A weekend break
Algol
Hamish Tait, Robin Hastie & Jim Hepburn
Sun 30 Sep 2007 17:00
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Just back from a weekend break in Maroua.
A good chance to relax & stock up on some provisions. We left Zidim by
"moto" riding pillion along a very rough dirt track. After about an hour, we
joined the main road at a village called Gazawa. There we paid for our seats on
the bus to Maroua and sat under the shade of a tree to wait for departure; buses
don't leave till they're full, however long it takes! Then an ancient Renault
drew up with three female passengers in the back. Anne & I were directed
into the front passenger seat (yes, both of us!) so avoiding what could have
been a long wait for the bus. After a bit, the car stopped and several large
boxes were packed into the boot. Then the owner of the boxes was squeezed
into the back seat. After a few miles, progress came to a gentle halt as the
engine seemed to give up and there we were stuck at the roadside. The bus we
should have got appeared shortly after and our driver went off in it leaving us
stranded. Fortunately he reappered after half an hour or so with a litre bottle
of petrol which was poured into the tank. Attempts to get the engine going were
frustrated by a jammed starter motor. Up to this point, all chat between the
driver & the other passengers had been conducted in Fulfulde, but at this
point he said a very clear "merde" which caused much hilarity. Eventually he got
the engine going and we got to Maroua without further incident. We got a great
room at the Baptist Mission, then headed for the nearest bar for a beer - the
first in two weeks! In Maroua, we had the chance to pick up some provisions
(although limited by what we would be able to transport on motos), visit the
craft market (where my attempt a bargaining proved disastrous!), to
visit the VSO office where Anne was able to pick up some material for her work
with the schools. We finished the day with a meal at the most expensive
restaurant in town: cost us just under £15 for both of us to have a three course
meal plus drinks! Prices are very low here, reflecting the very poor wages. A
baguette style loaf is 10p, 2 bags of lemons cost 10p, a kilo of best beef (and
it really is good) £1.25, a whole chicken (including extermination, plucking and
cooking) £2.80. In the hospital, a consultation costs 60p for an adult and 35p
for a child. Our stay in Maroua for an air conditioned en suite room cost £9.50
for one night.
Our return journey was uneventful; we got
a "taxi" in Maroua for Gazawa, but once the price was agreed (£4 for sole use of
the car) the driver went off to pray. That raised our anxiety levels until we
realised he is a Muslim & it is Ramadan. When we got to Gazawa, he tried to
persuade us to hire him again to drive us to Zidim, but he wouldn't come down to
our best price and we weren't convinced his car would manage the road given the
state it's in. We managed to get a couple of motos to take us back to Zidim
without incident.
Back at the hospital I learned from
Sylvia that a newly born baby was admitted yesterday with tetanus. The baby had
been born at home and the cord tied using a fibrous strand obtained from millet
(the main local crop). Cutting the cord would not have involved anything
resembling hygiene. By one of those strange coincidences, I am reading a book
called the "Illustrious Exile" by Andrew Lindsay (a name which will mean
something to St Andreans), a novel depicting events if Robert Burns had gone to
the West Indies in 1786. In it, he recounts that new born children "sometimes
succumb to the locked jaw, which is invariably fatal": a footnote gives further
information "Neonatal tetanus, probably caused by the use of a non-sterile
implement to cut the umbilical cord." More than two hundred years later, here in
Africa this easily prevented condition is still an issue. This makes me wonder
if we have the priorities right; couldn't simple basic health education and
simple preventative measures like immunistation dramatically change the quality
of life?
Enough of such serious thoughts! We
understand the weather at home has turned distinctly wintery. What a shame;
we're just about managing to cope with the 35 degrees +
here!
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