Caring for the needy:

Nnoko Mbele and Rotarians give out to K’ba Prisoners, mothers
-Former Gov’t Delegate, Cavin Nnoko Mbele takes over as president of the humanitarian club
By Sirri Ntonifor in Kumba in Kumba

Nnoko Mbele & Rotarians Give Out

The Rotary Club of Kumba City has made a donation of clothes and other items to inmates of the Kumba Principal Prison. Handing over the gifts on July 31, the incoming president of the Club, Caven Nnoko Mbele, said the visit was aimed to communion with the prisoners, understand their problems and establish a long-term relationship with them. 
    While thanking the Club for the initiative, the prison superintendent, A/P Pekariekoue Amidou, revealed that many inmates have been abandoned by their families and are in dire need of help.
    The spokesperson of the prisoners, fondly called ‘Pastor’, equally appreciated the gesture, saying that there was dire need to improve medical facilities and food provision for inmates. Pastor used the opportunity to also urge gov’t to provide a centre for general and vocational training within the prison.
    Responding to the requests of the inmates, Nnoko Mbele assured that the Club is already working on a project to provide drugs and other sundry needs for them.

    The visit to the prison was just one of several activities organised to commemorate the passing over of the leadership baton of the Rotary Club of Kumba from Justice George Gang, President of the Kumba High Court, to Caven Nnoko Mbele, former Mayor of Kumba and Pioneer Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council. After an excursion to the Mukonje Rubber Factory on August 01, guests of the Club were thrilled to a President’s Gala Night where the Emeritus Moderator of the PCC, Right Rev. Dr. Nyansako-Ni-Ku, presented a talk on the meaning of the Rotary theme for the year, ‘Be a Gift to the World’.
    He pointed out that Rotary’s 25-year-old goal of eradicating polio is a success, from polio being endemic in 125 countries with more than 1.000 children becoming paralysed daily to polio being endemic in two countries only (Pakistan and Afghanistan), Nigeria having recently been taken off the list. He urged the Rotary members to train in spirit and attempt greater things to put a smile on the faces of many.
    Caven Nnoko Mbele pledged to use his 365 days tenure to offer to Kumba the gift of 18 automated prefabricated public toilets worth 14 million FCFA in selected areas and an autonomous Mother-and-Child Centre worth 163 million FCFA.
    He revealed that the government has already allocated 2600 sq. metres of land at Station Kumba for the construction of the Mother-and-Child Centre which will have operation, incubation and consulting centres with state-of-the-art equipment valued at 96 million FCFA. After construction and furnishing, the centre shall be handed over to the government with the request for specialised medical personnel. A colossal project for the one-year-old Club of 15 members, the incoming president envisages partnership with other Rotary Clubs and persons or organisations of goodwill in order to achieve the projects.
    While the Rotary Club is widely regarded in Cameroon as a sect because of the prominence of its members, the Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Kumba, George Gang, says he previously thought the same but came to realise that “the Rotary is simply an international philanthropic club with people who think they can give to the underprivileged in society, people who live by the motto: ‘Service above Self’.”