FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD – NEAR TO OUR HEARTS.

Weary of the urban hustle & bustle, the va…va…vroom of the yellow taxis &  ‘made in China’ motor bikes of Yaoundé  we loaded our ancient four-wheeler to ressource our souls and spirits in the family village – 300kms & a heartbeat away.

We also have a very special & sober mission before us.

Clothes, shoes, hand-me-downs, medicines, soap, flour, sugar, spice, rice & all things nice for the family… off we set at 04:00hrs, way before the morning rush hour.

An hour later we are in Cameroon’s vast forest country – fast forward 4 hours and a surprised village rises to greet us.

The village in the south-east, comprises 2 hamlets – each home to 50-60 family members, is of an unchanging bucolic beauty – no electricity, no ‘phone connection, schooling only for kids from 5 to 12 years, no health clinic, church or transport…

The latter essential facilities are at least 25 kms away and  college education necessitates finding a famille d’acceuil who will accept the student in return for food from the village shamba.

The land is fertile and for 9 months of the year provides a plenitude of plantain, manioc, soja, and tropical fruit; the poulets bicyclettes (free-range) are the principle source of protein, together with fish from the nearby river.

Disease is fairly rare, however childbirth mortality, snakebites & accidents are ever-present.

OUR MISSION

Awate, a 36 year old lumberjack was himself felled recently by a tree, leaving his 29 year old widow, Fosie with 6 small children and no income.

Despite the solidarity of the village Fosie is desperate, to the point of putting up her 2 youngest for adoption, hoping to give them a better life. An irrevocably heart-breaking solution.

After a long palava with Fosie & the village elders it was agreed to provide basic material support for Fosie, who is between a rock and a hard place, yet refuses charity. She, with her baby spent a week with us in Yaoundé for medical check-ups, lots of tlc (tender, loving care) and talk…

Personally, I confess to being tormented by the very thought of her losing her kiddies.

TOWN & COUNTRY UBUNTU

The umbilical cord between the townies and villagers provides a unique moral & material strength. The village remains the family anchor to which the town-folk return, laden with necessities, for all major occasions of joy & grief – births, weddings, illness, & funerals, rest & recuperation, returning refreshed and equally laden with the fruits of the earth.

Life is a struggle for most folk in Africa – the mutual bonds and love make a hard life bearable.

WE ARE HUMAN THRU THE HUMANITY OF OTHER HUMANS.