I grew up in a family of 7 and I was the third born. My mother is a single mother who struggled to raise these 7 children by herself. At the age of 7, my mother sent me to stair with a friend of hers. I had to travel to the next village and that is where I spent my entire childhood under difficult conditions. While with her friend, I worked more like a slave as I was always being commission to do all the household chores, fetch water, fetch firewood, watch dresses, dry-clean, go to the farm, just to name a few. After my graduation from college, I moved again to another home where I worked as a “house boy” while pursuing my high school study. I graduated from high school and my mother told me she had no money for me to further my studies at the University. My life goal was to become a journalist that will inform, educate and bring happiness into the world. I even wrote the competitive entrance examination into the Advanced school of journalism and mass communication in 2016 and succeeded and I officially started school happily while volunteering for a community Radio Station. However, on November 28th 2016, something happened that completely changed the direction of my life. I was walking along the path of the University of Buea where I suddenly saw many students on the street with Placards shouting and rioting because of the marginalization of the anglophone education system, unequal resource allocation and demands that English should be the sole language of instruction. It was also at a time when teachers and lawyers started movements that seeks to fight against historic injustices on the legal system and educational system in anglophone Cameroon. In response, elements of the forces of law and order responded violently to these students, throwing them tear gas and shooting live bullet. Acid water was sprayed on me, My eyes were paining, I could barely see, struggling to run I fell on the gutters, people trample on me. I pass out and I only got up three hours later seeing my hands chained up before uniform officers and when I asked, what happened, I was told, I was arrested because of vandalism, crimes I knew nothing about.
Trying to talk to the security elements that I saw there, they told me my son, be calm, we are here for your security, little did I know that I was on my way to prison.
Later on, at night fall, I was taken to a small room of about 4meters by 4meters. No lights, no beds, no toilet, we were about 20 in that cell, parked like sardine. I stayed for four days with no food, no access to medical health care, no water and no visitor.
After spending 4days in the cell, the police hierarchy, visited the cell, saw how we were over parked and promise us that they intend to decongest the cell. We were very happy, thinking that we were about to be released, A series of trucks were brought in, we were sent in, little did we know that we were being taken to the prison 300km away.
Upon arrival at the prison cell, I saw first-hand how inmates struggle for space to sleep in the prison toilets. while there, I saw other inmates who have spent over 5years under waiting trials, no access to medical treatment talk less of access to clean water and food. I saw first hand how prison waders treat prisoners. One thing I experience was during every evening, a list will be brought, names will be read and we will be asked to be seated in tight hot rooms with no ventilation. In a land where I don’t understand French. during roll call, I could hear the prison administrator saying “Cinq Cinq Kossovo” meaning, “five five in the dungeon”. This detention facility is deadly and is aimed at gradually taking the lives of detainees through the mental health implications.
I saw innocent persons spending unproductive time in prison and there are mixed with hardened criminals who in that process radicalized them even more and instead of rehabilitating them, they end up becoming worst versions of themselves. I also saw first-hand how innocent persons suffer with wounds, critical health situations without medical treatment.
Upon my release, I became passionate to work on four things, Rehabilitation and reintegration, human rights advocacy and access to Justice, Nation building and skill development for young people and ex-prisoners. I also observed that my mother who did not even know where I was for the pass one month had already become traumatized and had declared search for me everywhere. My father develop stroke as a result of the fact that he did not know my whereabout.
On the other hand, prisoners of war with whom I was released at the same time became very idle in the society. They were rejected by the community in which they found themselves in, most of them out of isolation became hardened criminals on the street, street children, during which they engage in activities that end up sending them back to prison.
The laws in Cameroon have a lot of lapses causing the law enforcement officers to interpret it in their favor and hence abusing the rights of citizens. young people on the street lack alternative education that offers them skills and relevant knowledge that can help them transform local resources they have into something profitable for the society. Women, most of whom are widows and single mothers are unable to take care of their children as they grow up. They tend up growing children who are social misfit in the society and morally not uprights, they bring up vagabonds and the effects are heavy on the society. They become potential street children, child soldiers and vandals and so on and so forth.
When I identified all of these problems, I started wondering, what can I do to create positive change in the society. I applied to study law. While studying public law at the University of Buea, the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights Launched its first fellowship program and out of my consistent quest for knowledge, I applied for the fellowship and out of more than 2000 Applications from across different African Countries, I was selected as the first Human Rights fellow before the African Court on Human and people’s Rights in Arusha Tanzania. Haven’t acquired all of this knowledge, I am ready to start action, so, I founded “Architect of Transforming Lives” and we will be working with 4 categories of persons: Drug Users, Ex-combatants, prisoners and ex-prisoners and young people. To solve the above problem, we will work on the following objectives
1. Rehabilitation and reintegration of the above target population into the society
2. Access to justice for young people and protection of their Human Rights
3. Offering psychosocial support for young people
4. To fight against drug abuse
This project idea came as a result of my experience under illegal detention and out of detention. As a result of my experience as a victim of illegal arrest and illegal detention. I saw how people’s lives are being ruined and how they spend unproductive time in prisons.
When i identified this problem and the solution, i started asking what i could do to create positive change.
We are driving towards establishing a Rehabilitation Center in the south west region of Cameron where we will offer counselling services and psychosocial support to substance abusers:
We started this with community sensitization and counselling services with these substance Abusers.
