DRIP - DRIP - DRIP: it’s enough to drive a person crazy!

Valerie and I had been in Cameroon for almost four months (arrived on the 17^th October 2011) trying to accomplish some tasks for the MNO Synod Companion Synod Program and for ourselves.

We first travelled as missionaries to Cameroon in 1999. I spent four years working in different positions that varied from primarily a Parish Pastor (one English speaking and four village congregations) to Electronic Technician and Radio Broadcaster.

Valerie worked as a newspaper editor for Sawtu Linjiila – created a brochure/pamphlet for HIV/Aids in four languages (VIH Sida) in French/English/Arabic/Fulfulde in collaboration with OS-EELC along with Dr.Rakotoarivelo Solofoniaina – and lastly being her husband’s best friend and helper.

Ngaoundéré is located to the north and is in the Adamaoua Plateau at an elevation of 3400 feet, which offers for pleasant temperatures in the morning and evening despite being situated 8 degrees north of the equator. When we arrived in 1999, the population was approximately 100,000, but it dramatically increased to a sprawling community of close to 200,000 by 2011.

The terrain has great variety, but the usually scene is rocky and rolling with evidence of ancient volcanic eruptions. The soil is red and highly flavoured with iron and bauxite, and nurtures a variety of vegetables, grain crops and fruit and is, in many cases, being used as an excellent base for making bricks, which in this area is almost exclusively used for constructing of modest homes. 

The Vina River is located south of Ngaoundéré, and flows continuously throughout the year unlike the rivers in northern Cameroon where the dry season depletes them entirely of water. The Vina River is the source of water for Ngaoundéré. The water is pumped and piped to most homes, but there are many homes where the turning of the tap offers disappointing results: the water is metered and monthly payments are requirements that many cannot afford. The alternative is to go with a container balanced on your head and find the closest available well.

A good three hour drive north of Ngaoundéré will bring you to Lake Lagdo where the Chinese had built a Hydro Dam which actually provides electricity for Northwestern Cameroon including Ngaoundéré. Damming and preserving water in northern Cameroon is a necessity because most rivers as I said previously are deleted to nothing or a mere trickle in the dry season.

As I also mentioned previously, piped water is just not an affordable commodity for many people, and the same can be said of the hydro generated electricity. It is not a rare sight to view a high rising high powered voltage line passing through and over a village where people live by lights arranged by other means than the unaffordable flow of electrons oscillating overhead.

“What is wrong with that ‘stupid’ tap – drip, drip, drip: 

it’s enough to drive a person crazy.”

These are my words and my complaint about a trivial dripping tap in our guest  house in Ngaoundéré Cameroon this year. The reason why I recall the dripping tap and my complaint is because it happened in contrast to visits I made with my wife Valerie and two Social Workers in respect to the Kids Helping Kids Program supported by the MNO Synod.

One of Val’s desires for her trip was to visiting all the children in their care-giving homes – to ensure that they are in fact recipients of the care provided. I followed Valerie and the social workers in all the visits over four weeks:  in fact I was the chauffer.

One night we were returning to our home late in the evening: I don’t enjoy driving here at any time but especially at night. It hasn’t rained since the end of October and rain won’t appear until April: this is the dry season. We suffer from the harmattan winds, which picks up Sahara Desert dust, creating a lingering haze in the sky. The darkness, the harmattan dust and the dust from the steady stream of motos (small motorcycles) going in both directions are the conditions in front of the home of our final visit of the day.

We are gagging in the dust as we cross over a treacherous wooden plank that acts as a bridge to cross a deep ditch which invites a steep incline through a grass fence into the mud-brick home of an elderly beyond retiring age lady. Through tragic circumstance she is the care provider for a young girl of eight years, who is presently not at home.

The elderly grandmother is overwhelmed to see us. She is seated outside of her small home in a bricked in enclosure of maybe one and a half square meters. Three rocks offer the platform for her cooking pot, which I am sure, holds the evening meal. The only light is from the flickering flame of the two burning branches under the pot. We gather and offer greetings in the shadowy confines of her home when the young eight year old emerges from the darkened gateway into the house. She enters from the path we described as difficult and dangerous with a two-gallon container of water balanced on her head – her outfit wet from the difficult climb.  The young girl is very happy to see us, and to think that we would consider her important enough to warrant a visit.

There will be no electric lamp to cast light or tap to turn for easy access of water as the electricity and water bill are not in this family budget. There is no doubt in our minds that this family warrants supplemental food, and we say our prayers and goodbyes with lingering thoughts of could we do more.

We are overjoyed over the cooperation we have received from the EELC Protestant Hospital and the work of two social workers who have made our program successful, namely Fanta Gaknoné and William Tabebot. The program consists of meeting with 65 children whose care providers have died while being patients in the hospital.

All 65 children whose ages range from 4-17 years are in the care of an extended family or a foster family. The social workers meet with all the children once a month and offer advice on hygiene, personal and spiritual care. Every second month the child receives a large bag containing ground nuts, rice, maize and/or beans, cooking oil and a new addition of powdered whole milk. The validity of the program requires home visits to ensure that proper care is being provided. Those children who do not have the means to attend school receive the necessary funds for tuition and books. There are also funds available for emergency health care. To meet our budget we need approximately $90.00 Cdn per child each year.

Expenses to date have been paid through the generosity of the members of the MNO Synod and others who believe in the value of offering nurturing care to those much less fortunate.

The fund (KIDS HELPING KIDS) is administered by the MNO Synod Companion Synod Program and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon.

If you would like to help – 

donations can be made through the MNO Synod:

MNO Synod

 201-3657 Roblin Boulevard

Winnipeg MB    R3R 0E2

204.889.3760

http://www.mnosynod.org/ 

We are weary after a long day of family visits.

The tap is still dripping but we don’t hear it.

VISITING the 'KIDS' and their Caregivers

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN CAMEROON  

        

“KIDS HELPING KIDS” 

EELC-HPN/ELCIC MNO-SYNOD ORPHAN PROGRAM

ACTIVITIES FOR JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2012

The year started on a good footing with the 70% recovery of Valerie’s neck after spending a Christmas and New Year full of good humor and blessings in many ways. It was just time to say bye to the year gone and to start the New Year in completely changed fashion. Our grand mother did not relent her efforts of making some cookies for the kids.  They also got sweets and Valerie also concluded with individual kids pictures for the picture chart. Mama Valerie also had her autograph book on which all the children were asked to write their names on. This was an exercise that took place for the very first time but the respond was very good as most of the kids anxiously wrote their following the sound for those could not write well.

      The month of January was also very charged and busy with the home-visit program. Despite the difficulties such as perturbations in health, uneasy access to some homes just to name a few, the KHK team made many trips to meet the kids in their various homes thanks to Thomas Zebazé who sacrificed much of his time after school to bring us to the narrow and rough terrains sometimes climbing to the top through stony paths. Nonetheless it was the most interesting part of the whole event and it is evident that all the families were extremely happy to receive us in their homes. Until today most parents still call around and thank the team for taking that initiative and expressing the Love of God to others. These visits continued and extended to the early days of February with all positive results. Only two of the kids were not visited but this will be done in the months ahead and we will love to have our Grandma and Grandpa back the next year. There were also meetings with the Director of the hospital, the coordinator of the Chaplains and Social Workers, and the Project and Programs Manager to make things better and to improve the KHK program.

       For the simple reason that Jack and Val had to get on the train on Sunday 5^th February, we agreed to have the February assembly on the first Saturday 4^th, just to give them more time to pack-up. The days before the meeting were also very busy with the buying, transporting and unloading the food items bought into the container. Making the packages was no easy task in the hot container especially when the sun came up before noon. We sweated in there but hung-on until we were done with the process.

Then came the day of our meeting, it was hard to say good-bye during a celebration and thinking of all the good times spent together within the last few months. This time not only the usual faces were around but other partners of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America also came to share in the same Love of God with these kids. A new song “Oh McDonald had a farm” was introduced to the kids, followed by the “Jingle bells” and Pr Jack giving us one of his “country music” songs. We also acknowledged the presence of Kelly, Lisa and the Pastor Catherine who also came from Canada to work with the young girls and women of the church. The cookies and fuleri local drink were made available for consumption on spot after which we all moved to the container for distributions of food items. This time the milk was put in small pails for better preservation at home. It was emphasized that the pails and the stronger bags come back before the next distribution. In addition *toothpaste and brushes, *New Testament Bibles with crocheted cross bookmarks (made with love by Val) were handed to each child for spiritual fortification which was very necessary in times like this. Finally, all the kids got good-bye sweets from Grandma before difficultly parting.   

*Special gifts from Pastor Jack’s past church, Holy Cross in Midland, Ontario.

A March Update from:   Tabebot William Besem,  Social Worker

                                       Protestant Hospital Ngaoundéré

OUR VISITS...

 

Thomas and his family

Football their favourite sport is played wherever

 dry season mud bricks for walls

 

 'Hello' Canada from Jerusalem

the power lines hang low...

Sewing for her family

 a unique fence out of car doors/parts

one of our mountain top hikes

 a satellite...

  'Thank You' Thomas for guiding us throughout

It was such a wonderful experience visiting all the children and their caregivers, some were in school but we had the opportunity to visit and talk with their 'folk'. The views were amazing from the mountain tops.

Wes Mandico is a Cameroonian singer

We THANK  Mr. William and Mme. Fanta for their dedication to this program and the children. Thank you again Thomas for your knowledge of where all the 'Kids' live - you are a wonderful young man. 

Always in our Prayers... in Christian Love,  Val & Jack

MEET THE 'KIDS'

October  2011

Tassa

 Oumarou

 Mireille

 Rachel

 Patrick

 Justin

 Roland

 Landry

 Yvette

 Meleine

 Osias

 Marie

 Frida

 Richard

 Patrice

 Esaie

 Benjamin

 Cyril Eloi

 Romario

 Bonaventure

  Jean-Vincent

 Jonathan

  Lucie

 Christiana

 Raissa 

 Jonas

 Richard

 Sandrine

Intia 

 Sydonnie

  Abbo

  Diodonné

Honorine

  Adou

  Gustav

 Genevieve

  Maxime

  Moise

  Anderson

  Crépin

  Alex

  Oscar

  Jean-Calvin

  William

  Abraham

  Vivian

   Marie Noelle

  Dieudonné

  Pascal

  Birgit

  Dixon

  Walter

 Alexi

  Alain

  Benjamin

  Clarisse

  Aline

Thomas

“KIDS HELPING KIDS” 
EELC-HPN/ELCIC MNO-SYNOD ORPHAN PROGRAM
 REPORT OF ACTIVITIES FOR DECEMBER 2011

JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE ALL THE WAY… was our song of the year taught by our Grandma Valerie which was used to introduce the Christmas Feast. There has always been a difference year after year and December 2011 was just so wonderful. Not only were the kids thrilled by the “Jingle Bells song” which they learnt and sang on spot but there was much to share with each other. The word of God, teaches us that Jesus was born to save mankind and His birth is as a result of God’s love to the world such that He sent His only son… After the kids have proven their knowledge of the Holy Scripture, we prayed and committed all in God’s hands.

           “Mama Cookies” as the kids called Valerie, had prepared some delicious ones (cookies) from rosins, Quaker oats, chocolate and bananas. There was also the local fulerie drink made by Mrs. Fanta who also made Doo nuts, popcorn and roasted groundnuts added to some biscuits packed in small plastic bags. Bracelets were a long awaited gift from the mother  (Val) of these little ones. There were of many colors; green, yellow, pink and purple and the kids were allowed to choose which color they loved best but the girls could get the pinks and purples while the boys could choose between the green and yellow. These bracelets carry the message JESUS VOUS AIME! GOD IS STRONG AND SO WILL I REMAIN STRONG! The Plastic bags and their contents were to be taken home for consumption with the rest of the family members while all the other food items and drink were to be consumed on the spot.  There Christmas Feast ended with a prayer and benediction from the Rev. Jack.

  We then moved to the container where the heavy food packages were prepared containing 4kg of rice, 3kg maize, 2kg raw groundnuts and 800g of powdered milk which was one of the items whose quantity was increased and will from then be permanent on the list of food items.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!  
Tabebot William Besem,  Health & Social Worker,          Protestant Hospital Ngaoundéré

Until   Next Time... Val

Jack