MECUDA Kisses Life into Orphans

MECUDA Kisses Life into Orphans

It was a joyous and miraculous Saturday June 20th 2020 in the lives of the 28 kids of House of Hope Orphanage, Wumfi-Ku, Mbengwi subdivision. Stag naked, they jumped up and down, shouting and singing celebration songs. The scenario sprung from the arrival of a fully loaded truck with goods destined for them. It was as if life had just been kissed into the kids at the nip of time.

The Orphans Overwhelmed with Joy for the Donation

Founded in 2013, House of Hope Orphanage is dedicated to raising orphaned children in a Christ centred home, emphasizing sustainability, empowerment and community development. It started with 7 kids and today has 28. Originally in Ngyen-Mbo, the orphanage was forced to transfer to Back Mbon in 2018 due to frequent gun battles around the area, traumatising the kids. Moreover, some walls of the orphanage had collapsed, posing a great risk to the children. 

The rented house in Back Mbon was a mess. Here, the kids lived in very deplorable conditions. They had moved from frying pan to fire. They had just one parlour. At night, they'll roll their skeletal mattresses on the floor and sleep on, crowded. By morning, they'll wrap the mattresses and lean against the wall, together with their dresses. The surroundings were often nasty. Hardly could one visit the kids and not hold back his/her tears.

Previous Deplorable Living Conditions in Back Mbon

When images of these their deplorable conditions were shared on social media, little did one know it was going to be the end of their suffering. Firstly, a certain son of the soil by name Foncham Humphrey from the U.S offered the kids a new home worth the salt of live in free of charge for a period of two years. The hostel-like structure used to host students and workers before the advent of the crisis but afterwards, all tenants relocated due to the crisis leaving the structure empty. That's how the orphanage was transferred to Wumfi as Mr. Humphrey asked them to go occupy it. The house includes an apartment for the matron, 5 bedrooms for the kids, a firewood kitchen and store, 2 rooms of a side house in which table birds that were also donated to the orphanage by a good Samaritan are currently being reared. 

Afterwards, four Europe based branches of the Meta Cultural and Development Association (MECUDA) precisely France, Germany, Belgium and the U.K combined their efforts in a common project to help the orphanage. A team of project executors was set up on the ground headed by Madam Tanah Rachael. For weeks, they kept fine tuning strategies on how to better go about executing the project and by Saturday June 20th, the rendezvous was taken to go donate the items. 

Madam Tanah Rachael, Head of Execution Committee

As disclosed by Madam Rachael, the four MECUDA branches offered House of Hope Orphanage 12 bung beds making a total of 24, mattresses, blankets, bedsheets, pillows and their cases, pots, buckets, cutleries, toiletries, food and money plus a health insurance that shall foot all the hospital bills of  kids that shall fall sick for a given period of time in a chosen health facility. All of these amounted to two million two hundred and sixty five thousand (2.265.000) Frs CFA. 

Madam Ayaba Malvis is the founder/matron of the orphanage. Almost speechless, she lacked words to appreciate the donors but managed to offer these few, "I say thank you very much because if someone had told me one day I'll stand looking at things like these brought to House of Hope Orphanage, I won't have believed." 14 years old Tende Clara on behalf of the orphans told the donors that "We are so grateful for this marvelous gift. We say thank you and may the Almighty God give you more open doors so that you may continue   to support us in the nearest future."

Madam Ayaba Malvis, Founder/Matron, House of Hope Orphanage, Mbengwi

Tende Clara, Spokesperson of the Kids

Preceding the handing over ceremony was  exhortation by Pastor Abanda Edwin of the Church of Christ, Mbengwi who called on all to be the ears, legs, mouth and eyes of the orphanage while encouraging the kids to remain obedient and respectful. He also encouraged society to cultivate and sustain the habit of caring for orphans and widows as commanded by the Word of God, not necessarily much like MECUDA but beginning from little.

The event had in attendance Mr. Musi Joseph, the Wumfi quarter head and Mr. Mbanwi Stephen, MECUDA home coordinator. To the former, Meta sons and daughters have been seemingly missing in the aspect of giving back to their communities like others, not until of recent that he's seeing his expectations being met. To the latter,  it's not been long MECUDA spent about 12 million to combat COVID-19 in the clan and now, these four branches in  Europe have continued in the same light by donating items worth over two million to the orphanage. "I'm overwhelmed with joy and happiness because of what God has done through our brothers and sisters in Europe who are by this gesture teaching others that when away, don't forget about home, where your navel was planted" he added.  

Mr. Mbanwi Stephen Anjeh, MECUDA Home Coordinator

Mr. Musi Joseph, Quaterhead, Wumfi-Ku

Pastor Abanda Edwin, Church of Christ, Mbengwi 

God's time they say is the best and when He decides to bless you, the deaf and dump will testify, the blind will see it. The event hadn't ended when the president of the Board of Directors of the Azire Cooperative Credit Union Limited (AziCCUL), Madam Akum Esther  arrived with a delegation to also make a donation to the orphanage on behalf of the union, comprising a bag of warm clothing and a power generator. Having visited the orphanage before and seeing their inhumane living conditions, as a daughter of the soil, she had to convince her union to reach out to the orphanage as part of AziCCUL's cooperate social responsibility. 

Coming at a time when the Momo Divisional headquarters, Mbengwi is undergoing chronic power outages, the generator came as a stitch in time to save nine. The MECUDA project was and will likely be the biggest donation House of Hope Orphanage ever had. The matron described what happened on that fateful Saturday as a breakthrough. The children are now sleeping on their brand new beds, covering brand new blankets, laying their heads on brand new pillows and eating good food. In fact, God has buttered their bread. The MECUDA national president, Ayaba David had sent words of encouragement to the committee charged with executing the project plus a token to refresh themselves after.

The successful execution of the project was thanks to the commitment of Mr. Fonjong Derick who coordinated affairs from Europe liaising with those on the ground headed by Madam Rachael as general coordinator, Amboh Gordon as secretary and myself Fongoh p. Ayeh as communicator. Other contributors included Mr. Tacho Mathias that transported the items from Bamenda to Mbengwi, Mr. Raphael that constructed the beds, Mrs. Limen née Foncham Gladys and Mr. Foncham Philip that had earlier coordinated the handing of the house in Wumfi to the orphanage.