Our Story
A father's unfinished house, a family's decision and a song about gathering: how the Kamsi House was born.
Prosper Tietcheu, “Grand Batanga”
Born in 1944, Prosper Tietcheu was an auto mechanic by training. He graduated from Collège de la Salle in Douala with a certificate in 1957. He later became a businessman, with multiple investments in real estate, transportation and industry.
Known in the city of Douala, Cameroon, as “Grand Batanga,” he was the first transporter to start a bus line between “Village,” one of the neighborhoods of Douala, and the main city of Douala.
A house left unfinished
In 1993, he died in a car accident, leaving behind the foundation of a 275-square-meter vacation house that he had started building for his 23 children. The youngest was three years old.
As the family faced the challenge of survival, the house remained abandoned for more than 30 years after his death. In January 2023, the family decided to finish the construction. The idea of turning the house into an orphanage arose during its construction.
Why “Kamsi”?
In the local language, Kamsi means “gather.” Kamsi is also the title of a local song inviting the Almighty God to “gather the orphan children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”
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