as “torture.”

“There is a Catholic school in my village – St. Augustine’s College – where they went and kidnapped 150 students at night. Imagine the school age these days – these were children between 12 and 14 years. They were taken at night without shoes on and forced to trek for several kilometers. It’s torture,” the cardinal said.

“No matter their convictions, even if they are convinced that it’s necessary to continue fighting against established authority, they should allow schools to continue,” Tumi said. Church leaders in Cameroon have accused the government of being heavy-handed in its actions against the separatists, and complained that innocent civilians are the ones suffering the most.

Rather than negotiate, the government opted for military force to quell the tensions, leading to several deaths.

Originally most of the population wanted greater autonomy within Cameroon, as promised in the country’s original constitution, but the actions of the security forces have moved more and more in to the camp of those demanding outright independence for a country they want to call “Ambazonia.”

So far, at least 2,000 people have died in the conflict, and over 400,000 have been driven from their homes.

UNICEF, The UN’s children’s agency, estimates over 600,000 school-aged children aren’t attending classes in the Anglophone regions.

Other prominent voices are joining the cardinal in urging the rebels to stop their boycott.

Mancho Bibixy Tse, a journalist jailed for his support of the Anglophone movement, originally supported the school boycott.

He signed a document from his prison cell to call for the schools to be reopened.

He said the decision to campaign for an effective start to the new school year is borne “out of our consciences given the injustices our children have suffered for three years as a result of school boycott.”

“Our protest was for an improvement of the living conditions in the Anglophone regions. It was meant to be the voice of the voiceless masses who have been suffering without a way of letting the authorities know. It was meant to improve our educational system and not to destroy it,” Bibixy said in the June 20 statement.

“The Coffin Revolution [the local name for the revolt] is not the cause of the current crisis. Our peaceful course was hijacked, and we are suffering the consequences. We therefore are calling on parents in the two Anglophone regions to send their children back to school in September (2019). We are appealing to all political, religious and traditional authorities, development associations, Parent Teacher Associations, Civil Society Organizations, and human rights groups to join us in sensitizing our parents, children and teachers and all those involved in the education of our children for a total resumption of school in September,” the journalist said.

Tumi told Crux that is the right thing to do, so that “light will chase away the darkness.”

Source: Crux

20, July 2019

‘HIV isn’t over’: The world’s waning response to the AIDS crisis ⁰

As France prepares to host the Global Fund Replenishment Conference on fighting AIDS, experts warn against complacency in the global fight against HIV. France leads in some areas of the battle but has some catching up to do in others.

The United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS released its 2019 Global Update on Tuesday, reporting that of the nearly 38 million people known to have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 14.6 million are still without access to antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Though the report focuses primarily on eastern and southern Africa, the regions most seriously affected, acting executive director of UNAIDS Gunilla Carlsson emphasised that even high-income, more developed nations must continue to be vigilant in their defence against the spread of HIV.

“HIV is not over. The so-called Western world still needs to keep an eye on the key populations: gay men, sex workers, drug users and transgender people,” Carlsson told FRANCE 24. “There is still a need to make sure that these people are not marginalised.”

Peter Ghys, one of the researchers who worked on the UN’s report, echoed Carlsson’s appeal to address certain populations very specifically. He offered the example of the increasingly popular preventative measure Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. Known by its acronym PrEP, the strategy involves taking daily HIV-fighting medicines that, when used correctly, are proven to be 100 percent effective at preventing infection.

“Overall, our approach to tackling HIV is similar worldwide, but there are certain differences,” Ghys told FRANCE 24. “Much of the transmission in Western Europe is between gay men, which is much less of a concern in southern Africa. So in Europe, increasing access to PrEP is key.”

Awareness isn’t enough

While France is considered one of the leaders in HIV awareness in Europe, alongside the UK, the 2019 Global Update reports that France has yet to reach the top tier of countries who have taken initiatives against HIV. Those countries that have achieved 90 percent awareness of, treatment for and suppression of HIV – known as the 90/90/90 – include both “high-income” countries such as the UK and lower income nations like Namibia.

Though significant efforts have been made in France, co-coordinator of Collectif Sida 33, Maryse Tourne, is unsurprised that France has yet to achieve 90/90/90 status.

“We are always behind Anglo-Saxon countries when it comes to identifying and treating people with HIV,” she told FRANCE 24. The Bordeaux-based collective (AIDS 33) seeks to promote disease prevention and treatment in the city and nationwide.

“General doctors, specialists, all public health workers should be encouraging patients to get tested,” Tourne added. “We need everyone.”

As France looks to boost the percentage of people living with AIDS who are receiving treatment from 83 to 90 percent, according to UN estimates, Ghys noted that Western Europe should be following the same basic strategies promoted by the UN for reducing mortality rates worldwide.

“The most important thing is for all people who have been diagnosed with HIV to start treatment immediately, instead of waiting for their bodily systems to degrade and deteriorate,” he said. “What is true in France and in Western Europe is also the case in Africa. Both populations are dealing with similar issues.”

In terms of practical responses, Ghys underscores that awareness can only be the start of the solution.

“In part it’s awareness, but it’s also condom use, harm reduction for drug users, circumcision and PreP,” he said. “Stopping the spread of AIDS is related to scaling up all those programmes.”

‘But what about women?‘

The UN estimates that approximately 170,000 adults and children are living with HIV in France, with an estimated 30,000 of whom (17.6 percent) are not on the lifesaving ART treatment.

One French study conducted in 2006 estimated the population of MSM, or men who have sex with men, in France to be 330,000. Less than half of those men (44.5 percent) regularly use condoms, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which likely contributes to the 14 percent of MSM with HIV, compared to 0.3 percent of the general population.

“There has been a drastic decrease in government funding for contraceptives … it’s concerning,” said Tourne. “PrEP is effective, but it’s not a substitute for contraception.”

The EU estimates that 86 percent of French MSM are aware that they carry HIV, and 78 percent are receiving antiretroviral therapy. However, there is far less data available on the 45,000 women (age 15 and over) living with the virus in France.

“Females are always forgotten when we talk about HIV,” Tourne said, emphasising that more attention should be paid to sex workers, a high-risk population that is predominantly female. “PrEP is very effective at preventing infection in men, but what about women?”

With her organisation, Tourne often does testing “in the field”, seeking out people at high risk for infection and offering them free screenings. However, she notes that France needs to go further if it wants to become HIV-free.

“There are too many people with HIV in France who remain undiagnosed, who are carrying viruses or diseases and don’t even know it,” Tourne insisted. “We have to establish more testing and consultation centres – ones located in high-risk areas, that stay open late, and that can respond appropriately to the needs of those at risk.”

‘The last mile’

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced last May that France would host the sixth annual Replenishment Conference in Lyon this October. The goal of the conference is to raise money to fund projects that are part of the United Nations political declaration on ending AIDS, made by the UN General Assembly in 2016.

“We are extremely grateful to President [Emmanuel] Macron for leading efforts to renew and expand our impact, to the benefit of millions of people,” said Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, in a statement.

As one of the founding partners of the Global Fund and its second-largest donor, France has been called a “pioneer” in its efforts to combat the AIDS epidemic worldwide, but UNAIDS workers are clear that the financial gap remains significant.

“The gap between the resources available and the resources estimated to be needed is slightly over $7 billion (€6.2 billion),” explained Ghys. “In 2017, it was around $6 billion, so the amount of available resources is decreasing. That is not the direction that the world should be going when it comes to support for AIDS. It is an issue of global solidarity.”

UNAIDS Director Carlsson is adamant that the UN Sustainable Development goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 is still achievable, but says that people have to remain dedicated to the cause.

“It is possible to control AIDS. We know what works, but we need to walk the last mile together,” she said. “We all have to galvanise and make sure that we don’t stop supporting low-income countries too early. We committed to ending AIDS worldwide, and we owe it to them to keep that promise.”

Source: France 24

18, July 2019

Fako Heart Centre Issues Heart Disease and Stroke Warning ⁰

Dr Fred Perry KEMAH, Consultant Cardiologist at Fako Heart Centre, GRA, BUEA is inviting the wider public to take oral hygiene very SERIOUSLY.

The top Dr of Fako Heart Centre has diagnosed six patients with INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS since the launching of Fako HEART CENTRE in June this year. That equates to almost one patient a week.

ENDOCARDITIS is infection of Heart Valves. A life threatening condition. Poor oral hygiene is to blame. The Public should stop using CHEWING STICKS as a method of cleaning the teeth. We should use fluoride tooth paste and tooth brush only.

Endocarditis is a serious condition and could lead to STROKE as well as premature death if left untreated.

Therefore, individuals presenting with persistent fever, easy fatigue , and abnormal heart sounds, should seek advice. Fako Heart Centre has a dedicated team to provide advice and support.

Courtesy

Fako Heart Centre
GRA, BUEA

11, July 2019

Cholera death toll in northern French Cameroun rises to 48 ⁰

The number of people killed by an outbreak of cholera in the North and Far North regions of Cameroon has risen from two in April to 48, officials of the Ministry of Public Health told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Arabo Saidou, an official of the ministry said 775 others have been diagnosed with the disease.

“The outbreak of the disease is caused by failure to abide with hygienic regulations. Access to drinking water is very difficult in this semi-arid part of the country and people tend to drink just anything.” Saidou said.

On Monday, Cameroon’s Minster of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, said the situation was “alarming” stressing on the need for the population to respect “basic hygiene rules”.

“The public should take necessary measures to improve hygiene in their homes in order to help the government’s efforts to control the disease.” Saidou noted.

For many years, cholera has been a common occurrence in Cameroon’s northern regions where floods during raining season are recurrent.

In April, health officials of the country said cholera killed at least two people and 19 suspected cases registered in North region, barely four months after the government declared the country free of the disease.

Source: Xinhuanet

7, July 2019

Stevie Wonder to undergo kidney transplant ⁰

Singer Stevie Wonder will undergo a kidney transplant in September.

The Grammy award-winning singer broke the news while performing on stage at London’s British Summer Time Hyde Park concert on Saturday, July 6.

Stevie Wonder told the crowd that he already has a donor in place and will take some time off to recuperate.

The 69-year old singer has won 25 Grammys, including Album of the year three times in four years, in 1973, 1974 and 1976.

His last Grammy award for the Album of the year was for his most famous work, ‘’ Songs in the key of Life’‘.

Reuters

6, July 2019

Manyu Convention Opens in Washington DC ⁰

The annual Manyu convention (MECA-USA) has opened in the American capital of Washington DC.

The annual event which brings together all Manyu sons and daughters in the United States is marked by traditional dances and a display of Manyu culture.

The two-day event is designed to raise funds for the financing of development projects in Manyu Division in the South West region of Cameroon.

The event will end on Saturday, July 5, 2019 with a fund-raising gala that is expected to bring in thousands of dollars to the coffers of MECA-USA which the umbrella organization of all Manyu organizations.

By Kingsley Betek in Washington DC.

4, July 2019

Liberia’s Health sector lacks almost everything!! Weah won’t talk ⁰

A young woman lies in intensive care at Liberia’s Phebe Hospital.

Her mother comes running in with the drugs she needs, but the doctor shakes his head. It is too late.

“When patients come, we are obliged to send (family members) out to get drugs. Sometimes by the time they get back (the) patients are dead,” laments Dr Jefferson Sibley, the hospital’s medical director.

“People are dying in front of our eyes, and we cannot do anything.”

Battered by years of civil war and then in 2014-16 by the worst Ebola epidemic in history, Liberia’s health sector is on its knees.

The crumbling infrastructure lacks almost everything — medicine, beds, equipment, ambulances, even a reliable electricity supply.

Phebe, in central Bong county, is the second largest hospital in Liberia, with 200 beds and seven doctors on its staff.

Despite chronic shortages, it still manages to treat at least 2,500 patients every month.

“We are supposed to get supplies from the ministry of health and the National Drug Services (NDS) but we haven’t received supplies for almost a year,” Sibley told AFP.

“We can’t do anything about it.”

Malaria was the cause of death of the woman in the intensive care unit.

She was 25.

– ‘Only the mercy of God’ –

According to the World Health Organization, total health expenditure per person per year is about $100 (87 euros) in Liberia, among the lowest in the world.

There is fewer than one regional or district hospital per 100,000 people in the country of about 4.7 million.

In 2010, accordiong to the latest available data, there were eight hospital beds per 10,000 people.

In Jenepeleta, a village 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the hospital in Phebe, Regina Kollie, 45, is trying to lower the fever of the youngest of her five children, a four-year-old girl.

Like many in the region, Regina sought help in traditional medicine and gathered leaves with which to wash her daughter, following the advice of a healer.

The treatment is not working and the child’s fever has raged for days. But going to the hospital is not an option.

“I don’t have the money to take my daughter to Phebe. The ambulance used to help us in these cases, but we don’t see it any more,” Regina says, weeping.

“The two ambulances we had are broken down,” Sibley confirmed, noting the vehicles had been “instrumental when it comes to saving lives”.

The ambulances “used to go for pregnant women, children and other people who are seriously ill in the villages… and bring them to us,” he said.

But now if there is an emergency case, “only the mercy of God can help.”

– Surgery by storm lantern –

“We have so many problems, but the key problem is that no funding is coming to the hospital,” said Sibley.

“We find ourselves indebted to vendors. People we take fuel from, people we take drugs from, all of them refuse to supply us because we owe them lots of money. The hospital owes $300,000 (265,000 euros) to vendors.”

The hospital’s electricity is frequently cut off, plunging it into darkness at night and forcing the lone surgeon to carry out operations by the light of storm lanterns.

A shortage of medicines is also crippling Liberia’s largest national health facility, the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Monrovia, says its medical director Jerry Brown.

“There are some drugs you can’t find in local pharmacies and government regulations prohibit us from procuring drugs currently from pharmaceutical companies outside the country,” the chief doctor told AFP.

“Our next source of drugs is the National Drug Services,” but it provides only enough to treat the most vulnerable, including children.

The hospital was negotiating with the ministries of health and finance for authorisation to buy directly from manufacturers, Brown said.

Health Minister Wilhelmina Jallah said the problem stemmed from the previous government, under which hospitals ran up big debts by obtaining drugs and fuel on credit.

“We have inherited all these debts, and the vendors no longer want to give us credits,” she said. “We have to pay some of these debts so that we can open the credit lines.”

In a sign of progress, eight container-loads of drugs had arrived, and these will help to ease shortages, she said.

AFP

2, July 2019

Bebe Manga: An Angelic Voice with a Social Conscience ⁰

Few even knew she hailed from Manyu Division in the Southwest region, but her exceptionally creative impulses, great vocal versatility and revitalizing voice captured the hearts of music aficionados. Elizabeth Bessem Manga, known the world over as Bebe Manga was a cultural icon of awesome proportions. She died Friday, July 1, 2011, from a heart attack in Douala, and was buried on July 30, 2011. The glowing tributes that trailed her demise, was testimony; if at all any was needed, that in this woman of grace, yet modest persona, Manyu and Cameroon indeed, lost one of their own!

On stage, Bebe Manga was a natural and consummate performer; a larger-than-life figure who bestrode the Cameroonian music landscape like the colossus that she was; captivating her fans with an angelic voice, a magnetic smile and a dynamic vocal range that could induce delusions of intimate contact.

Bebe Manga could sing Makossa with the rendition of a native Douala speaker, but her Manyu kith and kin remember her for some of the most enchanting songs in her native dialect, distinguishable by the epigrammatic blend of Kenyang and English language. Indeed her music was a language of universal appeal, demonstrating great versatility in a variety of languages and settings that touched people across different nations; from Mota Benama through Na Meya to Alice Agbor and Bele Sombo.

Music lovers, the world over, adored Bebe Manga because of her inspiring lyrics and impassioned music. But her personal life was an epic tragedy of domestic upheaval, “self-exile” and sometimes, torment. A true Bayangi woman to the core in word and in deed; her music reverberated with consciousness about the real conditions of women in their perennial quest for self-emancipation. Her traditional Bayang songs delivered with a Makossa rendition captured the fundamental values of the Manyu character in all its many contradictions.

Born to sing
Bebe Manga was born on November 27, 1948 and hails from Tinto, Upper Bayang Sub-Division in Manyu Division, South West region. She told The Herald in a 1999 interview that her musical career which dates back to 1979 at the then Bar Americain cabaret in Douala was the by-product of an “accident” She had gone on a routine relaxation outing with friends, when one of the bar performers staged a belated rendition of the song “kissa kissa” which happened to be one of her favorite songs. Her entourage exhorted the Bar owner that Bebe Manga could sing better, and the manager took the challenge and gave her the chance. She produced a rhapsodic and scintillating performance that captivated and held the audience spellbound. The Bar manager could not help, but hire her instantly! And so began her roller-coaster career which took her to several African countries – Zaire, Togo, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast.

International Fame
It was in Ivory Coast where the proprietor of the “Son de Guitare” cabaret/night club where she sang, gave her the sobriquet “Bebe.” She said since she had become the crowd favourite at the nightclub, the owner started referring to her as “Mon Bebe Prefere.” And soon everyone started calling her “Bebe”, and eventually the name stuck. Her meteoric rise to the top came in 1980 when she replayed Ebanda Manfred’s 1962 radio hit, “Amie” (French for “friend”), using her golden voice to transform a hitherto unknown song into a worldwide classic that hit the top music charts.

Her version of that song called “Amio” earned her the “Maracas D’or” award from the music production and marketing corporation, SACEM. In the last two decades, Amio has been replayed in different languages by musicians in Europe, the Caribbean, Latin and North America, and Africa, amongst them André Astasié, Nayanka Bell, Manu Dibango, Papa Wemba, Monique Séka and Jackie Biho. She was voted one of the best all time African artists.

A great entertainer turned humanist
Bebe Manga was a musician first and foremost. Her music not only brought her fame and fortune but also became vocal symbols to raise awareness about the plight of children. Although she never had any biological children herself, she raised so many, who called her, mum. “I think the Almighty God gave me a voice, which means He wanted me to sing; which is what has made me famous…I am very grateful and I cannot ask for more because only God knows why He decided that I should not have children.” Bebe Manga was also a philanthropist, believing in the cause of humanity and extending a hand of friendship to the needy and less privileged.

She also endured some bizarre domestic and showbiz episodes. When her marriage to the famed Dr. Ako Defang (AD) Mengot collapsed, she succumbed to a kind of emotional paralysis yet this part of her life, seldom discussed, became a major source of inspiration for some of her songs dealing with society’s foibles, such as domestic violence, marital infidelity, polygamy, inter-tribal marriages, death and life beyond this realm. In showbiz, she once failed to appear for a show in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and when she returned years later, she was jailed for a night until the outstanding financial penalty was paid on her behalf.

She finally returned to Cameroon in the 1990s and became a first choice performer at national culture and arts festivals but the music business had moved on and, despite working with stars like Manu Dibango and Tom Yoms (also of blessed memory), the opportunities for giving concerts had diminished. She was planning to grace the Manyu Elements Cultural Association (MECA) Canada convention, when she suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the Douala Laquintini hospital where Doctors were unable to revive her.

An artist with a social conscience
Bebe Manga’s music sprang from deep inside her soul. Millions of people were inspired by this charismatic, electrifying Manyu woman with a matchless ability to touch the human spirit with her moving voice. Her voice as the signature song in the movie Potent Secrets undoubtedly raised the profile of the film.

Bebe Manga produced several albums and videos with an audience reaching across Cameroon, West and Central Africa, Europe and North America. Her lyrics thunder with rare Bayang resonance, as she sang from the very depths of her heart, which in turn struck a chord deep down our soul. She leaves behind a rich legacy. The best way to pay homage to the towering memory of Bebe Manga is to uphold the values that she so selflessly embodied.

Love was the essence of Bebe Manga‘s life. She gave it to all who came her way in full measure. In her songs, in her smile and her sweet personality, Bebe Manga conveyed great warmth. Her life was full of ups and downs: but she was a true artist; a great entertainer with a social conscience. While we celebrate the life she lived, we should equally ask ourselves what abiding qualities we can learn from her rich and meaningful life. Cameroon will produce other great singers and greatly talented women. It is however doubtful that Cameroon will produce another Bebe Manga. Adieu Golden Voice; may you reincarnate as a Manyu woman!

By Valerian Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai, Boston USA