Sunday 14 December 2014

Media People

I stumbled on this , on Facebook courtesy of Franklin Sone Bayern. It is the first edition of  Media People , newly published in Cameroon.

Myself (featured -top left) and many others featured herein, share one thing in common; we  graduated from the Journalism and Mass Communication Department  of the University of Buea (UB), Cameroon.  In 20 years of its existence , Media people notes that 'UB has made top journalists.' 

Impressive!

Friday 14 November 2014

Decor-Events-Rentals

By Mabi Azefor Fominyen

 Show me one person who is never afraid to try his/her hands at something new!

Tell me about a person who is never afraid to put his/her imagination and creativity to test?
Here is what i am talking about !

Click here for more 

Feel free to leave a comment , or to share an idea.



Monday 10 March 2014

Stop Violence: Moving Forward - International Women's Day!

By Mabi Azefor Fominyen

Women the world over on March 8, this year came out to mark what some people have now described as a 'yearly rendez-vous' . It was the International Women's Day.

Talks, march pasts, demonstrations, debates, conferences: are but a few of those activities organised on that day. They seek to heighten awareness and draw attention to the plight of the women the world over.

 Over the years, women in Cameroon,  are known to celebrate this day in a rather colourful and unique style. The special "Kaba" attire, the head-gears, the accessories, the march past - a forum to showcase women while denouncing acts of gender-based violence, discrimination, social ills and other acts carried out against them.  Fanfare is a typical characteristic of Women's day celebration in Cameroon .

 Follow the link to get bits and pieces of how women in some parts of Africa and the world spent March 8 2014.  http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/women-demonstrate-worldwide-calling-end-violence-abuse-n47951

Moving forward , how will the decisions and commitments which have been made in the course of this year's celebration be translated into concrete action rather than mere rhetoric? The challenges remain enormous.....
Please revisit an article I wrote on my blog titled :

 Stop Violence! Real Men Don't Abuse Women/Girls!
(simply click on this link for more)

Let the discussion continue as we look ahead with the hope of "inspiring change" -incidentally the 2014 theme !

Thursday 27 February 2014

Save lives: Stepping Up Water, Sanitation and Hygiene is Vital and Urgent!

Written by Mabi Azefor Fominyen

 Millions of people continue to live without toilets. Thousands defecate in the open. Girls continue to stay away from school during menstruation due to lack of toilets in schools .As a result, their education is affected. Even more disturbing is the fact that issues related to menstruation are still considered as taboos,  in some households and  communities. Thus, hardly are any appropriate measures taken to address the hygiene and sanitation needs of girls and women under such conditions.  Women continue to trek many kilometers to fetch water for their household, at times from doubtful sources. In many communities, animals and humans continue to consume water from the same source. Thousands of children and adults each day suffer from water related illness such as diarrhea, dysentery and other diseases. Needless to say, this is and added burden to those who live in extreme poverty.

Despite commitments and promises made by some governments to increase access to water  and improve on the sanitation of  people in their respective countries, efforts this far have been falling short of the required investments. Consequently,  people are affected in many ways.

“ On a given day , more than 800 million women between the ages of 15 and  49 are menstruating. Adequate and appropriate sanitation facilities can provide a comfortable space for women to manage their menstrual cycles with privacy and dignity”.  This is according to a recent UN report on sanitation and hygiene for women and girls.

Over 40 Journalists meeting in Cotonou -Benin, on the request of the WSSCC, have been discussing efforts put in this far by Governments and  the  role  media  professionals ought to play, in order to enhance reporting  and heighten awareness on water, hygiene and sanitation issues.

 The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), is an international  coordinating body that works to enhance collaboration in the water supply , sanitation and hygiene sectors, in order to attain universal coverage for poor people around the  world so as to save lives and improve livelihoods.

 Less than a year to the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals, the challenges in the water, hygiene and sanitation sectors, are many.  At a time when people the world over are talking about the post 2015, Amanda Marlin of WSSCC , pointed out that water and sanitation issues can no longer be ignored.  She also elaborated on the post 2015 WASH targets and indicators.

In the forgoing, WSSCC believes “ in developing  countries, media practitioners and civil society actors have a key role to play in the current debate. It is important for such actors to mobilize in order to convince states and governments to include sanitation and hygiene as matters of priority on their agenda”.

Hence the raison d’etre  of the Cotonou-Benin  Workshop.

It was a forum to deepen participants’ understanding  of water, sanitation and hygiene –WASH commitments,  X-ray some challenges and reporting  taboos in the sector,  share experiences , examine ways to access  such information,  strengthen the capacity of journalists to boost media coverage and information dissemination  of  water, hygiene and sanitation related matters.

Amongst other things, these journalists were drilled and urged to create/ use blogs and  to also explore various social media tools and online facilities when reporting , in addition to radio stations, televisions, newspapers and other traditional channels of communication.

Session on using blogs and social media to talk WASH
In his speech during the opening of the Budapest Water Summit in October 2013, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon,  stated that “ sanitation is one of the three areas critical to sustainable development where more cooperation is needed”.

 More so, as 2013, drew to its close, studies showed that 2.5 billion people or over one third of the world’s population lived without access to adequate sanitation.

 What then can governments/you do to lessen this burden in your community and the world over?

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Mabi presents CRTV's Breakfast Show "HELLO"-

 By Mabi Azefor Fominyen

While in Cameroon for a short holiday, I once more presented 'HELLO'- the CRTV's Breakfast Show. In fact the management of CRTV had invited me prior to my arrival in Cameroon, asking me to come on the CRTV Breakfast show- HELLO!

 Actually, when CRTV launched this show in 2006, I was the pioneer presenter but a few years down the road, I moved out of the country.  However, I made it a point to watch the show when I could and to send words of encouragement to the entire production crew and team of reporters , urging them to keep the HELLO flag high! When CRTV's Director of TV Production and Programme learnt of my planned vacation to Cameroon, he immediately contacted me, mentioning that they would be happy to have me come on the show to "rekindle the memories of the viewers and fans of the programme".  I remember jokingly telling him "Boss thanks for inviting me, its been a while since I left TV presentation, I might have lost some basic TV presentation reflexes over time.............".   He said, he could never doubt my professionalism!

Invitation accepted, it was time for me to come on the show!

A few years might have gone by but when I walked into the CRTV studio that morning, it felt like it did  a few years back! Same camera crew, producer, and sound technicians, but for a few new faces of reporters who had joined the "regular faces "  or call them longtime staff,  on the show. I noticed the walls had been painted differently, the kitchen section was  still there, though with hardly anyone to cook like before!

It was so heart- warming to see everyone again ! It was also time to encourage the younger colleagues who just joined the profession and of course pose for photo shoots as colleagues streamed in, to welcome me. Here are a few pictures that were taken on the occasion. 
Mabi  Presenting CRTV's Breakfast show-HELLO!
Danjie -Cameraman, Nathalie-TV Producer & Mabi
I didn't see this coming! The producer liaised with Albert to  play an excerpt from a  programme I presented back in 2008, while I was on set!
Albert Njie Mbonde & Tabe Enonchong

Charles  Ebune & Mabi as he presents his segment on the show


Thank you  CRTV management! Many thanks to Njie Mbonde Albert ( one of ' Hello's' presenters and  to the rest of the  Hello team, for the welcome!


HELLO clocks 8 years in Two days - Feb 14 2014, Happy anniversary to the team!



Thursday 16 January 2014

Snapshots of 2013

In 2013, many family events marked the year. They included; birthdays, our journey to Cameroon, the family  reunion, and events back at home with my siblings, the family thanksgiving event/memorial for our late dad/ Celebration of his life and lots more!

All through the year, God was guiding and protecting my family and I, every step of the way! It is therefore with great joy that I revisit  and share some of those moments as captured by the my photo camera.


my son and daughter cut the birthday cake
Son shares his birthday cake with classmates as dad looks on!
Off to Cameroon!
Azefor girls and Mom in Nkwen
What a holiday! Thank you sisters!
my sisters and I, - meeting back home
Celebrating my nephew's birthday upon arrival home
My nieces, nephews,kids & I , happy to see each other again
Kids meet Mbamba- great grandma!
Celebrating our dad's life!

Some moments of 2013 .

My daughter loves her school  and impatiently waited for her birthday! When the birthday came she had a chance to celebrate with her school mates!
Her BD cake
Ngwi turned 11