Ngaoundéré

Our train ride to Our train ride to Ngaoundéré was very eventful. We boarded the train and found out that we were in upright seats, no beds for the overnight ride. This is first class, in normal cars people are squished into seats, some people are just on the floor, others have to stand. We spent a couple hours hanging out and chatting and eating bread and avocado for dinner. We made some stops in small towns and people came up to the windows selling fruits, honey, manioc, pretty much anything you wanted to snack on you could just reach out the window and grab in return for a couple hundred CFA (from 20 to 40 cents.) Around 9 we started to fall asleep but it was extremely uncomfortable sleeping so we were all in and out until 3:30 am when men came running through our with flashlights hitting people to wake them up and told us to get off the train. My first thought was that we were being robbed, but in fact a refrigerator in another car was on fire and we had to evacute. Eventually it calmed down and they said we could stay because they had detached the train from that car. We spent an hour waiting for them to try to put it out but we ended up leaving the burning car behind, no one was hurt but our director’s baggage was burned and abandoned. We finally arrived in Ngaoundéré in the morning, very tired. We went to the dormitory where we were staying and napped and rested until around 12 when we decided to go exploring in the rain. Even though Ngaoundéré is bigger than Dschang, it feels much more rural and we had a hard time finding food. Later that night we had a very nice dinner at a restaurant, watched an american movie in our rooms, which was a big treat, and went to bed.

This morning we woke up, went to breakfast and went to the Norwegian Center where we will being having some of our classes. We learned how to live in Muslim houses and had a bit of class before returning to the restaurant for lunch. After lunch we visited a traditional doctor who told us about his practices and told us about our futures by drawing in sand. He told me I am going to be extremely happily married to a guy who lives in a different city than me in the United States. After that we were dropped at our host families. Mine seems nice so far, my dad is a tailor and my mom is very kind. I have 5 siblings but there isn't a lot of French in the house because the maternal language here is Fufulbe. It will definitely be a different experience than either my Yaoundé or Dschang families but I’m excited.

Traditional doctor showing us plants he uses

Who can resist taking a picture of a beautiful girl in a colorful outfit?

Kribi!!

At last we were off to Kribi! The bus ride was going fine, but alas, I ate a bad apple or some bad chicken for lunch and had to once again stop the bus to deal with that on the side of the road. We were so close to our destination and I really thought I could make it, but when it wants to come out, it’s coming out. We got to the building and I ran out of the bus, asked for the bathroom, discovered it was locked, ran outside again and let it all out under a bush in broad daylight. I am currently 0-3 on bus rides. But then it was all good because we got to our hotel and we were right on the absolutely empty beach. We walked up the beach for a while but then had to go to a meeting with the leader of an NGO that protects the rights of pygmies. The pygmies, more politely referred to as the Baka and Bakali, are an indigenous people who reject modernized life and instead prefer to live in the forests, hunting and gathering for food. However, they don’t technically have the rights to the land and are now being forced off of it and into villages and contact with other Cameroonians. They do not speak French, go to school or follow any other social norm or law. They are losing their culture and traditions due to this process, so this NGO represents them to help secure some rights and fight for their land. It was an interesting lecture. On Saturday we went into the field and visited two pygmy villages, one who still rejects all outside interaction and the other that has slightly integrated. The first one was incredible, they did a traditional dance to welcome us, and we talked to them about their ways of life and their goals. The next was very short because one of the members of our group is exceedingly ill so we had to get her back to the hotel to lie down, but we learned they are building a school and their children will begin to learn from French. Overall very interesting morning. And then we went to the beach and SWAM FINALLY. I have never been so happy to be in the water. I swam down the shoreline and back for 45 minutes, then played Frisbee on the beach. Later we grabbed some beers and went exploring. It was such an incredible, relaxing afternoon. Sunday we woke up and left paradise for Yaoundé. I think we would have loved to have stayed for a couple more weekends.

Welcome Dance

You don't give your children machetes?

Ocean!

Fishing boat by the water

Sunset

Corruption in NGOs

We spent the last week visiting different NGOs that work in and around Yaounde to better understand what development looks like on the ground right now. The first was LAGA, Ofir’s NGO discussed in the last blog post. Keeping everything he said in mind we went to our next one, UNICS, which ended up being more like an enterprise with a strong social responsibility sector. They are a microfinance organization that concentrates primarily on aiding women as they are traditionally barred from getting financial education or assistance. They have the leeway to help women that are somewhat of a risky investment by giving them a sum of money so they can modernize their activities a bit and eventually repay the loan with interest. They have very high return rates but they do not help women that are not already working, so definitely a city NGO and not a grassroots one. Next we went to ANICHRA (African Network Against Illiteracy, Conflicts and Human Rights Abuses) which you can tell even by the name is a very confused and disorganized NGO. Its leader has received 4 awards/grants from the United States that he has proceeded to waste by putting his hands in about 40 different projects, none of which can be fully funded. Just to cite a couple examples, they have a water project, help disabled individuals, buy books for schoolchildren, hold peace studies classes, hold public lectures, run a research office, oh and they gave an old man cataract surgery. Individuals, each of these projects is important and worth pursuing, however, tackled together you are left with an underfunded, wasteful and confused NGO. Everything the Ofir told us about corruption and ineffectiveness was ringing in my head during this entire meeting. We then went to CED (Center for Environmental Development) that worked to help move an enormous pipe pumping oil from Chad through Cameroon to the ocean so that it would avoid indigenous people. And finally Rolufa, that has a ton of cool projects. For instance, the American company Dole has expanded its plantation in Cameroon, displacing hundreds of farmers without compensating them whatsoever. So Rolufa came in to help them work with the land to which they had access to grow fruit, dry it and sell it. We had some while we were there and it was incredible. The project was two fold, help these farmers make ends meet, and raise awareness about their situation by the description on the back of the packages. It was completely successful and Dole offered compensation if they will just stop circulating these packages. It was an interesting week of development discussions, but though there were some impressive ones, overall it made me feel pretty hopeless about the NGO situation here in Cameroon because of the pervasive corruption in all of them (except Ofir’s of course.)

In addition to these visits we had a cultural exchange day when 10 Cameroonian students came to watch a movie about the difficultly of life for young people here and the decision to stay and try to change the country, or leave. We cook about 30 grilled cheeses and made chili for the event so they could have a taste of American food. It was a fun day talking about just how hard life is for people here, actually very easy to forget because we are living with middle/upper class families. We also went to a local restaurant to watch a big soccer game in which Cameroon was trying (unsuccessfully) to qualify for the Southern African Cup. It was too dangerous to go to the stadium because it was such an important game, and we even had to leave the restaurant early because they were losing and post game activities can become quite violent. Finally, we cooked breakfast in French class one day for the group and it was sooo delicious. Good old-fashioned French Toast and scrambled eggs. Overall it was a great two weeks in Yaoundé, now we are off to Kribi and the beach for the weekend to learn about the lives of Pygmies who are extremely marginalized here. And to swim in the ocean!!! First time I will swim since being here can’t wait!

This is the American extent of carrying water on your head

Yummy food for Cultural Exchange Day

French Toast and Eggs!!!

Another view of the city

Encounter with an Incredible Individual

It has been a good week back in Yaoundé but we’ve had a good amount of work, which has prevented us from going on adventures after school. We have started to really delve into the subject of development by talking to different NGOs to understand some of the things they have been accomplishing. Our first meeting was life changing. We met with a guy named Ofir Drori whose story impacted us all. He came to Africa for the first time when he was 18 years old and decided that he wanted to see it on foot. So he went to a reserve and started to chase antelope and giraffes until he was so lost and far out of the reserve that he had to set up his tent in the bush. The Masai found him and he lived with them for a couple of days, which changed his whole life path. He decided to not attend University and to instead explore Africa on foot, avoiding even dirt roads, for 2 years. He became a photojournalist and travelled all over Africa from Sudan documenting Darfur, to Nigeria documenting human rights violations. Eventually he found himself in Cameroon needing a break from such a close proximity to violence and decided to write an article about the bush meat trade, a field that is completely unregulated by the government. He found that NGOs were doing nothing to actually help the animals, just educating children and school and doing periphery stuff. He came across a baby chimp that was being sold by some poachers and instead of buying it and supporting this trade, he went to the authorities. But they told him that they would only go confiscate the chimp if he paid them (corruption infiltrates everything here.) Instead, he went to the poachers himself and bluffed by telling them he was the director of an NGO that was coming with the authorities to arrest them and prosecute them for buying and selling endangered animals. He said that they could avoid prosecution if they agreed to be informants; they bought it and eagerly agreed. He saved the monkey and lived with it until there was a reserve that agreed to take it. After that day he worked nonstop to create the NGO that he had invented to trick the poachers, and they have now been operating for 7 years and have 450 convictions – there was previously 0. They operate on a strict moral premise, they give extremely low salaries, they hire people based on their personality traits and not their qualifications, and they only accept donations from people that are truly on board with their mission. He affected us all so much with his story and his values. He taught us about how all the NGOs here are corrupt, even Transparency International has inflated budgets to pay for bribes and under the table money that is needed to get stuff done. He has set the standard and takes a more difficult path by refusing to engage in these acts. He brings into question how we value education and knowledge without having real experiences. It was incredible to listen to him and I think it will affect all the decisions I make surrounding NGOs and even life here.

Otherwise our week has been pretty tame, some nice afternoons hanging out with the group and celebrating a 21^st birthday, eager to get through next week and spend a weekend at the beach!! 

My Beautiful City

And We’re Back.. Dschang and Bamenda in Review

The Internet in Dschang was preventatively slow so here’s a recap of our sejour.  Dschang is a beautiful little city in the west of Cameroon and is home to the Bamileke, a controversial ethnicity that we spent a lot of time learning about. It is a hilly place, and left me quite sweaty after an uphill 40 minute walk to school every morning (see picture 1). But it is nonetheless beautiful (see picture 2). We spent twelve days living and exploring the city, as well as taking many day trips to nearby destinations. Here are the highlights:

Picture 1: A look at my hill walk to school. I lived way off in the distance.

Picture 2: Centre ville, so many motos that do not care about your safety!

Excursions

We went to a chefferie in Batoufam, about two hours away from the city. We spent the day speaking with the chief and taking a tour of his palace. It was incredible to learn about how traditional chiefdoms continue to function and adapt in an increasingly modernizing world. The chief is still an important and iconic figure in his village, but must also embrace changes in the world, for instance he now obtains his wealth from his business. He was about to celebrate the opening of his museum, and he invited us to join the ceremony. When a chief requests your presence at an event, you really can’t say no. So two days later we returned to the chefferie for a day of celebration. There were an incredible number of traditional dances (see picture 3) and people in costumes everywhere. His secret service was omnipresent but blended into the festivities (see picture 4). It was a day I will never be able to replicate and will never forget.

We also visited the Kataba monastery that produces coffee and jam with modern farming equipment, a rarity but made possible by loans from the Central Church. We went to a Sultan Palace in Foumban and learned all about the history of the Bamune people. 

Picture 3: Traditional Dancers in the Ceremony

Picture 4: Secret Service of the Chief

Everyday Life

We went to school each morning and had French class, a thematic seminar where we learned about the Bamileke traditions and challenges and also the changing role of women in Cameroon and a methodology class to prepare us for our research project at the end of the program (see picture 5). Classes are almost always interesting and we learn a ton. For instance, we had a panel discussion with two young Cameroonians to discuss the role of women and the young man told us that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, her duty in life is to please men sexually and have children and she should be completely subordinate to men. It was shocking to say the least. (He also went on to ask for our numbers and pretty much stalk us until our departure, surprising since we basically yelled at him for an hour for his comments against us.) The young girl however followed a more modern way of thinking but still said that if she found out that her husband had another family on the side, she would not divorce him. For lunch I went to the same omelet man to get an omelet sandwich for 60 cents. (Side note: Lauren and I are doing a research project on the informal sector and did an interview with him and learned that he makes 5 cents off of each sandwich that he sells and that he uses that income to pay for University. After that I tipped him every lunch.) We would go exploring in the afternoon, to centre ville or just walking around buying food off the street. Around 530 when it started to get dark we returned home to eat dinner with our families and do homework. 

Picture 5: Lecture on Bamileke Traditions

Family

This was the hardest part of Dschang for me. My host mother was obsessed with talking about money issues with me, which made the atmosphere of the house uncomfortable. She would talk to me about how she wants to visit America but she needs help from me to get there, and constantly ask me how much things I bought cost, she even borrowed some money from me without returning it, only $2 but that is a significant amount here. And my sister was terrible. I can’t put into words how hard it was to deal with her but it was a constant struggle. I am around children almost constantly in the summer and love every single minute of it, but for some reason I could not deal with her. She would lie to me, pinch me, pull at my hair, climb on me and just generally do anything she could to annoy me at all times. In Yaounde I do my homework in the living room so I can be around the family, but in Dschang it just wasn’t possible for this reason. I also had a father who seemed wonderful, but he spent the entire time in his room watching tv. However, I tried to realize while I was there that a lot of the things that were the most difficult for me were just differences in culture, for instance when my sister would talk to me with her mouth overflowing, spitting fish bones onto the floor instead of putting them on a plate, washing the dishes in very dirty water, etc. I feel proud that I experienced that and was able to accept most of it by the end. Another thing that should be mentioned is that there was no running water while I was there so the toilet was a port-a-potty and foul smelling, and I was unable to wash my hair for a grand total of 14 days. Occasionally I would dunk my hair in a bucket of water, the smell of which would make me gag. But what’s a Cameroon experience without poor hygiene?

Overall

Dschang was a mixed bag for me for sure. I loved the city and would like to spend more time there, but the family situation left a bad taste in my mouth that I don’t think I could get over. But we had a ton of fun trying out a bunch of different tailors for African clothing!! (see picture 6) I was so thrilled to get back to Yaounde. It truly felt like we were coming home.

Picture 6: New African Dress for the Chief's Ceremony

Bamenda!!

Before we came home however, we stopped for a weekend in Bamenda, an Anglophone region. It was so weird to speak English with people as everyone’s default language with people here is French. They mostly speak Pidgin English though so it was still hard to communicate. We stayed together in a guest house at a Baptist Center and we had a ton of fun together. An academic break was definitely needed. We did a lot of learning though because the Anglophone minority is marginalized in Cameroon and it was the perfect place to study the problem. We first met with a member of the secessionist party SCNC, which was a really crazy experience. They believe that Anglophone Cameroon is truly a different country and should be granted independence by the government. We then met with a government official who denied that there is an Anglophone problem (Picture 7 is outside that building.) And finally, we had dinner with the head of the opposition party here, the SDF. John Frundi has been running in every presidential election since 1992 when Cameroon became a multi-party state. He has lost due to rigged elections to Paul Biya who has been the president since 1982. It was an incredible evening. After our small break from English we returned home to Yaounde. However, on the drive I ate some coconut from a market that had been washed in dirty water and within 10 minutes had the bus pull over so I could empty my entire system from both ends in some grass by the side of the road. Luckily it was short lived but wow what an experience. 

Picture 7: Grace and I before the Government Official Meeting

Spaghetti Omelet Sandwiches

Finally time to write about my new found favorite lunch: spaghetti omelet sandwiches.. yes this is a real thing. They take some eggs, spices and vegetables, mix in a handful of spaghetti and make an omelet, then stuff that omelet in a delicious baguette. It is really an incredible experience. So when I drown in the Middlebury pool come December everyone will know what to blame. Coming to Africa I thought it would be fairly easy to stay in shape and eat healthy but it is really difficult. Almost the entirety of the diet is carb based – bread at every meal, pasta, couscous, rice, etc. Meat is really expensive so it is rarely the focus of the meal. There are a fair amount of vegetables at dinner but we can’t get them off the street or in the supermarket unless we plan on cooking them or we will get sick so there are few alternatives to eating a primarily carb diet. In addition to that, either the malaria medication that I take or I am having a really hard time adjusting because come 8 pm I am beat. I just have no extra energy to go on a run or work out most days, plus there is rarely time even if I did have the energy. Very nervous to go on training trip in December but hopefully you other abroaders will be right there with me!! 

Sooo good.

First Day in Dschang

Had quite an off and on night of sleep as the light in my room flickers all the time even when it is off. Was awoken around 5 by yelling and, of course, roosters, and finally at 6 my host mom called for me to wake up and take a shower. People shower every day here without fail, it is really bad to wake up and not shower before school. Apparently, our shower does not actually function, so bucket showers for two weeks. It is impossible to wash my hair with a bucket so it’s going to be nice and dirty for my return for Yaoundé. I had a glass of hot powdered milk and some bread for breakfast before taking a crazy route to school. My mom had to show me the way today because I had never been to the university, and we left with my sister around 7. At first it was just really muddy but then we came to a crazy hill pass that was really slippery and will no doubt be a giant slip and slide when it rains (we’re in the rainy season.) After about 40 minutes of walking we reached the university, which is really big but we have a classroom that they let us use. We talked for a long time about our experiences, some good, some bad. We had a guest lecturer talk to us about the Bamileke ethnicity that is dominant in this region but is highly controversial in Cameroon. For lunch we went to the France/Cameroon Alliance center for an omelet. However, there were two men and a tiny kitchen trying to feed all 13 of us so it took a really long time. We came back for an hour of French class and then were released for the day. I walked home with another girl, we tackled the hill together which was awesome. On the way home I bought a weird food they call plums but they are far from plums. They sit and roast over a fire on the street, you can buy one for 20 cents and they are all warm and mushy inside. I also bought an avocado on the way home for 20 cents. (pineapples are 80 cents, mandarins 10 cents.) Made it back to my house safely and sat in the living room doing homework for a couple hours while my host sister played with her friend, constant screaming. I’m really enjoying Dschang so far though, it feels a lot homier than Yaoundé; guess I’ve always been a country girl, but I sure do miss my Yaounde family.

(And of course you real family!!)

French/Cameroon Alliance buildings