Farewell Cameroon

I am sad to be leaving; but, at the same time,happy to be going home. I love the people of the North West - they are so friendly, generous and appreciative. They welcomed me into their lives and took care of me. I somehow feel complete, appreciated and able to be myself around them. Here is a typical picture taken out of the bus window on the trip back to the coast. Farewell to all the friends I made - We are together.

On the buses

The bus system in Cameroon is based on maximising the passenger load. While there is a limit to the number of passengers they will take on the long distance routes, the bus will not leave until it is full. I took a luxury bus for the six hour trip from Bamenda to Douala. Luxury means they limit the passengers to one per seat, no livestock in the passenger compartment and the driver will stop if you want to go pee by the side of the road.

Tax collecting in Cameroon

Collecting taxes and licences from Taxis and motorcycles in Bamenda and ensuring that they are properly licenced can be difficult. The revenue collectors use this method which is translated from the French as “the instrument” to encourage cars and motos to stop at the check points. One of the rules they are trying to enforce is limiting motos to one passenger – I have seen as many as four plus the driver on one bike.

Kids will be kids

The further you get away from the City, the more natural and fun loving the kids seem to be. They love to have their pictures taken and ham it up for the camera. I watched this boy for about ten minutes on the main street of Bandalang, just relaxing and watching life go by.

Bush meat

You have to be careful what you are eating in Cameroon. They have a habit of putting whatever meat they can find in their stews – they call it bush meat and in could be squirrel, rat, rabbit or whatever they happen to catch. These boys were selling something thay had dried which could have been a large rat. I didn’t buy it.

Visiting my foster child

For all of those of you who have foster children in the developing world, I am sending a huge “thank you” from all the villages you support. Today, I visited my foster child, Anatou, in Bambalang, 90 minutes from Bamenda. It was one of the most amazing and moving experiences of my live. Plan has been operating in the community since 1996 and build schools, wells, a bank, organized training programs and given the village pride. I was the first foster-parent in all those years, who had come to visit their sponsored child. The whole village turned out at a reception ceremony at the Fon’s Palace to say “thank you” to me and to you. Four groups of schoolchildren sang songs written in my honour, several people made speeches and presented me with copies, I was presented with a traditional costume and invited to dance with the traditional dancers. After a tour of Plan projects, there was a huge feast for 200 people at Anatou’s family compound with more speeches, singing and dancing. Anatou herself, the little princess, was a little overwhelmed at being the symbol of her village’s good fortune; but handled it perfectly. I felt so privileged to represent all the foster parents from Canada and around the word and to receive the appreciation of the people of Bamdalang on your behalf.

Carrying stuff

What people carry here on their heads or on their shoulders is incredible. This big guy was carrying half a tree. I took his picture as he walked towards me, and as he drew level with me he put it down and started to talked to me in pidgin. He was part of a work party from the local prison and a couple of minutes later the guard came along with a gun over his shoulder, chatted with me and then they disappeared up the road with the tree trunk.