Date
The Gbaya people are a tribe extending from the East of Cameroon right through to Central African Republic. The International Teaching Conference of the Gbaya people was held in Batouri the capital of the East Region from the 24 to 26 January 2020.
It is worth noting that the Bahá’í Faith was introduced to Central African Republic by a man from the South West Region of Cameroon, Sampson Nkeng.
On the eve of the conference, groups of believers arrived with raw food and even firewood for the unity feast. They cooked at the homes of Baha'i friends (at least in 3 locations). During breaks they went to those homes and ate and came back to the Centre after eating.
Children in Batouri never wanted to be left behind in contributing towards the preparation for the conference so they cleared the conference area and helped in cleaning and putting things in order.
There seemed to be less emphasis on material comfort and more on learning and rejoicing.
On the D-Day, there were traditional dances presented by the Bahá’ís of Yokadouma from the East Region of Cameroon to animate the occasion in the presence of the Divisional Officer.
It was touching at the conference when Baya Susan, the first Bahá’í Gbaya lady testified how she became Bahá’í and later became an outstanding teacher of the faith and brought many ladies to the faith.
The participation statistiques were as follows:
- 1002 conference participants
- 12 Auxilliary Board Members - ABMs (8 from Cameroon and 4 from other countries)
- 6 members of the continental corps of Counsellors for Africa
- 12 members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Centrafrique and Cameroun (from RCA and 5 from Cameroon)
- 150 visitors
- 532 men ( with a participation rate of 50% )
- 351 women ( with a participation rate of 30% )
- 299 children with a participation rate of 20% )
Total = 1,182 participants
37 clusters were represented with 52 pionneers that arose to serve and 16 declarations obtained.