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Announcement: Abakwa Arts and Craft Fair

 SAVVY Contemporary and Lem D Foundation are pleased to announce the Abakwa Arts and Craft Fair, a regional arts and craft fair set to take place in Bamenda from the 25 to 27 of November 2022.  The Abakws Arts and Craft Fair honors and centers the diverse skills embodied within our regions, while also providing a platform where a wide variety of practices can be promoted, taught, and sustained: fostering inter-generational transmissions of skills and knowledge across communities and customs.  Complementary to carrying, preserving, and presenting culture through the craftsmanship from local regions, the Abakwa Arts and Craft fair will also provide a marketplace, and contribute to stimulating and sustaining the local economy. Participation in the arts and craft fair is free. If you wish to have a stand, please register by contacting the organisers via phone number  6 70 35 45 58 or the Fair Media Relations Assistant on WhatsApp 694202526 <<<&l

RELEASE: Bamenda Industrial Zone

RELEASE   In a bid to support the Government in the implementation of its policy to equitably develop all the Regions of the country, a fully developed industrial zone was constructed in Bamenda at Nkwen, of which the final acceptance of works took place on 13 November 2014, for a total investment cost of more than CFA francs two billion.   This zone that stretches on a total surface area of about 45ha was entirely subdivided and endowed with following facilities:  an asphalt concrete road of 2X1, of a total length of 1.2km linking the zone to the National Road No. 11;  an entirely constructed road network of 2.7km, made up of one main road and 04 secondary roads; a high and low voltage power line connected to the Bamenda thermal station; an autonomous potable water supply point equipped with an 80m3 capacity tank.  While one would have expected, given the quality of the facilities provided, that this zone would have reached its filling capacity by now, we are r

Cooperation Among Cooperatives: NWCA shares best practices with SOWEFCU in two days exchange visit

By Bakah Derick  The North West Cooperative Association (NWCA) has shared details about the institution including best practices with the South West Farmers' Cooperative Union (SOWEFCU). The sharing was done during a two day visit by a SOWEFCU delegation on the 12 and 13 of October 2022.  NWCA and SOWEFCU in group picture For two days, the top management of NWCA led by the General Manager Waindim Timothy Ntam x-rayed the institution's best practices from structure and functioning, coffee and collection strategies, coffee handling and transformation, the accounting and bookkeeping system, marketing, internal control, farm management and supplies to their visitors.  Ngangwa Mathew Head of Service for administration and Personel, Njeshu Godlove Head of service for production and maintenance, Amana Titus Head of Service for Accounting and Finance and Fonguh Peter Head of Service for Internal Audit were on hand to take thier guests through their various departments struc

Agriculture: NWCA shares best practices with SOWEFCU in two days exchange visit

By Bakah Derick  The North West Cooperative Association (NWCA) has shared details about the institution including best practices with the South West Farmers' Cooperative Union (SOWEFCU). The sharing was done during a two day visit by a SOWEFCU delegation on the 12 and 13 of October 2022.  Waindim Timothy Ntam NWCA General Manager addressing his guests  For two days, the top management of NWCA led by the General Manager Waindim Timothy Ntam x-rayed the institution's best practices from structure and functioning, coffee and collection strategies, coffee handling and transformation, the accounting and bookkeeping system, marketing, internal control, farm management and supplies to their visitors.  Ngangwa Mathew Head of Service for administration and Personel, Njeshu Godlove Head of service for production and maintenance, Amana Titus Head of Service for Accounting and Finance and Fonguh Peter Head of Service for Internal Audit were on hand to take thier guests through

American DV Lottery: Source of hope for many in restive Bamenda

By Bakah Derick  Since October 5, 2022 when the  United States State Department began accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year 2024 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, a good number of service providers have emerged in Bamenda assisting the many who want to take part in the program.  The service providers are either those offering documentation and photography services or individuals starting it as a temporal service during the program validity period.  "It is something I do yearly. Each time the DV Lottery program is opened I incorporate that here in my photography studio to facilitate the process for those who want to play. I have a standard photography studio with regular internet and with my experience, it is easy for me." Nfor Nyah tells www.hilltopvoices.com as he prepares to snap a passport size picture for a candidate in his Mirror Entertainment studios in Ghana Street Nkwen.  "Schools are just resuming and the documentation is not yet

International Credit Union Day 2022: Armed conflict puts financial future of cooperators in the balance in Bamenda

By Bakah Derick  For five years now, thousands of coopererators have not been able to assemble for the observance of the International credit union day in either the North West and SouthWest Regions of Cameroon. The last time such an observance took place in the city of Bamenda dates back to October 20, 2016 at the gestation stage of the ongoing armed conflict that has practically put the financial future of cooperators on the balance.  For this long without any observance, many including top management of some credit unions seem to have forgotten about the event that brought together thousands of cooperators them from the different parts of the country annually  to celebrate their successes for the past year.  During peace times, cooperators gathered under the umbrella organisation the Cameroon Cooperative Creadit Union League (CamCCUL) to feast, gain visibility and listen to the policy message of the General President. Like top management, cooperators have not had the pri

World Habitat Day 2022: reasonable accommodation; the new challenge in Bamenda

By Bakah Derick  Getting reasonable accommodation in the North West Regional capital Bamenda is becoming a huge challenge for those in need as insecurity heightens.  Picture taken from Nkwase Quarter in Nkwen facing Upstation Bamenda  According to security maps as a result of the ongoing armed conflict, traditional Bamenda meaning the entire North West Region is largely in red or yellow. A few green spots are only in Bamenda central leading to a huge demand for accommodation therein as many seek refuge from the unsecured areas.  For many who rush to the city center, basic accommodation is what they need to the extend of tolerating a single room for small families of three, four or sometimes even more.  "When I came to Bamenda, it took me over three weeks of daily search to get a small room where I could manage before asking my wife and two children to join us from the village. It was becoming too insecure for me to live in our house in the village (Bafut).

NW Cooperative Association: GM exposes board members to ICA-CCW activities

By Bakah Derick  Board members of the North West Cooperative Association (NWCA) have been sensitised on the activities of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) and the Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide (CCW). The General Manager who doubles as executive member of the CCW Waindim Timothy Ntam made the exposure to the board members on August 23, 2022 during an extraordinary board of directors meeting of the cooperative association in Bamenda.  The Sensitisation session  at the NWCA boardroom.  While thanking the board members for their constant support, the General Manager noted that his journey as executive member of the CCW has not been easy though a fulfilling. Explaining the election procedure, Waindim expressed his surprise and satisfaction with the support received from members of the Worldwide union.  "The board members are the people who support me on a day to day basis and I thought it was important to brief them on my activities and the successes we have reco

World Menopause Day 2022: North West Women explain beauty of the obligatory biological process

By Afanwi Jolenta  Most women in Bamenda who are between the ages of 45 and above say the peri menopause and menopausal period are challenging experiences which every woman must undergo.  On this year's edition of World menopause day observed every 18th of October, some menopausal women have been sharing their experiences with www.hilltopvoices.com.  Mary Ndifor is presently in her mid 50s. She says her menopausal journey started by the age of 48 when she started experiencing irregular menses, heavy bleeding and hot flushes.  She adds that nausea, headache, dizziness, waist and knee pains are other health challenges she witnessed on a daily basis.  "I experienced bloating and unnecessary body disorder and sometimes mood swings that are sometimes unbearable. I became very temperamental and got angry at every thing, which has made me to be very conscious."  Magdalen Angwi narrates  Genevive Nchinda mentions dry and wrinkled skin as another physical c

World Food Day 2022: Urban gardening recommended as farming space reduces in Bamenda

By Bakah Derick   Bamenda, the regional headquarters of the restive North West Region of Cameroon is experiencing a rapid reduction of farming land. Urbanization is at all time high despite the current armed conflict in the region. Land spaces initially reserved for farming have been reclaimed and are now used as construction sites for housing.  The transportation of food stuff from rural areas has become a major challenge with the ongoing armed conflict as a result of regular road blockages, lockdowns and financial extortion on the way. This does not only lead to increase in food prices but also an increase in perishable rates.  With the increase in food prices and rising inflation, many are turning to alternative sources of food. They still buy from Bamenda's food markets like that of Atua-Azire and Nkwen but not-for-profit nongovernmental organisations like the Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW), Society for the Promotion of Initiatives in Sustainable Dev

Mental Health disorders: sufferers on the rise in Bamenda's streets

By Afanwi Jolenta and Bakah Derick  Bamenda, the Regional capital of the North West of Cameroon is currently experiencing an increase in the number of persons living with mental health issues. It is believed that at the at the dawn of every  day, there is a new person on the streets of the restive city with visible signs of mental health challenges. Many of them are young.  Experts and city dwellers are  attributed this to a rise in drug consumption amongst the youth. Others are of the opinion that some of the sufferers are into cultism in search of wealth. Odette an inhabitant of bamenda says "Many youths today engage  in cults in the name of scamming and have to meet certain unlawful conditions as a result  of unnecessary competition, peer pressure and greed. The youths in an attempt to compete  with their friends end up in sects which is not a good idea as so many of them now move through the streets as mentally unhealthy people when they cannot meet up with the dem

Bamenda Station hill: lack of road signs, another cause of accidents

By Afanwi Jolenta  The absence of road signs along the road leading to down town Bamenda via the station hill has been described by several road users as a major cause of the many road accidents along the stretch.   Accident along the station hill Talking to www.hilltopvoices.com some inhabitants of the city have appealed to City Council authorities to install road signs from the governor's junction through the station hill, that will aid drivers plying that stretch of road. These pleas follow a recent ghastly accident that left at least one person seriously injured, in the early hours of Tuesday  October  4th, 2022. From the governor's junction, upstation Bamenda, driving downtown, there is a winding road stretch.  The road has trees planted on both sides and about five bends, with an escarpment on the left side of the road in one of the corners, when descending and at the right when ascending, popularly referred to as the c-bend. This point, has record