Preserving cultural heritage

Bafuts in Washington thank US gov’t
By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda
Over 50 members of the Bafut community in Washington, D.C. and the states of Maryland and Virginia on September 16, 2014, have honored former U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon Robert P. Jackson for the project to preserve the cultural and architectural heritage of the “Achum House” at the Bafut Palace.  The 30 million fcfa project was funded from the Ambassador’s Fund for cultural preservation at the U.S. Department of State, AFCP.
    The event was held at the Greenbelt Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C., and included a welcome ceremony for the U.S. officials and the Cultural Attaché from the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon in Washington, D.C., along with musical performances by the Bafut community. 

    In his remarks, Ambassador Jackson thanked the Bafut community for their appreciation and partnership, and lauded their commitment to preserve their heritage for future generations. “This program, funded through the Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation like others before it, demonstrates our respect for Cameroon’s unique national heritage treasures.”
    Former U.S. Embassy Yaoundé Cultural Affairs Officer, Dr. Jonathan Koehler, and Public Diplomacy Country Affairs Officer for Central Africa Ms. Tijen Aybar were also presented plaques of appreciation and delivered remarks to the Bafut community, underscoring the United States’ priority to partner with Cameroonians to strengthen cultural partnership programs.
     Dr. Koehler noted: “we thank the Bafut community for highlighting the great partnership between our two nations.”
    The Bafut project will employ local artisans to restore and reinforce the palace’s structure, as well as to collect, catalogue, and display relics of the 600 year-old Bafut Kingdom.  The artisans have been trained to maintain and rehabilitate other buildings in the palace complex. 
     In addition, the project will fund the publication of a royal book to document the history of the palace.  The work is expected to be completed in nine months, following an official launch planned this fall.  The restoration of The Achum House is one of the nine projects in Sub Saharan Africa selected for funding through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation in 2014. 
    Since its inception in 2001, the Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation has supported more than 640 projects to preserve cultural heritage in 100 countries.  In Cameroon, the Fund has contributed more than $140,000 since 2005 to preserve three cultural sites.