Meet Cameroonian actress, Women’s rights advocate and Spoken Word poet extraordinaire, Abunaw Olive

Photo credit: Nalevel Empire

Abunaw Olive Arrey-Nchung is a Cameroonian actress, spoken word poet and an advocate for women’s rights, women’s entrepreneurship and development. She was born on the 3^rd of May 1989 in Mamfe, a town in the South West Region of Cameroon.

She reveals that she has always been drawn to the arts despite doing science right up to high school.

“I started reading novels at the age of 4 and was already writing poetry by the time I was 8 years old. My father wanted me to be a medical doctor, so I studied sciences right up to high school but I have always had a deep passion for Literature and poetry in particular”. Words have always fascinated me. The way they can be woven together to form simple yet mind-boggling stories that are beautiful and unique to each writer is simply amazing”.

Olive attended primary school in Government School Group 2 in her native Mamfe, obtained her ordinary levels at St Augustine’s College Nso before moving to Buea where she attended the famous Baptist High School Buea, where she had her Advanced Level Certificate.

Abunaw olive is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Special Education at the University of Buea, but admits that she almost dropped out and abandoned it all in her early years of tertiary education. She first attended the Government Teacher’s Training College (GTTC) Buea from where she obtained her certification but discovered that she didn’t really have a passion for teaching. She worked for a short while at Express Exchange- a money transfer company-  in her hometown before returning to Buea to study Psychology. “It’s truly a miracle that I am currently at this level in my education because my years as an undergraduate student were incredibly difficult due the fact I had no financial assistance and had to sponsor myself through school. I did all kinds of things just to get by. I ran a restaurant and worked at Njorku during my second year just so I could make ends meet”.

 It is during this period of struggle and hardship that she was inspired to create her NGO, NGORE Africa in 2016 after her encounter with a lady in Buea who suffered abuse and neglect from her husband and had almost no means to feed her children.

“When I met this lady, her story moved me to tears. I realised that even when you think you are facing the most gruesome hardship in your life, there is always someone who is worse off than you. No matter how dire your situation is, there is always the possibility to help someone who is in more need than you. I was able to mobilise a group of friends with whom I took clothes, food and a little money to assist the lady in taking care of her children. After that experience, I thought that if Cameroonian women are empowered with opportunities to ameliorate their lot, the country as a whole will improve significantly. When you empower women, you empower a nation because women are the backbone of society”. NGORE Africa seeks to empower women in the domain of entrepreneurship as well as sensitize them about female reproductive health and related issues.

Olive has received an award for her role in the movie ‘The Return’. She won the Best Actress award at the Festival International du Cinema Independent de Bafoussam (FICIB). She has starred in several other movies including: ‘Against my will’ and ‘Bad Angel’, a TV series which currently airs weekly on Cameroon’s national television CRTV.

“I think the Cameroon film industry’s best days are ahead of it. Increasingly we are seeing more and more high-quality productions and the international community is starting to take an interest in what we are doing. I’m excited about the future of our film industry and eager to play my part in making it a force to be reckoned with in Africa”.

The poetry bug bit Olive Abunaw at a very young age when she would write and perform poems for her family, at school and in church. Her poem “Knowing God” was selected as the best poem for the Cameroon Baptist Convention Youth Camp (2014-2015). She started performing as a spoken word artist in 2016 and believes that it is a very powerful and potent art form that can contribute to change the Cameroonian society and make it better.

“We do not have enough Spoken Word events in our country and many people are yet to discover what Spoken Word is. It has the power to transform minds and impact change and I would like to see more of it not only in Buea but in other regions as well. I want to help create a Spoken Word poetry movement in Cameroon and make it really popular among youths”.

Her first official performance was at the Cameroon International Film Festival (CAMIFF) in April 2018.

The rising star has recently been on a couple of TV and radio shows to talk about herself and her upcoming projects, including “Inside Out” a talk show on Canal 2 English, hosted by Solange Tanjong

Abunaw Olive on “Inside Out”, Canal 2 English

and on Douala-based Nabstar Radio with well-known radio personality, Nabil “Nabstar” Fongod, where she performed one of her poems.

Olive is not only an actress and Spoken Word poet but also a TV presenter and co-host of a youth empowerment programme on the Buea-based HI TV channel.

She is an avid reader and writer and enjoys swimming and dancing.

Buea tech guys Making Cameroon Proud

Some tech start-ups in Buea are putting the town on the map of  relevant places to watch for future innovation. Infact the BBC recently did a short documentary on the companies making great strides in technology and that have the potential to become the next big thing. You can watch the Video here:

Meet ACHALEKE CHRISTIAN LEKE:Cameroon Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth

There are people in people in this world who are born to be an inspiration to others and to show them the path to a better life. These people are usually selfless,and put others' welfare before their own.

One of such people is Achaleke Christian.





ACHALEKE CRISTIAN LEKE

Born on the 12th of April 1990 in the town of Kumba in the South West region of Cameroon,Christian's community was characterized by youths dropping out of school, unemployment, violence and insecurity . In the midst of these social and economic challenges, driven by his desire to stand out as a leader and make a difference, today, Christian has developed into an outstanding youth leader and role model not only amongst his peers but to youths all over Africa and the world at large. Raised from a typical African family,Christian had the opportunity to leave the challenges and realities of most African youths in local communities. Driven by his consciousness and self motivation, Christian as a “Sunday School pupil”, capitalized on his talent, which was acting in theatre troupes to sensitise his peers on some of the challenges facing the community.This pulled public attention to him from the age of five.

Even though caught in between poor educational facilities, limited resources and peer pressure, he was driven by a strong determination to work hard and succeed.Achaleke Succeeded in obtaining a Post Graduate Diploma in History of International Relation with specialisation on International Conflict Analysis from the citadel of University education in Cameroon; University of Yaounde I in 2014, a Bachelors Degree in History; researching on Inter-ethnic Conflict from the First Anglo-Saxon University in Cameroon; University of Buea. He is currently studying for a Post Graduate Degree. He has equally acquired professional education from short certified courses such as: Youth Radicalisation and Human Security from the Institute of Security Studies in Ethiopia, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development from the Leadership Academy and Project Management from the YALI online network.

With over 8 years of volunteering for Local Youth Corner Cameroon, Achaleke Christian has evolved into an expert and consultant in youth development initiatives. He has worked in collaboration with several government institutions, international institutions and organizations, and several youth civil societies in Cameroon and abroad. He has a remarkable record of executing and co-organising over 50 youth development projects between 2014-2015.His most recent engagement in the fight against violent extremism and the promotion of youth participation in the peace building process is breaking grounds in the country. He has acquired a huge experience in participating and representing young Cameroonians at national and international youth development initiatives.

Christian is the Cameroon Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth. He is also National Coordinator of Local Youth Corner Cameroon: an association involved in youth civic action whose vision is to bring Young people together in a common forum where they can always work together for their common good. Help youths to be able to positively affect the society in which they live starting from effecting an inner change of values and perception.

Among other things, he is also Ex-officio member, National Bureau of Cameroon National Youth Council, and ACPST /Institute of Security Studies Cameroon Chapter Alumni.

During the Youth Forum of the African Region Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in Cameroon, he was chosen as head of commission to work with the youth leaders and the Commonwealth Secretariat team to draft the Youth Statement of the Forum.

Among his achievements in youth civil society include; a track record of organizing and coordinating over 50 youth development projects between April 2014 and 2015 with local, national and international organizations with an impact on over 2000 young people. These activities included: initiatives to promote youth capacity building and skills in peace building and conflict prevention, entrepreneurship development, democracy and good governance, HIV/AIDS, Human rights and freedom, gender equality and gender based violence, Civic Education, climate change and personality development. He is currently coaching over 20 youth led organizations including the Commonwealth Students Unions on organizational management and project management.

He has worked as a youth expert and consultant with the Cameroon Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education and the Commonwealth Department of the Ministry of External Relations in organizing Youth Events. This included his participation as part of the planning and organizing committee of the 1st ever Africa Region Commonwealth Ministers Meeting in Cameroon. He equally was part of the strategic task team for organizing African Region, Commonwealth Youth Forum with the Commonwealth Youth Council, Commonwealth Secretariat Youth Division and Cameroon National Youth Council. Also, he was a panel moderator on Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship at the African Region Commonwealth Youth Forum in Yaoundé. To add, he was one of the main organizers of the 2015 Commonwealth Day celebration in Cameroon. Notwithstanding, Achaleke has also worked with International organizations and institutions like United Nations Populations Fund and United Nations Development Agency through the Cameroon National Youth Council in organizing youth dialogues on Post 2015 Development Agenda. Most recently, he organized two youth dialogues on Governance and Accountability in the Post 2015 development agenda, sponsored by a joint fund from Restless Development, Plan UK, Action aid and the British Youth Council. He is currently the South West Regional Coordinator of a youth conflict prevention and peace building project; “Engage for Peace” under the Association Rayon De Soleil, sponsored by the US Embassy in Cameroon. He has equally consulted with International NGOs such as the Centre for Migrant and Refugee Solidarity, a Belgian based NGO, Citizen Outreach Coalition, a UK based charity NGO, just to name a few.

With the most recent increase in terrorist activities and youth inclusion and participation in violence and extremist activities, Achaleke has striven hard to engage in innovative ideas to promote youth participation in the peace building process with considerable achievements. He recently produced a short video documentary to sensitise youths and African government on the impacts and solutions to the challenge of youth radicalization and child soldiers. This video has recorded over 200 views on YouTube. In this vein, he has equally designed a National Training Manual on Youth Action in Non-violence, Conflict Prevention and Peace Building in Cameroon. So far this manual has been used in training 100 youth leaders in entrepreneurship in peace building, conflict prevention and peace building processes. He hosted the first ever Institute of Security Studies, Ethiopia training on Youth Radicalism and Human security in Cameroon. He has been invited by the organisers of the upcoming Global Summit on Youth Peace and Security in Jordan to represent Cameroon thanks to remarkable work in the field of youth peace and security.


He is a Co-founder and Administrative Director of Bring it On Cameroon; a social enterprise created in 2014. His enterprise produces bio-degradable paper bags in response to the recent band of plastic no bio-degradable plastics in his community. He has recently been nominated for the Princess Award under the category of Youth Leadership.

Apart from all these positions, Achaleke is a very humble person who believes that the only real key to success is determination and hard work. He takes every single duty he is involved in very seriously ans says no task should be taken lightly. He believes that it is the little things we do that lead to great achievements. Christian has a way with people that is extraordinary. When you meet him, it is obvious that it doesn't take long to get along with him as if you have known each other for a long time. His humour, good nature and warmth are appreciated by those who have encounters with him.









Christian's cheerfulness draws people to him

He uses his skills as a motivational speaker and youth coach, to rally youths to his cause mainly by sharing with them his own personal experiences.






Giving students life lessons

Achaleke Christian has taken part in many workshops and attended seminars both at home and abroad, to continue to build his capacities. His enthusiasm puts him on the pedestal as one of the young leaders to watch in Cameroon.













Achaleke at international forum





Here is how to contact Achaleke Christian Leke:




>P.O Box: 31528, Yaounde
>TEL: +237) 73513129
>Email: achaleke1@gmail.com

>Facebook/Twitter/Skype : christian leke