“In Cameroon, we live by a saying – nous sommes ensemble. We are together. Regardless of the circumstances, I am your brother, she is my sister, and we are together navigating through life’s challenges and mishaps. It’s victories and triumphs. We are united by joy and joy undoubtably results in unity.”
“A typical day in Cameroon is full of joy and happiness. Every Friday, a group called ‘Mbiykici’ (I plant a tree) meets in a small village in the North West of Cameroon to make music by singing, playing traditional instruments and enjoying a cup of palm wine or honey drink. People around them dance, laugh and share what makes them happy, to the rhythm of one of their favorite Cameroonian songs, “We are one, we are together.’”
“Here I’m sitting with one of my various ‘mothers’ as she teaches me how to make ‘baton de manioc,’ a staple in the Cameroonian diet. I always appreciated these moments where I spent more time as a student rather than a teacher. It helps me bring Cameroon back the the U.S and teach others about what I learned; bridging gaps across cultures and broadening world views.”
It’s World AIDS Day, everyone! The Mbengwi cluster put together a testing
campaign at Tad market. The African Women’s Development Fund provided
Vicony’s Global Success World, a Bamenda-based non-profit which does a lot
of work in the Mbengwi area, with funding for shirts, tents, publicity,
condoms, etc., and once we’d arranged everything, we were lucky enough to
have so many wonderful volunteers from our host organizations and Open Door
Clinic in Njinibi that there wasn’t actually a whole lot for us to do! We
largely hung back as the volunteers handed out eight hundred condoms and
sensitized and tested almost three hundred people.
Are you thinking of applying for our agriculture or health programs in Cameroon, but you just aren’t sure you can last 27 months without coconut cream pie? If so, my friend, this is your lucky day. It turns out that there’s a traditional Cameroonian coconut pie that looks pretty darn tasty. Here’s a recipe:
1 9-inch pie shell, made from home-made or store-bought pie crust dough baked in a pie pan for five to seven minutes in an oven heated to 350 degrees F (180 C)
In a large kitchen bowl make the filling by blending together all of the ingredients, starting with the butter and Sugar, then adding other ingredients.
Pour into the baked pie shell. Cover with the pie crust strips.
Bake in a 350° F oven until filling is done and crust is golden brown
I spent #GlobalHandwashingDay following up on an #IGA program started by my now RPCV post mate, Bridget! This women’s group has been actively producing omo (washing powder) and soap (savon) and selling it, using the profits to fund school projects like hand washing stations and fences for the school farm. The goal of today’s meeting was to address any challenges and continue plans for the future growth. These ladies were AMAZING today and I can’t wait to watch their business and community continue to grow! #PeaceCorpsCameroon #LadyPower
“This picture highlights the way that I felt as a Peace Corps trainee. Hardly able to communicate, unfamiliar with the environment that surrounded me, and feeling completely innocent, I felt as if I was a child again. At the moment that this photo was captured, all of these feelings came to the surface and could be seen by all. This moment defines the way I approached my Peace Corps service – with an open mind and unbiased, the only way a child knows how.“
“The only time people have really taken the time to notice my hearing device was at a school for the deaf, where the deaf children pointed to me and then pointed to their ears.”
This was posted by one of my counterparts (I edited a little), but highlights a serious problem in communities here in Cameroon. Education is an incredibly important part of life and Kabiru, like many other young Cameroonian boys and girls, is not given the opportunity to attend school due to, among other things, cost, ignorance, infrastructure, and tradition.
The STORY of KABIRU
Kabiru is a 9 years old Mbororo boy who lives with his parents in one of the remote areas in the NW of Cameroon. Kabiru takes care of his father’s cattle every day by following behind the cattle up hills and down the valleys. His parents have never seen the four walls of a classroom.
RDF, on the way to supervise her activities on the field, encountered Kabiru. We greeted Kabiru in the local dialect (Fulfulde) and asked which class Kabiru is in.
“Kabiru does not understand the meaning of the word “Classroom”. In his entire life, Kabiru has never head such a “strange word”.
I then ask myself, is it Kabiru’s fault that he does not know the meaning of a classroom or his parent’s? None of them I think. We are all educated today because our parents or someone sent us to school but Kabiru’s case is completely different and only someone somewhere can help him understand the meaning of a classroom one day.
That someone is you and I who have read Kabiru’s story.
This won’t be much a post, but it was a fun day, so I wanted to share!
After we got back from the Race of Hope in Buea, we were in dire need of a
relaxing spa day. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many spas in Cameroon so
we would have to do it ourselves.
We met up at Nataliya’s house, nail polish in hand, and spent the day
relaxing. We did nails, eyebrows, face masks, foot soaks, and deep hair
conditioning (eggs and avocados, who knew?). Nataliya had also invited two
of her Cameroonian neighbors, whom I think thoroughly enjoyed the day too!
You can be sure this won’t be our last spa day.
