C.N.Y.C Pulls Hundreds in Mbengwi

C.N.Y.C Pulls Hundreds in Mbengwi

The Cameroon National Youth Council, Mbengwi communal bureau has set a mobilisation record that will take long to be broken within the sub division after it  successfully pulled over 500 spectators to the Mbengwi municipal stadium on Sunday April 29th to watch socio-sporting activities marking the end of a three days youth camp it organised. The C.N.Y.C is an apolitical, lay and non profit making organization that serves as a national forum for consultation, expression, coordination, dialogue and action of youth organisations in Cameroon. It's mission is to developed synergy between youth organisations in Cameroon in order to enhance young people's creativity and optimise their potentials for action and participation in development through the facilitation and promotion of educational, cultural, sports values and civic education among youths.

On February 17th, new bureaus were voted into office in all sub divisions nationwide after which the Mbengwi bureau immediately set to work. Firstly, they held meetings with leaders of over 10 different youth associations in Mbengwi and resolved to form a youth coalition with the goal of enhancing development within the sub division through voluntary community service. Secondly, they initiated a Mbengwi Youth Camp whose realisation recorded a resounding success and the echoes are still reverberating far and wide.

The three days event started on Friday the 27th with human investment by filling potholes on the stretch of road Check Point to District Hospital entrance. The situation had been very deplorable to the point were cars and bikes were then using but the edges of the road because of the many potholes in the middle but after the work, the situation was remedied and now better.  Early in the morning on Saturday, forty athletes took part in a cross country race from the Grand Stand to Mile 19, Muswe, Njembeng, Mbon, Check Point, G.R.A and back to the Grand Stand. Fomunyoh Lydia and Guam Julius emerged winners with each backing home cash prizes of 10.000F.  The 2nd and 3rd position occupiers in the male and female categories received 7000 and 5000 respectively. The rest received consolatory prizes of 1000F each.

All roads led to the Mbengwi municipal stadium on Sunday April 29th for the final day of the youth camp. It all started with a horse race round the stadium then followed by handball girls during which the girls of Njembeng thrashed those of Mile 19 by 7 goals to 6. For handball boys, Mile 17 beat Njembeng and the match was preceded by a cultural dance performance by the Mbororo youths. Before the football match could start, a mammoth crowd of over 500 spectators had clustered round the pitch to witness the historic encounter, historic because of the teams (SIMAF Football Academy vs Mbengwi FC), the officiators and the end results. The Young Presbyterians of P.C Mbengwi first thrilled the audience with a splendid Mukonge dance. Then the kick off was executed by ex commissioner Awasum Simon, accompanied by the youth council bureau members. At the blast of the whistle, the scramble started.

Several factors led to the success story. The council members are visionary, development oriented and very  influential. The initiative to form a youth coalition  also added steam to the event. A publicity caravan went round the town that afternoon in addition to what was being done by a community based radio station in Mbengwi, Rainbow Radio that fully marketed the event from beginning till end. Then too, live commentaries were ran from the stadium and this spurred many inhabitants to go see things for themselves. The beautiful weather of the day played a key role. It was a Sunday, a Tad (market) day and in the rainy season yet the day was bright and fair despite the fact that rain is noted to fall on every Tad market day. Finally, the central referee was a come and see. Many got the information as a surprise that the parish pastor of P.C Njembeng, Rev. Epie Mark Kogge who doubles as the Meta presbytery treasurer was to handle the whistle and decided to come and see for themselves most especially as many of his Christians never even knew he is a very good footballer. Moreover, one of the linesmen was Evan. Abanda Edwin from The Church of Christ thus confirming Football to be a unifying game as often said.

Back to the field of play, barely 3 minutes into the first half, a free kick advantage awarded to Mbengwi FC was converted into a goal. Not long from then Peter Paul from Mbengwi FC tactfully smuggled the ball across the cracked defence line of SIMAF and surprised the goal keeper with a second goal. Things started falling apart. Their corner stone had been shaken and the building came collapsing like a shipwreck by pirates of the Caribbean. Before the first half ended, Mbengwi FC was up by 3 goals to 0. At half time, DJ Prado, a son of the soil took to the rostrum and moved the crowd with his new single "Chakam".

After having revised their notebooks, the players of SIMAF F.A couldn't still destabilise the mountainous defence line of Mbengwi FC within the second half. Rather it became like the revenge of the Spartans. As if not still satisfied with sleeping dogs lying but wanting to see them buried, Mbengwi FC will again score another goal  to make it 4 and maintained it like that till the blast of the final whistle.

Before the handing over of prizes, the budding vernacular rapper Forkeh alias Menemo from the Mbengwi fondom caused screams of joy among the audience when he took to the stage with freestyles in Meta language mixed with English, French and Pidgin.  The crowd went wild (not negatively) during a dancing competition where 8 dancers started and were gradually being eliminated till the final 2 were gotten. Little Blaise Samuel from Barajei, Bome and Armstrong alias Danseur from Wumnebit competed for the 5000 cash prize. Deciding the winner was like asking between the chicken and the egg, which came first.

And that is how it happened that amidst challenges like the current tensed political atmosphere, unpredictable weather conditions and poor response to appeal letters that were given to elites and business magnets of the sub division, the youth council still successfully organised a hitch free three days crowd pulling youth camp in Mbengwi. But for persons like the executive director of A Better World Organisation and that of NewSETA, the Member of Parliament for Momo East, the C.E.O of Rainbow Radio and a host of others that supported the event financially, a  majority simply neglected the endeavours of the Mbengwi youths and underestimated what the youth council could do though it however spurred the members to deep their hands into their pockets to make up for the shortage just so that every participant went back home with something.

The 2018 Mbengwi Youth Camp has come and gone as the  C.N.Y.C Mbengwi communal bureau now looks forward to organising another crowd pulling event, Mbengwi Youth Cultural Festival come December 2018.