I only have a few months left here, and I’ve been working on leaving in place a stable structure for AADB. One of the things we have worked on is a logo for AADB, so without further ado, the AADB Logo…
May 19, 2009
If I were to go back and read the first posts on my blog, I would probably laugh at what I found to be worth blogging about. Things like eating a meal with your hands, being woken up by rooster crows and bathing with a bucket of water have become a normal part of living here. Not in the visiting for a while kind of way either, but in that home is now Bangou, and a small part of me will stay here when I leave.
So what have I learned here? It’s not about the knowledge I’ve gained or new things I’ve tried, but it’s a part of life that I’ve gained. It’s as if my life is a giant puzzle piece and some more pieces have been put together during my time here. You can call it wisdom or just plain ol’ livin’, but a more complete picture now lies in front of me.
I’ve made friendships that have made my life better, learned a new language and can have basic conversations in yet another, I’ve been given a nobility title by the Chief or King of my village along with some land where I am free to build if I want, I’ve taught dozens of people new skills that has already helped them improve their lives, I’ve created an Association that will continue helping and building the village of Bangou and I’ve made new contacts from all over the world.
In some ways my time in Bangou has been too short to truly finish the work I started, but with the Association and friendships I’ve made here, the work has just begun.
April 26, 2009
Kebouh, the cultural festival for my village of Bangou was also, in a way, my going away party. Even though I still have over three months left, the chief of the village told me I would be receiving a village ‘notable’ title, so I asked my colleagues to come support me and check out the traditional Bangou culture.
So immediately after our COS conference, a small delegation of my friends came to Bangou with me to help me celebrate my title and show their support. I have to give a special thanks to Tara from Bare, a volunteer a few hours from me who was there a day before and stayed 2 days later to help me clean. In Cameroon language she’s my “plus proche” and someone that will remain a friend even when I get back to the US.
So, the first night Tara, Takayaki who is a Japanese volunteer 25 minutes from me, a traditional dance group and I put on a performance Friday night right before the Miss Kebouh (Miss Bangou) contest. We performed three songs, and although the acoustics were not the best, and I had to play with a guy physically putting the microphone on my guitar, it was great being in front of people I’ve considered brothers in the African sense for the last two years and at least try to perform something. The big hit was probably no woman no cry, which they even asked Tara to do an encore. By the way, do you know encore means again in French?
After the performance we went back to my place and partied until about 4. I had rented 6 hotel rooms to try and host everyone, but there were so many people that most had to sleep on the floor at my house. Casualties include one sick volunteer and a bidet.
The next day was the biggest day of the festival, and the biggest day personally because it is when the Chief would be presenting the titles to his new notables. So, after at most, two hours sleep, I got up and went to the festival.
One interesting thing I had to pick up on the way there was a notable chair. This is a simple traditional bamboo chair made in a special way to signify that you’re a notable. I brought this chair to the secret meeting, where it will stay. Even when I’m no longer here, my chair will remain there, so that whenever they have a meeting, they will be keeping my place in the meeting.
The actual installation was simple, during the festival, the Chief calls the future notables over, says a few words about you and gives you your title. Then you walk around the festival and wave at people while they cheer you. Afterwards, I went back into the secret meeting where we eat together the way people have been eating for hundreds of years, no utensils, nothing modern – except for beer of course.
The remains of the food we stick in our bags, which we use to feed our families.
After the festivities, we went back to my place and had lunch and tried to rest a bit. For dinner, some village elites were having a development meeting, and they sent a bus for us so we could eat and hang out with them for a while. Throughout, my friends from village were now calling me by my new title, SOP.
SOP means prince in their patois or local language. A few days later, I met with the Chief again and he explained my full title, SOP MBIEGUENGO, although I’m sure the spelling of the last part is wrong, it means “He who sustains the planet” literally.
It’s quite a way to leave my adopted village of Bangou, the honor and respect they have given me has been for the most part undeserved and unmerited in that even though I’ve been here for almost two years and have tried my best to integrate and live like a Bangou and try to develop the village, I’m going back to the United States soon. But although I will not be there physically, AADB will remain and continue to work to help Bangou reach its potential.
April 14, 2009
I’m sure there are other Peace Corps blogs writing about COS conference, but I’ll add to it.
We recently had our COS conference, which stands for Close of Service, which means we have about 3 months left of service. Because we have been ‘au village’ for almost two years, I guess they feel, and rightly so, that they should treat us to a little luxury for once. So we pack up to stay 3 nights at the luxurious Mont Febe hotel, which overlooks Yaounde and the American embassy. The hotel is the nicest I’ve seen in Cameroon, and probably the equivalent of a 3 ½ star hotel in the United States.
We go thru sessions dealing with the paperwork and most important, talking about our future after Peace Corps. Like many government jobs, job security is almost guaranteed, especially since we’re volunteers, so now going back to the job market, especially one like this, can be overwhelming. For most volunteers it will be like being single and going out into the dating world for the first time after marrying your high school sweetheart right after high school.
So we treated ourselves to three solid meals a day, and nighttime cocktails until the last day of the actual conference when many of us stayed out at the hotel nightclub all night.
All this means is that our time is Cameroon is almost over, and we need start thinking about our futures afterwards. Many have already figured it out, they’ve been accepted at Masters programs all over the world and will continue their education. Others are looking for government jobs where the security and our one year non-compete clause can help us get in the door. As for me, I’m starting to put my resume out there and looking at business opportunities.
some friends
we made it to the end
April 10, 2009
The owner of the house I’m living in asked me to get rid of my kids, my chickens, by the end of the week. This is going to be really sad since I’ve become quite used to them. I may get rid of 4 of them and keep my favorite one inside my house.
So a friend came by the house to see if he wanted to buy them. I told him I had 4 chickens and a rooster. He looked around and shook his head. He said I had 4 roosters and a chicken, and pointed out the sole chicken.
All along I’ve been raising chickens when I had roosters. No wonder they weren’t laying eggs and fighting so much.
March 30, 2009
Maybe I’ve been overly positive about Africa during my time here, or maybe things really have been too good. So I guess I needed a little reality check to keep me humble.
I go to the Development Center/Computer lab about once a week to check out the progress but mostly to get online myself. Since I have to get on a motorcycle to get there, I have to wear a helmet, which is required for all Peace Corps volunteers. I traveled the thirty minutes there, did what I needed to do and came back to Bangou Carrefour and my house. Both times I noticed my head itched, which was frustrating because you can’t scratch your head with a motorcycle helmet on. But upon reaching my house, I looked inside my helmet and saw a cockroach inside. Nothing like that to bring you back to reality.
This is actually my second incident with a motorcycle helmet, the first was when I was back in the US and was riding my bike to work. I went to spit as I was driving with my helmet on and I guess forgot the visor was down.
You have to take the good with the bad in Africa, but at least in Africa, as bad as it gets, it can often lead to a pretty interesting story afterwards. I’ll never forget my time here, the challenges and opportunities and successes, they’ve been worth a helmet full of cockroaches.
March 19, 2009
One of the biggest changes in my attitude has been towards ownership and communities, and I can illustrate this with two examples.
When living with roommates, both during college and afterwards, I would always get mad when one of my roommates took something of mine without asking. Like, lets say I had coke in the fridge, and when I came home, if my roommate had drank my coke, I’d be annoyed. A funny story that an ex roommate told me like this was when he was rooming with someone else, and he came home and his diet coke was gone. He went to yell at his roommate and the inconsiderate roommate said, “here’s a dollar, go buy another one”, and my ex roommate responded, “I don’t want a dollar, I want a diet coke.”
Another example is from a volunteer who told me she went home for vacation and she was playing with her niece, her sister’s daughter. The little kid did something she shouldn’t have so the volunteer yelled at her and corrected her. Her sister got mad and told her not to correct her daughter, “she’s not your kid.”
Now two years ago, I would say yea, ask before drinking my coke and don’t correct my kid, but after two years in Africa and seeing how they live, I see the error of our ways.
The ex roommate is my best friend and I would probably give him my liver if he needed it, but I can’t let him take a coke without asking? Our concept of private property extends all the way to our personal relationships. It’s not the coke, it’s the principal that the person respects your property. But in Africa, where if you’re hungry you could literally stick your head in a house and if they happen to be serving food, you could just take a seat without asking and a plate would be divided up for you, the concept is as wrong as boots and shorts. I like being at a friend’s house in Africa and truly feeling “at home.”
And as for correcting your niece, this is not just some kid but a family member, but we are supposed to leave the raising of the kid to the parent, and if they screw up, we’ll probably criticize them later. In Africa the saying “It takes a village” is a way of life, probably because it needs to be, but couldn’t you argue we need it even more than they do? To raise a kid has to be one of the greatest challenges in our lives, yet in our society where work and money rule, and we don’t have enough time to know all of our kids friends or their favorite Sega Genesis game, we are expected to raise well rounded, responsible, citizens. Going to a church service or even at a restaurant in Africa, you often can’t guess whose kid is whose. How many times have you been in a restaurant and gotten mad because there is some kid running around near your table “disturbing” your dinner? Now I ask the question, how many volunteers in Africa have traveled in a bush taxi in a beat up 82’ Escort with 5 people in the back, someone’s baby on your lap for the hour ride over a bumpy dirt road? Sometimes it does take a village, and then some.
March 13, 2009
Municipal Councilor Emmanuel, Depute Datouo and PCV Angel Velarde
It took a few months, but finally (actually for the last 2 months or so) the Development Center of Bangou ville is operational.
The first part is a Computer lab where students and functionaries that live in Bangou ville can connect to the internet and type out and print reports and if they don’t know how, learn how to do those things. This is the first time internet has been available in Bangou ville and the first computer lab or any sort the village has ever seen.
When I first arrived in Bangou, a computer lab was the furthest thing from my mind. I remember thinking that a place with the level of poverty I was seeing, where many kids don’t have shoes, with no running water, inconsistent electricity, broken down school buildings as well as learning system, dust everywhere that made people sick, or mud during the rainy season, etc. The last they needed was facebook. But more than anything else, that is what they asked for most, when asked what they would like most in terms of development (they also asked for roads, but those are too expensive and the domain of the government.)
Also, a few months ago I started reading the Ben Franklin autobiography, a thin short work that probably wasn’t finished. Ben Franklin, probably America’s first development worker was the son of a printer from Boston who ran away to Philadelphia and with a short stage in England. In Philadelphia he eventually started his own printers shop and newspaper which became the biggest in Philadelphia. His greatest passion were books and thru them he was able to become a greatly educated man, where even Thomas Paine one said that Benjamin Franklin was probably one of the greatest minds in the world at the time, but was not recognized as such in England because his lack of formal education. He started the first libraries in the US in Philadelphia and gave the masses access to information. With libraries, everyone could find any information they needed. This gave them the knowledge to intelligently fight the corruption that was as rampant there at the time as in Africa today.
Today we are not limited by the number of books you can fit or afford, but thru computers and the internet, you can learn about anything. Sites like Google and Wikipedia, as well as news sites that report on the corruption across the country, people become informed citizens, and there is nothing more dangerous to a corrupt government than an informed citizen.
In fact, I was with Aladji, my cultural counterpart and general manager of AADB in Bangou and he asked me to come to the AADB office to look at some documents he’d found. He proceeded to show me print outs of news articles of recent corruption charges against the government. Aladji is from the SDF party, the biggest opposition party, and was even thrown in jail back in the 90’s for his political activism. He said he spent a long time reading and printing out articles from Wikipedia and articles connected to it. I’d never seen anyone so excited about Wikipedia before.
But it wasn’t about Wikipedia or some web site, it was about the access it had given him. In Cameroon, access is the most expensive thing to acquire, from meetings to tax information, etc. and Aladji had just found the key that corrupt people in power had been trying to hide for a long time.
And so now all of Bangou ville has the key. AADB could not have done it alone; a French NGO started by Hyppolite Nkonguep provided the computers and money to build the building and Depute Datouo Theodore of the Haute Plateau, a congressman from Bangou and other elites from the village provided financial support. AADB for its part provided a brand new computer to act as server to the other computers, all of the networking equipment, electricity regulators and some financial support. Without AADB the computer lab at the Development Center would not be operational, but without Hyppolite and Association Solidarite France Bangou, it would not even have been an option.
For our part, when people come to surf the internet in Bangou ville, the home page to all of the computers is americansforbangou.org
March 10, 2009
“La regle.”
That’s all he said to me. Taco will sometimes come up to my house and say the word of whatever it is he needs. So he came to the house at 7:30 in the morning and said “la regle” – - ruler. I just said “what?” Then he repeated his command.
“The ruler what?”
“I need it”
“What do you need”
“ruler”
“what?”
“ruler”
“ruler what?”
“ruler”
At the end of it, I told him I didn’t understand what he wanted, and that he should leave and learn how to ask for things before he comes back.
Now, he needed the ruler for school that particular day, so he was probably worse off because I didn’t give him the ruler that I never use and probably never will. In fact it’s sitting under a pile of dust in one of the bedrooms, being dry season and dust being everywhere.
But I want to teach him that there is a proper way to ask for things, and if he were to show up at some company and say “job” or “money” he might not get the response he was asking for.
February 18, 2009
I went down to give my kids a lunchtime snack of bread crumbs and I noticed that the little rooster wasn’t there. I figured he was busy eating random scraps from the bush in my back yard, so he missed out on the snack; which is fine because he will usually out eat all the other chickens and leave less for them.
So I left, but when I came back hours later, to give my kids dinner, I still could not find the little rooster. He wasn’t anywhere in the backyard. I had seen him climb the stairs to my house, then fly himself down to the lower level. Well, this time he had done it but flown out the front of the house, so that he was outside the gate.
And thus he became the prodigal rooster. Much like the Biblical story, I left my four chickens, still hungry, to go search for my one rooster that had escaped. I walked up and down the street whistling my familiar song. In fact, it’s the same whistle that my mom uses to call Sam or Marley or I assume Jackson as well. I don’t know how, but I just started using it, and now when I do the whistle, my mom’s whistle, my chickens, and rooster, come running to see what I’ve brought them. It also reminds me of home and my mom which is also an added benefit of the whistle.
I walked around for 30 minutes looking for him. Finally, after stopping to look at one more black and gray rooster, I saw my prodigal bird. He was 15 meters from my house, near a latrine of a house nearby. He didn’t see me but I saw him, so I whistled for him. He stood erect and paused. I moved towards him until he saw me and I whistled again. He started coming towards me, much more cautiously than usual, I guess because of the different surroundings. I slowly started walking back home, with him cautiously following. I would whistle every once in a while, and he would listen then continue coming. Finally we made it back to the house and back inside the fence.
I was glad to have him back, although at the same time, I was mad at him for leaving without warning. I guess you have to give them their freedom sometimes, and sometimes show them the way back home.
