CAMASEJ: Journalists Gone Not Forgotten

   Viban Jude, CAMASEJ National President.

As thousands of pupils across Cameroon begin the new school year, 22 children orphaned by the loss of their journalist parents are stepping into classrooms with a renewed sense of hope.

Their relief comes from the Cameroon Association of English-speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ), which has extended nearly 2 million FCFA in back-to-school assistance to ensure the children of 10 deceased members are not left behind. Each orphan will receive 75,000 FCFA for fees, books, and other essentials an act of solidarity meant to ease the burden carried by grieving families.

“While our colleagues may be gone, we remain committed to ensuring their children are not forgotten,” said CAMASEJ National President, Viban Jude. “This is not just financial aid. It is a message of love and responsibility to the families they left behind.”

             First Part of the Circular.

Carrying Their Parents’ Legacy

In Bamenda, the children of slain journalist Anye Nde Nsoh, killed in 2023 are among eight beneficiaries identified in the chapter. In Kumba, nine children of late reporters Obu Ivo and Asong Sylvester will also benefit. Others across Limbe, Douala, and Yaounde have been reached as well, including the orphans of the late Sun Newspaper Desk Editor, Elah Geofrey.

In Yaounde, the widow of late journalist Anu Paul received the funds for her two children and expressed heartfelt gratitude. “She wants to meet CAMASEJ leaders in person to say thank you,” a chapter executive revealed.

          Second Part of the Circular.

Beyond the Numbers

The gesture is part of a broader mission supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), aimed at empowering journalists and reinforcing solidarity in times of crisis. Since 2019, CAMASEJ has also created a solidarity fund, built a national secretariat in Yaounde, and offered safety and elections reporting workshops all under Viban’s leadership.

A Promise of Hope

For the orphans, the assistance means more than school supplies; it is a sign that their parents’ sacrifices to the profession will not fade into silence.

“They may no longer have their mothers or fathers to walk them to school,” one CAMASEJ member noted, “but they have a family in us.”

As the new school year unfolds, these 22 children step forward not alone, but carried by the memory of their parents and the promise of a community determined to see them through.