She was a mother who gave everything. Her love, her strength, her resources, everything she had, she poured into her son’s education. She sent him to the best schools, celebrated his successes, and held onto the dream of a bright future for him. But now, her heart is in pieces. The boy she once knew, the brilliant, ambitious young man who made her proud, is slipping away. His dreams, his potential, his very soul, lost to the merciless grip of drugs.
She never imagined this nightmare. Like so many Cameroonians, she left her home and traveled abroad, enduring years of sacrifice just to secure a better life for her children. She returned, hoping to reap the fruits of her labor, but instead, she faces a cruel and heartbreaking reality. The son she fought so hard for, the boy who excelled in one of Cameroon’s most prestigious schools, who passed his advanced-level exams with flying colors, who started university full of promise, he is now drowning in addiction. And she is powerless to save him.
She cries herself to sleep, asking the same agonizing questions over and over: Where did I go wrong? Was it because I left? Was it peer pressure? A lack of guidance? Was he trying to escape the silent wounds of war? She searches for answers, but none bring comfort.
And yet, she is not alone. Across Cameroon, countless parents are suffering in silence, watching helplessly as drugs steal their children away. For too long, people have believed that addiction only affects the poor, the homeless, the school dropouts. But now, the truth is undeniable: it is everywhere. It is destroying families—wealthy and poor alike. It is creeping into classrooms, into homes, into the hearts of our brightest young minds.
The crisis is spreading like wildfire. Every pill swallowed, every joint smoked, every line of cocaine snorted is another future lost. The streets of Bamenda, Limbe, Buea, Kumba, Douala, etc, once filled with laughter and ambition, now echo with stories of pain, despair, and wasted potential.
And what makes it even worse? Families are unprepared. There are no proper facilities to treat addiction, no systems in place to support parents. Instead, they are left to battle this monster alone, clinging to prayers, believing it is witchcraft, hoping for miracles that never come.
I have seen too many parents break down in tears, their voices shaking, their hands trembling as they ask for help. And each time, my heart shatters a little more. How many more children must we lose before we wake up? How many more dreams must be buried before we take action?
An entire generation is slipping through our fingers. If we do not act now, if we do not fight for them, we will look back one day and realize, we lost them all.
Fr. Innocent Akum Wefon MHM
