Here is an account of our trip to Cameroon - yes, we already know that we will return. I am a Family and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and a member of the Friends of WEH Board of Directors. Friends of WEH supports a Cameroonian-based NGO, Women, Environment and Health (WEH). WEH has a collaborative agreement with Linfield College-Department of Nursing that facilitates a senior nursing class coming to Cameroon for a service-oriented class doing health assessments with HIV/AIDS orphans and disadvantaged women who are assigned to WEH. My role was to a) provide medical care to those people who were identified by the nursing students via their nursing assessments, b) serve as a mentor and preceptor for the students, and c) to provide health education and services coordination. My husband Joe was our photographer, and his photos together with photos taken by the students and Pastor Carol Hosler are included in this narrative. Carol, Joe and I lived with the WEH Director, Ruth Titi-Manyaka and her husband Raphael in their home for the six weeks that we were in Cameroon, and we were included in their family life for that time (see Chez Titi). Our trip is described and illustrated in this blog.
December 23, 2008 - When we went to bed last night, Joe and I thought we were well packed and ready to leave home in Show Low by 9 am. We woke up to more snow and unsafe highway conditions, and we also discovered there were still a lot of unfinished details that we couldn't leave undone. We drove away from home about 1 pm - with our bills paid till February when we'll be home again, the car filled with Christmas packages and Christmas dinner fixings, clothing to wear till late Christmas afternoon, fresh clothes for traveling, and our bags filled with clothing, personal supplies, and medical supplies for 6 weeks in Cameroon. We arrived at Peggi's house in Apache Junction by late afternoon - very excited about Christmas and temporarily not thinking about the adventure ahead. It was new for us to stay at Danielle's home - she's been with us so often, and now she's grown up with her own home and providing a warm welcome for her grandparents who came to stay the night.December 24, 2008 - Christmas Eve dawned early, and soon we smelled coffee and breakfast was on the way. The day was filled with last-minute errands and preparations. Christmas Eve night we did the things our family always does on this night: big steamy bowls of posole, laughing and story-telling, wrapping the last presents and getting out surprises from their secret hiding places. We gathered while Rob read The Night Before Christmas, we filled each others' stockings and then we each took our own and crept off to bed to try to sleep. In the dark Joe and I whispered about the Christchild's birth as we looked out at the stars in the cold desert night. As we drifted off to sleep, we felt His peaceful presence and we knew that all was well.
December 25 2008 - Christmas morning! No peeking! so we carried our stockings in where the family was gathering, and opened them to cries of delight and surprise. Then breakfast: again, what we've always had. Scrambled eggs and green chile, sausage, festive breads, and of course coffee. Then the tree! Months ago Joe and I agreed together that our trip to Cameroon was the only gift we wanted, and we reaffirmed that this was a good choice. It was fun to see the paper come off the packages as Danielle, Peg and Rob opened theirs. Before long Carol and Sam arrived to share the day and our Christmas feast which was extraordinary. Early evening saw us in the car heading for a hotel near the airport where we re-packed and reweighed our bags, and then went to bed. Our heads hardly touched the pillow when the phone rang - Rhonda, our wonderful house/pet sitter was calling for advise about handling a flood in the back of our house! Fortunately she'd called the Fire Department who determined that the flood was due to a very heavy rain that melted the snow, and the exterior drains couldn't keep up - the plumbing was not endangered. More phone calls, and ultimately Rhonda found a service to clean it up and dry it out. Back to bed, but not much sleep.
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| Joe, Barbara, Carol |
December 27, 2008 - Arrived in Brussels at about 0900, total darkness - we'd forgotten how long the days are in the more northern latitudes. Looking over the wing, the pre-dawn was deep red and incredibly beautiful. As we changed from Continental to Brussels Airlines, we speculated whether all our luggage would arrive with us in Douala that night. In this airport we stretched again, found cold drinks, poked around the shops - and it was time to leave. In the waiting area Carol met Micah, who took to her big time! She has her first young African friend!
Six hours and we'd be there! at last! We all slept most of that last leg, waking up for the delicious snacks and meals - Brussels Airlines made us very comfortable and we enjoyed the continental cuisine a la airline kitchen. It was fascinating to see Europe and Africa below us - the Alps and Pyrenees, the Mediterranean Sea, the endless Sahara with its famous sand dunes, and suddenly out of the mists there was Mt. Cameroon! and within minutes we landed.
At the airport we passed through various checkpoints showing our health cards and passports, and suddenly, there was Ruth! She and Carol hugged and jumped and laughed! Their 43-year friendship is strong and well - this will be a glorious visit for both of them.
Ruth and our driver, Paul, were magnificent in getting all of our heavy check-in bags and the 3 carry-ons that we had to check in Brussels - virtually no hitches and by someone's slight-of-hand we were through customs without opening anything at a all. The crowds and the press of hopefuls wanting to carry our bags for a tip, all loud and speaking French, were a little intimidating. Ruth and Paul hustled us to the car and we were on our way to our home in Douala. There we were welcomed ever-so warmly by Ruth and Raphael and their house staff. We had a fine introduction to Chef Robert's skills - we loved the shrimp platter that was waiting for our supper. We fell into bed, very, very tired and happy, and Ruth and Raphael went out to a late party - they had correctly determined that we'd not be interested in joining them for a long night of festivities.
December 28, 2008 - Not being accustomed to Cameroon time which is 8 hours later than in Arizona, we woke with some difficulty - coffee was welcome! We attended church (see Eglise Evangelique du Cameroon) with Ruth and Raphael - this was the perfect beginning for our time here. Then home for a delicious meal with a salad course followed by steak and frites, fried plantain, collards, rice, and fresh tropical fruits for dessert. It will take some adapting to feel at ease with being served at each and every meal - Eloi quietly and graciously holds each dish and helps each person to serve him/herself, keeps water glasses filled, clears each course for the next one, etc. I want to say, "Thanks, but I'll serve myself," but clearly that would not be right thing to do, and it is delightful to be served.
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| The Road to Mangamba |
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| Chez Titi in Mangamba |
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| Eglise du Cameroon - Mangamba |
On the hill across the street is the Eglise Evangelistique du Cameroon which was first built by German missionaries in the mid-1800s and was in regular use until the 1950s when it fell into disrepair. Ruth and Raphael had it restored as a gift to the Mangamba community in thanks to God for having blessed their lives so richly. We met with the pastor who showed us through the church; I felt a strong and holy presence, and knew that I was in a favored place.
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| Interior of Eglise du Cameroon - Mangamba |
As we entered the city, the traffic increased till it was dense with heavily loaded big trucks, over-loaded buses of small, medium, and large sizes, cars, little motorcycles carrying 1-4 passengers, heavily loaded push carts, and pedestrians - all going generally in a forward direction but twisting and turning and honking and stopping and turning unpredictably - oh my gosh! Our driver was masterful and we made it home without incident, but we've vowed never to drive ourselves anywhere in Douala.
December 29, 2008 - Today Ruth arranged a visit to Edea where she and Raphael and their 4 children (now all are grown) lived for many years when he was the Alucam Plant Manager.
As guests of their friend Jean Francois, a hotel owner, we were treated to a delightful lunch of a delectable local fish, cheese made in Cameroon, fresh seasonal fruits, and artfully prepared and presented vegetables, salad and dessert, and plenty of good French wines. We enjoyed this repast in a pretty gazebo on the grounds of a gracious French hotel that is situated by a large river with beautiful old trees along the grassy banks. We were intrigued with the large orange-collared lizards that we saw everywhere - Ruth dislikes them as much as we were entertained with these unexpected lunch guests. It was a pleasant surprise to find Raphael there having a lunch meeting with most of the traditional chiefs from this region of Cameroon - they were colorful and dignified in their regalia including necklaces, homespun, special head gear, canes and standards, etc., and they were all warmly gracious when we were introduced.Then we drove several kilometers on a very good dirt road near the river, past villages and rubber tree, banana and palm oil plantations, to visit the Catholic mission at Marionberg, situated in a large clearing on the river's edge. Founded in 1891, the first church building deteriorated and it was relocated to its current site about 50 years ago, and the priest lives in the original quarters where the office and storage are situated. We were moved as we heard about their hardships with work and disease while we visited the former priests' graves, we touched the first and interim baptismal records in the large musty-smelling church record book, and listened to a young priest tell us about the mission's history and current school and health center.
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| The Catholic Church in Marionberg |
Home again - it is impossible to describe the evening traffic, human and motorized, along the roadway between Douala and Edea. Our driver was again incredibly skillful- we have vowed never to try to drive in Douala! the car has a good horn which he uses liberally, and in a wink we were home for a delicious spicy soup followed by baked fish and fried plantain - yum!
December 30, 2008. We enjoyed laying low - no plans, no outings, nothing going on, perfect! Beginning to get our biological clocks set forward and living on Cameroon time. Joe has Skype up and running, and we called Rhonda to check how the flood recovery is coming - happily she said that its going very well, everything is pretty dry now, and the company will probably remove the fans tomorrow. Before we left home Joe and Levi set up my laptop for the trip's e-mails, setting up and maintaining a blog, etc. When we arrived we found that I could receive e-mails but not send any from my customary account, so Joe spent time setting up a new one for me - now for this technologically-challenged self to learn to use it! Carol showed me how to start the blog that I'd told several folks I hoped to create - I can write narrative but not a clue how to insert pictures yet - that will come. More excellent food - amazing. Ruth and Raphael keep a very gracious household who are taking such beautiful care of us - it will be awfully hard to give up all these comforts. I'm appreciating the early mornings particularly - to read, meditate, to think.
Since Joe has figured out Skype and our sickly e-mail connection, we've been trying to communicate with our world - not as simple as we'd thought it would be when we left Arizona, but alive and well. Since we've talked with Rhonda we're comforted with the knowledge that she has been resourcefully masterful in handling the details related to the flooded back rooms in our house - we really don't have words or adequate thanks for her efforts. We'll look for a way to express our gratitude that she was there, able and willing to literally bail out our house and deal with the aftermath.
December 31, 2008 - New Year's Eve!
We're invited to a party! Ruth had her hairdresser/nails expert/masseuse Sarah "do" her for tonight's New Year's Eve celebrations, so Carol and I had our nails done, too - what treat! Then we curled our hair, did make-up, dressed in our finest, and went to church to say good by to 2008 and to welcome 2009.Ruth and Raphael invited us to join them for the party, but when midnite came, reality had set in and we realized that we're not kids any more, we don't want to stay awake till dawn, and we'd be very poor guests. When the service was over, Joe, Carol and I agreed that we were right - we weren't up for a party that began after midnight and would go on till the wee hours. At home we shared a bottle of wine and reminisced before turning in. Bonne Annee! Happy New Year!
For photos and video with music of the church on New Years Eve, please go to the entry entitled Eglise du Cameroon at NP in Cameroon.blogspot.com. It was interesting and very, very moving (and also very, very hot) to be within the white interior of this large old high-ceilinged church filled with happy people. Long prayers in French and choirs singing in French, Abo and Congolese, holding hands and swinging them with increasing fervor and the clock ticked - amazing and wonderful to be a part of this, but we were indeed tired when it ended. Raphael explained that wearing white and attending church services is traditional on New Year's Eve.
January 1, 2009 - Bonne Annee! Happy New Year! is on everyone's lips - handshaking, kissing cheeks, good wishes, and lots of hugging and laughter. New Years is a big holiday here.
We enjoyed a very festive holiday dinner with both French and African foods. At Ruth's request, Chef Robert allowed me into his kitchen and I stuffed and roasted a big turkey - what a feast we had! Fois gras, smoked salmon, baked fish, fried plantains, the bird, spicy vegetable soup, couscous with vegetables, chicken and lamb, and lots of good crusty bread - oh! my gosh! and a Bouche de Noel for dessert - groan.
Their friends are lovely and it was a pleasure to listen to conversation in French and to catch little phrases here and there. We spent the late afternoon lounging quietly in front of the TV, and lamented the horrors on the Gaza strip as depicted by the world news reports on International CNN. I'm embarrassed that I am not more aware of world affairs - our hosts shame us with their interest and understandings about the world's economics and politics, particularly matters in the United States. Obama is on everyone's lips and he is the hope of the African continent.
January 2, 2009 -
We had had dinner today with Ruth and Raphael's friends, Marcelline and Marcel Ngom, who chose this occasion to honor Raphael's retirement and their very long friendship that began when Marcelline was Ruth's high school student. Marcelline prepared several traditional African dishes from ingredients that I know I'll never find in Arizona - giant frog, pangolin, boiled plantain, corn and greens soup with sugar cubes, duck stew, stewed fish, fried plantain, couscous, an array of fine French wines and cognac, fresh peanuts and Cameroon dark chocolate, butter cookies - oh my gosh! - Marcelline is a very, very good cook! We toasted Raphael's retirement as the General Manager of Alucam - he plans to spend much of his time running his palm oil plantation near Mangamba, he has new responsibilities in their church that will keep him occupied.
Dr. Ngom trained in family medicine, then pediatrics, and now neonatology. We discussed preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
After dinner Ruth napped while the rest of us enjoyed cognac, coffee and chocolates made from cocoa beans grown nearby and processed by a Douala-based chocolatier. One can only marvel at their still-under-construction 4-story house perched on a steep hill, approached by deeply and dangerously rutted unpaved roads in a neighborhood of similar large houses - Raphael explained that in Douala land has become so expensive that many people are building in such neighborhoods despite the difficult access that the streets present.
Again, hats off to our driver for getting us there and home again without incident. This is a benefit that will vanish very soon - now that Raphael is retired he will not continue to have this perk from Alucam. The Linfield group (15 senior nursing students, 2 faculty, 1 administrator) start their journey today, flying from Portland to Paris to Douala. Remembering how tired we were a week ago, we'll do all we can to make them comfortable when they arrive - its exciting to know that soon we'll be in the villages seeing patients - our mission is about to begin!
The Linfield group (15 senior nursing students, 2 faculty, 1 administrator) start their journey today, flying from Portland to Paris to Douala. Remembering how tired we were a week ago, we'll do all we can to make them comfortable when they arrive - its exciting to know that soon we'll be in the villages seeing patients - our mission is about to begin!
January 3, 2009 - Linfield is here! all 18 of them, looking as tired as I'd imagined they would be after their long, long journey without much sleep, but they're glad to be here and eager to get started. We expect to fill the next 24 hours with planning and working out a host of logistical details, and beginning to get to know each other. They'll live at the guest quarters at La Quintine Hospital in Douala, and they'll have all their meals here at Chez Titi enjoying Chef Robert's creations. They have arrived with large suitcases full of medications and medical supplies - it will be quite a project to get all this unpacked and organized - I can't wait to get into it!
Based on the past few days' sessions with HIV/AIDS workers from the government's programs plus our new knowledge that we won't be able to buy tests and do HIV testing ourselves, Ruth and I were prepared with a recommendation that the students use a good portion of the money they're raised to pay for HIV testing in a few villages. But the students had focused their study on malaria prevention and arrived with an expectation that the money they had raised would only be used for malaria-related matters and for medical care for patients who could not pay for it.Joe's been out to inspect the gardens and has some ideas as to what may help to rid some trees of insects and fungus. Carol's blog keeps her busy - she's incorporating all the details of our days, photos and music, too - she's keeping a very complete record that we'll all treasure.
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