North West Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, handed the donation on August 25, 2014, in Boyo Division.

Some 2,616 survivors from 239 households of the Buabua and Kimbi resettlement camps in Boyo Division of the North West Region have thanked the Head of State, Paul Biya, for back-to-school gifts worth over FCFA 33 million.

They received the gifts including FCFA 1.5 million to settle school fees for needy pupils and students on August 25, 2014 from visiting North West Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique who was accompanied by the Director of Civil Protection in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (MINATD), Dr Jean Pierre Nana.

It was a rare moment for great smiles after 28 years of crying in the rain. The venue was the far away Buabua resettlement camp with Adolphe Lele Lafrique as the first-ever governor and special envoy of the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation to visit the Boyo survivors of the 1986 killer Lake Nyos explosion with abundance in gifts.

Among the lot of foodstuff and sanitary kits, the gifts also featured 1,150 textbooks and dictionaries, 4,000 pens and pencils, 8,000 exercise books, 350 school bags, 350 mathematics sets, 300 bags of rice, beans, salt, 60000 boxes of savon,100 mattresses and 100 blankets for aged persons.

On behalf of the survivors, Ban Michael and Ngong Courage saluted President Biya for the concern. In one lump sum, their message was clear, “We appreciate President Biya for numerous gifts that rekindle our hopes.

We salute the Head of State for standing by us in our educational endeavours by paying our school fees. There will be no more frequent school fee drives. Our drop outs will return to school as we promise to be hardworking, disciplined and supportive of government action,” they said.

Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique also recorded the concerns and worries of survivors and instructed the SDO of Boyo Division to forward to hierarchy, names of elite who could be empowered to serve the nation in decision-making positions.

He revealed the actions of the government and international partners to improve the lives of survivors and accelerate the process of their return to the land of their ancestors.

It is all about the programme to secure and rehabilitate the Lake Nyos area, maintenance of access roads and support to survivors before the progressive return to their land.

Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique also urged the survivors to stay hopeful and stand solidly by the government in the face of Ebola and Cholera health threats as well as insecurity challenges menacing the country.