World Teacher’s Day

This past Monday we celebrated World Teacher’s Day. And, boy, do the teachers here deserve a little appreciation. They work with large classes of unruly students without many of the classroom luxuries we are accustomed to in the U.S. The teachers accordingly went all out for their celebration. They had clothes made out of a national fabric made purposefully for the holiday. (It had lots of numbers and letters covering it, interspersed with drawings of classrooms and school items with “International Teacher’s Day 2015” written sporadically across it, all on a background of bright yellow). The teachers canceled classes for the day so they could take full advantage of time to celebrate. They rented a dance hall in town and invited all the teachers and other community leaders. The event, like any typical event in Cameroon, involved a lot of food and drink. They served plantains and a local soup and giant pieces of antelope. You know the food is fresh when you find buckshot in your meat. Let me just say, my food was very fresh. I mean it’s not a party until you’ve pulled buckshot out of your mouth, right? That was just the start of my surprises that evening. After finishing the meal, I was called upon to give a speech to the assembly of people in the hall. “And now a speech from your Peace Corps!” rang through my ears as I looked up bewilderedly from the remnants of my meal. Had I known I was to give a speech, I probably would have planned at least an outline in my mind of what I intended to say, but I think I pulled it off pretty well given the circumstances. Following the speeches, the program called for dancing. Once again, I probably should have foreseen the events slightly better, but still managed foolishly to be caught off guard. “And now, to open the dance floor, three couples will be selected…” Guess who was picked to participate in one of those honored couples? Yup. I had to get up and dance alongside the headmaster on the wide-open floor while the room looked on. However, the sound system broke out halfway through the song and I was able to escape, and for that, I am truly thankful. All in all, in was a great celebration and I am glad the teachers get some credit at least one day a year because they certainly deserve it! Happy Teacher’s Day!

Nzimbeng Water Project

We officially began the water project in Nzimbeng this week! The same engineer who volunteered to help in Akid has agreed to continue his service in Nzimbeng. He came out for the weekend to begin our plans for the system.

This village is the most remote in the entire clan. To get there we had to take a motorcycle to a certain spot inside the forest, and from there we had to trek. We crossed several streams and rivers, some of which we crossed by using bamboo bridges, and some of which we had to wade through. There was also a lot of mud involved. By the time we reached the actual village we were tired, dirty, and very thankful to be welcomed with a meal.

With the help of several villagers and their eager children, we began to plot out the path the system will take. This involved hiking into the jungle to look at different streams to determine a water source. We have identified two streams that would serve as good sources. One contains purer water and would be a more ideal source, but it is smaller and might dry up during the dry season. The second is larger and will flow in every season, but is slightly farther away. The best news that the engineer gave us is the fact that by using either of these streams, we will not have to use a pump. Gravity will power the system, which is much better for the sustainability of the project. After identifying these sources, we tracked out the pipeline through the village and calculated the necessary pressure needed for the system through a series of measurements involving a hose full of water, a measuring tape, and many people. We also marked where the tank and filter will stand and where the spigots will be located.

Ultimately, the water will be collected from the source river and then flow, through gravity, down to a filtration tank and storage tank. From there, it will go to four separate spigots within the village (one at the school, and one in each of the three neighborhoods). I am very excited to finally start this project, and I know the village is also incredibly happy to begin the process that will bring them water.