Day 41: Sunday 23rd November 2008
Sunday afternoon Football
Sunday afternoon football – very serious...until the atmosphere lightens with a little playinng around!
Later “Roots” is on the TV (dubbed into French makes it even more realistic somehow) – and I am forced to think about something that I have been trying to avoid - that since I have been here, even more than in the Gambia, I often find myself turning in the street to look twice at people who look so like individuals I have known from the UK, that even the names of people that I knew many years ago come back to me, and I find myself wanting to call out to them; the reason for that is the horror of the shared history of the UK and Africa in the form of the slave trad.
Cameroon, like many other places with a coastline on the Atlantic coast of Africa, has a history intimately connected with slavery, and quite rightly it has not been forgotten here.
To know that it is not just my imagination that so many people here look like they are related to people in the UK – to know that in fact many of their common ancestors suffered the horror of abduction and enslavement, only a few generations ago; is shameful and shocking.
To know that the world has still not eradicated slavery and that many people, especially children and women are still being bought and sold, and made to work without pay, today in all parts of the world is equally shameful and shocking.
Day 42: Monday 24th November 2008
A little distraction.........
Okay - now I know it's Monday morning and I am supposed to be working, but I defy anyone to resist this young woman! She comes along, sits herself down and says "I can write 2 + 2 = 4 - let me write it" - well who could resist?? Not me - nor Tom when he arrived from Santa. This little girl, whose name is "Blessing", and who is not yet 4, jumped down from the table and ran along the path to grab his legs and hug him when she saw him coming (he seems to have a magnetic attraction for kids here - he claims that it is the opposite with kids in the UK!! -but it's not the first time I have seen this happen!)
Oh and by the way, she does normally go to school, but she has a sick brother, so her mother, who is a temporary gardener, can't pay the school fees as well as the medical bills.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Cows feet, politics and a bottle of warm water.....
Day 37: Tuesday 18th November 2008
Catherine hosts our “send-off” party – she has prepared Yoruba style outfits for us, and special food, in particular "footcow" (which is apparently good for the joints!.) There is food, drink and speech-making, and we thank everyone for their hospitality, hard work and cooperation, without which our projects could not have taken place. In particular, Catherine's organisational, motivational and language skills have been invaluable.
Day 38: Wednesday 19th November 2008
“Not far now..... really .....”
Today I take a day off from report-writing, as Kharsum has invited me to visit Bambili lake with one of the Tubah Councillors. We set off early to avoid the heat of the day, and have been promised a short walk, but it turns out to be a long one and much later than planned.
The Cameroon countryside is volcanic and stunning, with still lakes hidden away in craters up in the hills; even high up, a lot of the area is cultivated; and the rest is grazing for cows, goats and sheep.
On the way we meet people that the Councillor knows; constituents, relatives, neighbours, friends and Pastor Martin, who is all four of the above. He is standing in the road with a pickaxe, working at breaking down boulders to make the road flatter, and is waiting for a group of volunteers he has co-opted to help with this. The time to manage the unpaved roads is in the dry season, which has now started; and in default of state support for road maintenance, individuals and groups are beginning to divide up stretches of unpaved road between them and take responsibility for their maintenance. It is back-breaking work at the hottest time of the year; but as Pastor Martin explains, the livelihood of the small farmers depends on access to market.
Pastor Martin lives locally, and is happy to escort us on to the lake. He takes the opportunity to harangue the Councillor on a number of contentious topics as we walk, but also runs to his farm to return with a freshly pulled bunch of carrots for us to take home.
"I never heard of anyone visiting a farm and coming home with no food" he laughs. We drop him back at the roadside, by which time the team of roadmending volunteers have arrived - they are a group of fairly elderly men; the heat is now intense, and we have nothing to offer them except a partly drunk bottle of warmish water, while they offer us enthusiastic greetings.
Catherine hosts our “send-off” party – she has prepared Yoruba style outfits for us, and special food, in particular "footcow" (which is apparently good for the joints!.) There is food, drink and speech-making, and we thank everyone for their hospitality, hard work and cooperation, without which our projects could not have taken place. In particular, Catherine's organisational, motivational and language skills have been invaluable.
Day 38: Wednesday 19th November 2008
“Not far now..... really .....”
Today I take a day off from report-writing, as Kharsum has invited me to visit Bambili lake with one of the Tubah Councillors. We set off early to avoid the heat of the day, and have been promised a short walk, but it turns out to be a long one and much later than planned.
The Cameroon countryside is volcanic and stunning, with still lakes hidden away in craters up in the hills; even high up, a lot of the area is cultivated; and the rest is grazing for cows, goats and sheep.
On the way we meet people that the Councillor knows; constituents, relatives, neighbours, friends and Pastor Martin, who is all four of the above. He is standing in the road with a pickaxe, working at breaking down boulders to make the road flatter, and is waiting for a group of volunteers he has co-opted to help with this. The time to manage the unpaved roads is in the dry season, which has now started; and in default of state support for road maintenance, individuals and groups are beginning to divide up stretches of unpaved road between them and take responsibility for their maintenance. It is back-breaking work at the hottest time of the year; but as Pastor Martin explains, the livelihood of the small farmers depends on access to market.
Pastor Martin lives locally, and is happy to escort us on to the lake. He takes the opportunity to harangue the Councillor on a number of contentious topics as we walk, but also runs to his farm to return with a freshly pulled bunch of carrots for us to take home.
"I never heard of anyone visiting a farm and coming home with no food" he laughs. We drop him back at the roadside, by which time the team of roadmending volunteers have arrived - they are a group of fairly elderly men; the heat is now intense, and we have nothing to offer them except a partly drunk bottle of warmish water, while they offer us enthusiastic greetings.
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Volunteering, Pepe Soup and Risque Stories..
Day 32: Thursday 13th November 2008
Management Committee meeting at 9 - we leave at 7 to prepare 9. By 10:30 about 15 people have arrived; and our agenda item on the National Volunteering Proposal generates a lot of debate.
The proposal is adopted – Santa will host a pilot national volunteering scheme for Cameroon; Tom and I are delighted that we will hopefully leave something a little more concrete than a report, and it seems so are all the involved partner agencies.
Lunch to celebrate, is at Nicoline’s chop house, with pepe soup and boiled plantain. The pepe soup is a rich spicy goat meat soup, and is one of my favourites. Later we go to the Head of Services meeting which also involves good food and drink and a lot of good natured banter.
Management Committee meeting at 9 - we leave at 7 to prepare 9. By 10:30 about 15 people have arrived; and our agenda item on the National Volunteering Proposal generates a lot of debate.
The proposal is adopted – Santa will host a pilot national volunteering scheme for Cameroon; Tom and I are delighted that we will hopefully leave something a little more concrete than a report, and it seems so are all the involved partner agencies.
Lunch to celebrate, is at Nicoline’s chop house, with pepe soup and boiled plantain. The pepe soup is a rich spicy goat meat soup, and is one of my favourites. Later we go to the Head of Services meeting which also involves good food and drink and a lot of good natured banter.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Millions of Africans choose Greatness!
Day 29: Monday 10th November 2008
After lunch we are back in the CEAC office, and Steve arrives on his daily visit, to check on Tom. Unlike many children here who are nervous of the “White Man” – Steve has taken a strong liking to Tom, and whenever he goes missing from his home, his elder siblings know exactly where to find him..!
Day 31: Wednesday 12th November 2008
Busy morning with 5 more interviews before 11:30 at the CEAC Provincial Meeting - back by lunchtime, can’t wait for news of how the “Building Our Futures 2008” Conference in the Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, has gone.........!
Later!
I hear it has been a fabulous success again! Well done to all concerned and especially to the young people who have delivered it!!
After lunch we are back in the CEAC office, and Steve arrives on his daily visit, to check on Tom. Unlike many children here who are nervous of the “White Man” – Steve has taken a strong liking to Tom, and whenever he goes missing from his home, his elder siblings know exactly where to find him..!
Day 31: Wednesday 12th November 2008
Busy morning with 5 more interviews before 11:30 at the CEAC Provincial Meeting - back by lunchtime, can’t wait for news of how the “Building Our Futures 2008” Conference in the Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, has gone.........!
Later!
I hear it has been a fabulous success again! Well done to all concerned and especially to the young people who have delivered it!!
Monday, 10 November 2008
Pre-vocational courses and unexpectedly meeting an Icon..
Day 25: Thursday 6th November 2008
Thursday sees us in Bali (no, not that Bali – although I know one VSO volunteer who is there – I reckon that’s more of a holiday than a VSO placement personally!)
The Bali CEAC Director is Victor, who meets us on a motorbike, which, along with a very small office, seems to be the only resource he has. He takes us to a community hall, where we hold another workshop – this time fewer people know what the CEAC is, so we have to again change our theme questions; but it seems to go fairly well, and we are able to conduct some interviews whilst it is going on as well. Today many Cameroonians are celebrating the 26th anniversary of the accession of the President Paul Biya; so our courtesy visit to the Mayor is a short one.
Day 26: Friday 7th November 2008
We leave at 6 to drive to Jakiri, the road to which is not tarred all the way. It is a beautiful, if tiring journey, through striking peaks and valleys. We are lucky that we are here at the end of the rainy season, when the trees are still green and everything is fertile; the roads are dry enough to travel on, without being too dusty. The rich red earth of Cameroon is in wonderful contrast to the greens all around; and the countryside is full of crops, fruit and palm trees and some cattle grazing.
Cameroon has learned to its cost, as have other African countries, that eucalyptus planting has destroyed some of its water catchments, and is attempting to redress this with projects to plant other trees and reclaim some of the areas.
When we arrive at Jakiri, we go to greet the Mayor and find he has gone on ahead and is in fact waiting to greet us at the CEAC of Upper Dzekwa or Sop. We are treated like royalty when we arrive, there is a group of young people with a welcome song, and a formal programme of events.
This CEAC focuses on unemployed young people, and is running vocational training courses, in carpentry, tailoring, hairdressing, shoemaking and repairing, literacy and numeracy, amongst other things. Resources are limited and have been begged and borrowed from various sources. There are two aging computers, a few sewing machines, some carpentry tools and one ancient hairdryer. They would consider having a printer a great luxury.
It reminds me of when I taught pre-vocational courses for young people of this age in Manchester, and I can empathise with the passion which drives the Director and his teachers here, and also the Mayor, who is here to take part in the workshop, and communicates his own vision of empowering individuals and communities.
We are invited back to Mayor Laurence Ashang’s house to meet his mother Olive, who is a well known community development and women's advocate and journalist here, and to have lunch there. She is warm and welcoming and keen to hear about what we are all doing. It is a privilege to meet her.
The following link gives some information about her and her husband’s work.
http://www.shemkafoundation.org/history.shtml
Day 27: Saturday 8th November 2008
Today I go with Rose to a wedding. It is a simple service, followed by a blessing and a LOT (!)of singing and dancing, and is a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Thursday sees us in Bali (no, not that Bali – although I know one VSO volunteer who is there – I reckon that’s more of a holiday than a VSO placement personally!)
The Bali CEAC Director is Victor, who meets us on a motorbike, which, along with a very small office, seems to be the only resource he has. He takes us to a community hall, where we hold another workshop – this time fewer people know what the CEAC is, so we have to again change our theme questions; but it seems to go fairly well, and we are able to conduct some interviews whilst it is going on as well. Today many Cameroonians are celebrating the 26th anniversary of the accession of the President Paul Biya; so our courtesy visit to the Mayor is a short one.
Day 26: Friday 7th November 2008
We leave at 6 to drive to Jakiri, the road to which is not tarred all the way. It is a beautiful, if tiring journey, through striking peaks and valleys. We are lucky that we are here at the end of the rainy season, when the trees are still green and everything is fertile; the roads are dry enough to travel on, without being too dusty. The rich red earth of Cameroon is in wonderful contrast to the greens all around; and the countryside is full of crops, fruit and palm trees and some cattle grazing.
Cameroon has learned to its cost, as have other African countries, that eucalyptus planting has destroyed some of its water catchments, and is attempting to redress this with projects to plant other trees and reclaim some of the areas.
When we arrive at Jakiri, we go to greet the Mayor and find he has gone on ahead and is in fact waiting to greet us at the CEAC of Upper Dzekwa or Sop. We are treated like royalty when we arrive, there is a group of young people with a welcome song, and a formal programme of events.
This CEAC focuses on unemployed young people, and is running vocational training courses, in carpentry, tailoring, hairdressing, shoemaking and repairing, literacy and numeracy, amongst other things. Resources are limited and have been begged and borrowed from various sources. There are two aging computers, a few sewing machines, some carpentry tools and one ancient hairdryer. They would consider having a printer a great luxury.
It reminds me of when I taught pre-vocational courses for young people of this age in Manchester, and I can empathise with the passion which drives the Director and his teachers here, and also the Mayor, who is here to take part in the workshop, and communicates his own vision of empowering individuals and communities.
We are invited back to Mayor Laurence Ashang’s house to meet his mother Olive, who is a well known community development and women's advocate and journalist here, and to have lunch there. She is warm and welcoming and keen to hear about what we are all doing. It is a privilege to meet her.
The following link gives some information about her and her husband’s work.
http://www.shemkafoundation.org/history.shtml
Day 27: Saturday 8th November 2008
Today I go with Rose to a wedding. It is a simple service, followed by a blessing and a LOT (!)of singing and dancing, and is a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
What we are actually trying to do !
Thanks for both comments - here is a little more detail about the project for those who want to know! - The work links with what Tom Alex and Charmain are doing in looking at the feasibility of a national volunteer scheme - the CEAC that I keep mentioning is a Community Education and Action Centre and is supposed to be a decentralised means of empowering the local communities by helping set up groups, run training etc - bit like the CVCs in Wales in some ways - except that they have very few resources; my job is to look at how that capacacity could be built, and if it is feasible to do it with Volunteers or for it to coordinate a volunteer resource base. Tom is looking at the potential demand in other areas both public sector and in the NGO sector; Alex is looking at supply - i.e young people coming in through the Youth Opportunities Programme and Charmain is looking at a communication strategy to engage Councils and other public sector bodies in the process. As you can see it all overlaps and is quite open at this stage in the process - so the workshops we have been doing have been part of the consultation phase. Hope this makes some sense!!
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Where were you when Barack Obama was elected?
Day 20: Saturday 1st November 2008
Yesterday morning there was a unusual air of depression over the Baptist Centre – I did not find out until the end of the day that a close friend and colleague of many people there, had died that morning. Of the many deaths we have heard of in the 20 days we have been here, this one tragically could perhaps have been avoided. A young woman died of an AIDS related condition; she had never been tested for HIV – if she had, she could have been given effective long term treatment and support. Many people here are or have been at risk, but do not get tested until they start to have symptoms; and by then it may be too late.
Day 22: Monday 3rd November
A night-time visitor at the Baptist Centre has taken up daytime residence. A moth the size of a sparrow is resting on a window. With wings furled it looks like a piece of curled wood shaving or bark; unfurled it becomes a scary face to ward off predators - a few days late for Halloween.....
Day 23: Tuesday 4th November 2008
We go to Akum to meet some of the members of the Women’s groups. We have arranged to go at 2:00 and are expecting about 15 people; so Tom and I are planning to do a shorter version of Friday’s workshop, followed by a couple of in-depth interviews.
We arrive in the Community Hall at around one thirty; there are already more than 30 people present and seated, and more are approaching up the hill. We speedily re-think and improvise, with the use of a blackboard and chalk that is there for the use of a primary class, and Catherine helps organise the (mainly) women into 4 groups, and gets them energised by singing women’s celebration songs, dancing, praying and singing the National Anthem. Catherine tells me the people of Akum like to call it “Small London”; as they are proud of being hard-working, disciplined and successful (as they imagine are the people of “Big London”. I tell them I was brought up in London and so feel at home in Akum, which gets me a cheer and a burst of laughter.
When we start there are nearly 60 people present and raring to go. (NB – all the advice about working in Cameroon says “expect the unexpected” – this was certainly a case in point!)
This group is less comfortable with Standard English than Friday’s workshop delegates; so our welcomes, introductions and instructions have to be translated, partly into the local Akum language and partly into Camtok, the North-West Province Pidgin.
Despite all these potential pitfalls, the session seems to go well, and we gain some good feedback from the groups. The experience underlines the need to be working closely with a local partner; to always keep language and communication issues in mind, and the need to be prepared for anything!
In the evening everyone (both Cameroonians and overseas guests) are already getting excited about the potential victory of Barack Obama; watching CNN and listening to the BBC World Service. I try to stay awake until the first set of results come in, but give up after falling asleep at 9:15 in front of the TV!
Wednesday 5th November 2008
Bamenda is much quieter this morning than usual – many people have been up most of the night – awaiting the news that Barack Obama has been elected. There is an atmosphere of celebration and hope as Africans, Europeans and Americans alike, all celebrate this historic day.
Today we arrive promptly at Nkwen CEAC at 9:00, and discover that there has been a mis-communication and Esther, the Director there, has organised our visit for the 6th not the 5th. She and another worker, Tabitha, get straight on their mobiles to see who can come today; and in 15 minutes 10 people arrive.
Afterwards, we take the participants for a thank you lunch (350 Cameroon francs per head = 35p each), and in a Chop House (local restaurant) we all have achu and soup, with a little meat on the side. (Pounded coco-yam and a mild spicy sauce). I am shown how to shape the achu into a wide bowl, (a bit like making a pot out of clay), so that the sauce and meat can be put inside.
We eat the achu and soup with our right hand, (after washing in an individual bowl of water brought to the table). The achu is quite bland, but the soup is like a mild curry sauce, so it’s a bit like mashed potato and gravy.
Esther decides that we should then go to see the Mayor out of courtesy, (since he had the meeting in his diary for tomorrow). It is now about 2:30, and I am hot and tired and feel like I have yellow soup stains all round my mouth !; but this meeting turns out to be very useful as Lord Mayor Prince Amandou Pius Ngwa is keen to see a National Volunteer Scheme linked with the Nkwen CEAC. We leave with business cards and personal invitations to the launch of the Council’s 5 year Strategic Plan. Once again, a reminder to expect the unexpected, but also to make the most of every occasion, however apparently frustrating initially!
Yesterday morning there was a unusual air of depression over the Baptist Centre – I did not find out until the end of the day that a close friend and colleague of many people there, had died that morning. Of the many deaths we have heard of in the 20 days we have been here, this one tragically could perhaps have been avoided. A young woman died of an AIDS related condition; she had never been tested for HIV – if she had, she could have been given effective long term treatment and support. Many people here are or have been at risk, but do not get tested until they start to have symptoms; and by then it may be too late.
Day 22: Monday 3rd November
A night-time visitor at the Baptist Centre has taken up daytime residence. A moth the size of a sparrow is resting on a window. With wings furled it looks like a piece of curled wood shaving or bark; unfurled it becomes a scary face to ward off predators - a few days late for Halloween.....
Day 23: Tuesday 4th November 2008
We go to Akum to meet some of the members of the Women’s groups. We have arranged to go at 2:00 and are expecting about 15 people; so Tom and I are planning to do a shorter version of Friday’s workshop, followed by a couple of in-depth interviews.
We arrive in the Community Hall at around one thirty; there are already more than 30 people present and seated, and more are approaching up the hill. We speedily re-think and improvise, with the use of a blackboard and chalk that is there for the use of a primary class, and Catherine helps organise the (mainly) women into 4 groups, and gets them energised by singing women’s celebration songs, dancing, praying and singing the National Anthem. Catherine tells me the people of Akum like to call it “Small London”; as they are proud of being hard-working, disciplined and successful (as they imagine are the people of “Big London”. I tell them I was brought up in London and so feel at home in Akum, which gets me a cheer and a burst of laughter.
When we start there are nearly 60 people present and raring to go. (NB – all the advice about working in Cameroon says “expect the unexpected” – this was certainly a case in point!)
This group is less comfortable with Standard English than Friday’s workshop delegates; so our welcomes, introductions and instructions have to be translated, partly into the local Akum language and partly into Camtok, the North-West Province Pidgin.
Despite all these potential pitfalls, the session seems to go well, and we gain some good feedback from the groups. The experience underlines the need to be working closely with a local partner; to always keep language and communication issues in mind, and the need to be prepared for anything!
In the evening everyone (both Cameroonians and overseas guests) are already getting excited about the potential victory of Barack Obama; watching CNN and listening to the BBC World Service. I try to stay awake until the first set of results come in, but give up after falling asleep at 9:15 in front of the TV!
Wednesday 5th November 2008
Bamenda is much quieter this morning than usual – many people have been up most of the night – awaiting the news that Barack Obama has been elected. There is an atmosphere of celebration and hope as Africans, Europeans and Americans alike, all celebrate this historic day.
Today we arrive promptly at Nkwen CEAC at 9:00, and discover that there has been a mis-communication and Esther, the Director there, has organised our visit for the 6th not the 5th. She and another worker, Tabitha, get straight on their mobiles to see who can come today; and in 15 minutes 10 people arrive.
Afterwards, we take the participants for a thank you lunch (350 Cameroon francs per head = 35p each), and in a Chop House (local restaurant) we all have achu and soup, with a little meat on the side. (Pounded coco-yam and a mild spicy sauce). I am shown how to shape the achu into a wide bowl, (a bit like making a pot out of clay), so that the sauce and meat can be put inside.
We eat the achu and soup with our right hand, (after washing in an individual bowl of water brought to the table). The achu is quite bland, but the soup is like a mild curry sauce, so it’s a bit like mashed potato and gravy.
Esther decides that we should then go to see the Mayor out of courtesy, (since he had the meeting in his diary for tomorrow). It is now about 2:30, and I am hot and tired and feel like I have yellow soup stains all round my mouth !; but this meeting turns out to be very useful as Lord Mayor Prince Amandou Pius Ngwa is keen to see a National Volunteer Scheme linked with the Nkwen CEAC. We leave with business cards and personal invitations to the launch of the Council’s 5 year Strategic Plan. Once again, a reminder to expect the unexpected, but also to make the most of every occasion, however apparently frustrating initially!
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