From My Sister-in-Law, Amanda, while she volunteers in Cameroon:
Hello everyone...how is it? Things here have been very busy, a bit sad, and lots of work! We have had many volunteers leave since the last time I wrote, including the french boys who were quite funny and charming, my dear friend Andy from Scotland who is the reason I came back to Belo, Sian and Louise with RUDEC, and today Richard, our current orphan supervisor of one year. I am tired of goodbyes at this point, but I think it must be even harder on our kids, especially with Richard leaving as they all know him so well.
Currently it is Easter break here which goes on for 2 weeks...so they say. I noticed last week at my school that break came early as the teachers did little teaching, claiming they had to get report cards ready before the break. I continued to teach until last Thursday, and have been working on other things now that school is not a working option. I have been helping more with the orphan project, as well as spending my mornings with the proprietor of my school reviewing ASL words, and helping out an older boy named Ezekial who is deaf with his school work. Ezekial taught me sign language my first time here, so now I am repaying him by helping with his school work. I am also taking it some what easy and not pushing myself like before as I have become sick yet again, this time from the new volunteer Anita. Luckily it is just a simple cold, but this is my 3rd time in 6 weeks so I figure I better take better care of myself!
Yes, I am 6 weeks in, and I find it very sad that on May 11 I will have to leave this place. I have so much work I want to do here, and so many ideas for the future. I have toyed with the idea of coming back next year, but I am not at all sure I want to come back to this place. The changes I see here are both good and bad, so it may be time for a fresh start. I am going to talk with the director of BERUDEP though, Simon, about advertising for someone to continue my work here with the deaf children, someone who is better trained than me at ASL. I hope he will like my ideas and proposals, and I will let you know what he says after my presentation.
For those of you who donated funds and other things to the program, I want to let you know that the eye glasses and cell phones you gave me arrived over the weekend and everyone is very excited. Issac is here today in Belo and I will give him the glasses and take a picture as well for you all to see. The phones will have to be taken to Bamenda to get decoded before selling, so I will have to let you know how this goes when I have them all ready for selling. The funds that have been donated are not going as quick as I thought as I am being very careful in what I give to. I have donated some small funds to the eye program to start so that Issac can purchase important medications. I have asked him to let me know how quickly he dispenses medications so that I have an idea how far the money I have given will go for this so that I may leave more for him before I return home. I have also donated more funds to the after school program to take care of some construction issues, such as painting and building a fence. I have some money now that I will be donating to pay a care taker salary of 3 months for a young man in Fundong that has polio and was recently attacked by a pig. It is a project of Andy's that he plans to make long term. The mans name is Sylvanus and he cannot use his legs, and is often found just sitting alone in his own filth as he repeatedly soils himself. I have not met him, but Andy believes in helping him and has even located a long term donor for this project. A local person will be hired for the job thus creating work. I will donate some funds to the Blind Center here in Belo for a new roof. They are a great group of people who have come together to form their own community center where they teach each other Braile, as well as practical working skills. They make many handicrafts as well there, which they in turn sell to fund their center. I have also used some small funds to have a bookshelf made for volunteer accommodation as well as some shelves for one of the kitchens.
Hmmm, what else to tell you....I moved houses last week and am feeling much happier now that I am no longer living with toxic Amie who treated poor Zita like a personal slave. Zita too is much lighter in spirit and has been experimenting with all sorts of new and delicious recipes! I also have a new roomie, Anita, who is from Germany. She will be taking over Richards position as the new orphan supervisor. She is very detailed and I think she is going to do great things for the project!
I believe the funniest thing that has happened to me recently was yesterday when I carried water with Zita from the stream. Belo has been without water since last Friday when a water mane was broken. Anita and I were lucky in that our tap finished later than everyone else's, but because of this we had dozens of people using it beginning Sunday until it finished Monday. Well, we all need water here pretty frequently as the dust and sun make us very dirty, and dust causes jiggers which none of us want, so I broke down and offered to help Zita carry water. She was shocked, as were other Cameroonians because apparently we white people are pretty lazy. Luckily Anita had about 12 1.5 liter bottles and had the idea that we use my trekking backpack to put all the bottles in when they were filled. So, I trekked a 1/2 mile down this steep mountain to the stream where Zita and I were stared at by a 1/2 dozen kids as we filled the bottles, and a big bucket Zita brought. Walking up the steep mountain was hard, and I almost toppled over a couple of times, but we made it. Zita said, "Oh Amanda you are so strong".... yadda yadda. She does not understand that white people can do manual labor too! I was thinking when we finished that we had carried much water, enough to last for days....wrong! I am now praying water comes back by today so I do not have to carry water again tomorrow!
One last thing for all the women reading this letter...there is a song here, a really catchy, bouncy song that goes, "God made man, man made woman, woman made Satan, Satan ruined the world." I am currently trying to get it banned!
Thank you all again for all of your support and remember to keep the e-mails coming! If someone could please send this on to Tracy Braucle that would be wonderful!
Love,
Amanda
