Photo Update: September begins

Snacking on sugar cane

Hawa with her new baby doll from Mom and Dad Speech.

Proof that yes, sometimes I do work.  This is at a community health worker meeting in Betara-Gongo.  If I remember right, everyone is laughing because I was introducing myself in Fulfulde.  It's kind of like a party trick when the "white lady" speaks Fulfulde.

Chief of the village of Betara-Gongo, a village within the area that Danfili's health center serves.  In small villages such as Danfili and Betara-Gongo, chiefs have quite a bit of power because there is not a strong government presence.  Our mayor is based in Ngaoundal and although he is mayor of the whole area, he rarely comes to the small villages.  To start projects, it is important to go to the chiefs to get their support before starting.

The COSA (community health workers), health center chiefs, men from Betara-Gongo, and I .  The president of the COSA is an Alhadji.  This technically means that he has been to Mecca, but also means that he has a lot of money.  At our meeting, he donated some cleaning materials to the Betara-Gongo health center.  It is expected that Alhadjis will share their wealth with their extended family and community.

My friend Fadi and I.  She is one of the most "forward thinking" women in village.  Although she was not able to finish school herself, she is very serious about all of her children's schooling.  She hopes that her oldest daughter goes to university and is hoping to go back to school herself.  Also, she's just a great friend!

Doudou and I!  I was able to visit Doudou and her family when I came down to Yaounde to plan training.  Wish her luck as she starts school in Yaounde this week!  

Doudou's brother, Abdoul, and I.  He is in university right now and is hoping to work for the embassy.  He also speaks English really well.

Sharifa and I.  She is also a member of Doudou's family and visited Danfili for a couple weeks.  It was a surprise to see her in Yaounde.  Although she's 8 years old, she has many responsibilities and already acts like an old lady!

After training prep in Yaounde, I went to visit Lara's post in the west.  It was great to meet all of her friends and her village, Baleng.  The west is very different from my region, the Adamawa.  The climate is much colder.  Almost everyone is a farmer and spends all day every day in their field.  It is also much more developed.  The group of people who dominates in the west are the Bamileke, who are known for their drive to make money.

The Museum of Civilizations in Dschang, also in the west region.  It displayed traditional art from all of the regions of Cameroon.  It was very interesting to have more explanation for things that we had seen in our villages.  The city of Dschang is fairly developed because it is a university town.