Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post, Teacher Training, Travel | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Culture, Excursions, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Teacher Training, Travel, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
And just like that, one year is coming to it’s conclusion here in Cameroon. It seems like not long ago that I signed on for a third year of service, but in a few days I’ll be going home. Sunday morning, after my bags were loaded onto a bus in the chaotic but charming manner I am used to at the bustling bus station, I left Bamenda for the last time. I gazed over the rolling hills of the North West Region, and I thought how much I would miss this place. I’m now in Yaoundé and will set about this week finalizing all administrative and medical business before I depart at the end of the week.
Looking back on this year I feel like it went pretty well. I didn’t accomplish every little thing I had hopes of doing, but I actually feel like this was my favorite year spent in Cameroon. Not only did I meet great friends and strengthen existing relationships, but I added a few accomplishments too. In the overall scope of things, I feel my contributions are small to say the least, but I hope I’ve helped people to improve their skills and knowledge in a few areas. Even though I’ve been teaching this whole time, I feel liked I’ve learned so much more. I only hope one day I can return.
Here are the photos taken as I made my way out of Bamenda:
Leaving Bamenda Town, North West Region, Cameroon
View of Bamenda approching Upstation, North West Region, Cameroon
Last view of the hills around Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: Africa, AIDS, Cameroon, Cameroun, Camp, Education, HIV, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Peace Corps, Peer Education, Post, Seminar, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Newly-trained peer educators, PCVs and guest speakers. Bamenda, Cameroon
After many months of planning, fundraising and recruiting, we successfully completed the Peer Education Camp! I’d like to extend a HUGE thanks to all those who contributed financial support through the Peace Corps Partnership — we couldn’t have done it without your help! Took a while for me to get an update here on the blog, so sorry for the delay.
The camp was a great success and was featured in local newspapers and broadcasts. What was also nice was that both youth and volunteers had a great time! The kids involved camped at a guest house at the training site and when sessions were not taking place we all participated in activities like frisbee, soccer, cards and boardgames. All of us PCVs teamed up for the various presentations, and we also supplemented the material with Cameroonian guest speakers. The young participants were model trainees and were very eager to learn all that was offered. They did very well, and their progress was measured through pre- and post-testing. The participants consisted of two youths (a boy and girl) each from eleven villages around the North West. We trained them on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, peer education and life skills topics, including some that were mentioned in my post Important project: youth peer education in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
Conducting a peer education session, Bamenda, Cameroon
In addition to teaching trainees all of the topics, we also did action planning, where volunteers worked with the kids from their site villages on strategies for how to implement the newly learned material in the field. At the end of the camp, trainee groups did mock-presentations on selected topics for their fellow trainees, PCVs, and invited guests, and then all peer educators were awarded certificates and T-shirts. Now that Phase 1 is complete, we will move on to Phase 2 of the project, in which we will individually work with the two youths in each of our villages to help them develop presentations and outreach programs on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness.
Action planning with trainees from Bamenda, Cameroon
Filed under: Cameroon, Holidays, Peace Corps, Post, Travel | Tags: 4th of July, Achu, Achu Soup, Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Chop House, Culture, Excursions, Fourth of July, Holidays, Independence Day, Peace Corps, Pidgin English, Post, Travel, US 235th Anniversary, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Landscape of the North West, Cameroon
Happy (belated) 4th from Cameroon! I’m sure everyone back home celebrated at a barbeque, parade or picnic, fireworks lighting up the sky at night and sparklers all around. I didn’t see any fireworks, but I did celebrate nonetheless. I gathered with a few other volunteers and Cameroonian friends in a small town in the hills north of Bamenda and we had chilli, coleslaw and french fries (or is it freedom fries?). A humble celebration, but it was nice to observe it in good company and share the tradition with non-Americans. And it was a beautiful setting in which to be together. This year makes it my fourth year celebrating the 4th of July away from home. But I have to say, I did celebrate a lot this year. After starting Wednesday night at the U.S. Embassy’s formal event, I concluded my stay in Yaoundé by returning to the Embassy Saturday for a good ol’ traditional pool party, complete with grilled hotdogs & cheeseburgers, and live Blues. It was a small slice of the world I’ll be coming back to in August—a stark contrast to say, yesterday, when I had Achu* for lunch in my favorite Chop House**.
*Achu—a traditional food of the North West Region of Cameroon consisting of 1) a paste made of cocoyams & plantains mashed into a bowl-like mound which holds 2) a yellow sauce or soup containing many spices and crushed limestone. You eat it with your index finger and dip the paste into the yellow sauce. Usually served with a cow product such as meat, skin, or towel/tripe (rubbery, inner lining of the stomach) and Njama Njama (fried vegetable greens). It’s an acquired taste but grows on you after a while. Here’s a photo from a great Eating Achu post on Life abroad: As Robert sees it:
Eating Achu: Photo courtesy of http://www.robrasa.com/hisblog
** Chop House—pretty self-explanatory; colloquial term for a small restaurant. Chop means to eat in Pidgin English. I guess you could say it’s Cameroon’s version of a diner. Always includes a jovial “mommy” serving the food and the menu is generally limited to a few specialty dishes.
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: Africa, AIDS, Cameroon, Cameroun, Camp, Education, HIV, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Peace Corps, Peer Education, Post, Volunteer, West Africa
We Teach: Youth HIV/AIDS Peer Education
Exciting news! We volunteers in the Northwest of Cameroon just had our Regional Project for 2011 approved to seek funding. We’ve been designing and planning the project since September. Now with all the logistical details and content sorted out, all we need is funding! Read about the Peer Education Program.
The Northwest Region of Cameroon has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country at 8.7%, and it is really important to promote awareness of the situation. We are targeting youth at the most critical ages of 14-18, and will give them the tools to go out and teach & inform their peers. Here’s more on the project:
The “We Teach” Peer Education Program is a collaborative effort of ten volunteers in the northwest region of Cameroon. Twenty students from ten villages will be invited to participate in the program. The program consists of three phases that all have the expressed goal of providing motivated youth with the life skills and knowledge necessary to become education leaders in their communities including their peer groups. Phase 1 of this program is a 3-day, 3-night workshop to be held in the regional capital. The lessons to be conducted during this workshop are as follows; Basic Facts about HIV/AIDS, Peer Education Techniques, Action Planning for Peer to Peer Sessions, Life Skills, Behavior Change and Communication, STD/HIV Prevention, HIV/AIDS Disease Progression and Support, and Culture and Stigma Surrounding HIV/AIDS in the Cameroonian Context. There will also be a day-long practicum in which the students will prepare and present various relevant topics to different groups in specific settings such as Youth Day, Health Clubs, School Gatherings and at the camp itself. Phase 2 of the program will involve each participant carrying out peer-to-peer training sessions in each of their respective villages. All participants will work closely with PCVs to organize and present peer-to-peer education sessions. Phase 3 will be a sustainability follow-up of the participants in their peer educator roles done by each PCV and compiled regionally. The data will be analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
Please try to spread the word about our project, or donate, so that we can help the children! Here you can donate to the Peer Education Program
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post, Teacher Training | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Education, ICT, Information Technology, IT, Peace Corps, Post, Travel, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Last year around this time, I was heading back to the Government Teacher Training College (GTTC) in Bamenda, where I was working with the other ICT teachers there to give practical lessons to the student teachers (that is, teaching on actual computers rather than the blackboard). My help was needed in designing lessons that could accommodate all of the students in each class (50) using only 5 computers. I also participated in some seminars with active primary school teachers in the area, which I am continuing currently along with the newly appointed Regional Inspectorate of ICT.
The initial setup for the improvised “computer lab” was quite challenging (as the pictures show), but in the end, we had a functional learning space. At the time, we had to have the students carry all of the computer equipment from the library to a larger hall up the hill, which took a lot of time. Now however, the computers are in a permanent space—much easier. It’s amazing how many challenging situations I find myself engaged in here and think nothing of it. I’ve learned that one can overcome a lot if put to the challenge.
Extension cords coming from the library
Cords coming into the lab space
Student-teachers learning on the computers
Presenting at an ICT seminar for teachers
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, ICT, Information Technology, IT, New Year, Peace Corps, Post, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
At the new Peace Corps office
Hello! Been away for a couple weeks, but will be sending more updates now that I’m back in the swing of things. So keep on reading! I hope everyone back at home had a wonderful holiday season. I’m finding myself engaged once more in busy day-to-day activities, and I imagine it’s the same Stateside!
I am writing this post from the newly opened regional office—which will be very convenient for printing documents, having meetings—and most importantly, using the Internet! Now I’ll more easily be able to attend to Goal 3 of Peace Corps: sharing the beautiful culture here in Cameroon with everyone at home.
When they were doing site prospecting for the office, I had a chance to give some input and help photograph the grounds before they were renovated into what is now the office. It felt good to watch something go from start to finish. There’s still a little work to be done, but things are functional, and that helps us volunteers.
Filed under: Cameroon, Holidays, Peace Corps, Post, Travel | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Christmas, Family, Hanuka, Holidays, Peace Corps, Post, Travel, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel, Xmas
As we are immersed in the holiday season, and people at home are bustling about and shopping and gathering to celebrate, family is in the forefront of most people’s minds. I can’t say that I’m bustling about as much as I am being tussled about by others’ bustling when I go out here in Cameroon, but I am thinking a lot about my family. And I think I can speak for most volunteers when I say that family is in the forefront of our minds.
“No matter what you’ve done for yourself or for humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?”
—Elbert Hubbard
I want to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful family for all the support, encouragement, and understanding they have given me over the years. I may be far away at the moment, but you are always close to my heart and in my thoughts. Miss you all very much. Happy Holidays!
Your son, brother, nephew, cousin, grandson,
Gabriel
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: Africa, Cameroon, Cameroun, Culture, Peace Corps, Politics, Post, Travel, Volunteer, West Africa, World Travel
Paul Biya, President of Cameroon (image courtesy of cameroononline.org)
Last week, Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon, visited the English-speaking Northwest Region for the first time in 22 years. He stayed three days in Bamenda before returning to the capital of Yaoundé—and what an occasion to witness! Surreal, festive, scary; these are just some of the words that describe the event. The president’s visit came during the celebration of the 5oth anniversary of Cameroon’s armed forces. So the military presence was immense. Truck after overloaded truck came into Bamenda carrying military personnel and equipment. Helicopters and fighter jets circled the city in the weeks leading up to the visit. There was even a curfew in effect to reduce night gatherings. On the day the president came, crowds of festive onlookers lined the route the presidential caravan was to come through. No one was rowdy however—soldiers lined the road standing in front of the crowd every several meters keeping things conspicuously quiet. Though that did not stop certain groups, clad in festive traditional clothing, from dancing and making music. There were even Jujus (sacred palace guards) who came out to dance, dressed in traditional wear including carved wooden animal masks. When the presidential motorcade passed by, everyone cheered, sang and played drums and music.
John Fru Ndi, leader of SDF party (image courtesy of cameroun-online.com)
The presidential visit was surrounded by a lot of anticipation and some concern, seeing as Bamenda is the seat of the opposition party SDF (Social Democratic Front) and the hometown of John Fru Ndi, the party’s leader. Relations have often been tense between SDF and CPDM (Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement), Biya’s party, and elections throughout the years have always been disputed. But this time in Bamenda, a place where there have often been riots, things went very peacefully—as far as I know. Biya even stayed an extra day and had dinner with Fru Ndi. During Biya’s speech he made many promises including building a Bamenda University, pursuing hydro-electric and a new large hospital, and completing the Ring Road, a circular route that connects many towns in the Northwest north of Bamenda. The Ring Road has always been infamous for its terrible condition and has been a source of aggravation for Northwesterners who often feel abandoned by the current administration based in the French-speaking side of Cameroon. We’ll see what happens as the presidential elections approach. One can definitely feel the tension in the air, but I think people have some hope after this visit. On va voire…
Filed under: Cameroon, Peace Corps, Post | Tags: ACMS, AIDS, Cameroon, HEDECS, HIV, Peace Corps, Post, Prescraft, SNV, Volunteer, World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day Question & Answer Booth and Testing in Bamenda
On December 1st, communities around the globe are encouraged to hold events and activities to promote the awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Living here in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, which has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country at 8.7%, it is really important to promote awareness of the situation. This year I teamed up with some volunteers and other organizations here in Bamenda on December 2nd to have a question & answer booth set up in the center of town that would include a Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) taking place simultaneously. The project was conceived by Kelly (a really cool Health volunteer here in the NW) and I, and then we had a lot of help from other organizations and Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs).
The goal was to help educate and sensitize citizens of Bamenda on issues relating to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS—this was achieved through an informal Q&A process between volunteers and the people, condom demonstrations, and the handing out of fliers which included places, phone numbers and websites where further information could be acquired, as well as the locations of HIV treatment centers in Bamenda. Overall, the project went really well. We had over 160 people tested, and there were a lot of people with questions sparking conversations about the subject of HIV/AIDS. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of several organizations including Prescafe who hosted the event, RTG (Regional Technical Group) who did the VCT, ACMS, HEDECS, and SNV who contributed promotional materials, demonstrations and transport respectively. And of course thanks to the other PCVs who stood out in the sun all day promoting and answering questions!
To prepare for the event, we had to get the permission of local officials including the Governor, the District Office, and every local police precinct and gendarmerie! Including coordinating all of the different organizations, it was a lot of legwork. But it paid off. Maybe we’ll get to have another event like it sometime soon…
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.
Year 3 - Volunteering in Cameroon 