Menchum: Journalist, Kum Leonard, offers scholarships to Journalism Club students.

The largesse is part of an excellence award initiative for Secondary School students in Menchum Division which began last year.

Through the initiative, Kum Leonard, who is Director General of Douala-based privately owned television channel, My Media Prime, intends to inspire students of the area pursue a career in journalism.

Christened: “Kum Leonard Award of Excellence in Journalism”, the 15 beneficiaries of this year’s scholarship, come from Government High School, GHS Wum, Government Bilingual High School, GBHS Wum, Presbyterian High School, PHS Wum, Government High School, GHS Esu and Government High School, GHS Weh.

The students who received the awards of excellence were carefully selected from journalism clubs of five colleges in Menchum Division. 

Besides the certificates of excellence handed to the laurates, the beneficiary students also received cash prizes of 10, 000 FCFA each.

Kum Leonard says the initiative is his “own way of giving back to my community and to inspire young students who aspire to pursue a career in journalism with the hope that they will make better journalists tomorrow”.

He detailed that: “I am from Menchum. I was Senior Prefect of GBHS Wum and GHS Wum. By the special Grace of God, I am succeeding in a career in journalism. I couldn’t have been what I am today without the contribution of these schools. The schools contributed in what I have become today”.

“…I felt that I should give back to these schools in my own small way…since I am in the field of journalism, I thought that I should inspire those who are in journalism clubs in GHS Wum and GBHS Wum. But since I am a son of Menchum, I decided not to limit it to my Alma mater but to extend the largesse to other schools in my Menchum Division of origin,” the ace broadcast journalist told The Guardian Post.

He continued that: “It is important for these students to know that journalism is a noble profession and a profession where they can make a living from”.

Meanwhile, speaking at the crowd-pulling ceremony, staged yesterday on the campus of GHS Wum, the Divisional Officer, DO of Wum Central Subdivision, Njoe Godfrey Nembi, saluted the initiative before describing Kum Leonard as a pacesetter.

The civil administrator said: “This is a laudable gesture. We really appreciate this initiative. We are calling on the other elite of this Subdivision to emulate Kum Leornard’s example,” he added.

“On behalf of the administration of this dynamic and peaceful Subdivision, I want to thank Mr Kum Leonard for what he is doing to the entire population and to students in particular. We are aware that it is not easy. That is why we are really appreciative of this support,” he concluded.

Taking the cue, the Vice Principal of GHS Wum, Ndiforba Emmanuel, showered praises on Kum Leonard, for giving back to his community.

The senior pedagogue stated that: “We wish to encourage other ex-students who are in other fields and professions to emulate the example of Mr Kum Leonard and possibly encourage others to join their professions. On behalf of the administrations of all these schools, we wish to thank Mr Kum Leonard so much,” he added.

But who really is Kum Leonard?

Born on July 25, 1979 to a polygamous home in Lobe Estate, Ndian Division of the Southwest Region, Kum Leonard Bin attended primary education in Government School, Bekora in Ndian Division of the South West Region and Government School, Esu where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate, FSLC with excellence. 

Because his father could not afford to send him to Secondary School, he was employed as a House Boy where he served before returning to continue school thanks to his cousins who vowed to see him through school. 

Kum Leonard Bin did his Secondary and High School education in GBHS Mankon, GBSS Wum and GHS Wum and Littoral GBHS Edea. 

His High School & University days were among the most challenging of his life. Kum read Journalism and Mass Communication in the University of Buea. 

After graduation, Kum volunteered with CRTV Mt. Cameroon FM, assisting in the production of some programs while assisting his elder brother in a Film Rental Shop at Mile 16, Bolifamba-Buea, for survival, keeping faith and hope alive for better days.

Kum Leonard is one of the pioneer Editors In-Chief of Buea- based TV station, HI-TV. He held the position between June 2011 and November 2018, where he practiced journalism for exactly seven years. 

He was appointed Managing Director of BT MEDIA GROUP in November 2018. He has been ensuring the day to day management of the Media Group and respect for the media house’s editorial policy amongst other functions. 

He equally handles administrative matters at different levels and also engaging partnerships with other structures. 

He is also host of two programs on My Media Prime TV, the mother channel of the Media Group that comprises eight TV channels. 

Kum Leonard currently runs a peace initiative called Peace House, with objective of recruiting as many peace crusaders as possible to engage the preaching of love, forgiveness and reconciliation at all levels of community life, starting with the family. 

Kum Leonard Bin is member of many journalists’ associations and trade unions. He is member of the Cameroon Journalists’ Trade Union, SNJC, Cameroon Community Media Network, CCMN and Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ. 

He served as the pioneer president of the Cameroon Journalists’ Trade Union for the South West Region and pioneer Secretary General of the Cameroon Community Media Network.