4 Dec 2008
There are many institutions in rural Cameroon that were conceived and built decades ago by a hand full of committed people that never feared challenges. Some did not really take off the ground but an overwhelming majority survived and matured into cherished places that today’s generation are benefiting from.
It is my intention to use the story of one of such institutions to show how it has evolved and also highlight the effort of today’s generation to improve on what they inherited from their parents.
The Presbyterian Church Wumugi is a small congregation located in Batibo Sub Division in the North West Region of Cameroon
People that are familiar with Batibo will readily understand why neighboring Presbyterian churches to Wumugi have the following names; Bengang, Kuneck and Kujei. These are names of quarters in Batibo village. Wumugi, on the other hand is unique because it was not a name of any place in Batibo before the creation of the church in the mid sixties.
The pioneers that created this church were previously worshiping at the Presbyterian Church Bengang. When the population of Bengang congregation was growing, it was decided that a new church be built to ease the overpopulation of the small Bengang church and to reduce the distance covered by worshipers that came from present day Wumugi vicinity.
Foundation of new church (above) and old Wumugi Church (below) 'small and dilapidated' (photo: Njei M.T)
A piece of land was offered to the church on a small hillside beside a stream near the defunct Tad market along the Bamenda-Mamfe highway. Now that they were ready to start building their church, what name will they give it? The people who broke away from the Bengang church mostly came from Kokum, Kozoh, Tad and other places in that neighborhood and the pioneers of Wumugi church did not want their new church name to reflect only one of the above places. After brainstorming they came out with the name Wumgi. In the Moghamo language (spoken in this area), ‘wum’ or ‘iwum’ means hill and ‘gi’ or ‘igi’ means stream. So the church real estate became known as ‘Wumigi’ or ‘Hill stream’. In writing it, an error was introduced in the spelling. Today, the church is called Wumugi which in Moghamo language sounds like ‘Termite Hill’.
The church project two years after commencing the foundation in the previous photo
The congregation started holding church services in someone’s house before setting up a temporary structure with a thatched roof on their new plot. A more permanent structure was put in place in the seventies. Today, Wumugi congregation has expanded and has become the Parish headquarters of four congregations and serves as an alternate congregation for the Presbyterian High School workers during holidays. After years of maintenance, that structure (built in 1973) is now small, old and dilapidated. The brownish roof cover is supported by crumbling wood that cannot longer withstand the weight of any carpenter trying to make repairs on it. Whenever there is any occasion that brings people from outside to the congregation, church service takes place outside the church for want of space.
During occasions church service at Wumugi takes place outside (photo: Njei M.T)
That is why the congregation of Wumugi has embarked on building another larger and modern church to accommodate an expanding population. How they go about it and where and when they will end will form part of this story that is just beginning.
Njei Moses Timah
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