Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Travel | Tags: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Travel, Volunteer, World Travel
The ancient volcano cores of Rhumsiki, Extreme North Region of Cameroon
At the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity to travel the Extreme North Region, where I celebrated the holidays with some other volunteers and took in the sites. It was an amazing trip and I will never forget it as a part of my time here in Cameroon. In the Extreme North, the environment is so much different from areas in the South; an arid, flat, sub-Saharan realm with some very interesting and unique geological features. I won’t write anymore about what it looked like—I think the photos say it all.
Baobab Tree, Rhumsiki, Extreme North Region of Cameroon
Huts at Rhumsiki, Extreme North Region of Cameroon
Stalking Giraffe, Waza National Park, Cameroon
When I traveled there it was during the cool season, when temperatures range between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures can get much hotter, reaching up to 120 degrees. The remote location and environmental conditions limit the amount of goods that can be transported there. So life is tough for both the local people and the volunteers living in the Extreme North. But it is culturally diverse, and unique from the rest of Cameroon, with languages spoken ranging from Fulfulde and French to the less-spoken Arabic and Pidgin. The life is simple, so one can subsist without too many amenities. There’s no denying however that the Grand North (consisting of the Extreme North, North and The Adamaoua regions), is somewhat disconnected from the rest of Cameroon.
I’d have to say that the experiences available in the Extreme North are worth the grueling, seemingly endless train ride up there—at least from a visitor’s point of view. When I took the train, there was a 6-hour delay before we departed, and then the train ride took about twenty hours! It was soon forgotten though, replaced by better experiences including Waza National Park, where we had the chance to hang around giraffe, among other wild life. Fortunately, the train ride back to the south was accompanied by many fond memories and beautiful images of the time spent in the Extreme North.
For more info, check out the Wikipedia article Far North Region of Cameroon
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post, Teacher Training | Tags: Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Volunteer, World Travel
View of Bamenda from Upstation
When I joined the Peace Corps, I could not have imagined that I would be doing my work over a larger geographic area than a small town or village. But sitting here in Bamenda planning ICT workshops for teachers and teacher trainees in a large area of the North West region, I’m finding that it is in fact possible, and even rewarding. It was only shortly after I finished the 2008-09 school year, having taught ICT in secondary school, that I was given the opportunity to move to Bamenda from the West, and open a new teacher training post in ICT. It took some time to set the initial building blocks to start the work here during the first year and there were many challenges—I’ve even extended my service! But with time and patience the work really took off.
The job here is no doubt drastically different from the one at my former post in the West Region. Especially since I moved from a French-speaking region to an English-speaking one! I’ve gone from the constraints of a rigid timetable and consistent class structure at a high school to a very independent workload that requires a lot of self-discipline and working at multiple sites. However, I still feel that sense of gratification after teaching a class, perhaps even more so than before since teacher trainees are so much more eager to learn! I’ve found it very interesting working at a higher level in the Cameroonian educational system. There are both pros and cons, but overall I feel I have more influence than before—which one could argue is better for development.
I maintain office hours at the Delegation of Basic Education and work closely with the regional delegate, inspectors and ministry officials on the direction of the ICT program at the primary school level in the NW, and the design of trainings and workshops in the greater Bamenda area. This also includes the design of ICT training booklets and the supervision of computer lab installations—one of which I have recently completed at the delegation. I also give workshops at Government Teacher Training Colleges (GTTCs) in the area, trying to deliver as much practical instruction as possible. Other activities I am doing include training active teachers in the use of ICT for their work, and there is also plenty of general training, computer maintenance and consultation work to do in the smaller towns in the surrounding area.
It is sometimes not hard to become overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done in what is now appearing to be a very short time, even though I have extended my Close of Service (COS). But with diligence, I think I can make an initial impact, and pave the way for volunteers who will be working on the same project in the future.
Filed under: Peace Corps | Tags: Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Travel, Volunteer, World Travel
Hello, and welcome to Year 3! I hope to write a bit about what’s going on here in Cameroon as I trek through my third year of Peace Corps service. Where am I in Cameroon? What am I doing exactly? Any exciting experiences? I’ll be answering these questions and many more, so stay tuned!
After a whirlwind trip to the States in August, and a non-stop workload after returning to Cameroon, things are finally settling down—or I should say, finding a rhythm at least. I am now three months in to my third year of service. Feels like I’ve only been here one month though. I thought time only moved really fast in places like the States, but I’m finding that it can move like that anywhere. What I’m trying to hold onto is that sense of the moment. Once we become invested in our calendars and what’s happening tomorrow, today ceases to exist. Well I never want to lose site of today.
Speaking of today, Happy Thanksgiving! My warmest wishes to everyone Stateside. Bon appetit!
Year 3 - Volunteering in Cameroon 