After a quick lunch, we arrived at the centre where the children were waiting for us. After warm greetings, Charles Bessong with respect and apprehension read us a letter written by all the children. Here is the transcription:
“Dear godfathers, honorable big brother, dear Mr Kais, beloved visitors,
The children of the Rosy centre warmly welcome you. Your visit brings us back energy and the proof that we are not abandoned and that we will never be.
For many children worldwide, meeting the big brother, “Serge”, represents a dream. What an honor for us, children of the big SBA family, to have him among us.
We also take the advantage of your presence to tell you from the bottom of our hearts: thank you for all you do for us, children of poor families, orphans for some of us, from divided families for others. We were hopeless, condemned to do small jobs, to be in the street, exposed to prostitution, to precocious marriages, to delinquency. Although you have had huge achievements and even if time is what you are lack most, you didn’t forget those who have remained at a lower level.
You’ve decided to sacrifice your time.
You’ve mobilized your relationships.
You’ve invested your energy and your knowledge to bring us back the love for life, to make us feel hopeful again for a better tomorrow for us and for our families.
We are truly thankful and pray God to bless you for a long life; to give you more material assets; to broaden your contacts in order to be able to realize everything you planned for us and that our tears of disinherited children may be dried forever.
Concerning us, children of the Rosy centre, sons and daughters of the SBA, we can’t promise to become important rugby men because nobody among us has the strength or the techniques necessary; we can’t swear we’ll become little Mozart; we have the will to do that but not always the means.
We guarantee to you that with all the sacrifices you make for us, we will say no to all forms of social deviances and we will prevent the progress of analphabetism.
You will always find in us a group of ambitious and volunteer children; through us, your work keeps on going. You are the one who has made the name Betsen famous, a Bafia patronymic.
We love you, we admire you and eventually we all together tell you: “go ahead!”
After a notable translation of this beautiful text by our friend Odile, which moved the whole delegation, we concluded this great afternoon in happiness and laughs distributing shirts to the children.
