History of Saker Baptist College

Welcome to Saker College
Welcome to Saker College
Welcome to Saker College - the college of our pride
We'll sing it,
We'll ring it,
Till the world has known it That our school is 42 years old and has been the best of all

1. To train a modern Cameroonian womanhood and motherhood as a social force influencing future generations in the progressive development of Cameroon.
2. To provide professional training for girls who intend to enter employment and thus make their contributions to the economic development of Cameroon,
3. To offer academic instruction of high caliber to those girls who have shown their ability to achieve in this sphere and thus prepare them for leadership roles in the coming years in many fields of activities.

Since its inception, the school has been served and funded in part by the North American Baptist Convention. The first principal was Miss Berneice Westerman, a North American Baptist Conference Missionary to Cameroon. She was closely followed by Miss Geraldine Glasenapp as Acting Principal and was later on succeeded by Miss Esther Schultz, Miss. Ruby Saalzman, Mr. Donald Witt, Dr. Norman Haupt who was principal until 1972 when Mr. William Nso Tayui became the first Cameroonian principal. In 1992, Mr. Tetevi Bodylawson took over from Mr. Tayui as principal and was later on succeeded by Mr. Paul Haddison-Luma (the current principal). In 1965, Miss Wilma Binder, a North American Baptist Missionary became Vice Principal; a position she held until 1997 when she was succeeded by Miss Patience Enanga Jabea. The current Vice Principal is Ms. Lyonga. It is important to note that Ms. Binder left Cameroon in June 1999 after 34 years of active service to Saker Baptist College.

Under the leadership of these principals, the school has experienced great expansion in infrastructure and enrollment. The school today has an enrollment of about 900 students. In recent years, Saker Baptist College has grown to now include a High School, manifesting the inevitable dilemma of growth and expansion. Despite these changes, the main features of the institution remain the high spiritual and academic standards portrayed in the institution which could also be seen in its ex-students. It has served (and continues to do so) as an institution of learning for young women and an environment where the seeds of many successful bonds are nurtured and many careers launched. Saker Baptist College has graduated over 6,000 young women since its inception. "Sakerettes" are all in works of life and all sectors of society, all over the world. As you scroll through this website today, you would have the distinct privilege of catching a glimpse of how Saker Baptist College has nurtured some of the most exceptional women in the world.

In addition, the school also has a rich, well-known tradition of music which was greatly enhanced under the leadership of Mr. Donald Witt (former principal). In 1969, under Mr. Witt's leadership, "The College Singers" composed of Saker students toured and performed musical concerns in the USA and Canada. This was the first Secondary School student choir to tour in America from any West African nation. All Sakerettes will forever exhibit great joy and pride for this honor given to Cameroonian students as they displayed the finest of their cultural heritage to those overseas who have contributed towards their educational programme. While several Sakerettes are not necessarily typical choir-types, the extent to which they were exposed to music and singing at Saker Baptist College has somehow created in them a feel for creating a unique blend of music. The typical Sakerette cannot read music notes and has had no formal music training, but is able to harmonize singing and instruments almost by instinct.

Graduates of SBC have become model moms, wives, and prominent members of the societies in which they live. The high standards which made these successes possible have been set in all aspects of college life since the foundinf of the school. Saker's success is best captured in the words of its first principal, Miss. Berneice Westerman (a North American Baptist missionary) during the 2002 ExSSA-USA Convention in Houston, TX:

"God gave me an opportunity to see how He has taken such a small beginning and made it an opportunity for students to know Him and spread His message."

For Ms. Westerman, the launching of Saker Baptist College in 1962 was by far the greatest challenge she had undertaken as a missionary up to that time. She remembers, "Our facilities were meager and crowded, but that was not as much of a problem as to try to choose 30 girls out of more than 300 that were qualified scholastically…In the end, we chose 36 of them. When God leads you into a new adventure, think not only of the challenges or obstacles, but of what could be. Dream and, in faith, expect those dreams to come true. Remember, He can work beyond what we ask or imagine…Is God calling you to seize an opportunity or begin something new and take a step of faith? Ask God what you might do to touch lives for generations to come."

May God continue to help Saker Baptist College with this mission and thus glorify His name.