LYRICS OF LIBERATION w/Jato Sonita

Jato Sonita, also known as ‘The Forest Girl’ is a super talented 16 year old singer and Climate Activist in Cameroon that hails from Donga Mantung Division in the North West Region. She is the leader of The Forest Children Band. The band is an environmental and cultural group of young talented children that sought refuge in the forest, due to socio-political crises, and started singing, dancing and storytelling as a way of relieving themselves from the trauma that led them there and also to make their voices heard.

TANITH: Jato, you are an incredible artist sharing an important message and The Forest Children - NDORO (which means "Celebrate" in the Mankon Vernacular) has received over 70k views on YouTube in just six months. How does it feel as an artist to see your work gain such momentum?

JATO: NDORO means celebrate. It was a song we, because some months back, the Fon of Mankon was missing (when the Fon passes away, we say he's missing). So at that point, the people of our community felt like there was no hope. They felt like everything had come to an end. Then we had a new Fon, and this was a song to tell everyone that, despite the fact that the old Fon was one of the best things that ever happened to Mankon, the new Fon is there to continue what he had started, and we should celebrate him. That is why we did the song, for the people of Mankon, to celebrate their culture, and also the birth of a new king. It also gave me a very beautiful feeling when I understood that my community appreciates what we do and considers us to be valuable to them. I want to have more opportunities to bring out our cultures and pitch them to the world and make our cultures heard worldwide.

TANITH: As mentioned, you became known as ‘The Forest Girl’ after seeking refuge in the forest due to socio-political crises that led to the disruption and destruction of schools and other properties. Tell us more about that journey?

JATO: The Forest Children are a group of children who came together as a result of the social political crisis in the north west and south west regions of Cameroon, which has been ongoing for some years now, beginning 2016 and got intense in 2019 where there was massive killing and destruction of properties. There was loss of lives, destruction and separation of families. 

During that period, we felt like the only place we could seek refuge in was the forest. We ran into the forest and met all the people from other communities who were also seeking refuge in that same forest. During our stay there, we had to indulge in some activities like drama, comedy, music, dancing and other things that could keep us entertained, and make us forget about our sorrows. To forget about the family members we've lost, the properties our parents had lost, and the amount of heartbroken stories of families that were separated. After that, we decided to start doing some songs, and all of a sudden we had this coach who always came and played the guitar for us, encouraged us to be strong, and sometimes he posted our videos online. We had a very beautiful reaction from the press, and from there. We felt like we could use that influence that our community has given us, or the voice that the media has given us, to preach the values of our cultures and also to tell our stories of how we originated from the forest and the values of that forest that saved our lives. The forest provided us with food, shelter and a home at the point where we knew that we couldn't survive. And so to date, we the Forest Children have decided that we will represent the forest wherever we go and wherever we stand. That is why we always dress in the attire you see us in, which are leaves, because we are products of the forest.

TANITH: You featured on the 2022 African Theme Song that included international artists from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya and your work has caught the attention of international artists like Beyonce, Fally Ipupa and 2Face Idibia. How does that feel?
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JATO: I felt really, really happy when I got the call saying I was going to feature on an international song with other artists from different countries, because I never expected what I was doing in the forest to go that far, to the level where I get recognition internationally and even in my home country. To me, it was a very big privilege. It was like a dream come true and I really appreciate the efforts of my community, my family, friends, followers, management and fans on the way they promote myself and the forest children in everything we do. They encourage us to keep doing what we do, and if not for their support, I don't know if it would have been possible for us to make it to the level in which we are today. So, I am grateful and I pray that more opportunities come in the future.

TANITH: Besides music you are an excellent public speaker, actress and dancer, highly involved in community and humanitarian activities especially related to environmental protection and the fight against climate change. What can you tell us about your work in this area?

JATO: We’ve been invited to schools, hospitals and public events to talk about the forest and our experience there. We've also taken part in the Munich Security Conference, where we also talked about the experience and how to survive in conflict zones. We were invited for the Peace Con, where we provided a talk about the protection of and the problems of the forest. We’ve taken part in the Congo Basin conclave with the US Embassy, where we were invited in Congo Kinshasa  to talk about the possible ways in which we could fight climate change and protect our Congo Basin. Since then, I've had some organizations that have been popping up to ask for collaborations on how to protect our forests and sensitize the public about the importance of this. We've also organized some climate change and climate misinformation contests, where people were invited to talk about the importance of the forest and how climate misinformation has impacted our society.  We are seeking possibilities where we can plant 100 trees in each of the 10 regions of Cameroon in the nearest future, if we have financial means or the resources to help us with those projects.

TANITH: You have won multiple awards for the incredible work that you are doing, including a Global Youth Award for Environmental Leadership last November where we also played one of your songs. How does receiving international recognition in this way motivate you?

JATO: I feel very happy knowing that I am recognized and have a say in what happens in our present society, and that I'm being given the chance to express myself, using my art to talk about my cultural values and also preach about the importance of the forest and my environment. And I really wish that more opportunities come in future, and maybe this year, if God permits, I'll be able to perform live during the Global Youth Awards ceremony? Last year I wasn't able to make it for the ceremony and I wish to have the opportunity to be able to come and tell my story to everyone who has ever watched me and looked up to me. I want to let them know my difficulties and how I got through them. I want to tell them to light their fires, as I always tell myself, and keep it burning. I pray that opportunities like this keep coming up, so that we, The Forest Children will have the chance to talk about the forest, its values and how to protect it.

TANITH: So far you have released 4 official singles, “Light Your Fire”, “ Warawa” , “Suffer Pikin” and “Ndoro”  and your first album titled “Forest Mystery” is scheduled to be released by the end of 2025, what other plans do you have for the future?

JATO: The Forest Mystery, which is my first album, is to be released before the end of 2025 because 21st of this month is the International Day of Forest, and we The Forest Children have listed a few activities which we'll be wanting to do on that day. For example, we will be visiting a school in Bamenda and donating 50 fruit trees, since the theme of this year is forest and food, so that it can provide fruits and food in the future for the for the students and the community. We also have a celebration here in the forest where we'll be inviting all the people in our community and all of our children will gather around. We're going to have a giant celebration and we're also going to be releasing a song titled Plant a Tree, which is one of my first official songs in my career as an environmentalist. We are also organizing a competition where people come and give us their impressions about the forest and how it could be protected. This competition will have prizes from the first to the third who will be giving the first prize the sum of 100,000, 2nd the sum of 50,000 and 3rd sum of 30,000. This competition is aimed at sensitizing our community and people worldwide about the importance of forests and how we can conserve them. ∎

Find & follow Jato on Instagram: @jatosonita_the_forest_girl