Seed of Hope Foundation

www.seofhop.org

Lawrence Fuhnwi Suh, 4 years old, and his twin 2-year-old brothers, Eugene Amahnwi Suh and Collins Azinwi Suh, were born into circumstances of despair. They live with their mother, Miss Suh Tierene, in the Njimbee neighborhood near Tubah Subdivision, Mezam, in the Republic of Cameroon.

In her youth, Miss Suh was a lady of many charms: beautiful, attractive, and seductive. She was the object of desire for many possible suitors. Her mother recalls, “Tierene bin bi sum fine and kine pikin wey i de work plenti. Wi bin be piple wey wiah own no bin dey. Wi bin di liv na wit anyting wey wi di siam fo ani day.” (Tierene was a very beautiful, respectful, and hardworking child. We were a very poor family and survived on anything that came our way each day. Sometimes, we had nothing to eat.) Then a soldier came along and won Tierene’s heart. They were unoffically “married,” but it was a short-lived romance. Tierene was subjected to mental and physical violence: sexual harassment, vile language, starvation, beatings, and eventual abandonment by her “husband.”

Tierene was forced into the streets to beg or panhandle for her very survival and that of her son Lawrence Fuhnwi Suh. On the streets, many men took advantage of her, which resulted in the birth of the twins Eugene Amahnwi Suh and Collins Azinwi Suh. The men came only to satisfy their sexual desires and did not stay to help support her or her sons.

Tierene finally collapsed mentally and no longer had the capacity or ability to look after her three children – not even to feed them. Her psychic trauma has grown; she cannot even recognize her own children. Today, she takes medications to address her mental illness.

Tobby Bond Njamngang, the CEO of a local charity, the Seed of Hope Foundation, found Tierene and her sons on the streets and is currently providing them needed medications, food, and clothing through the charity. “I found them on the streets of Four Corners Bambui, Tubah, desperately begging for money, food, and other necessities for survival,” Mr. Njamngang added.

“My first concern was schooling for the children. Today, I am proud to state that, even with our limited resources at the Seed of Hope Foundation, we have been able to provide schooling for these children at the Solidarity Bilingual Daycare Pre-Nursery, Nursery and Primary School in Njimbee, Bafut. They are picking up and we are happy.”

“Our task to help children and women in need, like the Suh family, is immense, but our means are extremely limited,” says Mr. Njamngang.