Friday July 24, 2009
I was excited but also a little depressed that today was the last time we would be walking the pipeline. I will miss hearing the children shouting “Good morning Uncle Ben” as we walk past their houses. I will also miss the serenity of a foggy morning on the road. It seemed even more calm than usual considering it was just the three of us walking the line. Since we had no work to do, we got the chance to explore. Near the aeration chamber the stream passes over a big waterfall. We had heard the waterfall before, but this was the first time we had the chance to see it. Some people in the village want to harness hydroelectric power from falls such as this one.
We also had the chance to view the tap stand at Boa Camp. The carpenters did a great job and the people of this quarter are enjoying clean water. Before returning to the village, we decided to check the flow rate at the tanks to see how much it had increased since the mud was removed from the line. Much to our surprise, the flow was about 2.5 L/s. This is an even greater flow rate than predicted by the original feasibility study done in 2002. At this rate, both tanks can be filled in less than 7 ½ hours. The three of us celebrated the success of the project on our hike to the house.
Dibamba Quarter provided us a small sendoff in the evening. It was a very intimate occasion held in the compound opposite to ours. It was very nice but also sad to realize we were leaving our home in Cameroon. I gave a small speech thanking them for their kindness and hard work. The palm wine was especially tasty tonight.
Saturday July 25, 2009
Our official sendoff (and “Launching Proper of the Boa Bakundu Water Project”) has come and gone. It was a wonderful ceremony. The festivities were supposed to kick off around 10 AM. Adding African time made the actual start time around 11:30. The sendoff began with a prayer and singing of the national anthem. Next, the emcee introduced all the elders, officials, chiefs, committee members, and other notables present at the chief’s palace. Then, immersion coordinator James introduced Dr. Amin, Brian, Mark and I.
The chief’s speech was first, followed by the chairman, Mr. Benjamin, Dr. Amin, Mark, and the divisional officer’s representative. The chief and chairman had representatives read their speeches. I thought Dr. Amin’s speech was particularly well written. He challenged the young people of the village to fight to improve the lives of fellow villagers. Mark’s speech got plenty of laughs as he talked about our experiences in the village such as drinking at palm wine bars, playing for Veterans FC, and Brian going to church for the three of us.
Near the middle of the scheduled activities the chiefmaker appointed us as elders in the village. It was a very special experience. I felt honored to have the opportunity to become an elder. Due to my elder status, I had to dress like one. Therefore, I walked out of the chief’s palace clothed in African wear and a cap. Mark, Brian, the chairman, Mr. Benjamin, and Dr. Amin also received the same treatment. Next, the committee began the “launching proper” of the Boa Bakundu Water Project. “Launching proper” is the pidgin way of saying “fundraise.” Each invited guest would walk up to the committee’s table and donate money toward the next phase of the project. As donations were turned in, the emcee would announce the name of the donator and how much money they contributed. At the end of the day the committee had raised 407,000 CFA (about 10% of what they need to complete the phase from the tanks to the school)
No Cameroonian celebration would be complete without music and dancing. Throughout the program various song/dance groups entertained everyone. TK wrote a song for us. It included verses about the storage tank, catchment, and connecting of pipes. He also sang about Brian, Mark, and I by name. Even Mr. Benjamin was included in the song. (I will get the lyrics the next time I talk to TK) The masquerades and other traditional dancers also made and appearance. Everyone would cheer for us when we stood up to go dance and give money. It was an absolute blast.
After the ceremonies at the chief’s palace, all invited guests went to the Raf-cut Motel for a huge lunch of traditional Cameroonian dishes. We posed for tons of pictures with friends, neighbors, officials, and random villagers. I also learned that two members of the media were also in attendance. One woman was with Lakeside Radio in Kumba while a man from STV in Cameroon covered the event. Our night started at the chairman’s place with more free beer. This meeting gave each of us the opportunity to thank the water committee and talk about our time in Boa Bakundu and Cameroon. The beer we were offered was a symbolic “one for the road” in Cameroonian culture. One elder pulled out a bottle of whiskey. When they opened the bottle, they “snap the neck of the chicken” according to local traditions.
Then, we strolled to the Safari Snack Bar in Bakassi Quarter to enjoy our last drinks in Boa Bakundu with our friends. It was a wonderful ending to a great day.
Sunday July 26, 2009
We didn’t want to, but we had to leave Boa Bakundu today. In the morning we packed our things and cleaned up the house. Men were still working on the finishing touches at the Raf-cut Motel for its grand opening today. Bossman and his assistants were painting. The audio equipment had arrived and was being tested. I drove TK’s ocada one last time up to Bakassi to say goodbye to his family. Other last goodbyes followed back at the house. We’ll miss all the people of Boa Bakundu. They have been our second family here in Cameroon. When our taxi driver James arrived, we had our true “one for the road” at Lillian’s palm wine bar.
The ride back with James was interesting to say the least. His taxi has gotten much worse than when we first met him. Something in the rear suspension was loose. He tied it up with a strap, but that didn’t help much. Every time we descended a hill a loud banging sound erupted from the back of the car. He also had to stop multiple times to fill the radiator with water so that the car didn’t overheat. I will miss the fun of Cameroon taxi rides.
Back at Pa’s house on Soba Street we had a large family dinner. We also took some family portraits that we will send back to the family. Our family in Kumba was so wonderful. Ma and Glory cooked the best food. The boys (Fritz, Clinton, and Brandon) kept things lively around the house. Pa was always there for intelligent conversation or to enlighten us about Cameroon culture. I will miss them all deeply.
We all truly enjoyed our last night in Cameroon. :)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Once more to the village
Wednesday July 22, 2009
Before we could get back to Boa Bakundu, we made a stop at Bai Panya. Bai Panya has talked with Mr. Benjamin in the past about expanding their current water system. Bai Panya wasn’t much better than Bolo. (Other than Bai Panya having a piped water source already) The village follows two different chiefs. It has no water committee. The most frustrating part is that they don’t maintain their current supply. Tanks have not been cleaned in years. Air release valves are broken and cocoa farms surround the catchment. After seeing these problems, we made a list of suggestions for the village to show ETHOS that they are serious about this project. These recommendations should be easy for the village to implement within a couple of months. Hopefully, they will realize how fortunate they are to have a system in place already. Mr. Benjamin told us that the native dialects have no word for “maintain.” Perhaps that is why it is a difficult concept of this village to grasp.
Everyone in Boa Bakundu was excited for our return. Many of our friends said the village did not feel the same while we were gone. The Raf-cut Motel (our house) is coming along nicely. The only work that remains before it opens on Sunday evening is painting, installing some doors, and moving in audio equipment. Rafael also bought a huge generator to power the whole compound. Since we had plenty of light, we played cards with friends until well past 10:00.
Thursday July 23, 2009
Today was our last day of community work. Each quarter was assigned a section at the storage tanks to backfill. While Mark attended the water committee meeting, Brian and I supervised and participated in the backfilling efforts. As usual, some quarters were well prepared while others didn’t even have enough shovels to be effective. Eventually, we organized a dirt moving assembly line of sorts for each quarter. Villagers would begin the process by filling buckets with dirt. Then, buckets were passed from person to person until they reached the tank. After spreading out the dirt, the buckets were passed in another line back to the beginning. It was a very efficient system if the quarter had enough buckets available. Some quarters (especially our quarter, Dibamba) had difficulty understanding the concept of an assembly line. Men would carry full buckets all the way to the tank instead of passing them down the line. Other workers would just leave their station without having someone to replace them. At the end of the day all quarters except Carrefour and Tombei finished their backfilling.
After the work ended, we trekked to the chief’s palace to sit in at the water committee meeting. By this time the meeting was about five hours long. The committee had much to discuss concerning the sendoff on Saturday. In addition, they were short about 80,000 CFA (~$160) to pay for the party. So, much of the meeting was dedicated to locating sources for this funding. The preferred sources were people who had not paid previous fines or collections. The funniest case of the day was a man who was accused of stealing two plastic chairs. The committee fined him 10,000 CFA, 2 plastics of beer, and one goat. That would be the equivalent of a council in America deciding that you should give them $20, two cases of beer, and McDonald’s for everyone. When the man finally came to pay his fine, it was reduced to two plastics of beer and 5,000 CFA. The beer was put to good use as each of the committee members had one for themselves. If only council meetings in the US were run in the same manner. The meeting was still going on when we left at 2:00 PM.
Before we could get back to Boa Bakundu, we made a stop at Bai Panya. Bai Panya has talked with Mr. Benjamin in the past about expanding their current water system. Bai Panya wasn’t much better than Bolo. (Other than Bai Panya having a piped water source already) The village follows two different chiefs. It has no water committee. The most frustrating part is that they don’t maintain their current supply. Tanks have not been cleaned in years. Air release valves are broken and cocoa farms surround the catchment. After seeing these problems, we made a list of suggestions for the village to show ETHOS that they are serious about this project. These recommendations should be easy for the village to implement within a couple of months. Hopefully, they will realize how fortunate they are to have a system in place already. Mr. Benjamin told us that the native dialects have no word for “maintain.” Perhaps that is why it is a difficult concept of this village to grasp.
Everyone in Boa Bakundu was excited for our return. Many of our friends said the village did not feel the same while we were gone. The Raf-cut Motel (our house) is coming along nicely. The only work that remains before it opens on Sunday evening is painting, installing some doors, and moving in audio equipment. Rafael also bought a huge generator to power the whole compound. Since we had plenty of light, we played cards with friends until well past 10:00.
Thursday July 23, 2009
Today was our last day of community work. Each quarter was assigned a section at the storage tanks to backfill. While Mark attended the water committee meeting, Brian and I supervised and participated in the backfilling efforts. As usual, some quarters were well prepared while others didn’t even have enough shovels to be effective. Eventually, we organized a dirt moving assembly line of sorts for each quarter. Villagers would begin the process by filling buckets with dirt. Then, buckets were passed from person to person until they reached the tank. After spreading out the dirt, the buckets were passed in another line back to the beginning. It was a very efficient system if the quarter had enough buckets available. Some quarters (especially our quarter, Dibamba) had difficulty understanding the concept of an assembly line. Men would carry full buckets all the way to the tank instead of passing them down the line. Other workers would just leave their station without having someone to replace them. At the end of the day all quarters except Carrefour and Tombei finished their backfilling.
After the work ended, we trekked to the chief’s palace to sit in at the water committee meeting. By this time the meeting was about five hours long. The committee had much to discuss concerning the sendoff on Saturday. In addition, they were short about 80,000 CFA (~$160) to pay for the party. So, much of the meeting was dedicated to locating sources for this funding. The preferred sources were people who had not paid previous fines or collections. The funniest case of the day was a man who was accused of stealing two plastic chairs. The committee fined him 10,000 CFA, 2 plastics of beer, and one goat. That would be the equivalent of a council in America deciding that you should give them $20, two cases of beer, and McDonald’s for everyone. When the man finally came to pay his fine, it was reduced to two plastics of beer and 5,000 CFA. The beer was put to good use as each of the committee members had one for themselves. If only council meetings in the US were run in the same manner. The meeting was still going on when we left at 2:00 PM.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Traveling around with Mr. Benjamin
We are officially moved out of Boa Bakundu village and on our way back to the US. The past week has been incredible. (Pay attention to the blog this week to find out more) We will fly to Paris this evening for a few days before returning to the US on the 31st. I'm sorry I won't be able to post pictures this week due to some problems with my camera. I'll be sure to have a big picture update on the 1st.
Monday July 20, 2009
Nothing much happened for us today. But for the immersion students, it was a very sad day. We met them at the Azi Motel before they drove to Duoala to catch their flight. Many of the girls were crying, especially when they had to say goodbye to their host families. I’m sure it will be tough for me to leave next Monday. We also went to the market to buy a few more things for our families and friends back home. A local tailor is sewing me a shirt to take back as well.
Tuesday July 21, 2009
Early in the morning, we traveled with Mr. Benjamin to the taxi park in Fiango. (A section of Kumba) We were traveling to two villages that have potential water projects for next year’s group. Due to the low number of people traveling in our direction, we waited almost two hours before we left. The trip to the village of Weme lasted over an hour on a relatively good road. The Weme project is quite large. An NGO estimated the cost at 35,000,000 CFA (~$70,000). However, many of these estimates are inflated so that when the NGO and/or village receive funding, the NGO can eat the extra money. An option for this project is to split it into phases like Boa Bakundu has done. ETHOS might be able to complete one phase like we did this summer.
Weme has a water committee and some small funds saved for the project. That’s much more than can be said for the next village we visited. The village of Bolo is along the road back to Kumba. Bolo had no water committee, no estimate, no funds, and few answers to our questions. We became so frustrated that we left after perhaps fifteen minutes of discussion. Villages must prove that they are serious before ETHOS or Mr. Benjamin would consider working with them.
One of the most interesting aspects of this journey was the road itself. At one time the government wished to make the road into a major highway. (If we continued to follow the road, we would eventually reach Nigeria) Many of the bridges we crossed were a result of that project. But between the villages of Weme and Bolo we saw a literal “bridge to nowhere.” We crossed a one lane bridge that runs parallel to a four lane structure. The bridge was perhaps 80% complete when the project was abandoned or funding disappeared. Now the bridge sits covered in all types of vines and trees. It stands a poignant symbol of Cameroon’s problems with infrastructure and corruption.
Monday July 20, 2009
Nothing much happened for us today. But for the immersion students, it was a very sad day. We met them at the Azi Motel before they drove to Duoala to catch their flight. Many of the girls were crying, especially when they had to say goodbye to their host families. I’m sure it will be tough for me to leave next Monday. We also went to the market to buy a few more things for our families and friends back home. A local tailor is sewing me a shirt to take back as well.
Tuesday July 21, 2009
Early in the morning, we traveled with Mr. Benjamin to the taxi park in Fiango. (A section of Kumba) We were traveling to two villages that have potential water projects for next year’s group. Due to the low number of people traveling in our direction, we waited almost two hours before we left. The trip to the village of Weme lasted over an hour on a relatively good road. The Weme project is quite large. An NGO estimated the cost at 35,000,000 CFA (~$70,000). However, many of these estimates are inflated so that when the NGO and/or village receive funding, the NGO can eat the extra money. An option for this project is to split it into phases like Boa Bakundu has done. ETHOS might be able to complete one phase like we did this summer.
Weme has a water committee and some small funds saved for the project. That’s much more than can be said for the next village we visited. The village of Bolo is along the road back to Kumba. Bolo had no water committee, no estimate, no funds, and few answers to our questions. We became so frustrated that we left after perhaps fifteen minutes of discussion. Villages must prove that they are serious before ETHOS or Mr. Benjamin would consider working with them.
One of the most interesting aspects of this journey was the road itself. At one time the government wished to make the road into a major highway. (If we continued to follow the road, we would eventually reach Nigeria) Many of the bridges we crossed were a result of that project. But between the villages of Weme and Bolo we saw a literal “bridge to nowhere.” We crossed a one lane bridge that runs parallel to a four lane structure. The bridge was perhaps 80% complete when the project was abandoned or funding disappeared. Now the bridge sits covered in all types of vines and trees. It stands a poignant symbol of Cameroon’s problems with infrastructure and corruption.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Semme Beach and Celebrations
Saturday July 18, 2009Our last day in Limbe began with plenty of rain. We sat around most of the morning in the hotel. I thought there was no way we would have the chance to enjoy Semme Beach. I was almost ready to call it a day and head back for Kumba when the rains slowed to a mist. We decided to attempt the beach. I am so glad that we did. As the taxi drove us to the beach, the skies lightened and the rain stopped. The resort is located about 20 minutes outside of Limbe proper. Admission was 1500 CFA per person, which included a free soft drink.
Semme Beach was my first experience on a black sand beach. The black sand comes from the lava rock that covers this area of the country. The sand is fine and soft. The water was incredibly warm and the waves were excellent. Swimming in the ocean made yesterday’s van ride ordeal worth it. It was a great way to celebrate our successes this summer. After a couple of hours of swimming, we hopped back in the taxi and headed to the Limbe park to grab a van back to Kumba. (This ride was much better than yesterday’s nightmare trip)
Sunday July 19, 2009
This morning we decided to get some much needed laundry out of the way. Washing laundry by hand is tough work. It took the three of us about an hour and a half to wash about 1/3 of our things. (Lack of experience was probably also a contributing factor) I have a new-found
appreciation for all the laundry Julius has done for us while in the village. The women of the house had a good laugh over our attempt at washing clothes. They also provided helpful tips and guidance along the way.In the afternoon Mark and I stopped at Spirit’s shop to get our hair cut before the big celebration this evening. The three of us sat down and prepared for the speech we were to give at the party. We left for the Azi Motel after 7:00 PM. (The supposed start time of the party) After arriving at the motel; we proceeded to wait 2 hours
until the program actually began. We were waiting for government officials to arrive. (Typical Cameroon) After brief introductions and speeches by Dr. Amin and the immersion coordinators, Mark, Brian, and I spoke to the 100+ people in attendance. Mark discussed ETHOS and past projects. I talked about the Boa Bakundu project. Brian covered our experiences of life in Kumba and Boa Bakundu. I think our speech went over really well. The immersion students spoke after us. Their presentation even included some small skits. After the presentations, the Senior Divisional Officer gave a short speech.Finally, it was time for dinner just before 10:00. Mark, Brian, and I were asked to serve drinks. By the time everyone was served, it was after 10:30. I was soooooo hungry. We spent the rest of the night dancing and drinking. Most of the immersion students left the party by 1:00 AM. ETHOS closed the place down sometime after 3:00 AM. I’ll just catch up on my sleep when I
get back to the US. :)
Left: Late night at the immersion going away celebration
Friday, July 24, 2009
Limbe here we come!
Thursday July 16, 2009
We woke up early this morning to begin our trip back to Kumba. We took the Greyhound of Cameroon, Mondial Express. We took a full size bus direct from Yaoundé to Kumba. These buses seat 5 people in each row and can hold over 70 people when they are completely full. Stops were few and far between. We left Yaoundé at 9:00 AM and pulled into Kumba around 3:00 PM.
The bus ride gave me plenty of time to reflect on my time in Yaoundé and this summer in general. I’ve certainly become used to the culture and people of Cameroon. I’ve had the opportunity to see and do more things than I thought possible. This trip has also changed me in many ways, some of which I probably won’t know until I return back to the US. I now have a much different perspective on poverty, development, government, and family. I’ve also learned how complex relationships between Africa and the rest of the world have become. I’ll write more about overall impressions of my summer experience after I get back to the US.
Friday July 17, 2009
We spent much of the morning and early afternoon running errands around Kumba. Our most important stop of the day was at Mr. Benjamin’s office. We are starting to search for projects for next year’s ETHOS Cameroon group. (Hopefully, I’ll be one of the participants ;)) We met with him briefly and received information on a few promising projects. We would also like to find an NGO in country to assist us in providing logistical and financial support. The difficulty with NGOs is finding honest organizations that are not out for a quick profit. Another topic that was brought up was transitioning into other aspects of appropriate technology besides water projects. The key for any project is having great contacts in country. We have certainly found those for water projects near Kumba. We’ll have to search for those contacts for any other types of projects. Perhaps next year, students could even move to another division or region in the country.
We also started our trip to Limbe this afternoon. Limbe is a coastal city located in the Southwest region. It is a tourist destination for people inside and outside of Cameroon. We went to the van park at 3:00 seeking a ride to Limbe. When we pulled in, the two rival van service factions began yelling and fighting for our business. After the dust settled, we ended up choosing an unmarked blue van. Thus began our van ride from hell. Only 100 m down the road, we picked up a random passenger. Apparently, it is less expensive to hop onto the bus outside of the park. The driver also saves money because he doesn’t have to pay for that person when he leaves the park. Within a few minutes the bus was completely full.
The next issue occurred at a wildlife checkpoint outside of Kumba. They questioned the driver as to the discrepancies between his ticket from the park and the number of passengers in the van. They ripped up the ticket and entered into a 30 minute argument with the driver. After paying a bribe, the driver got us back on the road. We continually stopped to pick up and drop off various passengers the rest of the way to Limbe. At one stop some passengers were fighting with the driver concerning their fares. When we were actually driving, I feared for my life on a number of occasions. Cameroonians are not used to such nice roads and take curves far too quickly. The 1.5 hour ride ended up lasting closer to 3 hours.
A taxi drove us from the Limbe park to our place for the night; the lovely, charming, and CHEAP Samaritan Hotel. Julius and his friend Ramos negotiated us a price of 3500 CFA (~$8) per room, per night. The rooms weren’t elegant by any means, but they served their purpose. The closest thing I can compare them to is a dorm room at college. The rooms were probably 10’ x 12’ and held only a bed and nightstand. The bathroom was pretty beat up as well, but the toilet worked. It was just what we needed, CHEAP!
After settling into our rooms, we strolled to the waterfront. Limbe is definitely a tourist area. The waterfront even has a boardwalk of sorts for a short distance. The only eyesore was the large oil rig under construction in the bay. It’s another sign of “progress” here I guess. I couldn’t believe it was so close to the shore. We had a delectable dinner of goat meat pepe soup with roasted plantains and roasted fish with cassava. Nothing beats a traditional Cameroonian meal. The six of us ate dinner for less than $10.
For the nightcap we headed out to the bars. The first bar recommended to us was nice, but it was too white for our tastes. In addition, the beers cost twice the normal price. We found a nice place called Las Vegas that had much more style and local flavor. Next, we took ocada to the nightclub called Mooove. It was a very modern club. Like all Cameroonian clubs, the walls were covered in mirrors. We had a great time dancing the night away. It was another late night in Cameroon.
We woke up early this morning to begin our trip back to Kumba. We took the Greyhound of Cameroon, Mondial Express. We took a full size bus direct from Yaoundé to Kumba. These buses seat 5 people in each row and can hold over 70 people when they are completely full. Stops were few and far between. We left Yaoundé at 9:00 AM and pulled into Kumba around 3:00 PM.
The bus ride gave me plenty of time to reflect on my time in Yaoundé and this summer in general. I’ve certainly become used to the culture and people of Cameroon. I’ve had the opportunity to see and do more things than I thought possible. This trip has also changed me in many ways, some of which I probably won’t know until I return back to the US. I now have a much different perspective on poverty, development, government, and family. I’ve also learned how complex relationships between Africa and the rest of the world have become. I’ll write more about overall impressions of my summer experience after I get back to the US.
Friday July 17, 2009
We spent much of the morning and early afternoon running errands around Kumba. Our most important stop of the day was at Mr. Benjamin’s office. We are starting to search for projects for next year’s ETHOS Cameroon group. (Hopefully, I’ll be one of the participants ;)) We met with him briefly and received information on a few promising projects. We would also like to find an NGO in country to assist us in providing logistical and financial support. The difficulty with NGOs is finding honest organizations that are not out for a quick profit. Another topic that was brought up was transitioning into other aspects of appropriate technology besides water projects. The key for any project is having great contacts in country. We have certainly found those for water projects near Kumba. We’ll have to search for those contacts for any other types of projects. Perhaps next year, students could even move to another division or region in the country.
We also started our trip to Limbe this afternoon. Limbe is a coastal city located in the Southwest region. It is a tourist destination for people inside and outside of Cameroon. We went to the van park at 3:00 seeking a ride to Limbe. When we pulled in, the two rival van service factions began yelling and fighting for our business. After the dust settled, we ended up choosing an unmarked blue van. Thus began our van ride from hell. Only 100 m down the road, we picked up a random passenger. Apparently, it is less expensive to hop onto the bus outside of the park. The driver also saves money because he doesn’t have to pay for that person when he leaves the park. Within a few minutes the bus was completely full.
The next issue occurred at a wildlife checkpoint outside of Kumba. They questioned the driver as to the discrepancies between his ticket from the park and the number of passengers in the van. They ripped up the ticket and entered into a 30 minute argument with the driver. After paying a bribe, the driver got us back on the road. We continually stopped to pick up and drop off various passengers the rest of the way to Limbe. At one stop some passengers were fighting with the driver concerning their fares. When we were actually driving, I feared for my life on a number of occasions. Cameroonians are not used to such nice roads and take curves far too quickly. The 1.5 hour ride ended up lasting closer to 3 hours.
A taxi drove us from the Limbe park to our place for the night; the lovely, charming, and CHEAP Samaritan Hotel. Julius and his friend Ramos negotiated us a price of 3500 CFA (~$8) per room, per night. The rooms weren’t elegant by any means, but they served their purpose. The closest thing I can compare them to is a dorm room at college. The rooms were probably 10’ x 12’ and held only a bed and nightstand. The bathroom was pretty beat up as well, but the toilet worked. It was just what we needed, CHEAP!
After settling into our rooms, we strolled to the waterfront. Limbe is definitely a tourist area. The waterfront even has a boardwalk of sorts for a short distance. The only eyesore was the large oil rig under construction in the bay. It’s another sign of “progress” here I guess. I couldn’t believe it was so close to the shore. We had a delectable dinner of goat meat pepe soup with roasted plantains and roasted fish with cassava. Nothing beats a traditional Cameroonian meal. The six of us ate dinner for less than $10.For the nightcap we headed out to the bars. The first bar recommended to us was nice, but it was too white for our tastes. In addition, the beers cost twice the normal price. We found a nice place called Las Vegas that had much more style and local flavor. Next, we took ocada to the nightclub called Mooove. It was a very modern club. Like all Cameroonian clubs, the walls were covered in mirrors. We had a great time dancing the night away. It was another late night in Cameroon.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
mmmmm....beer
Wednesday July 15, 2009
Today marked our last day sightseeing in Yaoundé and our last day traveling with the immersion students. First, we visited a monastery at the top of another huge hill. The monastery was initiated in the 1960s by Swiss Benedictine monks. It was an expansive campus. The
monastery has its own woodshop to help pay for maintenance and upkeep of the grounds. The woodshop produces beautiful beds, cabinets, and chairs. We also got the opportunity to tour their museum dedicated to traditional African culture. One of the founders of the monastery collected a number of masks, beds, pipes, sculptures, and jewelry and started the museum. It was an impressive collection of all authentic goods. Yet again, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the museum. I’m still not sure how these objects could be placed so close to a chapel. Some of the items in the collection were used in witchcraft and animal sacrifices. I guess the monastery is fine with the situation. As we left the monastery, we discovered that Pope John Paul II prayed there during his visits to Cameroon.
The American Embassy was cool, but the highlight of the Yaoundé trip for me was the tour of the Brasseries du Cameroon. (Breweries of Cameroon) The brewery is one of the largest businesses in the country. The Cameroon government has a 30% stake in the company, while the majority of the shares are held by one French man. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the brewery in order to protect trade secrets. Our knowledgeable tour guide walked us step by step from raw ingredients to finished product. We started in the warehouse where corn, malt, and hops are delivered and stored. Next, we went to the brewing room. There were barely any areas off limits on this tour. I could look directly inside the large vats as they mixed the ingredients. After brewing, the beer is filtered and pumped into large fermentation tanks for a length of time. (Longer time = higher alcohol percentage)
Next, we followed the beer from the fermentation tanks to the opposite side of the road. The bottling and soft drink section of the factory are located in this area. CO2 produced during fermentation is harvested for carbonation of soft drinks. Then, the beer is filtered for a second time. At this point, the tour guide allowed us to taste Castel beer directly from the pipeline. (No need for a “born on” date for this beer) On a typical day, this brewery alone produces about 45,000 bottles of beer per hour. Surprisingly, they make far more beer than soft drinks. The plant is one of five found throughout the country.
Bottling is by far the most impressive part of the brewing process. All bottles are used then returned to the factory. Conveyors moved bottles at breakneck speed from one station to another. First, the interior of the bottle is thoroughly washed. Then, the bottles are filled with beer and appropriately labeled. Finally, the bottles are placed into crates and loaded onto trucks to be shipped throughout the region. All of this action was taking place only a few feet in front of me. If I didn’t fear being kicked off of the tour, I would have reached out and pulled a fresh bottle directly from the conveyor. After the tour was over, each person was allowed two free Brasseries products of their choice. The Brasseries creates a wide variety of beers and soft drinks. (Including: 33 Export, Castel, Coke, Sprite, etc.)
Our final stop of the day was the house of a former minister in the government. He is also a leader of the Nationalist party that opposes the rule of the current leadership. While in office, he worked in the areas of economics and development. He was involved in the national government from the very start of Cameroon as an independent country. It was as though we were talking to the Benjamin Franklin of Cameroon.
By the time we returned to the hotel, I was exhausted. We had the same exact dinner for the 3rd night in a row. The only thing truly Cameroonian was the fried plantains. The immersion students are clearly missing out on Cameroonian culture when it comes to food on these trips. I could really go for some good pepe soup or even some snails.
Today marked our last day sightseeing in Yaoundé and our last day traveling with the immersion students. First, we visited a monastery at the top of another huge hill. The monastery was initiated in the 1960s by Swiss Benedictine monks. It was an expansive campus. The
monastery has its own woodshop to help pay for maintenance and upkeep of the grounds. The woodshop produces beautiful beds, cabinets, and chairs. We also got the opportunity to tour their museum dedicated to traditional African culture. One of the founders of the monastery collected a number of masks, beds, pipes, sculptures, and jewelry and started the museum. It was an impressive collection of all authentic goods. Yet again, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the museum. I’m still not sure how these objects could be placed so close to a chapel. Some of the items in the collection were used in witchcraft and animal sacrifices. I guess the monastery is fine with the situation. As we left the monastery, we discovered that Pope John Paul II prayed there during his visits to Cameroon.The American Embassy was cool, but the highlight of the Yaoundé trip for me was the tour of the Brasseries du Cameroon. (Breweries of Cameroon) The brewery is one of the largest businesses in the country. The Cameroon government has a 30% stake in the company, while the majority of the shares are held by one French man. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the brewery in order to protect trade secrets. Our knowledgeable tour guide walked us step by step from raw ingredients to finished product. We started in the warehouse where corn, malt, and hops are delivered and stored. Next, we went to the brewing room. There were barely any areas off limits on this tour. I could look directly inside the large vats as they mixed the ingredients. After brewing, the beer is filtered and pumped into large fermentation tanks for a length of time. (Longer time = higher alcohol percentage)
Next, we followed the beer from the fermentation tanks to the opposite side of the road. The bottling and soft drink section of the factory are located in this area. CO2 produced during fermentation is harvested for carbonation of soft drinks. Then, the beer is filtered for a second time. At this point, the tour guide allowed us to taste Castel beer directly from the pipeline. (No need for a “born on” date for this beer) On a typical day, this brewery alone produces about 45,000 bottles of beer per hour. Surprisingly, they make far more beer than soft drinks. The plant is one of five found throughout the country.Bottling is by far the most impressive part of the brewing process. All bottles are used then returned to the factory. Conveyors moved bottles at breakneck speed from one station to another. First, the interior of the bottle is thoroughly washed. Then, the bottles are filled with beer and appropriately labeled. Finally, the bottles are placed into crates and loaded onto trucks to be shipped throughout the region. All of this action was taking place only a few feet in front of me. If I didn’t fear being kicked off of the tour, I would have reached out and pulled a fresh bottle directly from the conveyor. After the tour was over, each person was allowed two free Brasseries products of their choice. The Brasseries creates a wide variety of beers and soft drinks. (Including: 33 Export, Castel, Coke, Sprite, etc.)
Our final stop of the day was the house of a former minister in the government. He is also a leader of the Nationalist party that opposes the rule of the current leadership. While in office, he worked in the areas of economics and development. He was involved in the national government from the very start of Cameroon as an independent country. It was as though we were talking to the Benjamin Franklin of Cameroon.
By the time we returned to the hotel, I was exhausted. We had the same exact dinner for the 3rd night in a row. The only thing truly Cameroonian was the fried plantains. The immersion students are clearly missing out on Cameroonian culture when it comes to food on these trips. I could really go for some good pepe soup or even some snails.
Monday, July 20, 2009
First hot shower in 7 weeks
Monday July 13, 2009
Two weeks left in Cameroon starting today. We had a couple more pages to print this morning for the embassy proposal. Then, we made two copies of the 30+ page submission. The immersion bus pulled out from Azi Motel in Kumba sometime around 10 AM. For lunch we stopped at 3813. 3813 is a business center/restaurant/hotel located along Buea Road. It’s owned by a Cameroonian couple who live in the US. After passing through Duoala, there wasn’t too much to see other than picturesque farms, hills, and valleys. The most depressing aspect of the trip was seeing signs along the road that said “Here XX deaths.” In some places the numbers were as high as 15. Development (including nice roads) can come with a heavy price.
Finally, we reached Yaoundé just before dusk. The city is enormous and spread out over a large area. Due to numerous traffic jams, we didn’t reach the hotel until well after dark. Yaoundé is a much more modern city than Kumba. It is home to national government offices and corporation headquarters. Many high rise buildings greeted us as we drove through downtown on the way to our hotel. Yaoundé even has its own Hilton Hotel.
I can’t wait for my first hot shower in 7 weeks tomorrow morning.
Tuesday July 14, 2009
That hot shower was fantastic. (Other than the yellowish tint of the water, no way am I drinking that stuff) After breakfast, we loaded up the bus and headed downtown with the immersion students. We were allowed to roam the city center for a couple of hours. The three of us took the bus driver and walked around the central business district. The only problem was that you are not allowed to take pictures of any government buildings. Government police are authorized to immediately seize your camera if you are caught taking pictures of the wrong buildings. With almost every other building being some government ministry or office I decided against taking pictures.
After lunch, we proceeded to the large congress hall. It sits atop a big hill that overlooks much of the city. Yaoundé stretches almost as far as the eye can see. From this vantage point I was also able to see the President’s palace. Needless to say, it was opulent and enormous. (No pictures allowed yet again) The city contains approximately 2.2 million residents.
Inside the congress hall I got to act like a government delegate at the large conference tables. The hall is a meeting place for numerous governmental functions. Yesterday, the building hosted a meeting discussing national finances.
Cameroon President Paul Biya has his own office in the building. However, he is the only one who holds the key. When he comes to the hall, he sends the key over a few hours before his arrival so they can prepare the room. When he leaves, he takes the key with him.
The American Embassy was a short drive from the congress hall. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed in this area for security reasons. It was awesome to set foot on American soil in another country. The complex itself is beautiful. The embassy has taken steps to plant all types of native plans and flowers within the grounds. After going through the second security checkpoint, we entered a small meeting room. The US Ambassador and one of her assistants soon entered for our discussion. They began the meeting by briefly describing what the embassy does. A question and answer session followed. At this point, we presented our application for additional funding for Boa Bakundu and a copy of UD magazine that highlighted last year’s project.
The Ambassador was very frank in her answers to our group. However, she’s also a good politician as she deflected fully answering some tough questions. Overall, it was a great meeting. It’s not everyday that you get the chance to meet the highest ranked US official in a country. Her assistant was already reading over our application before we left the meeting. I hope that is a good sign that the Embassy can provide additional funding for the Boa Bakundu water project.
Two weeks left in Cameroon starting today. We had a couple more pages to print this morning for the embassy proposal. Then, we made two copies of the 30+ page submission. The immersion bus pulled out from Azi Motel in Kumba sometime around 10 AM. For lunch we stopped at 3813. 3813 is a business center/restaurant/hotel located along Buea Road. It’s owned by a Cameroonian couple who live in the US. After passing through Duoala, there wasn’t too much to see other than picturesque farms, hills, and valleys. The most depressing aspect of the trip was seeing signs along the road that said “Here XX deaths.” In some places the numbers were as high as 15. Development (including nice roads) can come with a heavy price.
Finally, we reached Yaoundé just before dusk. The city is enormous and spread out over a large area. Due to numerous traffic jams, we didn’t reach the hotel until well after dark. Yaoundé is a much more modern city than Kumba. It is home to national government offices and corporation headquarters. Many high rise buildings greeted us as we drove through downtown on the way to our hotel. Yaoundé even has its own Hilton Hotel.
I can’t wait for my first hot shower in 7 weeks tomorrow morning.
Tuesday July 14, 2009
That hot shower was fantastic. (Other than the yellowish tint of the water, no way am I drinking that stuff) After breakfast, we loaded up the bus and headed downtown with the immersion students. We were allowed to roam the city center for a couple of hours. The three of us took the bus driver and walked around the central business district. The only problem was that you are not allowed to take pictures of any government buildings. Government police are authorized to immediately seize your camera if you are caught taking pictures of the wrong buildings. With almost every other building being some government ministry or office I decided against taking pictures.
After lunch, we proceeded to the large congress hall. It sits atop a big hill that overlooks much of the city. Yaoundé stretches almost as far as the eye can see. From this vantage point I was also able to see the President’s palace. Needless to say, it was opulent and enormous. (No pictures allowed yet again) The city contains approximately 2.2 million residents.Inside the congress hall I got to act like a government delegate at the large conference tables. The hall is a meeting place for numerous governmental functions. Yesterday, the building hosted a meeting discussing national finances.
Cameroon President Paul Biya has his own office in the building. However, he is the only one who holds the key. When he comes to the hall, he sends the key over a few hours before his arrival so they can prepare the room. When he leaves, he takes the key with him.The American Embassy was a short drive from the congress hall. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed in this area for security reasons. It was awesome to set foot on American soil in another country. The complex itself is beautiful. The embassy has taken steps to plant all types of native plans and flowers within the grounds. After going through the second security checkpoint, we entered a small meeting room. The US Ambassador and one of her assistants soon entered for our discussion. They began the meeting by briefly describing what the embassy does. A question and answer session followed. At this point, we presented our application for additional funding for Boa Bakundu and a copy of UD magazine that highlighted last year’s project.
The Ambassador was very frank in her answers to our group. However, she’s also a good politician as she deflected fully answering some tough questions. Overall, it was a great meeting. It’s not everyday that you get the chance to meet the highest ranked US official in a country. Her assistant was already reading over our application before we left the meeting. I hope that is a good sign that the Embassy can provide additional funding for the Boa Bakundu water project.
Left: The view from our hotel room.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Michael Jackson is alive, he's living in Cameroon!
Friday July 10, 2009
The rain continued to fall we woke up this morning. I was very doubtful we would make it to Kumba at all today. We spent much of the morning organizing and packing our things. The next time we return to the village we’ll hand out much of our clothes, shoes, pants, etc. We’ve already given away plenty of things to our friends and neighbors.
Somehow a taxi driver agreed to come out to the village in the rain and haul us back to town. Julius would ride on the roof due to Franklin and Catherine joining us on this journey. The car slid from one side of the road to the other as we climbed the first hill heading out of the village. The road finally became too much for the car a short time later. Julius and Franklin hopped off and out of the car to help push us back onto the road. Oddly, a person riding on the roof of the car isn’t a violation at most of the checkpoints. Some of that may have been due to the fact our driver seemed to pay a few bribes.
Julius came back into the car before the police checkpoint. This time they stopped us because they wanted to "check our bags for cocaine." We had our paper, but for some reason the taxi driver paid the officers a 2000 CFA bribe. It’s frustrating to think that even though they know we are doing great things in a nearby village, they can’t let a single car pass by without at least attempting to get a bribe. In order for Cameroon to be considered more than a developing nation I believe the culture of corruption in the government must be eliminated.
After talking with Dr. Amin today, Brian and I decided to join the immersion students and Mark on their trip to Yaoundé. We’ll come back on Wednesday and head to Limbe next weekend. We also began filling out all the necessary paperwork for the embassy application.
We were supposed to head to the vigil for Mark’s former host father at 9:00 PM. Elaine was also coming to the vigil so he stopped over at the house. He told us about a Michael Jackson tribute party that was happening one street over from the vigil. It was being hosted by the human rights organization workers. When we finally found the place, the party was just about to begin.
There were perhaps 25 or 30 people there. Organization workers come to Kumba from around the world. They had partnered with a few local radio DJs to emcee the party. An entire program awaited us. Whiskey and gin packets were the drink of choice. The night started with an excellent MJ dance routine by one of the DJs. Next, it was a capella MJ for anyone who was brave enough to try. More individuals and groups of impersonators danced to various Michael songs. Then, they opened up the floor and everyone danced their hearts out. I can’t believe how many great songs he wrote.
We really didn’t want to leave, but we pulled ourselves away around 11:30 to head to the vigil. It was by far the biggest funeral I’ve ever seen in person. Tents were setup inside and around the family’s compound. Hundreds of people were still there and would probably remain there past daybreak. The tents could easily seat more than 2000 people. There was plenty of singing, drinking, and dancing. I don’t think we made it back to the house until after 1:30.
Saturday July 11, 2009
Today was our shopping day. We went to the market to buy gifts for our families and friends. It was a lot of fun bargaining with the sellers. On the way home we got some ice cream from a cart on the street. During the afternoon, Mark went to the funeral service while Brian and I stayed behind to work on the application.
We also attended a party hosted at one of the immersion student’s house on Alaska Street. It was a pool party. I couldn’t believe that a pool like that would exist in Kumba. In the evening we went out with Elaine, Julius, and a couple other friends. For a change of pace, we hit up the Bamboo Bar for some live music. The band was amazing. The lead singer/guitarist was blind and could really tear it up on the guitar. I love going to different places each night. It keeps things interesting. We finished up the night at the Canton Bar followed by another trip to Olabi Maze.
Sunday July 12, 2009
Much of the morning was spent working on the embassy proposal. We’ve spent a good portion of our weekend preparing it. I hope that all this work results in funds for the village. The afternoon brought the annual Kumba vs. Dayton football match. It is always held in the Fiango section of Kumba. I played midfielder for the entire first half and much of the second half. Dayton ended up pulling out a 6-5 victory. Mark scored a goal and I should have had at least two by myself. The field was nice enough that I even played shoeless in the second half so that our brother Fritz could play with us.
After returning from the match, we printed out all the paperwork for the application and I wrote a ton of blog entries. We leave for Yaoundé tomorrow with the immersion students. It should be an awesome time.
The rain continued to fall we woke up this morning. I was very doubtful we would make it to Kumba at all today. We spent much of the morning organizing and packing our things. The next time we return to the village we’ll hand out much of our clothes, shoes, pants, etc. We’ve already given away plenty of things to our friends and neighbors.
Somehow a taxi driver agreed to come out to the village in the rain and haul us back to town. Julius would ride on the roof due to Franklin and Catherine joining us on this journey. The car slid from one side of the road to the other as we climbed the first hill heading out of the village. The road finally became too much for the car a short time later. Julius and Franklin hopped off and out of the car to help push us back onto the road. Oddly, a person riding on the roof of the car isn’t a violation at most of the checkpoints. Some of that may have been due to the fact our driver seemed to pay a few bribes.
Julius came back into the car before the police checkpoint. This time they stopped us because they wanted to "check our bags for cocaine." We had our paper, but for some reason the taxi driver paid the officers a 2000 CFA bribe. It’s frustrating to think that even though they know we are doing great things in a nearby village, they can’t let a single car pass by without at least attempting to get a bribe. In order for Cameroon to be considered more than a developing nation I believe the culture of corruption in the government must be eliminated.
After talking with Dr. Amin today, Brian and I decided to join the immersion students and Mark on their trip to Yaoundé. We’ll come back on Wednesday and head to Limbe next weekend. We also began filling out all the necessary paperwork for the embassy application.
We were supposed to head to the vigil for Mark’s former host father at 9:00 PM. Elaine was also coming to the vigil so he stopped over at the house. He told us about a Michael Jackson tribute party that was happening one street over from the vigil. It was being hosted by the human rights organization workers. When we finally found the place, the party was just about to begin.
There were perhaps 25 or 30 people there. Organization workers come to Kumba from around the world. They had partnered with a few local radio DJs to emcee the party. An entire program awaited us. Whiskey and gin packets were the drink of choice. The night started with an excellent MJ dance routine by one of the DJs. Next, it was a capella MJ for anyone who was brave enough to try. More individuals and groups of impersonators danced to various Michael songs. Then, they opened up the floor and everyone danced their hearts out. I can’t believe how many great songs he wrote.We really didn’t want to leave, but we pulled ourselves away around 11:30 to head to the vigil. It was by far the biggest funeral I’ve ever seen in person. Tents were setup inside and around the family’s compound. Hundreds of people were still there and would probably remain there past daybreak. The tents could easily seat more than 2000 people. There was plenty of singing, drinking, and dancing. I don’t think we made it back to the house until after 1:30.
Saturday July 11, 2009
Today was our shopping day. We went to the market to buy gifts for our families and friends. It was a lot of fun bargaining with the sellers. On the way home we got some ice cream from a cart on the street. During the afternoon, Mark went to the funeral service while Brian and I stayed behind to work on the application.
We also attended a party hosted at one of the immersion student’s house on Alaska Street. It was a pool party. I couldn’t believe that a pool like that would exist in Kumba. In the evening we went out with Elaine, Julius, and a couple other friends. For a change of pace, we hit up the Bamboo Bar for some live music. The band was amazing. The lead singer/guitarist was blind and could really tear it up on the guitar. I love going to different places each night. It keeps things interesting. We finished up the night at the Canton Bar followed by another trip to Olabi Maze.
Sunday July 12, 2009Much of the morning was spent working on the embassy proposal. We’ve spent a good portion of our weekend preparing it. I hope that all this work results in funds for the village. The afternoon brought the annual Kumba vs. Dayton football match. It is always held in the Fiango section of Kumba. I played midfielder for the entire first half and much of the second half. Dayton ended up pulling out a 6-5 victory. Mark scored a goal and I should have had at least two by myself. The field was nice enough that I even played shoeless in the second half so that our brother Fritz could play with us.
After returning from the match, we printed out all the paperwork for the application and I wrote a ton of blog entries. We leave for Yaoundé tomorrow with the immersion students. It should be an awesome time.
Left: Mami Carine and her two sisters.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Bawk, Bawk
Wednesday July 8, 2009
More surveying today, yesssssssss. We stopped for puff-puff and beans for breakfast on our walk up to the storage tanks. Over the course of the day, we surveyed from the tanks to the school, Ngolo quarter, Carrefour quarter, and Tombe quarter. We’ll finish surveying all the other quarters tomorrow morning. Two visitors arrived today. Julius’s cousin Franklin and Carine’s sister Catherine will stay with us in the village until Friday. We bought a chicken to butcher tomorrow to welcome our visitors and celebrate completion of the project.
Our first interquarter match as members of Veterans FC was supposed to begin at 4:00. We went to the pre-match meeting a little after 2. (It lasted forever) The game before ours didn’t even begin until 3:30. All the players were excited for the white Wheeling Jesuit mayos that we would sport for the match. These jerseys will also be part of the reward for the team that wins the whole tournament. Most of the rules for the tournament were pretty normal. They even imposed fines when players receive yellow or red cards. The funniest rule by far was a ban on using juju magicians to aid your team. If a team was caught using juju magic they would lose a point in the standings.
The match itself was unreal. I’ve never played a sport in front of so many spectators in my life. Perhaps 1500 villagers surrounded the field. Veterans FC is made up of former/older players from all quarters of the village. The inclusion of whites only added to the excitement and interest in the match. All three of us started the match and played the entire first half. I played defender until about 15 minutes before halftime when I was moved to midfield. We scored the first goal as the result of a throw in from Mark. The goalkeeper misplayed the ball after it was headed by one
of the Veteran players. The whole village went crazy. They couldn’t believe that Tombe was down 1-0 to the old guys and the whites.
Tombe ended up scoring about halfway through the first half to even the score. Brian, Mark, and I chose to come out after playing about 10 minutes in the second half. The match ended in a surprise tie at 1-1. Many villagers predicted Veterans FC to lose 3-0 or worse. At the postgame meeting, we collected all the jerseys and the club elected its management. There were at least 10 leadership positions for a team that will only exist into early August.
Thursday July 9, 2009
We completed the survey in less than 2 hours this morning. Finishing the survey was cause for celebration (as just about anything is in Cameroon). Naturally, we had a couple of beers at the chairman’s place and a couple of cups of palm wine at Lillian’s bar. After a short nap, I awoke to see Franklin butchering the chicken while Carine and Catherine prepared spices and side dishes. Tonight we had the best meal since I’ve been in Cameroon. The chicken was beyond excellent. We also had boiled potatoes and rice.
The celebration continued into the night. We invited over some friends since it was pouring outside. Spoons was by far the most popular game. Everyone was scrambling for spoons, yelling at each other, and laughing. I’m sure we sounded pretty crazy to the villagers walking by outside. It was great way to end our last day of work.
Left: Typical Cameroonian meal including plenty of veggies, fish and some hot pepe :P
More surveying today, yesssssssss. We stopped for puff-puff and beans for breakfast on our walk up to the storage tanks. Over the course of the day, we surveyed from the tanks to the school, Ngolo quarter, Carrefour quarter, and Tombe quarter. We’ll finish surveying all the other quarters tomorrow morning. Two visitors arrived today. Julius’s cousin Franklin and Carine’s sister Catherine will stay with us in the village until Friday. We bought a chicken to butcher tomorrow to welcome our visitors and celebrate completion of the project.
Our first interquarter match as members of Veterans FC was supposed to begin at 4:00. We went to the pre-match meeting a little after 2. (It lasted forever) The game before ours didn’t even begin until 3:30. All the players were excited for the white Wheeling Jesuit mayos that we would sport for the match. These jerseys will also be part of the reward for the team that wins the whole tournament. Most of the rules for the tournament were pretty normal. They even imposed fines when players receive yellow or red cards. The funniest rule by far was a ban on using juju magicians to aid your team. If a team was caught using juju magic they would lose a point in the standings.The match itself was unreal. I’ve never played a sport in front of so many spectators in my life. Perhaps 1500 villagers surrounded the field. Veterans FC is made up of former/older players from all quarters of the village. The inclusion of whites only added to the excitement and interest in the match. All three of us started the match and played the entire first half. I played defender until about 15 minutes before halftime when I was moved to midfield. We scored the first goal as the result of a throw in from Mark. The goalkeeper misplayed the ball after it was headed by one
of the Veteran players. The whole village went crazy. They couldn’t believe that Tombe was down 1-0 to the old guys and the whites.Tombe ended up scoring about halfway through the first half to even the score. Brian, Mark, and I chose to come out after playing about 10 minutes in the second half. The match ended in a surprise tie at 1-1. Many villagers predicted Veterans FC to lose 3-0 or worse. At the postgame meeting, we collected all the jerseys and the club elected its management. There were at least 10 leadership positions for a team that will only exist into early August.
Thursday July 9, 2009
We completed the survey in less than 2 hours this morning. Finishing the survey was cause for celebration (as just about anything is in Cameroon). Naturally, we had a couple of beers at the chairman’s place and a couple of cups of palm wine at Lillian’s bar. After a short nap, I awoke to see Franklin butchering the chicken while Carine and Catherine prepared spices and side dishes. Tonight we had the best meal since I’ve been in Cameroon. The chicken was beyond excellent. We also had boiled potatoes and rice.
The celebration continued into the night. We invited over some friends since it was pouring outside. Spoons was by far the most popular game. Everyone was scrambling for spoons, yelling at each other, and laughing. I’m sure we sounded pretty crazy to the villagers walking by outside. It was great way to end our last day of work.
Left: Typical Cameroonian meal including plenty of veggies, fish and some hot pepe :P
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Back to Barombi Mbo
Sunday July 5, 2009Today we headed off to Barombi Mbo to visit the village that ETHOS and Mark worked in last summer. There were no canoes waiting for us, so we took the path that encircles the lake. It takes close to an hour to make the journey to the village (not including walking up and down the hills on the way to the Kumba side of the lake). When we finally got to the village, there wasn’t a big celebration or ceremony (which was a relief). We met with two of the system caretakers, George and Emmanuel. After a short rest stop, we headed off with them and The Game to the catchment. The Game is one of the many Area Boys from last year. They are all close to each other and us in age. All of them have nicknames. Later in the day we would meet Sexy, Gunshot, and many others.
Last year’s students will be happy to learn that the system is still functioning well and has only had a few small maintenance issues. Seeing the project in person gave me an entirely new respect for the complexity and size of last year’s venture. I can’t believe they were able to complete it with such a small workforce in comparison to what we have this year. Once we were back at Emmanuel’s Pa’s house, Mark began to hand out all types of presents for his friends. The most desired items were the UD Magazines highlighting the project. Many of the people we were talking with were mentioned or pictured somewhere in the article. Julius also handed out letters to the Area boys from Justin Forzano (an ETHOS participant in Cameroon for the previous 3 summers). All of the Area Boys loved their letters.
One short nap later we headed back to the house for some palm wine and music. For the night’s festivities we went to a small bar/room in the lower part of the village. Here we met up with most of the Area Boys as well as Mr. George. The dancing began in a dance-off format. Individuals or duos would request a song then dance. If they were good enough, we would give them 100 CFA. Yet again, Cameroonians are some of the best dancers I’ve ever seen. After an hour or so of the dance-off, the whole dance floor filled with people and we partied the night away. I can see how it was easy for last year’s group to fall in love with the villagers, much in the way I love being with 
the villagers of Boa Bakundu.Monday July 6, 2009
Typical Cameroon waiting was the theme of the morning. We hoped to leave around 10 or so. We didn’t make it back to Kumba until after 3 in the afternoon. The first wait was for Julius to find us some breakfast to purchase. Next, we waited for a couple of hours to get some Barombi fish for our Ma in town. At least we were lucky enough to have canoes to take us across for our return trip. The journey via the lake was pretty scary. Dugout canoes aren’t the most stable vessels. Combine that with a lack of lifejackets and the expansive size and unknown depth of the lake and you have the ingredients for a nervous experience. I think after a few trips though, the anxiety would go away. Mark acknowledged that the village seemed empty on our trip. Most likely, many villagers stayed more often in Barombi Mbo last summer to assist with the project.
In the afternoon we stopped at the Hardware Man’s and Mr. Benjamin’s office. We picked up replacement materials for the broken air release valve as well as surveying equipment. This week we will complete the survey for the next phase of the project. The last item we picked up was an application for funds from the US Embassy in Cameroon. Hopefully, we can get the villagers even more money through the Self-Help program.
Tuesday July 7, 2009
Back to the village we went. Nobody was around to help us today, so we headed up to the broken air release valve on our own. While I ventured to the catchment to turn off the water, Mark and Brian began to dig up the section of the pipeline near the valve. Upon my return, Mark and Brian told me that the ground near the valve was dry and there were no visible signs of a leak. Benjamin must have been looking for a more complex explanation than our hypothesis of dirt clogging the line. In addition to no signs of a leak, the water had resumed clear, full bore flow at the aeration chamber on Sunday.
Upset Alert: defending champions Bakassi lost to Tombe 1-0 on Sunday. We discovered that Dibamba lost 1-0 as well. Today was the first day I’d played football in what seemed like forever. We played with many older men from the village. Mark ended up talking us onto their veteran team so that we could play in some matches before we head back to the US.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A very memorable 4th of July
Saturday July 4, 2009
Happy birthday America. We celebrated by welcoming the UD immersion students to the village. Their first stop was the chief’s palace for a small welcome and introductions. I found it quite funny that they probably didn’t understood much of anything since it was all spoken in Pidgin. I’ve come a long way with Pidgin since my first day in the village. Speaking of which, I don’t think these students get the same level of immersion that the ETHOS program provides. They live in huge houses in Kumba when they aren’t traveling. This was their first experience of any village life. They are also much more protected and shielded than us. I can’t imagine how bored I would be if I had to spend everyday in Kumba.
Anyways, after the introductions we strolled up to the storage tanks. I hope it was interesting for the students to see our daily commute. It was a very hot and sunny day . Most of them were huffing and puffing by the time we reached the tank. At the tanks Mark explained some of the engineering behind the project and the steps required to bring water the water to this point. Dr. Amin asked Brian and me to describe our experience with village life and what we thought of Cameroon. After the storage tanks, we headed up to the aeration chamber to observe the water flowing into it.
However, when we turned on the flow, the water was very muddy. In addition, the pipe was now flowing full into the tank. The water continued to flow muddy even after we walked the short distance to the stream crossing. Brian, Mark, and I all assumed that it was probably just a buildup of mud in the line that had broken up. That would explain the dirty water as well as the change to full bore flow. If dirt had been blocking the line, it would have prevented full flow from reaching the chamber. Mr. Benjamin didn’t feel the same way and walked up toward the catchment to try to find the answer for the muddy water.
When we got back to the village, the students came to our house to see the way we live. I offered them some palm wine, but only a couple of them had enough courage to take a small sip. The final part of their trip to the village was a traditional meal at the chief’s palace. We returned to Kumba a short time after they left. Benjamin apparently found the problem and informed us that the second air release valve was leaking. It was the same one we had trouble installing a few days earlier.
The ride home was an eventful one. We decided to take ocada this time as we could fit all our things in book bags. Julius, Brian, and I rode on one bike while Mark and Carine took another. Travel tip: Do not ride 3 people and a driver on an ocada. You will get stopped at every checkpoint. We were pulled over approximately 7 times before we made it home. Wildlife checkpoints, taxation checkpoints, and of course the local police/military all had their lectures for us. Of course they wanted money from us. Somehow, we managed to make it all the way to the edge of Kumba without paying a dime to them. But a man at a taxation checkpoint took our driver’s key and made us dismount until we split up onto two ocadas.
The immersion students invited us to the July 4th party at the Dsonge motel. The motel is probably the largest in Kumba and is where many well-to-do visitors stay. All the immersion students were there as well as the coordinators and Dr. Amin. The club was really nice (although the drinks were expensive) The DJ was excellent and after a couple of beers, everyone was dancing. Carine brought here twin sister Catherine to the party as well. Catherine told me I was the 2nd best dancer there. (I tend to disagree) The bartender had trouble making any change. So, I was given a slip with a balance on it. Every time I purchased a drink, she would scratch out the old balance and hand the slip back to me. Good old Cameroon.
The immersion students were hauled home sometime around midnight, but the ETHOS group’s night was far from over. Olabi Maze (a nightclub) was next on the list of places to go. Buying a bottle of whiskey got six of us inside and also bought us four Cokes and bowls of peanuts. The place was almost empty but we still managed to have a lot of fun. Brian and I were tired out by 3:00 AM. (The bars/clubs here can sell drinks 24/7, some night we’ll probably stay out until the sun rises) We headed home while Mark and Julius stayed another hour.
Much to our surprise, we found the gate to our compound was locked. We had told Clinton it would be a late night and to leave the gates unlocked. Apparently, the message didn’t get through to Fritz who actually locks the gates. So, in my drunken, tired state I decided to hop over the gate. It was no easy task sober. There were few places to hold on the 9 ft tall gate. After three tries and a little help from Brian, I made it over. But on my way over, I managed to kick a nearby dead light bulb, showering glass pieces all over the sidewalk. I then unlocked the gate and let Brian inside. We ran as fast as we could to our rooms to avoid the dogs barking as much as possible. Mark came back an hour later and slept in my bed because the door to his section of the house had been locked as well. Needless to say, it was a memorable night.
Happy birthday America. We celebrated by welcoming the UD immersion students to the village. Their first stop was the chief’s palace for a small welcome and introductions. I found it quite funny that they probably didn’t understood much of anything since it was all spoken in Pidgin. I’ve come a long way with Pidgin since my first day in the village. Speaking of which, I don’t think these students get the same level of immersion that the ETHOS program provides. They live in huge houses in Kumba when they aren’t traveling. This was their first experience of any village life. They are also much more protected and shielded than us. I can’t imagine how bored I would be if I had to spend everyday in Kumba.
Anyways, after the introductions we strolled up to the storage tanks. I hope it was interesting for the students to see our daily commute. It was a very hot and sunny day . Most of them were huffing and puffing by the time we reached the tank. At the tanks Mark explained some of the engineering behind the project and the steps required to bring water the water to this point. Dr. Amin asked Brian and me to describe our experience with village life and what we thought of Cameroon. After the storage tanks, we headed up to the aeration chamber to observe the water flowing into it.
However, when we turned on the flow, the water was very muddy. In addition, the pipe was now flowing full into the tank. The water continued to flow muddy even after we walked the short distance to the stream crossing. Brian, Mark, and I all assumed that it was probably just a buildup of mud in the line that had broken up. That would explain the dirty water as well as the change to full bore flow. If dirt had been blocking the line, it would have prevented full flow from reaching the chamber. Mr. Benjamin didn’t feel the same way and walked up toward the catchment to try to find the answer for the muddy water.
When we got back to the village, the students came to our house to see the way we live. I offered them some palm wine, but only a couple of them had enough courage to take a small sip. The final part of their trip to the village was a traditional meal at the chief’s palace. We returned to Kumba a short time after they left. Benjamin apparently found the problem and informed us that the second air release valve was leaking. It was the same one we had trouble installing a few days earlier.
The ride home was an eventful one. We decided to take ocada this time as we could fit all our things in book bags. Julius, Brian, and I rode on one bike while Mark and Carine took another. Travel tip: Do not ride 3 people and a driver on an ocada. You will get stopped at every checkpoint. We were pulled over approximately 7 times before we made it home. Wildlife checkpoints, taxation checkpoints, and of course the local police/military all had their lectures for us. Of course they wanted money from us. Somehow, we managed to make it all the way to the edge of Kumba without paying a dime to them. But a man at a taxation checkpoint took our driver’s key and made us dismount until we split up onto two ocadas.
The immersion students invited us to the July 4th party at the Dsonge motel. The motel is probably the largest in Kumba and is where many well-to-do visitors stay. All the immersion students were there as well as the coordinators and Dr. Amin. The club was really nice (although the drinks were expensive) The DJ was excellent and after a couple of beers, everyone was dancing. Carine brought here twin sister Catherine to the party as well. Catherine told me I was the 2nd best dancer there. (I tend to disagree) The bartender had trouble making any change. So, I was given a slip with a balance on it. Every time I purchased a drink, she would scratch out the old balance and hand the slip back to me. Good old Cameroon.The immersion students were hauled home sometime around midnight, but the ETHOS group’s night was far from over. Olabi Maze (a nightclub) was next on the list of places to go. Buying a bottle of whiskey got six of us inside and also bought us four Cokes and bowls of peanuts. The place was almost empty but we still managed to have a lot of fun. Brian and I were tired out by 3:00 AM. (The bars/clubs here can sell drinks 24/7, some night we’ll probably stay out until the sun rises) We headed home while Mark and Julius stayed another hour.
Much to our surprise, we found the gate to our compound was locked. We had told Clinton it would be a late night and to leave the gates unlocked. Apparently, the message didn’t get through to Fritz who actually locks the gates. So, in my drunken, tired state I decided to hop over the gate. It was no easy task sober. There were few places to hold on the 9 ft tall gate. After three tries and a little help from Brian, I made it over. But on my way over, I managed to kick a nearby dead light bulb, showering glass pieces all over the sidewalk. I then unlocked the gate and let Brian inside. We ran as fast as we could to our rooms to avoid the dogs barking as much as possible. Mark came back an hour later and slept in my bed because the door to his section of the house had been locked as well. Needless to say, it was a memorable night.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Obama and bongo drums
Wednesday July 1, 2009We had light work today. We turned off the valves at the catchment and aeration chamber. We noticed that the valve at the aeration chamber was also cracked and leaking. However, the water flowing into the aeration chamber was now perfectly clear. In the afternoon we had a meeting and dinner scheduled with Barack Obama himself. I should clarify. One man in Bakassi is known as Obama and he invited us for dinner at 4:00. (see picture at left) We talked to him, his father, and other guests for quite some time. But, no food showed up on the table. At 5:30, we gave up on getting dinner and headed to the chairman’s to discuss the community work scheduled for tomorrow.
Thursday July 2, 2009The end is in sight. All but two quarters completed their backfilling. Bakassi quarter helped Mark fill sandbags at the catchment instead of backfilling. Melima quarter didn’t show up at all for some reason. Nobody seemed to want to work today. I did my fair share of backfilling along the line. We also helped dig a trench for the overflow pipe at the aeration chamber. Workers were trying to leave for home as early as 8:00 AM. I almost had to pull teeth to get Carrefour quarter to fill sandbags for the stream crossing. I probably carried hundreds of pounds of gravel 100 m in order to fill the bags. It took some time, but the bags eventually spanned the stream and will protect the pipe from damage.
Josephat the hardware man stopped by the house to tell us he would be getting all new valves to lessen the chance that any others crack. Tomorrow the plumber will replace them and finish all
his work at the storage tanks so we can turn on the flow for the full line. TK came by to take me to my first bongo drum lesson. It was at the huge Presbyterian Church in the village. I learned a few basic beats, but it was much more difficult than I expected. TK and I hope that with a couple more sessions, I’ll be able to play with his singing group at the going away celebration. Friday July 3, 2009
Our project is essentially finished. We followed the plumber along the line and replaced all the valves. On our way back to town, we taught four villagers how to maintain the system and operate all the components. The four men have worked with us consistently for many days. Mr. Linus, Mr. Peter, Mr. Moses, and T.O. were excellent choices for maintaining the line. We also measured the flowrate at the aeration chamber. With a flow of about 0.6 L/s the tanks will take about 30 hours to fill completely. We turned on the water at the storage tanks and heard the sweet sound of water splashing to the bottom. It was very satisfying to realize our mission was accomplished. We managed to bring water to the tanks in less than five weeks. However, today was also bittersweet as I recognized that our time in Boa is now very short.
The interquarter football cup begins on Sunday. We were asked to play for our quarter’s squad, Dibamba FC. Tonight we attended the organizational meeting across the street. The team is very well organized with about eight different management positions within the club. After quite a few speeches, Mark was asked to speak. We had decided to give Dibamba one set of Wheeling Jesuit jerseys (called mayos in Pidgin, thanks K-Man). When Mark made the announcement, the whole place went crazy. Everyone was jumping up and down and shouting the team’s chant, “Dibamba…show dem!” Brian and I were also required to make an inspirational speech each. After looking at the schedule, it doesn’t appear that we will be able to play any matches with Dibamba. We’ll try to find another way into the tournament.
Left: A large pile of ripe cocoa pods. Most villagers make a living selling cocoa beans.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Success!!!
Monday June 29, 2009
Well the US almost pulled out their biggest football victory in their history. We found a small house in the village watching the match. The US’s first 2 goals were not enough to hold off the powerful Brazilian squad. The final score was 3-2 Brazil.
Today was a very wet day. We did some more clearing by the catchment and small amounts of plumbing. Bakassi worked with us at the catchment and moved hundreds of large rocks. The other quarters were partially backfilling the trench. By completing a partial backfill, we will ensure the pipes will not shift when we turn on the water for testing. Boa Camp managed to royally screw up today. They placed pipe in the trench that was supposed to be elevated so that the plumber could place an air release valve on the line. I spent much of the rest of the morning helping them dig the pipe back up and place it onto supports. If they had only asked a simple question instead of just making their own choice, they would have saved themselves hours of work.
Plumber John and his assistant Edison arrived in the afternoon and cemented a few pipes at the sedimentation tank and aeration chamber. The three of us headed to the palm wine bar to celebrate passing our FE exam. The results came via email while we were in Kumba.
Tuesday June 30, 2009
The rain was heavy overnight and continued in the early morning. It had rained for almost 24 hours straight. We saw the true power of the storm when we reached the tanks. The whole area was flooded and mud was piled up behind the tanks. The mud had flowed down the pipeline as no vegetation existed along the trench. We worked quickly with the plumbers at the aeration tank and headed up to the catchment.
At this point, I understood the difference between appropriate and inappropriate technology. The NGO that had supposedly helped design the catchment made many mistakes. First of all, there was no way to stop the water from flowing out of the catchment. We had to use plantain stems so that we could connect the pipes in a somewhat dry condition. Secondly, the village has no method to clean the catchment if it gets dirty. The oddest decision though must be the placement of the sedimentation tank. It sits about 2 meters from the centerline of the catchment. Therefore, you have to bend the pipes severely to make them fit. The final head scratcher was the original use of a 75 mm pipe at the outlet of the tank when the feasibility study clearly called for 90 mm pipe. The NGO did a good thing by designing the catchment and tank, but they never thought about the end users’ future problems.
John made some pretty interesting bends in the pipe as well as homemade reducers using the blowtorch. We installed the valves and turned on the flow. Much to our surprise, one of the valves had cracked and was spewing water. We will have to replace that valve when the plumber returns. Our next plan of action was installation of air release valves at local highpoints along the line. These valves discharge any air that is in the line. If air was allowed to build up long enough, it will block water from flowing through the line. The first air release valve went on without a hitch. However, the second one gave us multiple problems. The gasket provided was too large to fit in a precut groove. So, we used Mark’s knife to cut out the plastic groove so that the gasket fit properly. Then, we found out that one of the bolts was about a 1/4” too short. Out came the hacksaw and Mark’s knife once again as we cut more plastic to make it work. We probably spent well over an hour installing a very simple piece of the system.
Before we could proceed to the last valve, John informed us that the pipe did not lay down in the trench at the previous high point. There was no way to move the pipe now due to the partial backfilling. The solution was to cut the pipe and make a new bell end so that the pipe would lay flat in the trench. But, it can never be that easy. The blowtorch gas had been leaking from its tank most of the day and was now finished. Have no fear though; John and Edison started a bush fire with palm leaves to heat the pipe. Once the pipe was heated, they slid a piece of 90 mm pipe inside to create the large bell end. The bush fire worked well and we were off to the last air release valve in no time.
We met Mr. Benjamin along the way. Somehow, he was managing to wear a sweater in 90+ degree heat. The last valve went on with ease. We decided to test the line to the aeration chamber since all necessary fittings were in place. Mark walked up to the catchment to turn on the water. Brian and I waited at the aeration chamber to hopefully see the first water pass through the line. I still had some small doubts about the water even making it to the aeration chamber. The wait was agonizing. It was probably well over 45 minutes of sitting and thinking about the project. After 45 minutes, there was still no water and Mark had walked down to join us at the aeration chamber. At this point I was legitimately worried, but Mark said he could hear water running in the line as he walked down.
Then it happened. It sounded like a burp at first. I asked around and everyone else heard it too. Then, water made its way into the tank. It was a great moment to see muddy water slowly flowing out of that pipe. The water was extremely muddy due to dirt that was inside many of the pipes because villagers placed them into loose dirt along the trench. The flow wasn’t full, but it was a good sign. Everyone was shaking hands and congratulating each other.
The walk back to the house was much happier than normal today. T.O. (one of the hardest workers and a law student in Yaoundé) made me
realize the significance of today. For as long as the system is operational, people will have access to a clean reliable water source thanks to our efforts. We stopped for some celebratory Exports at the chairman’s bar. In the evening we went out to the local bars to celebrate some more. I felt like I was back at Tim’s dancing and having an awesome time. The first bar we went to had to close because they ran out of beer. So we traveled down the road and continued the celebration well into the night. Good day. Good night.
Well the US almost pulled out their biggest football victory in their history. We found a small house in the village watching the match. The US’s first 2 goals were not enough to hold off the powerful Brazilian squad. The final score was 3-2 Brazil.
Plumber John and his assistant Edison arrived in the afternoon and cemented a few pipes at the sedimentation tank and aeration chamber. The three of us headed to the palm wine bar to celebrate passing our FE exam. The results came via email while we were in Kumba.
Tuesday June 30, 2009
The rain was heavy overnight and continued in the early morning. It had rained for almost 24 hours straight. We saw the true power of the storm when we reached the tanks. The whole area was flooded and mud was piled up behind the tanks. The mud had flowed down the pipeline as no vegetation existed along the trench. We worked quickly with the plumbers at the aeration tank and headed up to the catchment.At this point, I understood the difference between appropriate and inappropriate technology. The NGO that had supposedly helped design the catchment made many mistakes. First of all, there was no way to stop the water from flowing out of the catchment. We had to use plantain stems so that we could connect the pipes in a somewhat dry condition. Secondly, the village has no method to clean the catchment if it gets dirty. The oddest decision though must be the placement of the sedimentation tank. It sits about 2 meters from the centerline of the catchment. Therefore, you have to bend the pipes severely to make them fit. The final head scratcher was the original use of a 75 mm pipe at the outlet of the tank when the feasibility study clearly called for 90 mm pipe. The NGO did a good thing by designing the catchment and tank, but they never thought about the end users’ future problems.
John made some pretty interesting bends in the pipe as well as homemade reducers using the blowtorch. We installed the valves and turned on the flow. Much to our surprise, one of the valves had cracked and was spewing water. We will have to replace that valve when the plumber returns. Our next plan of action was installation of air release valves at local highpoints along the line. These valves discharge any air that is in the line. If air was allowed to build up long enough, it will block water from flowing through the line. The first air release valve went on without a hitch. However, the second one gave us multiple problems. The gasket provided was too large to fit in a precut groove. So, we used Mark’s knife to cut out the plastic groove so that the gasket fit properly. Then, we found out that one of the bolts was about a 1/4” too short. Out came the hacksaw and Mark’s knife once again as we cut more plastic to make it work. We probably spent well over an hour installing a very simple piece of the system.
Before we could proceed to the last valve, John informed us that the pipe did not lay down in the trench at the previous high point. There was no way to move the pipe now due to the partial backfilling. The solution was to cut the pipe and make a new bell end so that the pipe would lay flat in the trench. But, it can never be that easy. The blowtorch gas had been leaking from its tank most of the day and was now finished. Have no fear though; John and Edison started a bush fire with palm leaves to heat the pipe. Once the pipe was heated, they slid a piece of 90 mm pipe inside to create the large bell end. The bush fire worked well and we were off to the last air release valve in no time.We met Mr. Benjamin along the way. Somehow, he was managing to wear a sweater in 90+ degree heat. The last valve went on with ease. We decided to test the line to the aeration chamber since all necessary fittings were in place. Mark walked up to the catchment to turn on the water. Brian and I waited at the aeration chamber to hopefully see the first water pass through the line. I still had some small doubts about the water even making it to the aeration chamber. The wait was agonizing. It was probably well over 45 minutes of sitting and thinking about the project. After 45 minutes, there was still no water and Mark had walked down to join us at the aeration chamber. At this point I was legitimately worried, but Mark said he could hear water running in the line as he walked down.
Then it happened. It sounded like a burp at first. I asked around and everyone else heard it too. Then, water made its way into the tank. It was a great moment to see muddy water slowly flowing out of that pipe. The water was extremely muddy due to dirt that was inside many of the pipes because villagers placed them into loose dirt along the trench. The flow wasn’t full, but it was a good sign. Everyone was shaking hands and congratulating each other.The walk back to the house was much happier than normal today. T.O. (one of the hardest workers and a law student in Yaoundé) made me
realize the significance of today. For as long as the system is operational, people will have access to a clean reliable water source thanks to our efforts. We stopped for some celebratory Exports at the chairman’s bar. In the evening we went out to the local bars to celebrate some more. I felt like I was back at Tim’s dancing and having an awesome time. The first bar we went to had to close because they ran out of beer. So we traveled down the road and continued the celebration well into the night. Good day. Good night.Time is running out
Well only two more weeks to go in Cameroon. Tomorrow, I head for Yaounde with the immersion group. The project is complete. The water now flows from the catchment to the tanks. To find our what I've been up to the last two weeks, keep tuned to the blog. I'll probably set it to post updates everyday.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Small work, weekend in Kumba
Thursday June 25, 2009It has been very nice to work with small crews this week. We’ve really gotten to know these men very well. They are also consistently hard workers. Our first job was to clean out the sedimentation tank near the catchment. It had about six inches of dirt, mud, and leaves that had collected inside over the last seven years. While Moses finished cleaning, we cleared the area around the catchment. We pulled roots, cut down plants, and moved hundreds of rocks. The experience took me back to my childhood days of building dams in the stream in front of my house. (Shout out to Carl and Zane) The area looks much better now as you can tell from the picture.
Friday June 26, 2009
The same small crew, the same positive results. Today we dug out a section of line near a 90 degree bend, chiseled out a pipe at the sedimentation tank, and completed some rough plumbing at the aeration chamber. We also learned of the death of Michael Jackson on our walk up to the catchment. People in Cameroon loved his music as much as people in the US, if not more. We didn’t believe the news at first, but more people confirmed it later in the day. The walk to the catchment is how we get most of our news. On our hike the day before we learned that the US soccer team made it to the finals of the Confederations Cup.
As we trekked back home, we met up with Benjamin, Josephat, and plumber John. So, back up the hill we went. (Another 10 km day, yay!) The plumber looked the work over and Benjamin seemed very impressed with the job we did at the catchment. Plumber John’s first offer to do the remainder of the plumbing was 115,000 CFA. We felt this was still too much for maybe a day’s worth of work. Our counteroffer was 50,000 CFA. Surprisingly, he accepted. (Pretty dang good negotiating if you ask me)
Monday will be a big work day for the project. The plumber will arrive and begin his work. We have required that he finishes by Tuesday at the latest so that we can test the line on Wednesday. Villagers will be doing some community work as well. Partial backfilling by each quarter will keep the line in place during testing. Other groups will be filling sandbags for areas near the stream crossing and catchment. Finally, another team will be clearing some brush in front of the sedimentation tank. We hope that by Wednesday, the water will be flowing. J
We returned to Kumba in the evening.
Saturday June 27, 2009
I finally got around to checking my email today. It’s hard to believe how much you miss when you are away for two weeks. Most of the day was filled with running errands. First, we all got haircuts at Spirit’s shop. Then, we stopped at the Amin’s place briefly before changing out the
last of our project funds for CFA’s. We then strolled over at Josephat’s hardware store to make our final payment. He was extremely happy to see us today. In the evening, he treated us to Classy Burger. This time, we even had a real hamburgers. Delicious.After getting back to the house, we met with Dr. Amin and Derrick at a local bar. They were interested to hear our opinions on village life and how the project/experience was going. They were surprised to learn that we plan to have water flowing to the tanks by next weekend.
Sunday June 28, 2009
Today will be very boring and relaxing. We plan to have lunch with Mark’s friend who works for a local NGO. After lunch, we will pack up for the village. We are returning to the village this evening so that we can be there when the major work starts tomorrow. We will have to find a place to watch the big soccer match tonight. I’m sure we’ll have many friends cheering for the USA. Until next time…
Above left: My favorite snack, snails on a stick
Above right: Boa Bakundu's version of the 3 rivers. The Allegheny is on the left and the Mon is on the right
Monday, July 6, 2009
Finishing the line
Tuesday June 23, 2009Happy birthday to my sister today. I celebrated by laying 161 pipes. We had a much younger crew today and plenty of pipe glue. Sunny weather was also a welcome sight. Our only major obstacle was the stream crossing area. That quarter returned to dig through the mud as we connected the pipes. After conquering the stream crossing, we really rolled. By day’s end, we had reached Boa Camp with the pipeline. All of this took place in under five hour’s time. I was sooooooo tired after today. We’ve put in two long days of work with at least a couple more days to go.
Wednesday June 24, 2009
Pipe joining = finished. Today we connected the last 124 pipes and were back to the house by 11:30. I still can’t believe we were able to connect the entire pipeline in three short days. Benjamin stopped out to inspect the work and was very impressed. Mark was in Kumba today for the immersion group’s reception. He was also talking with Josephat about some additional supplies as well as finding a new plumber.I tried to play some soccer in the evening. Within a few minutes I realized how much the work had worn on me. I made a lazy play on defense and essentially gave up a goal. I quickly subbed out in embarrassment and trudged back to the house. We chilled at the palm wine bar across the street after dinner. Mark, Brian, Julius, and I sang songs back and forth with some local girls. Each group would take its turn and try to out do the other. Some of the highlights included Backstreet Boys, Usher, KC and JoJo, Journey (of course), and for our grand finale….the Macarena!
Above left: Making pancakes in the morning
Above right: Our friend Wally the wall gecko visits us every night
Below left: Gary and fish soup, a traditional Cameroonian meal
Friday, July 3, 2009
Trip to Bombele and starting the line
Sunday June 21, 2009
Our day began with an early wake up call for the 7 AM water committee meeting. The meeting started well after its scheduled time. We were
probably only needed for the first 30 minutes of the meeting. The rest of the time was spent arguing over community issues that had no bearing on the water project. These meetings stay organized for at most 45 minutes. We decided to head for the house at 9. (The meeting was still going strong)
TK came to the house around noon to take me on a motorcycle ride to some nearby villages. We were joined by his friend Percy. TK allowed me to drive his bike on all but a short section of the road from Boa Bakundu to Bombele. TK and Percy were both impressed with my riding skills. The roads are rough and require absolute focus to spot rocks, holes, and muddy areas in time to avoid them.
After arriving in Bombele, TK directed me to a bar where he bought Percy and me a beer. TK then drove us to a nearby bridge over the river
Meme. Meme is a fairly large river that can turn 
extremely dangerous during the rainy season. We also walked up a hill just past the bridge that led to the next village. It was another section of road that I can’t believe vehicles are able to navigate. On our way back to the house, we stopped at TK’s compound and I met his family. I think TK is my favorite Cameroonian thus far. He is a legitimate nice guy and our personalities match up very well.
Monday June 22, 2009
Pipe joining began in earnest this morning. We had a small crew numbering perhaps ten
including ourselves. We started at the catchment in some moderate rain showers. At the start, it took some time to develop a good system. This would also be the most difficult section to connect due to changes in elevation and using all 90 mm pipe. When we ran out of pipe glue, we had connected 86 pipes. After today, it was pretty obvious we didn’t need a plumber to help us connect pipes. Our only issue was with the way the pipes were laid out along the line. Mark talked to the water committee to have a quarter lay out the pipes correctly tomorrow in order to speed our progress.
The evening brought another torrential downpour, so I had some time to reflect. It’s nice to be away from TV, the internet, and videogames. Cameroon is just so relaxing. I may have said I was stressed or frustrated in earlier entries, but that’s only for a passing moment. The stresses of school and other priorities are gone. Tonight, I had nothing more pressing to do than to lie in bed and listen to the rain pound on the roof above me. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Our day began with an early wake up call for the 7 AM water committee meeting. The meeting started well after its scheduled time. We were
probably only needed for the first 30 minutes of the meeting. The rest of the time was spent arguing over community issues that had no bearing on the water project. These meetings stay organized for at most 45 minutes. We decided to head for the house at 9. (The meeting was still going strong)TK came to the house around noon to take me on a motorcycle ride to some nearby villages. We were joined by his friend Percy. TK allowed me to drive his bike on all but a short section of the road from Boa Bakundu to Bombele. TK and Percy were both impressed with my riding skills. The roads are rough and require absolute focus to spot rocks, holes, and muddy areas in time to avoid them.
After arriving in Bombele, TK directed me to a bar where he bought Percy and me a beer. TK then drove us to a nearby bridge over the river
Meme. Meme is a fairly large river that can turn 
extremely dangerous during the rainy season. We also walked up a hill just past the bridge that led to the next village. It was another section of road that I can’t believe vehicles are able to navigate. On our way back to the house, we stopped at TK’s compound and I met his family. I think TK is my favorite Cameroonian thus far. He is a legitimate nice guy and our personalities match up very well.Monday June 22, 2009
Pipe joining began in earnest this morning. We had a small crew numbering perhaps ten
including ourselves. We started at the catchment in some moderate rain showers. At the start, it took some time to develop a good system. This would also be the most difficult section to connect due to changes in elevation and using all 90 mm pipe. When we ran out of pipe glue, we had connected 86 pipes. After today, it was pretty obvious we didn’t need a plumber to help us connect pipes. Our only issue was with the way the pipes were laid out along the line. Mark talked to the water committee to have a quarter lay out the pipes correctly tomorrow in order to speed our progress.
The evening brought another torrential downpour, so I had some time to reflect. It’s nice to be away from TV, the internet, and videogames. Cameroon is just so relaxing. I may have said I was stressed or frustrated in earlier entries, but that’s only for a passing moment. The stresses of school and other priorities are gone. Tonight, I had nothing more pressing to do than to lie in bed and listen to the rain pound on the roof above me. It doesn’t get much better than that.
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