On Friday, April 3rd 1964, Mr. David Tabenda Atogho and Mrs. Monica Atogho nee Awuro welcomed their second child, also their first son, into the world and named him AATSA. (He himself would later try adding "VICTOR" to the mix!)
He started his Primary School Education in Buea, but moved to the Government Bilingual Primary School, (aka "THE SCHOOL BY THE LAKE") in Yaounde, when his parents moved there.
In September of 1976, he started his five year journey through the CAMEROON PROTESTANT COLLEGE (CPC), BALI which is where he obtained his GCE "O" LEVELS.
He then went on to the CAMEROON COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCE (CCAST) BAMBILI, and in 1983, got his GCE "A" LEVELS.
After that, he headed to "NGOA-EKELE" (The University of Yaounde), where he enrolled in the BILINGUAL SERIES of it's ARTS DEPARTMENT. Part of this program took him to LYON, FRANCE where he obtained a Graduate Diploma in Linguistics from the Université Jean Moulin, Lyon III, France.
After he had worked briefly at Cameroon's National Assembly, he went in pursuit of a Masters in Translation at The ADVANCED SCHOOL OF TRANSLATORS & INTERPRETERS, BUEA, which he obtained in 1990, after which he returned to the National Assembly and served there 20 years.
His professional life is even better explained in the paragraphs below - in his own words, which are lifted off his Curriculum Vitae (CV), which does mention that he had been a PhD student at the United Nations University for Peace, Africa programme since 2019.
Unfortunately, his abrupt and unexpected demise on Thursday, January 13th 2022, robbed him and us of the JOY and PRIDE we would have felt to see the title "Dr." appended to his name!
Summary of Experience As a professional translator and a natural interpreter with eleven (11) years of experience serving international organizations, I worked for the National Assembly of Cameroon before moving to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. Later, I joined the African Development Bank (AfDB) as a Consulting Interpreter in the Corporate Language Services (CHLS), servicing meetings, conferences, workshops and seminars as and where necessary. To facilitate efficient communication at these events, I interpret speeches, presentations and debates from French into English which is my A language (mother tongue) and do the reverse whenever the need arises. I am Emeritus President of the Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters of Cameroon (APTIC) and Africa’s Focal Point of the Private Market Sector of the prestigious Geneva-based International Association of Conference Interpreters (PRIMS/AIIC). With Remote Simultaneous Interpreting taking centre stage, I have had several training sessions on the Zoom and Kudo platforms (WHO, AfDB, ATAF, AUABC) and equipped with the needed arsenal, I am comfortable covering meetings with three languages and several devices, to guarantee smooth delivery. As a consummate wordsmith, I write for the Africa Region AIIC newsletter and am a Founding Vice President of the Arusha Toastmasters’ Club, since 2015. Goaded by my passion for a better humanity, I am a PhD student at the United Nations University for Peace, Africa programme since 2019.
Education - Sept.1988 – June 1990: Masters in Translation, Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI), Buea, Cameroon.
- Oct. 1985 – March 1986: Graduate Diploma in Linguistics, Université Jean Moulin, Lyon III, France.
- Oct. 1983 – June 1986: Bachelor of Arts in Bilingual Letters (English / French) with specialization in Translation and Interpretation, University of Yaounde, Cameroon.
