Kumbo

My second workshop was in Kumbo, up in the hills, 3 hours drive from Bamenda on terrible dusty roads. To get there we had to get a car from the “car park” on the outskirts of the City. There are areas set up for each destination and it’s like a taxi system; you have to take the next car going to your city. The cars are mostly 2 door Toyotas. They sell seats to Kumbo at 2,500 francs ($5) and when the car is full, they leave. Full means the driver plus 8 passengers – 3 in the front and 5 in the back. We had to buy 6 seats between two of us so that we could be reasonably. The country side is beautiful; but I didn’t get very many good shots, as we had to keep the windows rolled up to keep the dust out.

Fish and chips Cameroon style

I have tried many of the local dishes here; but most involve eating indistinguishable meat products with your fingers. We went to the best hotel in Bamenda on Saturday and had a buffet which was delicious. Afterward the chef came out to meet us and informed us that we had just eaton hedgehog!
So mostly I stick to fish and chips with a Tuborg.

The Rains

When it rains here it really comes down. It usually starts with hot sticky weather for 24 hours and then a sudden wind followed by a few drops and then a downpour that would soak you in a minute if you are cuaght in it. Yesterday at the workshop we were trapped in the lecture hall for an hour and no-ne would cross the courtyard where are lunch was waiting for us in the dining hall. For some reason the rains are always followed by power outages. We were without power here all day today.

Mud brick houses

The mudbrick houses built here are a lot more sophisticated than I had imagined. The bricks are shaped and baked in the sun and are about the size of our cinder blocks. After the walls are constructed they are covered with a skin of cement to protect from the elements and last for years

What a workshop!

What an incredible day. I am exhausted. After a week of logistics, meetings, and lunches with mayors I finally got led my first worshop here and remembered why I came back to Africa. On a sweaty day at the Presbyterian Church hall they started to trickle in at 8:30. By 10:30 I had 34 finance office from as far away as Wum, engaged in lively debate. These people are so great, so open, so eager to learn. They want to know everything we are doing and want to debate everything. I was on my feet for 8 hours, drank 3 litres of water and totally loved the day. I am back tomorrow, Saturday for another session and then I monday go 5 hours into to hill country to lead two days of workshops in Kumbo.

Shey Henry

As far as I can figure out, Shey Henry Ngani is the equivelent to the Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs for North West Cameroon. I met him briefly on my last trip and he has been advising me on my training sessions here. His office as part of the government complex on the top of the hill overlooking Bamenda is in an old German fort, built in 1902.

Meeting of the Mayors

The Mayors in Cameroon have much more power than Mayors in Canada. They are basically mayor and city manager rolled into one. Their councils meet once every three months and after the budget has passed, they have total authority within those guidelines. Getting them together has been difficult, as many of them have to travel 8 hours to get to Bamenda. Luckily the new Governor was being installed today, so they were all in town and we had our big meeting this afternoon with 22 of them. I made my presentation and with a few minor changes they accepted my recommendations on trainng. I will do two workshops - one this week and one next.