Back-to-school: CAMASEJ offers financial support to 22 children of deceased colleagues.

The gesture was announced through an internal memo which the Secretary General of CAMASEJ, Amindeh Blaise Atabong, issued on September 2, on behalf of the National President, Viban Jude. 

Beneficiary orphans are those identified within Bamenda, Douala, Kumba, Limbe and Yaounde chapters of the association. The funds, the memo detailed, will be channeled through Chapter Presidents, for onward transmission to beneficiaries. 

Per the memo, each of the 22 identified orphans will receive the sum of 75,000 FCFA. The amount, the CAMASEJ memo noted, will be to “assist with school fees, books, and related expenses for the 2025/2026 school year”.

The initiative, CAMASEJ explained, is part of its commitment to “stand with the families of its members who have passed on, ensuring that their children continue to access education despite the challenges”. 

The National President of CAMASEJ, Viban Jude, through the memo, said the back-to-school support “reflects our solidarity as a family of journalists”.

“While our colleagues may be gone, we remain committed to ensuring their children are not forgotten,” Viban stated. 

Viban said CAMASEJ “counts on the benevolence of partners and members of goodwill in sustaining this initiative, which provides dignity and hope to children of colleagues who dedicated their lives to the profession”. 

Zoom on beneficiary chapters 

In the Bamenda chapter, eight orphans left behind by four colleagues were identified to benefit. They include the children of Anye Nde Nsoh, who was killed in May 2023, in Bamenda; Peterkings Manyong, who passed on in 2021; Fawah Agather, who died in 2021; Manase Vushigo, and Eric Motomo, late Publisher of the Chronicles newspaper. 

In Kumba Chapter, nine children left behind by two journalists were identified. These are the children of late Equinoxe Correspondent, Obu Ivo, who died in 2019; and late stringer of Cameroon Tribune, Asong Sylvester, who passed on in 2022. 

The Yaounde and Limbe Chapters had two beneficiaries each, identified as children left behind by Anu Paul, who died in 2019 and the late Desk Editor of The Sun Newspaper, Elah Geofrey, who died in 2019. 

In the Douala Chapter the assistance was handed to the orphans of late journalist, Jack Ekwe Kingue. The memo detailed that no beneficiary was identified in Buea, Bertoua and Bangem Chapters. 

Yaounde beneficiary expresses gratitude 

Feedback gotten from the Yaounde Chapter is to the effect that the financial assistance destined for the two children of late Anu Paul, had been transferred to the widow. 

“Our colleague’s widow expressed gratitude for the support and requested to meet the CAMASEJ leadership in person when she returns to Yaounde, in order to show her gratitude in person,” an executive member of CAMASEJ Yaounde Chapter told members. 

About the initiative 

The CAMASEJ initiative, it should be said, is part of the grant received from Open Society Initiative for West Africa, OSIWA, for the empowerment of journalists in the country.

The grant is for a project titled: “Optimising media engagement in peace efforts in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon, through increased media participation”. 

CAMASEJ has through the grant been improving the capacities of especially English-speaking journalists in Cameroon on reporting in conflict situations, creating opportunities for journalists to acquire skills and tools to better their safety and security, and enforcing advocacy and actions towards protecting the rights of journalists reporting on the crisis, among other actions.

Zoom on Viban’s achievements 

Since voted to the helm of CAMASEJ in November 2019, Viban has embarked on a series of drives to rebrand the association, raising standards and making its voice powerful than the voice of members.

He has among other things set up a solidarity fund to assist journalists in need for their professional and social lives and organised several capacity building workshops for members to acquire more skills, with the most recent being on elections reporting. 

Viban organised a non-elective Annual General Assembly meeting in Yaounde in 2022 for members to have an introspective look at the road covered in the last 30 years of existence and set targets for the future.

He has also set up a secretariat for CAMASEJ in Yaounde, which serves as a work space for colleagues with free internet access as well as set up social media platforms for the association.

Viban is also planning a groundbreaking General Assembly meeting, to be held in Limbe, in November this year. He will, among others things during the gathering, reflect with members on adopting sections of the body’s Constitution, which have been reviewed as well as reward media excellence. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3558 of Monday September 08, 2025