Renovating the Chapel
of St. Joseph in Sasse College: The Story
The Chapel of St. Joseph in Sasse College is a place of great importance to many Sobans and students. The time spent in that Chapel has over the years been a source of strength for so many Sobans as they go through the trials and tribulations of life. For me, my time in the Chapel has helped me in so many ways even beyond its impact on my vocation story. It was in that Chapel that wept so many times as I mourned my mother even as I was angry at God for taking her from me too soon. I, like many Sobans, have a deep bond with that Chapel. It is this bond that inspired me to consider taking up the monumental task of pulling people and resources together to renovate and update the Chapel...
When I visited the Chapel for Mass in January 2023, I was taken aback and shocked at the state of the campus. As you see in the before renovation pictures, the floors were very rough and had holes, some of the benches were rotten, the roof had holes, the ceiling had plywood missing, the walls were discolored, some of the lights were missing etc. As a priest, I was very sad to see the Chapel in such a sorry state. I went back and talked to the bishop and told him I would like to do something about the Chapel. He was very open and gave me his blessing.
Now that I had his blessing, I had to figure out how I was going to get the money to carry out the renovation. I consulted Emeritus Frederick Itoe and Soban Serge Yudom to seek their input and support, which they gave willingly. Initially, I set a goal to raise $50,000 for the project, however, when I got the estimates, I realized that $50,000 will not be enough and so I raised the goal to $65,000. A goal we will eventually exceed in both raising and spending. A friend of mine, John Daniels was very instrumental in helping us reach the goals we set.
As we began the project, it became clear that the project was going to grow beyond the initial scope I had envisaged. We realized that as we fixed one issue, another will arise that we had to fix as well. As the issues grew so did the budget and need for more fundraising.
To reach the goal of $65,000, I set a monthly goal of raising $15,000 a month beginning in June 2023. This goal was not always met but the numbers were encouraging. By September of 2023, I became convinced that we were on a good track to raise the needed amount.
In November, the renovation works began with the repairs of the roof. As work began on the roof, we placed the order for the first 50 benches to be made following the design of the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral in Buea.
As with all projects, we experienced a great deal of difficulties both with contractors and suppliers. In late January 2024 we were forced to switch contractors and bring in a new project foreman. We signed a new contractor and I asked Soban Russell Adamu based in Limbe to be the project foreman. He willingly agreed and asked for nothing in return. In February 2024, work commenced on the floors and at the same time the exterior painting of the Chapel began.
What did this project end up consisting of?
Repair of the leakages in the roof, replacement of the ceiling with Chinese lambri, replaced the existing cement floors with ceramic tiles, repainting the interior and exterior walls of the Chapel after addressing some structural issues with the walls, we replaced the window frames and louvers, we purchased 100 new pews for the Chapel, we repaired and painted the metallic doors of the Chapel including buying new locks for all the doors, we concreted the walkways surrounding the Chapel, and the Calvary ground, we repaired and styled the Calvary figures on the Calvary ground beside the chapel, we installed a new 7 piece sound system including new microphones and accessories for the Chapel, we bout 9 new seats for the priests and Mass servers on the sanctuary of the chapel, we bought a new set of liturgical vestments for the Chapel covering the 4 liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church, we bought a new Mass Chalice, bought 7 new altar candle holders and a new altar crucifix and we bought a new Mass Thurible etc. Soban Taku Allen came up with a plan to add solar energy to the Chapel. -Taku Energy’s All In One Lithium ion slim powerful solar system and panels to power the Chapel including 4 Taku Energy solar lights around the Chapel.
So many of the things we ended up doing were not part of the original plan. For example, the repair and reconcreting Calvary ground was not part of the original plan. But as the renovations drew to the end it became clear to us that we must address the Calvary ground issues because it would be an eyesore for the chapel to be beautiful and the Calvary ground not to be. Another example is the windows. As we worked, we realized that most of the windows on the field side of the chapel were rotting and so we needed to replace them, but we could not replace them with ought replacing the other side and the front windows. All these discoveries that we had to address brought up the cost of the project. By the ides of March 2024, we had officially passed the initial budget of $65,000.
This of course caused us great anxiety, but we nevertheless forged ahead as we had no choice but to continue while relying on God’s grace and the generosity of our donors and new unexpected donors who showed up at the time when we needed them the most. SOBA Yaoundé showed up bigly and their support made a huge impact at the 4th quarter moment of the project. SOBA Buea too stepped up and gave a helping hand in that critical time of the project. The project was originally estimated to cost approximately $65,000 (XAF41,000,000), but ended up costing $97,000 (XAF 60,000,000) and counting, there is still more to be done.
As we began the project, it became clear that the project was going to grow beyond the initial scope I had envisaged. We realized that as we fixed one issue, another will arise that we had to fix as well. As the issues grew so did the budget and need for more fundraising.
To reach the goal of $65,000, I set a monthly goal of raising $15,000 a month beginning in June 2023. This goal was not always met but the numbers were encouraging. By September of 2023, I became convinced that we were on a good track to raise the needed amount.
In November, the renovation works began with the repairs of the roof. As work began on the roof, we placed the order for the first 50 benches to be made following the design of the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral in Buea.
As with all projects, we experienced a great deal of difficulties both with contractors and suppliers. In late January 2024 we were forced to switch contractors and bring in a new project foreman. We signed a new contractor and I asked Soban Russell Adamu based in Limbe to be the project foreman. He willingly agreed and asked for nothing in return. In February 2024, work commenced on the floors and at the same time the exterior painting of the Chapel began.
What did this project end up consisting of?
Repair of the leakages in the roof, replacement of the ceiling with Chinese lambri, replaced the existing cement floors with ceramic tiles, repainting the interior and exterior walls of the Chapel after addressing some structural issues with the walls, we replaced the window frames and louvers, we purchased 100 new pews for the Chapel, we repaired and painted the metallic doors of the Chapel including buying new locks for all the doors, we concreted the walkways surrounding the Chapel, and the Calvary ground, we repaired and styled the Calvary figures on the Calvary ground beside the chapel, we installed a new 7 piece sound system including new microphones and accessories for the Chapel, we bout 9 new seats for the priests and Mass servers on the sanctuary of the chapel, we bought a new set of liturgical vestments for the Chapel covering the 4 liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church, we bought a new Mass Chalice, bought 7 new altar candle holders and a new altar crucifix and we bought a new Mass Thurible etc. Soban Taku Allen came up with a plan to add solar energy to the Chapel. -Taku Energy’s All In One Lithium ion slim powerful solar system and panels to power the Chapel including 4 Taku Energy solar lights around the Chapel.
So many of the things we ended up doing were not part of the original plan. For example, the repair and reconcreting Calvary ground was not part of the original plan. But as the renovations drew to the end it became clear to us that we must address the Calvary ground issues because it would be an eyesore for the chapel to be beautiful and the Calvary ground not to be. Another example is the windows. As we worked, we realized that most of the windows on the field side of the chapel were rotting and so we needed to replace them, but we could not replace them with ought replacing the other side and the front windows. All these discoveries that we had to address brought up the cost of the project. By the ides of March 2024, we had officially passed the initial budget of $65,000.
This of course caused us great anxiety, but we nevertheless forged ahead as we had no choice but to continue while relying on God’s grace and the generosity of our donors and new unexpected donors who showed up at the time when we needed them the most. SOBA Yaoundé showed up bigly and their support made a huge impact at the 4th quarter moment of the project. SOBA Buea too stepped up and gave a helping hand in that critical time of the project. The project was originally estimated to cost approximately $65,000 (XAF41,000,000), but ended up costing $97,000 (XAF 60,000,000) and counting, there is still more to be done.
Much has been said about how I did wonderfully well to bring this about. The truth is, I have merely been an instrument of God’s Grace and a channel of the hopes and aspirations of many people across the world, particularly the few SOBANs & very many non-SOBANs who donated heavily to kick off the project and to see it to completion. I cannot begin to thank enough each and every one of the people who donated to this project, my college friends, parishioners, priest friends, friends, SOBA America, SOBA Dallas, SOBA Yaoundé, SOBA Buea, all the Sobans who donated anything both time and treasure, your generosity has been overwhelming and been earth shattering.
I would be forever grateful to you because this will simply not have been possible without you. I am also very grateful to Bishop Michael Bibi for his openness to me when I first proposed taking on this project. His support and guidance throughout the entire process was nothing short of foundational. To him, I will be always grateful, and I pledge my continuous support for his ministry in the Diocese of Buea. I am very grateful to Emeritus Itoe for his support and for coordinating all aspects of this project. I am very grateful to Soban Russell Adamu for taking his role as project foreman very seriously and for executing excellently. I am grateful to all the workers for making this dream come true.
For me, this project was always less about me and more about the students who would pass through this chapel. I am a beneficiary of those who came before me in this chapel, and it is my hope that those who come after me and after this work will be inspired to grow in their relationship with Christ and will grow to be game changers in the world. I give God all the glory. May His name be praised, now and forever!
Sobanly,
Fr. Desmond Ndikum, #9105
SOBA 2003, SOBA Dallas Chief Whip
Project Chairman
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