Sponsor an Orphan
The full update, for those interested, is that I am now project supervisor for an orphan sponsorship project based in a little town of Belo, in the middle of the north west region of Cameroon. The project is under an local outfit called Berudep, but is run sort of independently, with the main aim of the game being 100% of sponsors funds reaching their target orphan.
A little website I set up gives you the general outline and also a look at the orphans involved and their wonderful names.... Immaculate, Precious, Elvis, Godwill.... check it out for yourself:
So far my job has involved sorting out the numbers, that is the rather involved and complicated accounting system here, but also getting out and seeing how things are in the homes of some of these kids. There is a wide variety, from Stephen (see the previous post on jiggers), to Joy the little baby, to Immaculate who is twenty and learning to sew.
The traditional set up here is very rural, basically subsistence living, but in general surprisingly poor given the beautiful lush green landscape. Most people live in single room mud huts with a fire place in the middle of the room for cooking, with very basic beds, maybe even with a straw mattress. Having multiple wives is common in the local 'Kom' culture, as is inheriting houses (and wives (and children)) from deceased relatives.
It is the beginning of the rainy season here now, and this peaks around August but last almost half the year as far as I can tell. There is a good sealed road to town which carries on for some distance to the town of Fundong. All other roads are just dirt and so become very interesting when wet. Motorbikes seem to be a very practical way of getting around, but riding on the back of the motorbike taxis scares the living daylights out of me so once I get hold of a helmet I'll see how see how many motorcycle riding skills I've retained from my misspent youth.
(note: I will add some photos when I get a real internet connection)
A little website I set up gives you the general outline and also a look at the orphans involved and their wonderful names.... Immaculate, Precious, Elvis, Godwill.... check it out for yourself:
So far my job has involved sorting out the numbers, that is the rather involved and complicated accounting system here, but also getting out and seeing how things are in the homes of some of these kids. There is a wide variety, from Stephen (see the previous post on jiggers), to Joy the little baby, to Immaculate who is twenty and learning to sew.
The traditional set up here is very rural, basically subsistence living, but in general surprisingly poor given the beautiful lush green landscape. Most people live in single room mud huts with a fire place in the middle of the room for cooking, with very basic beds, maybe even with a straw mattress. Having multiple wives is common in the local 'Kom' culture, as is inheriting houses (and wives (and children)) from deceased relatives.
It is the beginning of the rainy season here now, and this peaks around August but last almost half the year as far as I can tell. There is a good sealed road to town which carries on for some distance to the town of Fundong. All other roads are just dirt and so become very interesting when wet. Motorbikes seem to be a very practical way of getting around, but riding on the back of the motorbike taxis scares the living daylights out of me so once I get hold of a helmet I'll see how see how many motorcycle riding skills I've retained from my misspent youth.
(note: I will add some photos when I get a real internet connection)
Comments