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.