(2022) In early March we received an inquiry from a young man in Cameroon, West Africa. He had been ordained a Transitional Deacon in the Catholic Church and was preparing for his priestly ordination. His name is Japheth Tibui. He was requesting some financial assistance to purchase needed items for his priestly ministry including vestments, ritual books, etc. He also requested assistance for the many guests that would need to be welcomed and shown some hospitality. He informed us of an estimate cost that he determined he would need and the amount of funds that he was able to secure privately.
We receive many requests for assistance and seek to investigate the request to determine if the requests are valid. Cameroon is a big country that borders Nigeria. ROTA had supported another newly ordained priest in Buffalo from Cameroon and so we made contact with him. Though it was a "long shot" our newly ordained son was able to confirm that he knew the individual and gave us enough background to determine that the need was indeed valid. After consultation with our Executive Committee we determined an amount of assistance to offer him.
Japheth communicated back to us: "Accept greetings from Cameroon. I wish to thank you again in a special way for the help rendered to me during my Priestly Ordination. It was a success. On the 21st April 2022 I was Ordained Priest for the Diocese of Kumba. I can't thank God enough for this gift of the Roman Catholic Priesthood given to me. While waiting for appointment, I will be going back to school next weekend. Please pray for me to be a good Priest after the heart of Christ and his Church. Receive my Priestly Blessing. Fr. Japheth Tibui Ndasi.