SOUVENIRS FROM CAMEROON

By Renée Dugué-Strother *

I breathed in my ancestral air

I ate from the earth plowed by my Mother’s great great great Grandmother’s hands

I was nourished by the same solar waves that powered the minds and strengthened the backs of my Father’s Father’s Father’s Father’s Grandfathers

My feet felt the surge of fertility coursing through the forever fertile soil that feeds nations

I drank from earth’s fountain

I danced in the waves

I waded in the sun

I bathed in my genes’ pool

I sank into our human history’s darkness

I soaked in every drop of blackness

I slathered my skin with each drip

My every pore yearned for more
Of this ebony fuel that flowed from my toe tips to my lips through to my coiled tentacles

The longer I sat the thirstier I became

Then I heard a voice that spoke my true name

It whispered “You are Mine.”

Now Leave
With this wisdom of inherited
Ebony Spiritual Connectivity
To The Most High

And Share
The reality of your birthrights’ royalty

Then Return
With more thirsty for more

*Mrs. Renée M. Dugué-Strother is aHealer, Artist, Writer, Humanitarian, Co-founder, and Executive Director of Reborn And Rising, a nonprofit based in Houston, TX, USA.

Artist:NGES CHAH ROLAND, native of Bamenda, Cameroon. He is an Engineer, Visual Artist, Founder of Solid Fort Construction, and the ingenious designer of Reborn And Rising’s 1st Water Station Restoration Project completed at Long Street, Small Soppo, Buea, SW Cameroon, dedicated on January 31, 2020. His heart and love for his home and people are as big as Africa. In spite of the more financially rewarding opportunities that his education and experience could provide abroad, he is committed to investing his talents and his life to Cameroon. In addition to his construction company, Mr. Roland has an arts group, BIFIN ONE HAND, based in Buea, which seeks to showcase local talent globally.
“There was an immediate connection with Mr. Roland. He instantly grasped my vision, and surpassed my expectations! Reborn And Rising looks forward to the long term partnership with Solid Fort Construction, and I enjoy the daily personal reminder of him in my home. His commissioned painting, depicting Cameroon’s beauty and culture, is my most treasured piece of art!”~Renée Dugué-Strother