–Akoh Baudouin Ngah-GFDLP CEO
The chief executive officer, CEO of Global Forum for the Defence of the less Privileged, GFDLP, Akoh Baudouin Ngah, the following interview throws flowers on the mayor of Buea Council, Ekema Patrick Esunge who he says has contributed much to better the services of his NGO which focuses on the well-being and rights of under-privileged Cameroonians.
Can you Introduce yourself to readers?
I am Akoh Baudouin Ngah, the chief executive officer, CEO of Global Forum for the Defence of the less Privileged, GFDLP. GFDLP is a human rights organization based in Yaoundé. It has a branch office at the former council building in Buea town, in the Southwest Region.
What specifically is GFDLPinto?
We work on a series of fronts, the promotion of rights of persons living with disabilities, we are out for the promotion of indigenous communities, rights to health, environmental rights and we are currently having a series of students; five of them at the Pan-African Institute for Development in West Africa – PAID-WA; who are studying at the masters and the degree levels.
How did you go about your selection of beneficiaries?
We selected those with the least background with respect to finance. So many people applied. The social center and the delegation of social affaires in the Southwest Region had twenty five applicants but we had to look at those with the least background who we considered for the scholarship program at the Pan-African Institute for Development in West Africa – PAID-WA.
We also have a GFDLP hepatitis outreach program which is taking place at six orphanages in the Buea Sub Division. We carried out screening on one hundred and thirty one orphans and identified twenty four positive cases. The kids are currently undergoing treatment at the hemodialysis center all thanks to the support of the mayor of Buea Council, Ekema Patrick Esunge, the director of the Buea Regional Hospitaland Dr. Towefe Denis who is the head of the hemodialysis center and also the head of the GFDLP hepatitis outreach program.
You seem to concentrate your efforts more in the southwest region from the way you talk?
Yes I decided to focus on the southwest region because of limited resources but we plan to expand to other regions as soon as resources permit.
So you are headquartered in Yaoundé?
Yes we are headquartered in Yaoundé but we decided to come to the southwest region and create an impact for people in the southwest region even though we are looking to expand to the northwest and to other regions.
How old is your GFDLP?
The Global Forum for the Defence of the Less Privileged was authorized on November 2, 2015 by the SDO of Mfoundi in the Center Region. Since then, we have been affiliated to a series of bodies like the United Nations Global Compact which is out to ensure that businesses are committed to the promotion of human rights. We are also affiliated to the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, to the delegation of public health for the Southwest, to the Southwest regional delegation of agriculture and rural development and the Pan-African Institute for Development in West Africa.
We look forward to be affiliated to as many bodies as possible in order to facilitate our work. We are currently providing legal aid at the Buea High Court and the Court of Appeal. This is why we are calling on the general public to assist us.
What do you mean by “you are providing legal aid”?
We have a legal aid scheme whereby six professional lawyers with experience of above five years are giving their services for free to the public for those who are in need and are not having the ability to support themselves at the level of the court.
They are offering their services for free and we call on the entire public; both the local and international communities to assist us also in this domain. It is not easy for some of these lawyers when it comes to paper work.
If we can have a bit of support which can at least pay for the lawyer’s paper work, then we are going to ease their job as well because that is a marvelous job they are doing.
Globally what does the budget of GFDLP look like or what does it look like for a year?
For a year, the budget of GFDLP is about five million francs CFA but we expect to have more than that in the future.
How are you funded?
We mostly raise funds through local donors. A few international donors are coming on board to assist us.
Would you like to cite some names?
The traditional rural of Upper Muea, Chief David Molinge, has been really inspirational in the support of our initiative. I think so far, he is one of the biggest donors with respect to our activities for the Southwest Region and beyond.
The emblematic, development-conscious and generous mayor of Buea Council, Ekema Patrick Esunge, has also been so supportive. He has equally supported with the provision of an office space at the former council building which is facilitating our job because it is very big office space.
He has also pledged his support for the GFDLP hepatitis outreach project that we are having across orphanages and in the future, across communities to fight against the spread of viral hepatitis not just at the level of Buea Council but across the country in the future.
Do you have enough staff to accompany you in this daunting task?
Yes, we have a lot of volunteers who are supporting us at the level of the delegation of public health. We equally have a lot of resource persons at the level of the Southwest regional delegation of social affairs.
In addition, we have a lot of resource persons even at the level of the Human Rights Commission for the Southwest Region. We have their complete support in our activities. We are indeed grateful for the support of all the stakeholders.
What pushed you to come up with GFDLP?
Our mission is to ensure that everybody in society is treated fairly irrespective of economic, social and cultural backgrounds. I looked at the state of Cameroon and I saw that a lot of people are suffering because of where they come from, due to lack of finance, a lot of people get maltreated even by government authorities sometimes just because they lack status in their communities.
So I decided to come up with the Global Forum for the Defence of the Less Privileged to assist this group of persons especially in the areas of legal aid and of health where they are going through a rough time. That is why I decided to start with orphanages and also to work with persons living with disabilities and indigenous communities.
How supportive has been the ministry of social affairs?
The ministry of social affairs has really been supportive. I just want to make known that on the 17th of March 2017; the current delegate of social affairs for the Southwest pledged his support by giving us an official letter of collaboration with his delegation. That was really wonderful and encouraging.
What about any financial package from the social affairs ministry in Yaoundé?
As the delegate for the southwest has rightly indicated, it is up to the minister of social affairs to decide what package they have to offer us with respect to our activities. It is not up to the regional delegation to make such a decision.
What has been your principal challenge?
My principal challenge has been the issue of finance because we have a lot of things to take care of but we have very few donors at the moment. And the other challenge is to have those who are ready to commit themselves in the promotion of our objectives without expecting financial reward because what we are doing is to make a difference in the lives of the Cameroonian people.
What is the response from the beneficiaries or their relatives in regards to what you are doing to give hope to the underprivileged?
The relatives have really been encouraging you know, from time to time some of them pass by the office to exercise appreciation but as I said earlier, those who we are assisting are those who are coming from very very poor homes. So we don’t really expect much from them. But like I have said, the words of appreciation we get from their relatives have been really encouraging.
Maybe you have a message to the powers that be and some elites who can support your NGO so that you continue to come to the rescue of the underprivileged in Cameroon?
We are calling not just on the Buea Council that has done so much for us but also calling on elites of the Southwest Region across the Northwest Region and beyond, local and international communities to support us to ensure that by 2025, a lot of people have access to social justice in Cameroon.
