Waka Waka for Peace: How Kumba Women Turned a Walk into a Movement
On July 31st, in commemoration of the Day of the African woman, the streets of Kumba witnessed something rare: over 100 women walking, singing, and speaking peace into the heart of their town.
The event, dubbed “Waka Waka for Peace,” was organized by the National Women’s Peace Convention in Cameroon and led by Atim Evenye, who serves as both Executive Director of AMEF (Authentique Memorial Empowerment Foundation) and Regional Coordinator of the Convention for the South West Region. The walk traced a symbolic loop through the city beginning at Kumba Town Green, passing through Kumba Town and the Banquet Hall, continuing to the bustling Kumba Main Market, and returning full circle to where it began.
At the heart of the day’s advocacy was “Missing Piece, Missing Peace,” a book authored by the Convention itself. Copies were formally presented to three key figures: the Second Assistant SDO, Mme Njonje Kinge; the Lord Mayor of Kumba, Eseme Moses; and the Chief of Bureau for Socio-Cultural Affairs at Kumba Central Prison. Each presentation carried the same underlying message that peace is not a passive state, but something communities must actively write, build, and hand forward.
The Lord Mayor, in whose municipality the walk took place, came out in full support of the initiative. He commended the women’s advocacy for peace, affirming that women remain the backbone of the nation a sentiment that echoed through the crowd as the women continued their march.
At the Kumba City Council, the women coordinated by Mrs Esther Omam constructed a Peace Wall, giving the day’s message a physical, lasting form within the city.
Perhaps the most moving moment of the day came at its close; a visit to Kumba Central Prison, where 23 female inmates were given foodstuff and sanitary items. It was a quiet but powerful extension of the day’s theme that peace work is incomplete if it doesn’t reach the people society tends to overlook.
The “Waka Waka for Peace” walk was more than a commemorative activity. It was a demonstration of what grassroots, women-led advocacy looks like: visible, vocal, and generous. As the women of Kumba proved on July 31st, peace is not just something to talk about it’s something to walk, write, build, and deliver.
