different places in Cameroon

There is a vast difference between my experience in Bangou and volunteers all across Cameroon. I’ve been able to visit other posts and other villages in Cameroon and seen how different cultures can be just a few miles apart.

There is Bangante where we had training. It’s is a medium sized village for Cameroon. Upon getting there I remember how there seemed to be mud and garbage everywhere. Most roads were not paved and there were large drains on the side of the roads that would fill with garbage, not to mention people using them as public toilets. A few months after being posted in my village and traveling a bit, I came back to Bangante, and I was amazed at how clean and orderly it seemed. It hadn’t changed, but my perception had.

Bafussam is the third largest city in Cameroon and my provincial capital. The training director called it ‘the Chicago of Cameroon’ because of its economic activity. It is like a more developed Bangante, except dirtier, more polluted, the clash between modernizing and traditional culture evident. You can find most things you need here, cheaper than in Douala and Yaoundé, and I go there often to get things I can’t get in my village.

Nkongsamba used to be Cameroon’s third largest village, once upon a time, but when commodity prices dropped, its economy suffered and has stagnated since the 1980’s. However it is the cleanest large city in Cameroon, has a decent market and you can find things there that you can’t find in Bafussam like mint chocolate ice cream. The volunteer swears that it is the best post in Cameroon.

Bamenda is in provincial capital of the northwest province, which is Anglophone. Although technically it means they speak English, they actually speak Pidgin which is basically really bad English. ‘How’ is ‘how are you’ ‘See you after’ is ‘see you later’ and ‘you go now’ is ‘Are you leaving now?’ When I went, I often had to tell them to please stop speaking English and speak in French. The town is surrounded by mountains and is quite scenic, but the best thing about Bamenda is that you can find DVDs of movies and TV shows, in English, and really cheap.

Yaoundé is the capital, also where most ex-pats, citizens of other countries that work in Cameroon live. The Peace Corps office is located in Yaoundé and we often go there for meetings. They have huge market but they are really aggressive when it comes to bargaining and trying to get you into their stores. You can find almost everything in the Central market, including a large supermarket with western goods and a 24hr bakery.

There are other more touristy places like Kribi and Limbe which are beach towns, Buea (pronounced Boya) where Mt Cameroon is located, the highest peak in West Africa, and Douala, the commercial capital and West Africa’s largest port. I’ve yet to explore the East and the North provinces, which offer more natural sights and natural parks and safaris, hopefully before I leave someone will come visit so we can visit some of these places.

Finally, there is Bangou my village. A small village between two medium sized villages that still retains its traditional values and culture, is welcoming to strangers in a way only a small African village can be and that still respects and respects its traditional leadership. Compared to all the other places I’ve been to, it’s small, there is nothing to do, you can’t find hardly anything and there is no running water, but it is my home here in Africa, and I wouldn’t change it for any other post.

 

catching up

I hadn’t written a blog in a long time, although you might not be able to tell since I all the posts are weeks late anyway. But now I’m almost near the end of my queue so I’d figure I’d write something.

Politics:

Although we’re kind of out of the loop in terms of news, people in Cameroon still know about the presidential race and we talk about it here as well. Being that the average volunteer is pretty liberal, it is no surprise most of are democrats, and most of those are choosing to side with Barack. Same with most Camerooneans. This got me thinking about running mates. What if Barack chose Westley Clark as a running mate? McCain and Colin Powell? McCain and Condelezza Rice? Hilary and … Bill?

Cameroon politics:

Politics are a bit of a joke here as the President’s RDPC party controls most of the money, and all the offices. The president who has been in power for 25 years, has centralized power and does not have a good record of being very transparent. He recently got Congress (almost all of them RDPC) to agree to change the constitution to make it possible for him to stay in power indefinitely.

I think the reason why he wants to stay in power so bad is because he has been in power for so long, and absolute power, absolutely corrupts, so that even if when he came to power 25 years ago, he truly was a good leader and wanted the best for his country, he is now mostly caught up in just trying to stay in power so people won’t find out how much money he has been stealing.

Most great leaders in the history of politics, in my opinion have had this in common, George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, all, like Seinfeld, went out on top, even though most of their constituents wanted them to stay in power.

Dating:

I heard from a friend who was in the PC with me in Cameroon and now is back in the States. He said that after being there, going out to the bars and striking up conversations with American women had lost its appeal. I know the PC changes you, but if I’m not going to be able to date American women when I get back, I better start finding me an African princess.

Reading:

I have been reading so many books since I got here; I may be at around 100 by now. Something about reading that is just more fulfilling than watching TV. Speaking of, I recently bought every episode of 24, Nip/Tuck, Lost, Hero’s and a bunch of different movies. I’m not admitting to anything, but Chinese copies of these DVDs cost way less, and many volunteers get them this way.

Food:

I’m pretty sure I would do quite well in Fear Factor when it came down to eating nasty stuff. Turns out the nasty stuff is really not that nasty if you prepare it with the right sauce.

Charity:

AADB, the charity to help the people of Bangou will occupy most of my time in the US, along with eating large quantities of pizza. I have an opportunity, while I’m here, to help in ways that merely giving to a large corporate charity cannot. It is personal and while I’m here I’m going to do my best to bring the people of Bangou the opportunity to better themselves and their community. That the kids of Bangou are the healthiest, best educated, most responsible kids in all of Cameroon.

 

farming piment

Farming is a big part of living in Cameroon. I of course know nothing of farming, which puts me at a disadvantage because if I really wanted to help the people of Bangou, I would bring tractors, genetically altered seeds and other agricultural know-how to the village.

95 percent of families have at least a small field where they cultivate corn, peanuts or beans depending on the season. The chief has invited me to tour his field which is quite large and help out. He put a stick in my hands and I beat at some dried out bushes until beans came flying out. Later, the women would come back and collect the beans and put them in large sacks which he will later sell at the market.

His pet project however is a ‘piment’ project. He grows ‘piment’ which is a pepper grown exclusively in the West province of Cameroon. He makes a hot sauce which is oil based from the piment which he sells to whomever he can. He is working with another charity in trying to get funding for a machine to help him make and bottle the hot sauce. Right now it is all done by hand. I am going to bring a few bottles back as part of the fundraising efforts for the AADB and I think you will enjoy them. My dad as well as the Franks and others are hot sauce connoisseurs and I’m sure they’ll attest to the quality. Ideas for other products from Africa which you may be interested in or that we can use for fundraising are appreciated.

 

only in Cameroon

Several funny things happened on my last trip to Yaounde.

I was at the market in Yaounde arguing prices with the local merchants when one of them asked where I’m from. I didn’t respond. He asked me if I’m Bamilike. I said yea, I’m in the West province, home of the Bamilike people. He said ‘no wonder you argue prices like that’* I took it as a compliment.

The typically 3 hour bus ride from Yaounde to Bangou took 6 hours instead. I told this to some people once I got to village with a tone of indignation, but they all acted like it is normal. And it is. We got stopped by gendarmes (they’re like police) 6 times to check IDs of the people riding the bus. They do this mostly for corruption purposes.

The guy next to me offered me some meat while we were stopped at a gendarme check point (In Cameroon, if you have food, you are expected to share with the person next to you). I asked him what it was, he said it was monkey. I ate it. I told him it tasted like rat; but the lady next to us said monkey doesn’t taste like rat. I said maybe it has to do with how they prepared it.

A bus vendor (sometimes at a stop, a vendor will get on the bus and try to sell their stuff to passengers, who don’t have a choice but to listen) got on the bus as had a whole list of items for sale. He had some lotion which will grow back hair after 4 days and give you energy, some clear liquid which he said will cure all teeth maladies and many illnesses and some ginseng product which will also cure many illnesses as well as cure sexual tiredness. When he pointed at me to see if I wanted some, I told him I don’t get tired.

* The Bamilike people are typically the most successful people of Cameroon. They come from the West province, where I’m posted, and most the rest of Cameroon resents them for their success.

 

On the ground

One of the great things about being a development worker is the fact that you are on the ground watching the money that generous people have given being put to work. I can make sure that the money that you send goes directly to projects that will help the community.

The best example of this is an American names Ryan who lives in Yaoundé right down the street from the PC office. He came to Cameroon to volunteer at an orphanage run by a Cameroonean woman. Then he found out something that I’ve recently found out myself. Jobs that we consider sacred or meant for only a particular type of person are being done by anyone. Teachers, pastors and police, which are jobs we consider a particular kind of person should do, is done by whoever shows up first, as a job, and not as a sense of duty or natural inclination to helping a particular group. It means that my pastor is constantly asking for money or for things for himself and village teachers rarely show up to work to teach students because there is no economic reward to being a good teacher, or even showing up.

In Ryan’s case, in meant he was working for a woman running an orphanage for her own well-being, as a job, and to make money, with no regard to the wellbeing of the orphans they had taken in. Ryan was stuck trying to help orphans with no resources or no support and by even being there, giving support and validity to the orphanage. What would you do?

What he did was amazing and straight out of a movie. He stealthily got the guardians for the orphans to sign over living rights from the corrupt orphanage to an orphanage that he started himself, along with support from his brother and generous donors in the US.

He has gone through a lot of hardships in starting the orphanage and he is an inspiration to me. The work I’m doing in my village is pretty easy, especially when compared to his. I honestly don’t know how he does it, and it shows that some people are meant for certain jobs. Check out his website at greeneyesinafrica.com

I’ll speak more about him and his work when I come to the US in May. In the meantime, although AADB is still focused on aid and development work in Bangou, I have started helping out at the orphanage when possible. We have given hygene supplies to the kids and will continue helping when possible. Long term, it would be great to provide scholarships to the kids for college when the time comes.

Again, being here seeing the money in action is an amazing reward for my work here. The difference between giving money to a large non profit corporation and giving it to me, AADB, Angel Velarde is vast. I hope that the pictures, the blog and the stories I will be able to tell and show you will be a hint of the work that donors are doing with their donations.

 

AADB projects

The American Association for the Development of Bangou (AADB) has been working on a few projects, some which are now finished, some which will happen later this year, and one big one, which we still need your help with.

You already know about the Christmas charity (cadeaux for kids) which went very well, we plan on doing that again this year. It provides food, school supplies and a toy for each child, but most of all hope.

A public toilet has been built in the Carrefour where all the taxis park to take people all over the west. There was no toilet before so everyone, including women and children would go in an alley which was continuously dirty. This same alley is a major route between Bangou and Batchingou and market mommies who sell local peanuts, bananas and whatever else is in season. Now this area will remain clean and people can do their business in private. During a need analysis for the community, public toilets were listed as one of the top five needs for the community.

The Antonio Rodriguez scholarship will take place the next school year. AADB will pay the school fees for five preschool students and thirteen high school students, including the top 2 students for each grade (grade 6-12).

A multimedia center will be built near the Bangou-ville high school. Part of the building has already been assigned for its use and 10 (old) computers have been donated by a Bangou (Hyppolite) who lives in France. However much work to renovate the building still remains such as cabling networking equipment and other miscellaneous work. Also, while in the US I will see if we can get a good computer donated to manage the other computers. AADB will help finish the project so that it will be ready early 2009. This project will bring internet and computer training to Bangou for the first time.

There are also a number of small projects which AADB helps with in the village which have not been reported but have made a large impact in one person or a few people’s lives. In every community, there are local crazy people that scavenge garbage for food sleep where they fall. AADB has often fed them and given them some change to buy cigarettes*. There have been some funerals for some less fortunate families which AADB has been able to which contribute. There is no need to mention how important it is for families to bury their loved ones in a worthy manner, but it is even more important in their village tradition. Lastly, when certain people from the village have been hospitalized, AADB has been able to help pay part of their hospital costs.

These projects, or acts of goodwill, are not things that I can write on my quarterly report because they fall outside of my Peace Corps goals, but it is these small acts of generosity and compassion that will make a lasting impact on the people who AADB has helped. To help, I will soon be setting up a web site, and there will be a fundraiser in TX in May.

*I’m not a smoker nor do I advocate it, but, as my favorite crazy guy put it, sometimes a papa just needs his pipe.

 

obamahilarymccain

Even in Africa, you can’t get away from the excitement of the American Presidential race. Although McCain is already in, the Obama vs. Hilary race is still going on, although it seems like Obama is going to win in the end.

But once Obama beats Hilary, does he have a chance against McCain? He is actually favored being that most people are tired of a Republican White House, but, I think McCain can pull it out.

What if, McCain were to select as his running mate someone like Colin Powell? He might neutralize Obama’s race and shift the discussion to experience, in which McCain wins pretty easily.

If Hilary wins, I think she loses the election. Independents that supported Obama will go to the Maverick McCain and leave Hilary with the Democrat base.

These are just thoughts; I wanted Ron Paul in the White House.

Anyway, I thought I would add my two cents. If it counts for anything, Cameroon and from what I’ve heard the majority of Africans are for Obama.

 

white stuff

One of the strangest things about being in Africa is this crazy idea that Africans have, especially in smaller villages that all white* people are rich and because of their whiteness are naturally more gifted at any talent or skill that makes money.

I was riding on a motto (the main method of transportation in villages are mottos, which you pay 100 or 200 franks and they take you were they want to go on their 125hp mottos. I’ve seen up to 4 people plus a bag, on one motto before) when the driver asked me if I knew how to drive one I said yes. He responded ‘well of course, white people can do anything.’ He said this without the least bit of sarcasm. This is the prevalent view that most Camerooneans in small villages hold.

This leads to white people being treated differently from the rest of the population. For once, any advice I give is received almost as irrefutable truth. Again, that’s not the case all the time especially when I’m dealing with educated business owners, but for the most part, it is true.

Second, people want my advice and seek me out. This is actually a good thing since my job depends on people seeking out my advice, and I do my best to understand their problem and help them as well as I can, all the while noting that they take into account the cultural factors affecting business here.

But most disturbing is women seeking me out, mostly for marriage, and even if not that, a quick hook up with a chance of getting them pregnant will suffice. This is crazy. Even in the US I feel like most men can get laid almost anytime they want, as long as they lower their standards; but here, almost any single woman will probably sleep with me. There are really two reasons, one because I’m white, therefore rich, but the second reason and maybe more importantly is the male dominated culture in Africa. As a man I am respected simply for being a man, and my worth is very much tied in with how much money I can make. And since I’m white, they assume I’m rich, so I get plenty of respect.

I don’t know how this will change my outlook on women when I get back. In Africa, I am mostly figuring out how to get a particular girl not to sleep with me and to discover her self-worth. In the US I’m trying to figure out how to get girls to discover my self worth.*

*white people are people from the west. Even African-Americans are white here.

*since I wrote this, I have seen even more examples of how whites are put on pedestals, and read some interesting theories on it that I will share later on.

 

more french language fun

One of the more annoying yet amusing things they do here is point out the obvious. ‘You are back!’, ‘White man!’, ‘You are eating’. These are all statements people make when they see you, which add absolutely nothing. Also, they are very fond of remarking on physical appearances. If you aren’t black, you are called ‘white man’ as you are walking as if it is a greeting, or if you’ve put on weight they’ll say you look fat and that you must have eaten well. None of these things are said maliciously, but they can be vexing.

There is a young girl with a baby that sits out in front of my building every day and has a call box. A call box is a place you go and use someone’s cell phone for 100 franks a minute. It’s actually cheaper than using your own cell phone. Because her baby is still young she is still breast feeding, so often I’ll be walking by or using her phone and she’ll be breast feeding out in public. They do this even more normally than women do in the US.

One day, when I was feeling particularly integrated, I walked by and heard someone tell her ‘Tu a le grosse sein’. Translated in English he told her ‘She has the fat breasts.’

What makes this even more amusing is the way you say it in French. You have to specify that you are talking about ‘those’ fat breasts, she doesn’t have all the fat breasts, so you insert ‘the’ in front of the ‘fat breasts’.

I was sitting in my bed trying to get to sleep but just laughing out loud thinking about this particular example of how the French and English language just don’t match up.

Adding to the hilarity of it, is that in the Anglophone section of Cameroon, which is the part which was colonized by the British so they still speak English, the English they speak is more like translated French, so they really would say ‘You have the fat breasts.’

 

no light no phone

I joined the diversity committee for the PC, mostly for an excuse to get out of the village 3 times a year to Yaounde. There were about 10 of us and we discussed how we were going to discuss diversity amongst ourselves, to trainees, in a country where we are the most diverse people. Afterwards, we were able to go out into Yaounde and go shopping and eat western food.

While at the market, I was walking along annoyed at how aggressive everyone was and how everyone was bumping into each other to get from one place to another, when I noticed my phone was missing. Someone had pick-pocketed me. I walked around looking for a guy with my cell phone, but of course that didn’t work.

I had my whole planner, all my numbers and a bunch of ideas for projects in that phone. Also, that is the camera I used for all my pictures here, so no more pictures from now on!

So I went back home to Bangou and for the last 3 days there has been no electricity or running water (I just recently got running water in my house, I’m one of very few) in the whole village. I haven’t been able to work because, surprisingly, I do most of my work on my laptop and based on the needs of the village, that is where my work has been steered. Because of the light situation, I’ve been going to bed at 19:30 every night, but waking up at 4 in the morning.

I’ve also been busy reading a lot. I had neglected French and my level has stagnated, I can get my point across, but use bad grammar everywhere, so I’ve been practicing that as well. In the last three days, I’ve read three books: The Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama, Enigma by Robert Harris and Syrius by some Olag something, a British writer. The first book has helped me understand Buddhism in the context of science and given me a respect for the Dalai Lama, Enigma along with The Firm, both which Antonio sent me have been my favorite novels I’ve read since being here (not counting War and Peace which is another level of novel) and Syrius, which is about a dog who has the brain of a man, but the body and instincts of a dog was a surprisingly good read. I started reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen by flashlight when the lights finally came back on.

I heard a big cheer outside; I guess people were happy to finally have electricity back. After three days of no electricity, I didn’t know what to do. I came out of my bedroom and found every light turned on, so I just turned them all off and just went back in my room and went to bed.

most of us are forced to do a lot of work by candle light.

sometimes, with no lights, and armed with only a cell phone, this is all you can do to amuse yourself. Not, I don’t even have that cell phone.