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ATHLETES IN ACTION CAMEROON

Athletes In Action started in Cameroon in 2000. We are grateful to God that He has kept us afloat and promises to continue to do so. In all these years of outreach to athletes, we have gathered a few testimonies of God’s faithfulness and blessings.

TESTIMONIES:

We meet him and three other athletes in Douala in 2008 during our University Games outreach. We shared the gospel with them and the vision of AIA. Though he was already a Christian he accepted our invitation to join our discipleship group. Nine years after, he has grown to be the Head Coach of the AIA club, a chaplain and a disciple. He is on the new staff training right now. His name is Tchamake and he says Athletes In Action is not join a Christian organization but a family for him. His Christian foundation and growth are thanks to AIA.

He came to the training center every day for four days looking for a club with which to train. He wanted to make sure he did not integrate the wrong club. He finally chose AIA Track and Field Club. But there was a big problem. AIA TF Club is a Christian club and he was a Muslim. He was being raised to have nothing to do with Christians but he was certain it would be in this club where he could grow in his passion for athletics. He approached the Head Coach who talked with him and asked him to come for the admission’s interview. During the interview, he said he was a lot more comfortable with our club than the others because of the discipline and respect he observed from all the members of the club. He agreed to come for our weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings which are obligatory for every member of the club. It was not long before Musa (not his real name) began to ask so many questions about the Christian faith. He also asked for a Bible and later told us that he had given his life to Christ.

Andrew was pretty recalcitrant growing up as a boy. He hated his father because he did not take care of him. He dropped out of school and joined the rough boys of the quarter to smoke, steal, harass and indulge in sexual activities. In his quest to distract himself, he came to the training center to watch athletes train. It was not long before he got interested in becoming an athlete himself. He approached the members of our club and later on integrated the club. He did not like the idea of prayers and Bible studies but because he felt loved among us, and because it was obligatory for all AIA members, he attended them. It was not long before he gave his life to Christ, shared about his past life, was trained and today is a sport chaplain and an elite athlete.

Her parents stopped her from all sports activities because she had become pregnant within the sports milieu. They heard of the launching of activities for a Christian club called Athletes In Action Track and Field. It did not make sense to them because they did not know of anything Christian in sports. Her father who is a pastor and mother decided to attend the event and after listening to the vision, and the different testimonies from coaches and athletes, they decided that they would give us a try. They are so proud of the changed life their daughter has today and the growth in her performance too. In fact, she was the only Cameroonian athlete selected for a scholarship at the African Athletics Training Centre in Dakar, Senegal. Linda has not only grown in her faith but in her sports.

Christine graduated from the Higher Institute of Youth and Sports as a physical education instructor. She had plenty of opportunities to integrate clubs where she would receive a salary at the end of the month but she chose AIA where we are yet to pay our coaches. She said, she had done a quick research on all the clubs and noticed that ours was the best choice for her professional career and her faith in God. She said we were the best organized club and also produced some of the best results combined with the fear of God that reigned in the team. She has not regretted having made that decision.

CURRENT SITUATION: There are many more testimonies that space would not permit us put here. This is why AIA exists. We chose a path that is pretty slippery but the Lord continues to be with us. Before we started the AIA TF club, many coaches and athletes did not believe God and sports could go together in spite of all the teaching we gave them. We had to prove that what we preached was true. We had to live our words. In 2004 we launched the club knowing fully well how financially demanding this would be. All we knew was that we were doing the right thing. We have consistently been ranked second or third nationally. We came first in 2020. Our major problem is the lack of funds. We had no specific and still do not have any specific source of income. Each year we trust God to raise the funds we need for the competitions.

PRESENT NEED: The 2021 season for one athlete will cost us $162 (or 81.000 cfa). We have 48 competing athletes and so we need a total of $7.776. Interclub meets begin in February.

PLEASE DO SOMETHING: We will be glad if you adopted one or more of these athletes and if you would please share with colleagues, your church, friends and family to do same.

God bless you richly,

Silas NGONG,                                                                                                                    Country Country Director.

AIA Athlete Profiles

NAME: ABOUBAKAR SOUDI
EVENTS: 400m (PB=47.9); 800m (PB=1.50)
Accomplishments: Broze medalist at the Yaounde 2020 grand Prix; bronze medalist at the central African athletics championships.

NAME: NGAGUELE RAPHAEL
EVENTS: 100m (PB=10.51); 200m (PB=20.97); 400m (PB=48.2)
Accomplishments: Gold medalist in the 100m at the Yaounde 2020 grand Prix and best male athlete of the competition; 5th at 100m finals at the youth Olympic games in Argentina 2018.

NAME: ANGOUNOU LINDA
EVENTS: 400m (PB=54.21); 200m (PB=24.2); 100m (PB=12.2)
Accomplishments: Gold medalist in the 400m at the Yaounde 2020 grand; selected with a scholarship at the African athletics high level professional training center in Dakar, Senegal since 2018.

NAME: DJIOKENG INES
EVENTS: 800m (PB=2.16); 1500m (PB=4.55)
Accomplishments: Bronze medalist in the 800m at the Yaounde 2020 grand Prix

NAME: NTUI AYUK
EVENTS: 400m; 200m; 100m
Accomplishments: Bronze medalist in the 400m at the Yaounde 2020 grand; Gold medalist at the 2019 university games.