New Deputy General Manager of CNRPH : Square Peg In Square Hole

Douglas A. Achingale is a well-known and respected person in many fields – notably social work, journalism and creative writing. His appointment on Tuesday July 16, 2019 (three days to his birthday) by President Paul Biya as the Deputy General Manager of the Cardinal Paul Emile Leger National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities (CNRPH) is well merited and did not come as a surprise, at least to many who know Douglas.
The new Deputy Director General of CNRPH has a sound academic background and continues yearning to drink from the fountain of knowledge. His is currently a PhD candidate in British Literature in the University of Yaounde I. Born on July 19, 1967 of parents from Lebialem and Ndian Divisions of the South West Region, Douglas obtained his ordinary level certificate in 1985 from Frank Harcourt Secondary School Kumba and then proceeded to Baptist High School Buea where he got his advanced level certificate in 1987. He continued to the then University of Yaounde and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Language and Literary Studies. Four years later, Douglas gained admission into the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) Yaounde and was trained as a social welfare administrator. He would return to the University of Yaounde I in 2014 to do a Masters in British Literature.
Upon graduation from ENAM, Douglas started working in 1997 in the Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS) as a senior staff of the Department of General Affairs, and then the Department of National Solidarity. By 1999, he served in the then South Provincial Delegation of Social Affairs. In 2010, he was appointed Assistant Research Officer No. 2 in the Translation Unit of MINAS. He then rose to Deputy Director in charge of Reinsertion of Persons with Disabilities. Until his recent appointment, Douglas was Deputy Director in charge of Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities at MINAS.
Don’t take Douglas for granted – he is multi-talented. He has had a stint as reporter and editor for a couple of reputable newspapers and magazines, including The Herald, Cameroon Post, Cameroon Life magazine, Today, The New Standard, The Post, The Guardian Post and New Broom Magazine. Douglas is also a fine write, having to his credit four publications: Oppression (2013), Before I Die (2014), No To Terrorism (2016) and The Wrong Decision (2017).
The married father of many children says the new task is challenging but he is up to it.