7 Children, 1 Graduate

Man's 29 years old. I come from a small village outside Kumba, Southwest Region, Cameroon. My father is a cocoa and plantain farmer. He has 7 children with 3 different women. Out of all 7 of us, I am the only one who finished secondary school and went to university. The rest stopped between Primary 5 and Form 2 to help on the farm or sell in the market.

Today I am tired. Not normal tired. I am breaking.

I graduated from the University of Buea in 2019 with a B.Eng in Electrical Engineering - Second Class Upper. The day I brought the certificate home, we drank mimbo till morning; after which i truly understand the next days won't be easy. They said, “Emmanuel has made it, our suffering is finished.” They did not know that from that day I became the family bank, hospital, school, landlord, and father to everyone.

Let me show you what happened in just the last few months:

3 Nov, 2:17 a.m. My eldest brother called from Kumba: “My wife is in labour at the District Hospital. They want 120,000 CFA before they touch yi.” I transferred 130,000 CFA at sunrise.

15 Nov My sister Comfort (stopped school in Primary 5) sent a voice note: “The school has sent my two children home. They need 35,000 CFA by Monday or no exams.” I paid the same day.

8 Dec My step-brother called from Bamenda: "Ghost town just ended not long ago, everything slowed down for me. My three children, we are struggling with food and fees." , told her couldn't get all of it, but i could manage 20K - TBh the only reason i didn't send all was she has a husband. Wonder what that guy is up to these days.

13 December Papa’s younger brother died in a village near Muyuka. Burial contribution from me alone: 25K". The others said they have nothing.

In fact, in less than one month I spent more than 800K on family. My salary from the Chinese construction company here in Akwa, Douala is 250 USD.

These Chinese supervisors do not smile – not even once. We start work at 6:30 a.m. and finish 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. If you say “Good morning,” they look through you. If you make a small mistake they shout in Mandarin and point like you stole their ancestor’s bones. Last month a Cameroonian worker fainted under the sun; the boss said, “He is weak, no water, let him learn.”

I live in one small room in Bonaberi – 25K a month, no fan, no kitchen. Most nights I drink garri with groundnuts so there will be something left to send home.

I am not married. Every girl I try to date runs the moment she hears “7 siblings and only you are working.”

I started building a small three-bedroom house in the village a few months ago, with the little I had saved. My brothers and sisters have already divided the rooms among themselves and their children. One even complained that the house is too small.

Right now I am sitting in the staff bus going for the burial. Tears are falling from my eyes. The driver thinks it is sweat.

I am tired of being the only saviour. I am tired of working for people who cannot smile. I am tired of waking up to “Emma please, Emma help, Emma shift.”

If you are the only person in your big family who went far in school and everyone just keeps collecting,

signed. - The only graduate among 7 siblings, Le Continent