In February 2026, Nakinti held her annual SUVAR conference where 30 Survivors of Rape met to find healing and gain the confidence and skills they need to join the fight against child rape. Nakinti’s goal is to turn victims not just into survivors, but into changemakers. She had 231 applicants for 30 positions at her conference.
A common statement among participants was, “I thought I was alone,” but no one felt alone after this conference. Here is one of several letters posted after the conference. It was posted by a woman who was repeatedly raped when she was 15. She was from Mundemba, a small town in the jungles of western Cameroon in what is now way behind rebel lines. She was a child of a single mother, so someone offered to help sponsor her in secondary school in Buea. She lived with the sponsoring family in Buea, helping with household chores and babysitting while she attended school. One year in, the man of the house started abusing her. Even after she reported it to the wife, she was told to stay quiet or lose her opportunity to continue school. That is how the rape continued until she gathered the courage to leave. Her post:
When my application was selected for Voices Against Rape (SuVAR) 2026 Conference, I had no idea that two days would completely change the direction of my life.
For years, I carried a heaviness I didn’t fully understand. The weight of sexual violence and rape experiences sat quietly in my heart – unspoken, unprocessed, unnamed. I moved through life as if everything were normal, repeating the same routines year after year, while silently battling pain, regret, grief, and anxiety. I often wished I could do something about it. I wanted to speak. I wanted to act. But instead, I let the silence weigh me down.
Over the past few months, I began reflecting deeply on this journey called life. I asked myself hard questions: Is this all there is? Living safely in my comfort zone while my voice remains buried? This year, I made a decision – to step out of that comfort zone and do something different. Something bold. Something meaningful.
Applying for the Survivor Voices Against Rape program was one of the promises I made to myself.
When I submitted my application, I carried so much inside me. I truly believed I was alone in my experiences. I thought my pain was isolated – mine to carry forever. But when I arrived at the conference, I realized something life-changing: ‘I am not alone”.
There are so many young women and girls still struggling silently – wrestling with pain, shame, fear, and unanswered questions about their experiences. Listening to their stories, sharing mine, and sitting together in that vulnerability made one truth undeniable:
“Our voices matter”.
Speaking does not erase the past, but it eases the healing. It breaks isolation. It transforms pain into purpose.
The three-day in-house session became more than a workshop – it was a sanctuary. A safe space filled with courageous, brilliant women from different parts of Cameroon. We laughed. We cried. We listened. We healed – together.
What once felt like a personal burden became a shared strength.
I am deeply grateful to REWOCAM Nakinti Besumbu Nofuru, PhD, in partnership with Global Pearls, for creating such a powerful platform. Through their initiative, survivors are not just heard – they are empowered.
This experience did more than change my perspective; it reshaped my purpose. I no longer see myself as a victim of my past, but as a voice for healing – mine and others’.
And this is just the beginning.
Before long we will receive the project proposal from her team and 3 other teams. I’m excited to see how she will turn her pain into a crusade to help others!
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