“We can be free only together, we can progress only together”, once said Desmond Tutu. Living in harmony and peace with his neighbours and self has and always will be one of the most pressing needs of man. In a bid to achieve this desire, so many attempts have been made; a considerable proportion of which have proven futile and another not less important portion successful. One of these attempts by men to live together over the years, has been the formation of blocks, groupings, or better still organizations at: neighbourhood, village, town, regional, national, continental, and even inter continental level. It this quest for collective, inclusive, and participative freedom and progress that led to the creation of the Mmen Unit of Students and Teachers(M.U.S.T).
In fact, individual quest for freedom by youths from Bafmeng, had led to a glaring reality, that: individual dreams, aspirations, needs, and efforts when combined produce more beautiful, more inclusive, and more sustainable results.
Education is the most powerful tool for the empowerment of man. It is therefore without hesitation that, it is education that was chosen by the Mmen Unit of Students and Teachers to empower the Bafmeng people and spur them to strive for glory that is unfading and gives meaning to their lifes.
Where I come from, a child who doesn’t cry as he leaves the mother’s womb for the world is forced to do so. This could be by pinching or slapping the child. In Bafmeng, just like in most African societies, the cry of a child, and therefore the voice of a Man is what give his/her life a meaning. Therefore to be recognized as a human being, every single soul in my community has to make his/her voice heard. Expressing one’s feelings and thoughts is facilitated by the acquisition of knowledge and skills to do so-Through education. Education thus plays a primordial role in Man’s expression and exercise of his humanness, the recognition of this humanness, and the right to it by every individual in this world-Our fundamental right as humans.
Bafmeng is one of the most enclaved villages in Cameroon. Youths constitute a majority of its population, and farming the main occupying activity of its population. The poverty that reigns in this part of Cameroon coupled with some traditions and cultures has over the years greatly hindered the school attendance rate of its people. The journey of the Bafmeng people with education on the path to development has been one full of: obstacles, dilemmas, and successes. So too has the journey of the Mmen Unit Student and Teachers (M.U.S.T) being overtime. As time went by, education took its roots among the Bafmeng people-occupying a special place in their hearts, and leading to the spread of the Mmen Unit of Students and Teachers (M.U.S.T). The M.U.S.T has spread to regions, villages, and towns all over Cameroon. One of these being Buea, the heart of Anglo-Saxon education in Cameroon, and also my branch.
To seek and wholeheartedly fight for any thing, a person must be convinced about the necessity of such a thing. Communication is a vital tool in creating awareness in a people about a particular issue and in transforming them. Reason why, to let people know why it was, and will always be important to be educated so as to move ahead, become a better, healthier, and happier people, we prioritized communication and sensitization. In a bid to let the people know what education, development, and emancipation meant, we organize educative talks, sensitization campaigns, and initiated a yearly magazine called, “The SECRET”. These tools, all meant to let the Bafmeng man and woman know that, education, and education alone will lift our beloved village from its knees and make it as great as we all want to see it-A poverty, injustice, and disease free village.
Sustainability determines the impact and usefulness of any human undertaking on those subject to such a decision or move. The sensitization campaigns and other tools used to get the message on the importance of education and participation in community development efforts across to the Mmen people in and around Buea has not only changed but greatly transformed the way people in my community view development and democracy. Democracy more than words, has become for my people a way of life-Concrete actions rather than mere sweet talk-A personal decision and collective effort rather than “The Government’s or politician’s thing”.
A geometric increase in the number of Bafmeng children attending primary and secondary school in and out of the village, a steady growth in the number of those going beyond secondary school, an increase the number of schools in Bafmeng, and the immense number of women, youths, and children empowered to take their destinies into their hands are just a visible tip of the iceberg of the quiet but firm, and slow but sure revolution that education has brought to this village- The greatest legacy of this collective effort by the Bafmeng people, is a change of mentalities.-The most invisible things, being the most essential of all.
To the 21st Century Bafmeng native, its schools neither belong to the state, nor the denominational institutions, and individuals who set them up, but rather belong to the village and constitute its most precious assets. These schools for the most part are being taught by teachers hired by their Parents’ Teachers’ Association (P.T.A), support for the improvement of infrastructure in schools has also increased, as well as has the concern of the people for the community’s welfare. These shows that, the Bafmeng Man has surely understood with Oliver Wendell Holmes that, “What lies behind and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us’’. This assertion has never been so true in the life of the Bafmeng Man, who has now decided not to cry over spilt milk, rejected procrastination, refused to be afraid nor doubt the power of education, and decided instead to forge ahead without ever being discouraged or barking down. For to be as Developed as those nations which they today admire, cherish and dream of living in, the Mmen people have decided to embrace education wholeheartedly, never to let it go (like a lover)-An educated people are a developed people-a people with a purpose-a happy and enlightened people.
We, at the Mmen Unit of Students and Teachers, believe the greatest change, is a change in, and not a change of persons, we believe that any meaningful change, is one which is sustainable and inclusive and so, consider no action as small or useless to bring about change. Change, being a journey which we every day undertake, members and supporters of the M.U.S.T have on this journey for change from illiteracy to literacy, consciously or unconsciously become modern day freedom fighters and like athletes, agree with the Olympic creed that,“The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well”. At M.U.S.T, we are conscious of the fact that much still needs to be done for a greater and better Bafmeng. However, we are proud of doing our part for Bafmeng’s development and for having brought to light the fact that, there can be no development without freedom-The greatest freedom, for us, is freedom from illiteracy, and education, the greatest liberating tool. Given that, development moves hands in glove with education, our people have embraced it and with it are building a Bafmeng in which every is not only counted, but above all counts-An emancipated Bafmeng man-An educationally democratic Bafmeng.
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