Ekabita day 2

Today started with Becky and I braving showering the village way, a kettle of cold water poured over you outside. Was surprisingly fun and really refreshing!

We spent today in Ekabita-Tom. This morning we met the ladies from the co-operative. Truly inspirational strong women who have done a huge amount for their community. The women presented to us some of the products they have made including soap, cocoa butter and chilli sauces all from local materials. We enjoyed another Cameroon “glass of water” and a whisky!

This afternoon we visited the plantations in the village. Firstly we enjoyed a walk in the sunshine to the Cassava plantation accompanied by some of the local women from the co-operative. We then visited an onion plantation which is being trialled to produce a special type of onion which can be grown in both the wet and dry season. Whilst we visited the plantations we also saw some interesting wildlife in the form of exotic grasshoppers. It was really lovely to walk around the village and meet the locals we were made to feel really welcome.

This evening we returned to Yaoundé and enjoyed some Cameroon street food Beignet Haricot Bouillie (BHB). Essentially mini doughballs, beans and a lemongrass custard/ soup. It was delicious.

Finally in Ekabita Tom.

We started our journey to the village Ekabita Tom on the pot hole filled roads which felt like we were off roading for most of the way (a very bumpy ride). Once we arrived at the school in the village where we were greeted by various teachers parents and anybody that wanted to be there from the village. The children were all lined up in a row singing a songs to welcome us.

The ceremony began and various speeches were made; and we then started to present the supplies the foundation had bought for them, chalk, exercise books, crayons, toys etc. The top students in each class were also presented with a gift of their tuition fee. After this more singing was done and the dancing began. Some of the women in the village started to sing and do a traditional dance, although I resisted we were eventually roped into joining in the dancing which although it was embarrassing it was a lot of fun.

After this we were invited for “a glass of water” at the chief of the PTAs house, but apparently a glass of water in Cameroon means that you will be given a huge spread of food and drinks. This is where we had our first taste of palm wine, this is a sweet juice which comes straight out of the palm trees, but ferments throughout the day to become a nice alcoholic drink….we tried this around lunch time so unsure how alcoholic it was at this point.

After food and drinks we started painting the walls of the school. By this time we the children at the school had warmed to us and swarmed round us for photos. Even though we didn’t speak the same language we still enjoyed each other’s company, one thing the kids did do is keep saying “shing a ling” and then hysterically laughing if we repeated it; still have no idea what that means.

We took a leisurely stroll back to Joes family home at the top of the hill and briefly stopped at the community centre to see the progress which had been made. The family home is also still under construction so we settled in for night with just the basics; a traditional Cameroonian bed, no electricity or running water; surrounded by beautiful forest. We took a walk up the hill at the back of the house and saw beautiful views of completely untouched land.

We had an amazing day, and were really pleased with how welcome everyone in the village made us feel, like part of a big family; but after dinner to bed, happy to finally get a decent night’s sleep.

Day one

After months of waiting the trip to Cameroon was finally here: Joe picked me up for the airport bright and early Saturday morning and so the fun began: Just as we got to the boarding gate for our flight it was announced that due to severe weather in Istanbul our flight would be delayed by 2 hours but this would not be a problem for the connection: So we all patiently waited and got on the flight: However when we got to Istanbul no surprise we had missed our connection: After quite a lot of different queues for visas etc Turkish airlines arranged for a hotel and we would have to fly Sunday evening: By the time we got to the hotel it was late so off to bed:

Sunday some of us decided to venture into Istanbul whilst the others chilled at the hotel: We visited the blue mosque which was beautiful: In order to go inside you have to cover your head and women must cover their shoulders and legs: We certainly had some interesting outfit combinations: Overall the city was very clean and not as busy as I thought it might be; although it was Sunday: There were lots of stray dogs and cats; which I had to try hard not to stroke: A highlight was a tour guide trying to get us on the tour buses doing a Birmingham accent when he found out were we were from: As frustrating as it was to be delayed in arriving in Cameroon I am glad we got to explore Istanbul an unexpected bonus: Sunday afternoon we were collected from the hotel and travelled to the airport: Finally we got our flight to Cameroon: We arrived about 2am and were collected by Joes family:

We visited Joes mums house and were quickly introduced to the African way of feeding your guests: After a lovely meal if not at a strange time we all travelled to our respective houses we would be staying in: Went to bed about 5am at which point Joe told us we needed to be up for 6!15