A Story of Cameroon

Today I want to take some time to write about a very close friend of mine and tell of the amazing things she is doing in Cameroon right now.

I met my sister Nina Ngassa back in 2006. It was my first time in Cameroon and I lived with her family for five weeks in the Fiango neighborhood of Kumba. I was working with the Organisation for Sustainable Rural Infrastructure (OSRI) whose office is opposite the High Court. It was something like a 9 to 5.

When I wasn't traveling to remote villages to meet with traditional leaders and water management committees or trekking through the bush (jungle) to identify potential sources for water supply, I spent much time in the Ngassa compound on All For God Street. The 12-foot high concrete wall surrounding the grocery store proprietor's home provided security from the sometimes-rough surrounding area of Fiango. Inside the compound, I found a new home in the conversations with my brothers and sisters. Natalie and Nina were finishing up high school and preparing to attend the University of Buea. Junior was a very intelligent and very stubborn young man of about 10. Even at that age, he was a nationalist and did not let me forget what 'my fathers' did to his African ancestors. Terrance, or Small T, was a young teen who lived with the Ngassas and cherished any time spent outside of the fortress-like compound...talking to neighborhood girls and sneaking in sweets when he could. He is tall now. Big T, their older brother named Terrance, was away at university so I did not see him all that much. He now lives in the United Kingdom.

I learned much about family from our conversations. Nina was a rebel. She followed suit when she had to, but never hesitated to voice her discontent with anything her Mom required of her. Ma Ngassa doesn't play either. She runs a tight ship. Nina and I had an instant draw...I guess because we both aim to be revolutionaries... Our conversations went deeper and we shared our dreams with eachother. Wide-eyed as we were - and still may be - we both saw our futures in Cameroon.

Nina studied Law at the University of Buea in the Southwest Region. She graduated in 2009. Her Mom and Dad encouraged her to enter another training school to pursue a position within one of the Ministries of the Government. Nina wanted to make movies. About a year ago - right about the time I started talking to Peter and Brian about starting CFDP - Nina began writing a screenplay for her first feature film.

After six months of writing, she assembled a production crew and struggled to find the much-needed financial backing to secure a Nigerian movie star as the lead and cover all other filmmaking expenditures. Pre-production planning began in November 2010 and all things are now in place to begin filming by the end of March for the 10-14 day shoot. Much of the filming will be done in the beach town of Limbe, on the Atlantic coast.

The red carpet premier is planned for May 17th in Buea. With this endeavor, she sets her sights on becomming one of the biggest producers in Cameroon. I only hope we should be so lucky to see a CFDP documentary as one of her future projects. I admire my sister Nina's ambition, persistence, and dedication. This is a story of Cameroon. This is a story of Africa.


Justin