A very full weekend

Catholic Mission, Ndop

We intended to travel to Ndop (1 hour out of Bamenda) on Friday morning, for a day long VSO volunteer meeting.  However, a call from one of the organisers on Thursday informed us that a paid up bed was available at the Catholic mission if we wanted to come early.  We arrived in Ndop in time for a delicious evening meal.

Missions such as this, run by religious groups are the best place to stay when travelling around Cameroon.  They are not luxurious, but always clean, with working toilets, good food and hot water.  After the meal, we gathered at our cottage – 5 rooms arranged around a common room.  We sat and chatted.  I headed for the sac about 9 but the hardy ones continued several hours.  It is hard to explain how valuable this time with fellow volunteers is – a wonderful opportunity to share experiences and frustrations.  It makes you realize that you are not the only one having doubts. 

Kareen, Heather, Amelita, Rob

 The next day’s sessions went well.  A lot of good work was done,with some recommendations about volunteer support going back to VSO Cameroon and a better understanding of financial management in NGOs and councils. 

Friday night, we headed off to Jakiri with a volunteer Shamsul to visit his house.  This is another 1 – 3 hours further, depending on the condition of the roads.  Another colleague, Pat, who lives another hour or so beyond in Kumba came along.  We bought extra seats in the taxi (otherwise you have to wait for the driver to fill his car with six others – they want 8 in a car).  I said the roads in Cameroon were bad – in this case there was barely a road at all – just muddy rut after muddy rut.  Potholes that could swallow a VW Beetle are hardly and exaggeration.  And the road was dry – imagine after a heavy rain!  We bumped our way up the mountain to Jakiri.  Wide vistas, revealing ribbons of falls down the cliff, greeted us at every corner – spectacular!

Shamsul is muslim – currently fasting for Ramadan.  But as soon as the sun set, we were presented with fresh dates, bananas and nuts.  This was followed by an excellent beef curry, mixed vegetables and plain rice.  Do I need to tell you we overate!  After the meal, we watched a Bollywood movie with occasional English subtitles.  We did manage to follow the plot – which was very funny!  Then to bed, which was the most comfortable bed we have slept in for months!

After a lazy Saturday morning for me, an early departure for Pat (to beat the rain) and a walk to the summit for Dave and Shamsul, we hired a taxi back to Bamenda, which we reached in record time – 2 hours – just missing the rain.

The road down from Shamsul's

In Bamenda, Dave gets a text from Simon, inviting us to beautiful Belo to celebrate his birthday.  So, Sunday, off we go for another ride in the mountains, about an hour away to enjoy some relaxation time with other volunteers before heading back again. 

Thank goodness today, Monday, is a national holiday, giving us the opportunity to sleep in and rest after a very full weekend.  

New Placement

After all this time, I finally have a new placement. All was finalized yesterday (Friday).

My new organizations is the North West Association for Development Organizations (NWADO). It is a networking agency with about 35 development organizations as members. I think I will be very busy there.

There were a few things I wanted out of the placement – which I did get. One is the flexibility to complete some projects that I started when between placements. Since all the projects and VSO related and since all the affected organizations are NWADO members, there was no issue there. Also, I retain some flexibility to continue to support HOPE, informally, if they request it. (More on this in a later paragraph.)

On the other hand, there are many things which I am expected to work on. First is a membership survey to assess what services members want from NWADO. Since it is the end of their 5 year plan, it makes sense to do this. Second, I will be supporting volunteers from the Welsh Assembly which will now come through NWADO. These are Welsh Civil Servants who come for a 6 week placements. They will be placed in different local councils (villages) so I will hopefully get to visit them there. Third, I will be working with a women’s rights organization to prepare a grant for a gender workshop (they are also NWADO members). Finally, I will help re-establish the shared area for VSO volunteers in Bamenda. That is a place where they can come to chat and share resources etc. At least that is a starting point.

I am looking forward to getting busy again – sitting at home has never been good for me.

As for HOPE, they are hoping to find a way to be less dependent on a single funder – and as best as I can, I will support them in that process. I also hope to continue helping them make for effective use of their computers etc.

So there it is…. Watch this space – there are bound to be interesting stories!

Visiting the Extreme North

For those of us who live in Canada, even in the UK, it is hard to imagine that any place in Africa, let alone Cameroon, could be called the “Extreme North”. But it exists, further north than the North Region (of Cameroon) and of the Far North Region. It is just east of Nigeria, South of Niger and West of Chad. More striking is that is it on the very edges of the Sahara desert. It takes 2 full days to get there from Bamenda and that includes an all night train trip.

As we drive closer to our destination Maroua, the landscape changes. Driving down from low mountains, the savannah displays its short trees and low grasses. Small herds of very skinny cows, goats and several donkeys graze quietly. Scattered here and there are traditional thatched huts, usually huddled in a group. The huts are not very big; I understand that there is usually one for each wife and her children and there may be one for storage. Of course, the head of the family has his own. It is a tough life for these villagers who have no electricity and no running water.

The rainy season has just begun in the Extreme North. That means that fields that are normally expanses of sand are showing some green: short grasses and the new shoots of the annual crop – maize, cotton, millet. In the middle of Maroua, there is even a small field of rice. However good that sounds, there is a real shortage of food. The rainy season came late and so the crops are late. Last year’s stock is long gone and market prices are up. People do not have sufficient food and a large number of the population is mal-nourished. Fruit is rare. If you have been following the crisis in Niger, it is working its way down to the Extreme North of Cameroon.

Our stay there was none the less pleasant. We stayed in a newer hotel with a good restaurant and a comfortable terrace. The rooms are clean, with A/C and hot water showers. The rooms are arranged around a treed courtyard where geckos of varying sizes and colours scuttle about. The only annoying part was the large amount of house flies and mosquitoes. (Canadian mosquitos may be big but you can hear them coming and the sting does not continue for three days. More importantly, they do not carry malaria!)

Dave and I were part of an exchange trip: representatives from two NGOs and two village councils were meeting a similar contingent from the Extreme North. We had four days of exchange and one day a VSO only meeting. It was great to greet colleagues and meet new friends. One morning, we went on a field trip to a counsel and then to a cotton and millet farm. On the way back, we spotted the 'sacred' mountain with a natural rock formation that resembles a sitting budha.  Quite amazing! The meetings were useful, though long drawn (time management is no one’s strong suit in Cameroon!). I felt like I was back in Canada as there were both French and English speakers and everything had to be translated. There was an excellent exchange of ideas and commitments to continue to learn from each other.

Part of our group made a very interesting visit to the Lamido (tribal chief) of one of the tribes. He received us in a carpeted room with little furniture. Shoes were left at the door and we discovered later that women were not supposed to enter without head cover – wish we had been told. The Lamino was quite gracious however, sitting on a sofa rather than his elaborate throne. He gave us an expose of the tribe’s history and patiently answered questions from the audience – first in his native language, then in French , then in English. The Lamido is a tall, smart and handsome man so it was not surprising to hear that he had 4 official wives, one ‘unofficial’ wife and 16 chilldren.

Not sure I will ever be back in the Extreme North but it is a trip I will not soon forget.