On the invitation of Prof. Jean Samuel Hendje Toya, President of the Protestant Church of Cameroon, Wendy Brochard and Coline Esseyric, winners of the architectural competition “A Church for Boboyo”, travelled to Cameroon in June 2017 together with Fred-Eric Essam, founder and chairman of ident. africa e. V., together with Fred-Eric Essam. There, the two architecture students of RWTH Aachen University had the opportunity to present their award-winning concept.
The meeting took place on 6 June 2017 in the Cameroonian port of Douala. The two students presented their architectural design using a model. Prof. Hendje Toya was particularly impressed by the modular room layout, the natural ventilation and the illumination of the church with generous daylight. Reason enough to think about the realization.
This was preceded by a four-week architectural competition for students of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen and the Fachhochschule Koblenz at the beginning of 2017. Approved the competition was organized by ident. africa e. V. from Cologne and the United Evangelical Mission from Wuppertal. The competition was coordinated by representatives of the RWTH Aachen University and the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences.The award ceremony took place on 02 February 2017.
Coline Eysseric on the architectural competition and the trip to Cameroon:”We would like to thank Fred-Eric Essam of ident. africa e. V. and Uli Baege of the United Evangelical Mission for giving us the opportunity to travel to Cameroon as winners of the architectural competition”. For me it was the first trip to Africa,”added Ms Eysseric.
Wendy Bochard after the successful presentation in Douala:”It would be a great success for us to see our design put into practice. She added:”My mother comes from Togo and Benin, which is why I have travelled to several African countries in recent years. In Cameroon, also known as “Africa in miniature”, I felt right at home. Eric Essam’s family welcomed me with pleasure, the people, the food, the varied landscape were another great experience for me.”
The students are currently working closely with the United Evangelical Mission, the Cameroonian Protestant Church and the Comité de Dévelopement de Bobobo (CODEBO), a local association that represents the interests of the local population. Construction is scheduled to begin at the beginning of 2018. The handover to the population of Boboyo is planned for the end of 2018.
About the United Evangelical Mission:
The United Evangelical Mission (VEM) is an international missionary community of 35 member churches of different traditions in Africa, Asia and Germany. Uli Baege, responsible for partnerships and projects in the Africa department in Wuppertal, is actively involved in the project. Further information: www.vemission.org
About the Evangelical Church of Cameroon:
The “Eglise Evangelique Du Cameroun” (EEC) has about 2.5 million faithful from all over Cameroon. Its President is Prof. Jean Samuel Hendje Toya. The 700 parishes are led by more than 1,000 pastors. The church also has 200 primary schools, 14 schools, 3 vocational schools, 1 university, 15 hospitals and 40 health centres.
Further information: www.eeccameroun.org
