Arnold N. is 10 years old and attends first grade in Batouri, a village in the "East" (L'Est) region of Cameroon. L'Est belongs one of the four poorest regions. 
The region is mainly covered by forests and has hardly any infrastructure. Part of the population of the east, including the Pygmies, are still hunters and gatherers and live off what they find in the forests. Since hunting has been banned for some time, poverty is spreading very rapidly.

Arnold lives in a large family with five siblings (another sibling is deceased) who are between one and 14 years old. His father is a farm labourer, his mother a housewife.

Arnold was already born with a disability. In contrast to his left leg, his right leg did not grow properly. In everyday life, this handicap is not always easy for him, even though he has come to terms with it. Despite his disability, he has developed fully at school and plays with his classmates like all the other children. Despite his positive approach, Arnold finds himself in a difficult situation. For example, Arnold's school is more than 10km away from his parents' home. Arnold walks this distance every day on crutches.

Through the help of a faith community, contact was made with René Essomba. As the leg would not develop any further in the coming years, Dr Essomba suggested an amputation, with the aim of fitting Arnold with a prosthesis as soon as possible.

After the successful surgery, Arnold continues to be confident, which can be easily seen in the pictures. At Bon Secours, Arnold's zest for life and laughter has left a lasting impression.

Agnès A. is 38 years old and has two children aged 13 and 5. She lives together with the father of the children, but she is not yet married to him. As Agnès works as a cleaner in a hotel, her income is modest. Often the income is barely more than 50€ a month. Rents on the outskirts of the city are already between 20 and 40€. For Agnès, this means having to cut corners. This is especially evident in her food choices, which are limited to the cheap varieties and rather one-sided (lots of sweet potatoes, cassava, plantains, and peanuts, but few green vegetables, fish or meat and dairy products). 

About ten years ago, Agnès noticed a small swelling on her neck, which has steadily grown bigger and more painful ever since. The goiter (enlargement of the thyroid gland, usually due to iodine deficiency) limits the quality of her life on all levels. At work, she always has to make sure to wear a scarf so as not to attract negative attention. Her partner also increasingly distances himself from her. In everyday life, she often feels stigmatised, as many Cameroonians believe that the goitre was caused by witchcraft. Witchcraft (sorcellerie) has a high significance in many African contexts and is taken very seriously. Many of her friends were ashamed to go out with her.

Since Agnès could not pay for an operation due to her small income, Dr René Essomba operated on her free of charge. As you can see from the photo, the goiter has been completely removed. Agnès feels free again to live her life as she did before the swelling.

Josiane Inès A. lives in the southern district of Nkolndongo in Cameroon's capital Yaoundé. However, the 35-year-old originally comes from Mokolo in a region in the High North. The High North is known in Cameroon for its difficult living conditions, not least because of infiltration by the Boko Haram network. Josiane is a primary school teacher. Although she is married, she has no children, which is generally viewed rather suspiciously in Cameroon and makes life more difficult for the childless.

In 2010, Josiane had an accident while riding a motorbike taxi to work. Motorbike taxis are the most commonly used means of transport in the north, as they are both cheap and can travel well on the poor roads. The poor infrastructure makes many roads inaccessible to cars, especially in the rainy season. The problem is that most Cameroonians drive without protective clothing and often share taxis in threes or fours.

Although Josiane survived the accident, she has since suffered from severe pain in her forearm, which immobilised it. From then on, the chronic pain prevented Josiane from doing her job as a teacher. It is not uncommon for primary school teachers to have to look after up to 100 children per class on their own. Since Josiane could no longer write, she was eventually dismissed. In addition, Josiane's husband was overwhelmed by the situation and left her. Since she could not continue to finance her house and the Cameroonian social system offers hardly any support in cases of illness, Josiane decided to move to Yaoundé to live with her mother. In Cameroon, the relationships within families are so close partly because she stands in as social security.

For Josiane, the move improved little. She suffered greatly from the dependency and felt uncomfortable being a burden to her mother. Her arm did not allow her to do the daily housework. Since most Cameroonians do their dishes and laundry by hand, the workload of one more person is already noticeable. Josiane's pain was also so severe that she could not even dress or wash herself.

In 2010 and 2012, Josiane had two operations in Yaoundé. In both cases, the pain did not improve. As Josiane could not work, she had to go into debt to pay for the operations. The physical pain was increasingly mixed with psychological pain. The failure of the previous operations made Josiane hesitate four years later when Dr Rene Essomba gave her the opportunity to have a third operation. In the end, fortunately, she decided to go for it. Dr Essomba and his team were able to almost completely restore the functionality of the arm.

In the meantime, Josiane is ready to think about the future again. She hopes to be able to work as a teacher again and move into her own flat, and maybe finally start the family she wants.

Oloa M. is 73 years old and a grandfather several times over. Among his children and grandchildren, some have a pronounced alcohol problem and spend most of their day in bars instead of helping their (grand)father in his fields or getting an education. Oloa lives in Soa, a village 80 km from Yaoundé, the capital. Oloa is an agricultural worker and owns a small piece of land where he grows cocoa by hand - without any help from modern agricultural machinery. Per kilogram of cocoa, Oloa receives only 1590 CFA (about 2.40€), which is very little in relation to the workload and can hardly cover the costs of everyday life. 

Due to a misstep and subsequent fall, Oloa has a fracture in the femoral neck area. Lacking the means to treat it, Oloa returned from hospital without treatment. Subsequently, he tried to alleviate his suffering through traditional massages. This type of treatment is criticised among medical practitioners because it is very painful and yet very commonly practised and often leads to aggravation.Oloa's hernia is a common problem among older people. In Europe, such patients usually receive an artificial hip prosthesis. But since such a hip prosthesis is very expensive, hardly anyone in Cameroon can afford it. In addition, there is a lot of misconception about the treatment options, as many Cameroonians think that a fracture of the neck of the femur in old people is not treatable. As a consequence, those affected often live in severe pain for long periods of time, sometimes until death. 

After Oloa lived in severe pain for two months, his brother took him to Dr Essomba, who then operated on him. Oloa received a hip prosthesis (see photo after the operation). In the meantime, Oloa can walk again and he has also regained his laughter. 

Owona Xavier N. is 33 years old, unmarried and without children. He lives in Mvog-Mbi, neighbourhood of one of Yaoundé's main thoroughfares, characterised by traffic jams and one of the main markets. Owoa works in a snack bar (small stall, not a restaurant).

In August 2013, Owona was hit by a car, which then began a hit-and-run. That people involved in accidents leave the scene is unfortunately often the case. This can be explained, among other things, by the potential costs involved, as many Cameroonians are insufficiently insured or not insured at all. As a result of the accident, Owona had a fractured thigh. Although his family is poor, they pulled out all the stops to have him operated on in a local hospital.

Complications arose due to poor training and outdated surgical techniques. These led to chronic pain because the implant was poorly inserted. Due to this problem, Owona became immobile and needed care.
Owona was then discharged and his girlfriend broke up with him. He had to move back to his parents because he has no social security. Unable to afford a second operation, Owona approached Dr Essomba.The operation went well and Owona is slowly starting to walk again. 
With the regained freedom of movement, he also has the courage to think about the future again and wants to look for a new job as soon as possible.

Menye A. is 69 years old and the father of 20 children whom he had with 2 women, one of whom has died. The patient is a former policeman. His pension is 68€, with which he has to feed the whole family. Since the amount is not sufficient, he has to do field work despite his confessed age for Cameroon in order to have enough money. One day, while working in the fields, Menye felt a sharp pain in his left groin. After a visit to the local hospital, he was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia. Menye cannot afford the necessary operation due to his stringent financial situation. He decides to live with the pain.Some time later, he heard about Dr. Essomba and the Bon Secours through his daughter. A few days after the initial consultation, Menye was operated on by Dr Essomba. On his discharge from Bon Secours, Menye says he hopes to find a less physical job and keep a closer eye on his health as he wishes to see his grandchildren grow up.

Madame Bella is a 57-year-old widow, unemployed and caring for 5 children. The family lives 50 kilometres from Yaoundé in a place called Awae. To support herself and the children, she farms a small piece of land for self-sufficiency (growing peanuts, cassava and other local food crops).

Despite her goitre, which she has had for 30 years, Madame Bella is not shunned or stigmatised by the other villagers. On the contrary, she is appreciated by all and even supported with small allowances.When she finally decides to have her goitre operated on at a local clinic about two years ago, events come to a head. Her husband dies and the money for the operation is stolen from her. Due to this difficult situation, Madame Bella decided to turn to Bon Secours, which she got to know through an acquaintance of her daughter.A few days after meeting Dr Essomba, he operated on Madame Bella's goitre. Since then, the patient has gained new energy because she is no longer dependent on her children.

Adamou B. is 15 years old and goes to school, where he has chosen mechanics as his major. Adamou's father is Gabonese, his mother Cameroonian. Adamou's mother left the family when he was young. This often happens when women find better economic conditions in another relationship. He lives in Bibie, a village in the municipality of Mfou, 30km from Yaoundé, under the care of his maternal uncle. He is a small farmer and takes care of all 5 children his sister left him. Amadou's uncle also takes care of his late brother's children as well as his own, which adds up to 16 children.Since childhood, Adamou has suffered from a painful swelling of the testicles on both sides. This condition prevents him from engaging in sporting activities.  Since his uncle has a low income, an operation has been impossible until now.When Adamou's uncle heard about Bon Secours from a neighbour, he took Adamou directly to Dr Essomba. He operated on Adamou after only a few days. Adamou's uncle's heart was lifted, as he felt guilty for his nephew's suffering.

Mr. Beloui E. is 35, unmarried but in a relationship with a young woman with whom he has a child. The patient lives with his parents in poor conditions in Loum 1 in the commune of Mfou (near Yaoundé), where fishing and agriculture are the primary source of income.The patient is a bricklayer by profession. About a year ago, when he tried to lift a heavy load, he felt a sharp pain in his right groin. A hernia is diagnosed at the local health centre. The doctor recommends that Beloui have an operation. Due to his financial situation, Beloui refuses and continues to work despite severe pain.After a while, however, the pain became unbearable. Beloui gives up his work as a bricklayer and takes up fishing, as it requires less physical activity from him, in the hope of saving enough money for the treatment. However, fishing earns him less than €15 per week.When he visits a friend in Yaoundé, the friend tells him about Bon Secours. Although Beloui did not want to believe that the possibility of free treatment really existed, he met with Dr Essomba. A few days later, Beloui was operated on. Beloui leaves Bon Secours full of gratitude and reports about him in his village. Beloui is now trying to regain his footing professionally in order to be able to provide for his family.

The nun Jocelyne is 26 years old and lives in Batouri in eastern Cameroon. The eastern region is densely forested and sparsely populated, which leads to a rather poor infrastructure.Jocelyne suffers from severe burn scars. Her entire left upper body along the left side of her chest, over her left thumb and left thigh is covered with scars, her left breast is completely scarred.At the age of 6, while playing with friends, her dress caught fire on a traditional stove. Although she was immediately treated at the local health centre, the marks remained because the treatment was not carried out adequately. Today, she suffers from restricted movement in her left hand, especially in the thumb area, because of this.Jocelyne's father is an agronomist (trade) and her mother is a nurse. Jocelyne has 7 other siblings. Her twin sister also has health problems and has had to go on dialysis twice a week for 7 years due to kidney failure. The parents use all their financial resources to pay for the dialysis. For this reason, the family cannot pay for an operation for Jocelyn's scars. In the meantime, however, these are causing her spine to become deformed and limiting her movements.Jocelyne found out about Bon Secours through a former patient of Dr Essomba. Shortly after becoming acquainted with Dr Essomba, he operated on Jocelyne's left armpit, which resulted in an improvement in the movement of her thumb.The operation helps Jocelyne to participate more actively in life again. She plays as a goalkeeper in a football team. Since the operation, she can enjoy sports much more as she has regained her physical abilities. Jocelyne has regained her laughter. She is considering a breast prosthesis for the future.