Since I found myself a new place to be, I have been like squirrel on a wheel. Maybe it is so to balance the first month, when nothing much happened. Maybe it is because I’ve been here for so long that things start to happen, the critical mass has been reached. This is also a reason, why blogging has been secondary. In the end it is not earning me any money or giving direct benefit to anyone, in comparison with the things I do in Cameroon. I also have two separate lives already, one is work related and another is personal. But by looking at the activities I wouldn’t say they are different, only in one case I am the decision maker.

To give a short overview what has happened for the last month or so in the organization…

…we went to Bamusso to train local councilmen on their jobs. Bamusso is near Nigeran border, in the middle of nowhere, a fisherman village for outsiders. Best way to get there is by speedboat. Being there, one shouldn’t leave the group, as there is higher risk for kidnapping. And the electricity comes from generators or solar panels. In a place like this there are no trained or schooled politicians. There are only locals, a fisherman, a shopkeeper, a bartender and every five years they elect 25 among different villages in the area to reign over the area. In the case of Bamusso, they didn’t even have an idea how to govern, what are their rights and what are their jobs. So during two days with trainers who specialize, we organized a training for them. There is no way to put it in short, just how happy they were in the end to start comprehend the road they should take.

…helped Organize Open Day Forum, a conference between private and civil society. To teach NGO-s how to contact, how to create partnerships, how to be a partner with for profit companys. A rather high caliber event, as we had a long list of important names that don’t tell me or you, dear reader, anything. Worth mentioning is probably Southwest Region Governor and list of mayors. With partnership between NGO-s who work locally the private firms can help them financially. Help fund a roof for a new school. Help bring fresh water to a village. It obviously goes both ways, in return the private firm keeps a good image and has happy workers.

…started Amas (Spanish volunteer) project in Tole, about hygiene, washing hands. Giving the basic instructions of wash hands before and after toilet, before and after eating. So people wouldn’t eat shit.

… and many more smaller things. Usually I try to help out where ever I am needed, but mainly my job is to document the process. To document for later reports, to showcase the projects online, to create content for funding platforms online.

But as myself, what I have been doing lately is…

…went to Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. It was mix of business and pleasure, as reason to go there was to create a website. There is a school, that has been founded through private money and is doing good, but for getting more visibility they want a website. So I went there with a local friend Al to take pictures for the website. Website is almost ready, by the beginning of next Al is giving the site finishing touches and it will be up. There will be a video about the process as soon the page is finished.

…went to Douala, to research and document what happens with abandoned cars and why are they left behind. It will be a mix of documentary and talk-show. A whole day of walking, filming and finding people who might know about the cars that are stranded on the side of the road.

 

… and so on and on and on.

So, what will happen next? I will probably spend the remaining 16 days running around like a crazy, to try to finish all the plans I have before I come back. That will mean probably limited content online, though not limited experience locally and will mean more content to bring back to work on later, if I ever get around to that.