On the 10th of July 2012 the Justice and Peace Team all gathered at the Handicraft Centre (below the up-station hill) to have a farewell supper with Elphie (the Peace Building Officer) who was leaving back to France and Gabriel (the Accountant) who will be leaving the Commission by July ending.

The Coordinator in her welcome note thanked the staff for coming and especially the family members of Gabriel who set aside this time to come and share with the Commission. Taking into account the good work done by Elphie and Gabriel, she really wished that they could have stayed longer. She concluded by telling them to always remember the Justice and Peace Office wherever they go.

The floor was then given to those departing. Elphie started by thanking the Coordinator and the staff members for organizing such an occasion on their behalf. She was very happy to have worked with the JPC and prays that the staff members should continue with the good work they are doing while Gabriel thanked all present especially the Coordinator because she was to him like a mother. He said he has learnt a lot from the Justice and Peace Office especially when he was assigned to do work which was unrelated to his job. He wished success to all. The last speaker; Justice Atabong Angelina (transferred to Kumbo) said she was not really saying goodbye because she still has some work to complete in the office and will only leave when she is done with it.

Gifts were handed to Gabriel and Elphie. The event was interesting as it gave the opportunity for the JPC Team to know some family members of Gabriel. It was really a time of relaxation and fun as the day ended with a sumptuous meal.

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Bamenda commemorated the Day of the African Child in Mbessa on the 6th June 2012 instead of the 16th of June, in order to meet and celebrate with the children and their teachers in school before they go on vacationand also to mark the end of a monitoring and evaluation exercise from which lessons learnt will be replicated in other communities and at a higher level. It took the form of a Peace Competition on the theme, ‘Children Agents of Peace’. We decided to work on this theme for obvious reasons; Mbessa is one of the several communities in the North West Region in a post-conflict situation, transiting to a stable community.

Our contribution to this transition in Mbessa is children-centered through a pilot project we carefully designed to meet the needs of the Primary and Secondary School children with their teachers as mentors, - the Peace Education Program. The program was aimed at enabling pupils and students to acquire positive skills and attitudes for the promotion of peace and non-violent transformation of conflicts in the environment and the country at large. It was not an additional subject in the school curriculum but an effort to mainstream peace building in their lessons.

The event was focused on pupils of Primary Schools in Mbessa with whom we have been working for the current academic year. It comprised of Arts and Drawing competition, singing, sketches/role plays and other interesting exercises drawn from 4 Articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Articles 2 (Non-discrimination), 13 (Freedom of expression), 18 (Parental responsibilities) and 28 (Right to education). In response to this, the children were awarded prizes to boost them up and were treated to a common meal with all the invitees/participants.

The Justice and Peace Service participated to the NGO Fair in the Congress Hall of Bamenda. This event was attented by 76 NGO, 10 donors, and nearly 500 participants over the 24 and 25th of February 2012.

It was a good occasion to meet with the NGOs of our sector and even more with the ones that are not. Several conferences on NGOs business were given, and voluntarism amongst the Cameroonian youth has been encouraged.

The Justice and Peace Commission went on a field visit to Mbesa on the 25th and 26th of April. This visit was for monitoring our activities there and to organize our first Peace Competition. As for monitoring, we interviewed the teachers of the schools of Mbesa who are involved in the Peace education program.

Concerning the Peace competition, it will take place on the 6th of June as to celebrate the International Day of the African Child which is on the 16th of June, and will involve all the children from the classes who are following the Peace education program. It will include an Art competition with drawings from the pupils, role-plays, songs, etc… on different Children’s rights from the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child.