A Dream in Cameroon

The fundraiser mentioned in this post has been closed. Thanks for your prayers.

I have been asking for prayers for a special intention during the month of September, and been hoping for a miracle. But it seems God is telling me the answer to my prayer will come when I take concrete action. So I am going to tell you about my prayer intention.

I am praying for a young man named Bappa “Paul” Ninon. He is a student in Cameroon, Africa, studying business law. My husband and I have been helping Paul to get an education ever since he was in middle school a decade ago. At the time, our friend, Fr. Janvier Wopoule, also from Cameroon, was an associate pastor at our parish. He had come to the United States to complete his formation at Sacred Heart Seminary, and he was ordained here. My daughter and I had the privilege of attending his ordination, and he has been a family friend ever since.

One of Father’s dreams was to build a school in the village where he grew up, Kan, near the city of Douala in Cameroon. During his time at our parish, he raised money from his friends to help build that school so the children in Kan would have a chance to better their lives. He also asked his friends to “adopt” Kan students and help pay the cost of their schooling. We “adopted” Paul.

After he graduated from high school, we lost touch with Paul. During that time he tried to find work, but it was very difficult. He basically had to take hard labor jobs on construction sites. It was during this time he found us again. Specifically, he found me on Facebook. We started messaging back and forth. His mother got sick and died soon after that, so he started calling me “mom.” I put him in contact with Fr. Janvier, who had returned to minister at his home diocese of Douala, so he could have some moral support locally. (Father confirmed the young man was indeed the Bappa Paul we had helped so long ago.)

Paul sent me some photos of himself and his jobs. He told me how he wanted to go back to school and get a better job, one where he could use his education.

So once again we started to help him financially whenever we could. Recently he asked us to fund his last semester, but we have been unable to help. (I stopped working so I could take care of my mom, who has Alzheimer’s disease, in my home.)

This blog is the concrete action I mentioned earlier. I am trying to fundraise money for Paul to help him complete his education and achieve his dream. If you have it in your heart to help an earnest young man who has had great hardship in his life, please click here to find out more. May God bless you!