A day in Cameroon
Algol
Hamish Tait, Robin Hastie & Jim Hepburn
Sun 14 Oct 2007 20:40
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It has been suggested that a description
of a "typical" day in Zidim might be appreciated, so here goes.
We're not quite sure about the locals,
but we've been told that the women get up at 3am to collect water. This probably
accounts for the noise that regularly disturbs our slumbers (see below). There
is a brief dawn at around 5.45 then it's daylight by 6.00 am. In the evening,
there's a brief twilight from around 6.00 to 6.15, but after that it's pitch
dark. We get electricity in the hospital compound betweem 5.30 & 9.30 pm.
The only other generators in the area are the Lamido's (the local chief) and the
local "M.P." How the locals cope in the dark is beyond us, but they're out in
the fields by 6 am. The women & children seem to do all the fetching &
carrying & everything's carried on the head. Even children as young as 3 can
be seen carrying pots of water from the wells. Well water is supposed to
be "potable", but is often contaminated.
School starts at 7.30 am, for those kids
whose parents are willing to send them. The school day lasts till 2.00pm with
two half hour breaks. During break time, Anne has spotted the local equivalent
of the Madras college chip van - local women selling beignets (doughnuts made
from haricot bean flour) to the kids. Some of the schools have basic latrines,
but forget about toilet paper - that's a quaint European idea! None of the
schools has a source of clean drinking water.
While the women toil in the fields or
with domestic chores, the men occupy themselves conducting "business", working
in the fields or just lying around in the shade of trees, perhaps playing cards.
The housing consists of small buildings set within walled compounds. These
buildings may be of mud, but occasionally one will be concrete (very
expensive!). There will be upwards of three huts in the compound serving as
living room, bedrooms, kitchen, etc. In some cases, the separate huts
are to accommodate the different wives - polygamy is the norm here!
There are no doorbells or knockers at the entrance, in fact there are usually no
doors, so one announces one's presence by clapping hands. The clothing here
varies from smart/elegant dresses for the women and boubous (smocks) for the men
to ragged dirty threadbare T-shirts and trousers for the less well off (the
majority). A lot of the women can be seen sporting football shirts representing
various European clubs! Ramadan finished on Friday 12th and we were told that
the local Lamido had bought new outfits for the fatherless children in the
village.
Our day kicks off with an "alarm call" at
5.15am precisely. This comes from a very loud bird in a tree beside the house.
It gives 3 or 4 calls then goes quiet again. At 5.25 precisely, it's just as if
you've pressed the snooze button on the alarm clock - the b****y bird starts up
again! By 5.45 it's time to get up anyway and head for a cold shower - we've
just about managed to stifle the initial gasp of shock. After breakfast (home
made bread & jam with fruit juice & coffee - no milk) Anne's working day
varies depending on what programme has been arranged with her "counterpart",
Godam Albert. He will arrive any time between 6.30 and 10 (things have improved
a bit since Anne had "words" with him about his timekeeping!) and they head off
to visit one of the 4 schools they're working with. The tasks are varied, but
last week was really interesting giving an insight into the attendance records
at the schools and the factors which prevent kids coming to school. In the
afternoon, usually Anne concentrates on domestic chores - cooking and cleaning.
This poses various challenges; we have a septic tank, so you can't use bleach to
clean the loo (we have been told, however, that if there's a problem with the
tank, you just throw a dead chicken into it and all will be well again!); we
have a fridge of sorts and a cooker with an oven, but that's the limit in terms
of mod cons. Fortunately, we have Thomas who does the washing for us (by hand)
and the ironing. He uses an old iron which is filled with charcoal and then
heated over a tin of burning petrol using an old ironing board top balanced
between two chairs! He does a really tremendous job. We heard he caused a bit of
a stir when he was spotted doing the washing stark naked - not a pretty sight!
Mind you, it does get really hot here between 10am and 4pm, so you can't really
blame him.
My day starts with a ward round in the
hospital at 7am, followed by a variety of tasks - surgery, consultations,
ultrasound or x-ray interpretation. Usually, the workload starts to diminish
around 1.00pm, allowing time for a lunch break, then it's more of the same. I
have also been having French lessons between 4&5pm and hope to move on to
Fulfulde in a few weeks.
Dinner time for us is between 6&7pm.
Usually we're pretty tired in the evenings and head for bed by around 9pm,
before lights out at 9.30. One drawback of electric light is that it attracts a
variety of UFOs. The bigger ones are kept out by the mosquito netting over the
door and windows, but smaller and very irritating flies find their way in. It's
a relief to get under the mosquito net. One might expect to look
forward to a good night's sleep, but it's usually disturbed by a variety of
noises. While the daytime here can be quiet and peaceful, the night's a
different story. The Hound of Baskervilles is alive and well and in pack form
here in Zidim. The barking and howling which kicks off around 3 am (see above)
guarantees a disturbed night. Then there are the donkeys which decide to take
over at about 4am. They sound as if they're in pain, but maybe they've just had
it with the dogs! After that there may be brief slumber before the alarm clock
bird kicks in.
Sorry this is so long, but hopefully it
gives some idea of life here in Zidim.
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