Valerie
and I had been in Cameroon for almost four months (arrived on the 17th
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.
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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.
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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
We are weary after a long day of family visits.
The tap is still dripping but we don’t hear it.
