08162
February 29, 2008

Missionaries request prayers for Cameroon

PC(USA) mission personnel are safe; 20 dead in violent strike

by Pat Cole
Associate, Mission Communications

LOUISVILLE — Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission personnel in Cameroon are requesting prayers for this Central African country as it deals with widespread political violence.

According to news accounts, the unrest began when taxi drivers went on strike Feb. 24 in Doula, Cameroon’s main port city, to protest rising fuel prices. The strike triggered disturbances throughout the country as people vented their exasperation over high prices of food and other basic goods.

The situation has been aggravated by frustration over a proposal to remove term limits from Cameroon’s constitution and allow the nation’s longtime president to seek another term in 2011. Government officials say the violence has resulted in up to 20 deaths.

“Much of the population lives on the margin, barely able to feed their families, pay rent, send children to school, and get needed medical care, “ says Jeff Boyd, the PC(USA)’s  regional liaison for Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.

Boyd says all PC(USA) mission personnel in Cameroon and their families are safe, but are taking security precautions. Four PC(USA) mission workers serve in Cameroon.

“We welcome prayers for calm to return and that political ambitions or frustrations of one side or the other will not play out violently,” Boyd says.

Several denominations in Cameroon, including a PC(USA) partner church, Eglise Presbyterienne Camerounaise, have recorded radio and television spots calling for peace and encouraging more dialogue between the government and its citizens.

The Rev. Nyansako-ni-Nku, president of the All Africa Conference of Churches, has asked that all members of the group observe a special time of prayer for Cameroon during Sunday worship on March 2.  Nku is also moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, a PC(USA) partner church.

To learn more about the ministry of the PC(USA) in Cameroon and its partner churches, visit the Cameroon Web site.