Koh Crystel
Koh Crystel Binwi is a youth worker with a passion for youth empowerment, social justice, community development and ecological stability. Crystel has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a minor in Political Science. She began her volunteer journey in 2011 when she started working with Better World Cameroon as a member of the Students Nature Club where she later became president in 2016.
In 2014 she was employed into a full-time volunteer position as communication officer of Better World Cameroon where she has served till date and at some point, filled in the position of administrative assistant. Crystel has been involved in several youth capacity building and empowerment programs/projects where together with other young people from around the globe have shared ideas and experiences which have stirred up in her the desire to pursue a career in international relations as a means to fostering global development by promoting north-south and south-north cooperation.
Her development and volunteer work has brought her to a point where she now sees the world as a global village separated by relative beliefs which have increased her eagerness to understand how the global north and the global south can better connect and work together with one spirit towards achieving ecological stability and social justice for all.
As president of the Better World Students Nature Club (BSNC), she has participated in and organized several international summer youth camps and ecological design courses, which brought together youth from around the world with a similar interest in proposing and finding solutions to some of those issues which plague young people in our society. She has equally served as country coordinator for Cameroon for two Erasmus+ projects where she was able to enhance her networking, team building and leadership skills. Through these experiences, she has come to understand that youth around the globe may have different viewpoints and ways of doing things, however, they face a similar challenge and have a common attitude towards youth empowerment and community building. She is currently designing a project for youth focused on ‘volunteering for social impact.
Fascinated by the little actions and work young people around the world are doing, she has concluded that young people are the leaders of today and not tomorrow contrary to what the world would have them think. She believes young people have up-to-date ideas and solutions to solving our ever-persistent global issues such as climate change which have been threatening our existence for decades now, alongside the manpower, skills and technology needed to materialize these solutions.
Langmia Elizabeth
Langmia Elizabeth Nyemkuna is a Cameroonian from the North West region of the country. She is passionate about sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, sustainable lifestyle, eco-fashion natural beauty and music.
Nyemkuna works with the Higher Institute of Professional Excellence in Douala as a Lecturer in Marketing and Management. She equally serves as the School Coordinator in charge of marketing and publicity.
Elizabeth is an advocate for change in Africa and the world at large. She motivates and helps young people believe in themselves, recognise the great talent and potentials they have in them. She helps them understand that despite the country’s current socio, economic and political situation, they can still dream big and achieve it. She encourages them into entrepreneurship where she empowers them to grow green businesses.
Elizabeth is the Chief Financial Officer of NJANGI which is an eco-friendly lifestyle brand which advocates for sustainable African clothing and associated products and strives to push young people to consume homemade products and protect the environment thus, promoting community youth cooperation and fellowship for sustainable development. She is an advocate for natural hair also enjoys promoting eco-fashion and natural beauty. She took part in the Miss KINKY 2017 Cameroon beauty contest and assumed the 5th position. That was the first edition in the Littoral region of Cameroon and with the help of NYEM Extra Virgin organic coconut oil that is one of the products of NJANGI
When Liza is not on the job, she is singing, designing different accessories from local materials like beads, meeting new people, reading or travelli
Nchang Celestine
Suh Nchang Celestine Was born in Mambu, a small village in Bafut, North West Region of Cameroon. She is the first daughter in a family of four. In her childhood, she grew up in a family of farmers working and taking care of her siblings and also paying her own school fees. After her primary education, she aspired to become a Rev sister and but her other did not support the idea because they were only four children in the family.
She had been serving at the Catholic Health Center Mambu, Bafut for six years until June 2018 when she decided to join Better World Cameroon as a health care consultant. The Catholic Health Center where her work was pivotal in supporting BWC and its staff, in providing emergency medication and treatment for any pending health issues that arose. After just a few months of integration, the organization saw a new opportunity to diversify their work, by using Celestine’s expertise to provide health care to the surrounding communities in Bafut. During this time, she worked closely with some of BWC’s International volunteers to carry out health campaigns and outreaches in the communities of Bafut. Coupled to this, she was an instrumental actor in one of BWC’s projects, involving the creation of a Natural Medicine centre at the Bafut Ecovillage site. There she helped craft a working relationship between Traditional Healers who use plants and other natural ingredients to heal, and Modern types of Medicine; towards developing more efficient methods of administering natural medication and to improve production and conservation methods.
Celestine is passionate about health-related issues, communal welfare, sustainability and her ultimate goal is to become a midwife. As a result of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, many women; especially young girls, stopped going to school and thus most have ended up with unwanted pregnancies and other STI’s. These young girls living in the bushes don’t have access to medical facilities and most cannot afford basic medical care; often having to rely on traditional medicine to treat themselves. To this effect, Celestine wants to learn more about natural medicinal procedures to help people affected by the crisis raging on in the country. She would like to position herself within the Bafut Living Biotope project as support staff looking into the issue of health care assistance during emergencies. Her long-term project would fit into the context of the on-going crisis to provide lifesaving assistance to expectant mothers, vulnerable children and their families.
Upon returning Celestine wants to start a foundation for bringing health closer to the internally displaced and refugees. She strongly believes this will make a difference in helping us build a better world.
Bineh Grace
Neba Bineh Grace was born in Yaoundé, the Capital of Cameroon. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English language from the University of Yaounde and is in the process of obtaining my Master’s Degree. Grace is a teacher of English Language and Literature in English at Light World Anglo Saxon International Boarding School Complex and Hope Evening School. She is also, the social secretary at the Bafut Development Manjong Yaounde branch and assistant mistress at Divine Favour Saloon.
In joining Better World Cameroon, Grace’s contribution to the Bafut Living Biotope project is towards helping develop and foster a sustainable Africa by working with marginalized youth; especially those affected by the Anglophone crisis prevailing in the country. Her goal is to guide these youths so they can realise the great potentials they possess. By transforming their minds and encouraging them, they can begin to believe in life and in themselves again; and as such can begin to learn better ways in which they can contribute to a more sustainable and ecologically stable future for Africa and the world.
Her future aspirations, and project focus on plastic waste management which is in line with the objectives of Better World Cameroon. She feels that her work as a volunteer with BWC will enable her to gain more skills and experiences in sustainable development and permaculture. She is passionate about helping bring about a plastic-free environment in Cameroon and Africa. Similarly, boost agricultural productivity and poverty relief.
“I believe my contribution will be highly beneficial to the world at large and Cameroon in particular as far as sustainable development is concerned. ”
Koh Herman
Koh Herman Fuhnwi was born and raised in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon, where he grew up in a contemporary community. Immersed in patterns of sustainability from a very young age, he developed an array of basic values, knowledge, and skills for living a simple life. Passionate about sustainable lifestyles for youths, Herman graduated from the University of Buea with a degree in Sociology & Anthropology. This milestone in his life enabled him to join Better World Cameroon. While working, Herman developed skills in Permaculture and Sustainable development practices through Entrepreneurship and by utilizing his academic and professional knowledge; he was able to help BWC create policies which went on to foster links and partnerships with organisations both home and abroad, for promoting North-South and South-North cultural integration, towards creating innovative youth social entrepreneurship platforms.
Needing to learn more, Herman participated in the Global Ecovillage Network’s Accelerator program, Youth SIRCle Project, which empowers entrepreneurs by transforming their ideas, thus turning them into viable green businesses. Upon completion, he successfully launched NJANGI, a start-up contributing to helping young people, to re-imagine their identities and embody these new conceptions, through sustainable Fashion design, Technology and Agriculture; thereby promoting community fellowship and cooperation, for youth development.
An advocate for change in the world, he dreams of a world where there is a fulfilling, just and more connected presence of human beings on this beautiful planet of ours. In the Bafut Living Biotope project, he strives to develop and foster a sustainable Africa by helping youths who have been affected by the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, to transform their minds; thereby grooming them into entrepreneurs, with interests and skill flex that can enable them contribute to a more sustainable and ecologically stable future for Africa and the world.
Herman is currently combining an M.Sc in Integrative EcoSocial Design with Gaia University while volunteering with Better world Cameroon. He is an Ambassador for the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN, Africa region), an organization actively working towards promoting sustainable lifestyles and practices for sustainable living in our society. A blogger with a passion for storytelling, Herman writes to share stories on the incredible possibilities that exist within the realm of our human consciousness and how amazing things happen when we decide to fuse creativity, passion and faith together.
“I strongly believe it is important to remain an active member of change and positively impact people’s lives in more ways than conventional ways. This is why I intend to use every means available, in contributing my bit to all the incredible work numerous persons and organizations are doing to promote the sustainability agenda of our world.”
The Anglophone Cameroon crisis: June 2018 update
Koh Malcolm
Koh Malcolm is a Cameroonian with a lot of passion for permaculture and environmental protection. He has been a volunteer with Better World Cameroon for several years before serving as media and communications office and later branding and design manager. He is the co-founder and COO of Njangi an eco-friendly clothing brand focused on the reduction of waste from clothing and using non-polluting materials in their designs. He equally co-created and manages content creation for Kamertube, a platform that promotes Cameroonian entertainment and events.
He has participated in the establishment of the Bafut permaculture ecovillage as well as the Bandrefam eco-village and assists with assuring an adequate online presence for the projects as well as helping with logistics for the Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), a training program to take action to fight the impact of climate change in Africa and around the world through networking and sharing of ideas.
He is one of the members of the team working to make the Cameroon healing path a reality. After seeing the damage that the civil war is causing to youths, women and children in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, Malcolm and five other young Cameroonians came up with the idea of the healing path as a safe place where people affected by the crisis could heal and re-learn to love and lead a normal life. They are currently in the process of learning what it takes to make the project aa reality as well as talking to people in order to tell their stories.
Malcolm has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is an excellent writer and communicator. He held the position of South West regional correspondent for the Guardian Post Newspaper, a prominent daily published in English and read by a great number of Cameroonians both at home and abroad. He was obliged to quit the job when the Anglophone crisis escalated in 2017 and journalists were being thrown in jail by the government for allegedly writing negative reviews, as well as by separatists who accused him of being against their struggle.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/Njangitrends/
https://www.damrexrecords.com/copy-of-rex
https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.koh2
BAFUT Ecovillage Refugee Relief and Resettlement Centre [Peace Village] 