Introduction.

Shisong is one of the very big villages that make up Kumbo subdivision and Bui division as a whole. Between Shisong and Ndzeen, there are many other villages such as Mbah, Bamngam, Nseni and Njavnyuy. The road that passes through Nseni, eventually links Shisong to the divisional headquarters, Kumbo and subsequently to the provincial head quarters, Bamenda. A three (03)-phase project entitled "Increasing Food Production and Earnings of rural communities through the completion of the Shisong-Bamngam Bridge, the construction of the Njavnyuy Bridge and two (02) culverts along the main Farm to Market road" had been earmarked in this locality and this report gives the success of the first phase which was the construction of the Shisong-Bamngam Bridge.



Community participation in the project.

Verifying the Goal and Objectives of the first Phase.

The goal of the first phase of this project was to link the populations of Shisong and those of Bamngam. The objectives that were set to meet this designed goal was first of all the mobilization of the beneficiaries which were the populations of the villages of Shisong, Bamngam, Mbah, Nseni, Ndzeen and Njavnyuy. The activities set to meet this objective were all executed in time and this was verified by the massive turnout during the periods for need for community labour. The second objective was to the acquisition of the needed material for the work to get started. This was done and was verified by the timely start of the construction of the bridge. The completion of the construction work on the bridge took KUDOC exactly three (03) months. The last objective of this phase was to make the road passable. After the completion of the construction work on the bridge, KUDOC together with the population through manual labour campaigns organized work along the road from Shisong to Bamngam to make it motorable. The bridge was finally handed over to the Kumbo Urban council and the population on the 6th of May 2006. They were assigned the responsibility of assuring the maintenance of the bridge. KUDOC and the MP of Kumbo district financed this first phase to the tune of 3.297.323 FCFA.

The Way Forward

The first phase of the project saw a very successful end as an estimated population of 20.000 inhabitants now is utilizing the road and bridge to get to the divisional headquarters through Shisong village and to the Shisong hospital. The next phases which are still pending are the construction of the Bridge at Njavnyuy and the two culverts along the Mbah-Ndzeen stretch. The population of Njavnyuy have raised money and acquired planks, stones, sand and gravel all worth 1.000.000 FCFA. The estimated budget for the completion of this bridge stands at 7.615.727 FFCA. For the culverts at Mbah, they still pose a serious problem to the access of this area as their absence permits gully erosion to be a continuous problem to this road. The total cost of the two (02) culverts is estimated at 3.066.284 FFCA.

Conclusion

Now that the first phase of this project has been completed, KUDOC is still looking for funds to be able to execute the remaining two phases and to assure the completion of the entire project. KUDOC and the MP for Kumbo district financed the first phase it should be noted.



Community participation in the project.



Ribbon cutting ceremony for the Shisong-Bamngam bridge project.