“The spirit of volunteerism is what I feel most passionate about. There is always something to give. There is no such thing as empty volunteerism.”

As a young boy Roger remembers his father, who was a trade unionist, bringing home literature and documentation on family planning. Fascinated to know what it was his father felt so passionate about, Roger read and studied this material. 

It was the trade unions that brought family planning to the forefront of social issues in Cameroon.

And it was his father who brought the spirit of volunteerism and fighting for the rights of others to Roger's attention.

In 1992, whilst working for the Ministry of Health in family planning, Roger was invited to speak at a youth training session by CAMNAFAW. 

Following on from the training session Roger was invited by the board to be a volunteer and by 1994, recognizing that he had the skills for a role as a decision making volunteer, Roger was voted in as Secretary General. He fulfilled this role on the CAMNAFAW board for 8 years.

He continues to volunteer for CAMNAFAW.

“The spirit of volunteerism is what I feel most passionate about. There is always something to give.  There is no such thing as empty volunteerism.

You cannot volunteer ‘nothing’! Helping people should be the only motivation for a volunteer.

If this is not the case, the spirit of volunteerism will die because you will then become any other contractual worker.

I love improvement, not only change, but improvement. 

Everything has the potential for improvement – and that is what creates challenges to me.

My greatest satisfaction was being involved in accreditation  – going in with a plan of action that highlights areas that need help and assistance; collaborating with Member Associations and working together to solve problems; forging relationships.”