By Richard Tabong
On 2 September 2023, the Ndiengso hostel in Yaoundé was the setting for the traditional student awards ceremony. The 22nd edition was distinguished by more substantial prizes, the fruit of a financial mobilisation of the vital forces of the Bafoussam group.
The total amount of contributions collected for the Ndiengso students’ prizes this year came to just over 1.1 million CFA francs. A record amount.
Just over 300 nursery, primary and secondary school pupils (in the French-speaking and English-speaking sexions) each received school supplies worth between 10 and 20 thousand CFA francs.
The 22nd edition of the Excellence in Education event, held on 2 September 2023 at the Ndiengso foyer in Yaoundé, is being described as a memorable one.
The prizes included notebooks, books, scholarships and other awards that clearly set the tone for the 2023-2024 school year for these young people.
Dieudonné Fondop, the head of the Bafoussam community in Yaoundé, was delighted by the total satisfaction of the parents of the young recipients.
“The aim of this school excellence ceremony is to encourage children not just to go on to the next class, but to surpass themselves in order to succeed with good marks. This ongoing quest for excellence by the elite of the village of Ndiengso It is a healthy source of inspiration for the entire Bafoussam community”.
For the 22nd edition, the mobilisation of funds for the prizes was inclusive. All the vital forces of the village of Bafoussam grasped the outstretched hand of the village of Ndiengso. It’s more than a show of support, it’s a vision held dear by the members of the Ndiengso elite.
“This opening has a twofold objective: it allows the level of study of our children to improve. Above all, it aims to set the tone and example for all the neighbourhoods in the village of Bafoussam, so that they follow the recommendations of our superior chief, for whom the education of children is of paramount importance”, explained Emmanuel Nguetchueng Fotso, president of the Ndiengso elite in Yaoundé.
The women’s agent is not in retreat
This mobilisation has strengthened the package that is regularly reserved for the children selected for this award, in addition to the organisation, which has spared no effort to alert young people to the challenges of the moment.
The young Ndienso girl was clearly committed to responsibility. “A young girl must be responsible and dynamic. She must not let herself be pushed around just because she’s a girl. She must strive for excellence in life. We are fighting to ensure that young Ndiengso girls get this message”, Promises Pauline Fotié, President of the elite women of Ndiengso.
The president of the Ndiengso elite in Yaoundé is working with all the active forces in the village and community to ensure that the action is a long-term one.
Emmanuel Nguetchueng Fotso hopes that “we’re getting parents to understand the merits of what we’re doing, so that together we can build something serious, so that these prize-giving events can be passed on to our offspring, so that in the future the same children will come and continue this great work”.
The leader of the Ndiengso community concluded by saying that he hoped other young people who had not won prizes in 2023 would do so next year, thanks to their efforts.
