Cameroonian Catholic Archdiocese Announces “a second collection during all Masses” to Support Flood Victims

Expressing his closeness with the victims of the floods, the Cameroonian Catholic Archbishop says, “We cannot simply feel sorry for a people who were already living in rather lowly conditions to be literally stripped of their human dignity.”

“As sons and daughters in the one Mystical Body of Christ, I hereby request that all of us should do something to give some assistance to our suffering brethren,” he says.

The Archbishop of Bamenda who also serves as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) directs that all proceeds from the second collection be forwarded to the Archdiocesan Finance Office by October 12.

Apart from the October 6 collection, Archbishop Nkea has told the Catholic Education Secretary of the Archdiocese of Bamenda to also facilitate a similar collection in the month of October among school going children in his Metropolitan See. 

According to the Archbishop, schools in the region were destroyed by the floods and the children cannot go to school. “At their own level, the children are also expected to come to the assistance of their stranded brothers and sisters,” Archbishop Nkea says.

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He says that the heavy rain in the Far North Region of Cameroon hit its peak on August 28, causing the breaking of the water retention dikes in Mayo-Danay Division.

This, in turn, resulted in the flooding of surrounding villages belonging to the Logone and Chari Divisions.

“Reports tell us that not only farmland and infrastructure like the bridge over the River Danay have been destroyed and essential services and education have been disrupted as school campuses have been inundated, but above all over a dozen people lost their lives and about two thousand people have been rendered homeless as a result of this disaster,” says Archbishop Nkea.

Earlier, Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Cameroon’s Catholic Archdiocese of Douala appealed for donations in favour of the flood victims.

In a statement he issued on September 24, Archbishop Kleda reaffirmed the Catholic Church's longstanding tradition of helping those in dire need.

He said, “These are Cameroonians who need serious help. It’s a Catholic tradition for the Church to contribute money to help the poor and suffering.”

Meanwhile, the Cameroonian government reportedly announced 350 million CFA francs (US$595,714.00) in aid for the flood victims, a sum that some stakeholders have considered insufficient, given the scale of the crisis. Some reports have indicated that the government offer was revised upwards, from 350 million FCFA to 1.9 billion FCFA (US$ 3.2 million). 

Sabrine Amboka contributed to the writing of this story.

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