Experiences: UAC

Sherri Samson from Canada, along with her 2 friends Brian Curly and Kristy MacDonald, spent a month at UAC from Jan. 20th- Feb.19th 2005

When I decided to come to Cameroon for a month, I thought that seemed like a long enough stay. Now that the time has come to leave, I realize how short it really is and how amazing my month has been.

I arrived January 20th with two other Canadians, Kristy MacDonald and Brian Curley. We were both excited and nervous about what was in store. The nervousness soon faded as soon as we saw Mr. Orock and Joost (a Dutch volunteer) waiting to take us to Buea. Our first African experience was an interesting to say the least. Three hours worth of waiting in checkpoints along the way home while big army men with guns analyzed our passports and vaccination cards in an attempt to find something wrong. We soon learned that road checkpoints are a regular occurrence in Cameroon and we really had nothing to be worried about.

The next day I became settled into my room in the volunteer house. I was very impressed with the living arrangements and instantly felt at home. The food and hospitality we received from the Orock family also contributed to us feeling very comfortable in our new surroundings.

We met with Mr. Orock to discuss our goals and ideas for our short stay with U.A.C. My main goals were to gain knowledge into the way U.A.C and Jamandianle (the school) function, and to offer new ideas and help in anyway possible. Kristy and I had an idea to implement a pen-pal program between Canadian children and the older children at Jamandianle. I still think that this is an excellent idea that can be carried out by a future volunteer, but the connection we had at home did not pan out, so we were not able to go through with the program.

Work at Jamandianle:
For my first few days at the nursery school I simply became acquainted with the way things were run. I spent one day in the pre-nursery with Mme. Serah, and another in nursery 1 with Mme. Gladys. I then made the decision to work with the pre-nursery. In the mornings, I helped out with the lessons and taught some Canadian songs to the children. In the afternoons I took some of the slower children to the corner room. This worked well, although I began by taking four children, and this was too many to teach at a time. It worked much better taking one or two at a time.

After our first evaluation meeting, it was decided that the volunteers would be more beneficial working directly out of the corner room. This would provide the children with a chance to visit the corner room, as well as provide us with a set permanent placement. This idea worked extremely well right from the start. There would usually be two or three of the volunteers in the corner-room at a time with five or six children. The teachers would send work with the students and we would help teach them using the large number of facilities in the corner-room.

Kristy at school Because our stay was such a short one, it was decided that we would plan a Youth Music and Arts day for the children and parents of Jamandianle to be held on Feb. 11th. The outcome was a good one, a two hour long show complete with musical acts by both the students and community members, a small art presentation by the pre-nursery, a debate by some university students, and a song by us volunteers. The only real problem that arose with the program was the lack of students and teachers present. This was discussed at a meeting we held the next week, and it was decided that more communication was needed between the volunteers and the teachers. I agree with this strongly, and I hope the weekly meeting is implemented as planned. All in all the Music and Arts Day was a lot of fun for both the students and the volunteers.

Other experiences:
Aside from the work we did with U.A.C., we were also fortunate to have the chance to do some travelling and sightseeing while we were in Cameroon. Our first weekend we climbed Mt. Cameroon. Now that I am back in Buea, and no longer trudging 4095m up the mountain, I can say that it was an amazing experience. I think half way through however, I would have said otherwise. Nevertheless, the feeling of accomplishment when we reached the top was unlike anything that I’ve ever felt, not to mention the beautiful savanna and rainforest we saw as well.

We spent our next weekend in Mamfe, visiting Mr. Orock’s family. Our trip there was interesting, seven of us piled into the U.A.C. truck. The truck then broke down at 10pm, leaving us stranded basically ‘in the bush’ for two hours while Sam and Mr. Orock tried to fix it. Everything worked out and we carried on our way, another one of our unique Cameroonian experiences. On the way home from Mamfe we had the opportunity to visit Mr. Orock’s village as well as his mothers village. Seeing these small villages was the highlight of my trip to Mamfe, it was amazing to see how these people’s villages were so incredibly different than anything I’ve seen before.

Aside from our travels, meeting and spending time with the other volunteers and the new friends we made from Cameroon was another thing that made my time here wonderful. In my short time here I found that everyone got along so well and had such an amazing time together, whether we were having a meeting about U.A.C, or eating soya and drinking Castle at Small Buea.

Taking U.A.C home with me:
One thing that I truly believe is that although I am leaving U.A.C, and Cameroon, it is very important that I not forget my experience here, and do my best to work with the organization from Canada. When I return home, I plan to write an article for my local newspaper about U.A.C. I will also give a presentation to my old high school about the organization and life in Cameroon. I am very interested in the project that Sylvie, one of the Dutch volunteers, is planning. She is going to try to implement a sponsorship program for children here in Cameroon. I hope to Kristy, Brian and Sherri receive information from her, and U.A.C on the progress of this project, and how I can help from Canada.

In conclusion, my experiences here have been absolutely incredible. I have never felt so at home so quickly in such a different environment than my own. From what I have observed in this month, U.A.C is an exceptional organization that is improving by the week and I am so happy to now be a part of such a beneficial organization.