August 14, 2011
One of the most exciting parts of this kind of work with meeting people who do similar work to you, partnering with them, and creating a project together that is better than either of you could have done alone. During this time before school starts I am rushing to meet everyone I here involved with youth programs. Turns out, in Buea, sometimes these potential partners just fall in your lap.
While registering Walters for school I ran into two American students from Penn State who were working as volunteers for United Action for Children. Since we were all foreigners in a foreign land we hit it off right away - talking about typhoid and where to get the best food in town. They were excited about YAN and I told them about the fellowship program - though I think they had about all they could take of Africa for the next year or so (one actually did have typhoid). They put me in contact with their country director and I'm really hoping he'll meet with me.
I also had dinner with 2 members of the Board on Friday night. These partnerships are the most critical. YAN is an organization that can only exist because of these local leaders willing to step up during the off season - to keep the organization moving forward and keep the schools excited about the program. I'm in awe of how dedicated they are to YAN - willing to provide money, time, and their political clout to make the program a success.
Dedicated partners are a tribute to the organization and it's mission. You know if two very busy local leaders are willing to put in their time and effort then you are on the right track. I am anxious to spread the YAN love across Buea and perhaps the world! For now it's blogging and facebooking and meetings - trying to make a splash!
Posted by Barbra Bearden.
August 12, 2011
I have spent the better part of the past 48 hours restoring my computer and throwing water down my toilet to make it flush. Countless skype calls to the MAC service center and too much money spent to re-download programs I had meticulously selected before I arrived in Africa - in combination with 2AM freak outs - is enough to put a person on edge for the better part of the day. Still, I am here, sitting, sipping away at my Nescafe elated as I type away on my lap top keys and download the la... Continue reading...
Posted by Barbra Bearden.
August 11, 2011
Well, I've been here for less than a week and it feels like a month already. I've had the privilege of touring some area schools, meeting with principals, and discussing the future of YAN with the Chair of the Board of Directors. It's an exciting time for YAN - we are formalizing our relationship with a second school and making plans to start a mentor program next year. School doesn't start for a month and in the interim I am working with my Cameroonian counterpart to write a grant for nex... Continue reading...
Posted by Barbra Bearden.
July 12, 2011
Really, I’m not really much of a braggart, but in respect to
all awesomeness that has been the last 19 months of my life I feel the need to
tell you why should volunteering abroad if you haven’t yet.
Lets
start at the beginning… its fresh, crazy, fascinating, jubilating, different. When you first arrive its
nothing you expect, it’s a realization of what the word culture really means.
How cultural differences aren’t just traditions, past-times, songs, etc, but
social interactions an... Continue reading...
Posted by Joshua Whitener.
May 23, 2011
Volunteering abroad is funny thing. When taking the plunge to go abroad,
our assumptions on difficulty are often corporeal, things like pit toilets, unbearable
car rides, etc. But I’ve found that the real trials we international volunteers
face here is social. Recently, I was at the market with a fellow volunteer who asked the
price of grapes. “Whiteman pay 500 for 1-1 grape.” Many Cameroonians have a way
of seeing us foreigners as money bags. They assume we come from our palaces in
the... Continue reading...
Posted by Joshua Whitener.
March 27, 2011
I came to Cameroon almost 17 months ago to the day. It’s funny now to think about my expectations on that day. I was just coming out of University, excited, nervous and anxious about living in Africa. I’d traveled before and my learned experience was to travel with as few assumptions as possible since they’ll undoubtedly be turned upside down. Still, we all have an image of Africa. The media shows us the famine, the desolation, the war, and a mental image is made.
Villages, huts, guns,... Continue reading...
Posted by Joshua Whitener.
March 21, 2011
I guess its about time I introduced myself... If you've followed
YAN's development I'm sure you've seen me here on the site as a member
of "the team." I've been here in Buea since December of 2009
volunteering at Buea School for the Deaf
(BSD) independently. I worked with Erin Wildurmuth (YAN Director) in
teaching video production to the students at BSD last Jan-March and then
continued to help Heather on her arrival last October at the Bilingual
Grammar School. So I've been apart ... Continue reading...
Posted by Joshua Whitener.
March 15, 2011
I wanted to write this post while I was still on African soil, because in less than 48 hours I'll be back home in America. To say this time has flown by would be an understatement. I feel like I just arrived in Cameroon and remember well my first days here. I was terrified. Before I applied for this job I couldn't even point out Cameroon on a map. I was never the adventurous type growing up. I was the one joined at my mother's hip who was destined to remain in North Carolina until my ... Continue reading...
Posted by Heather Faison.
February 16, 2011
Saturday, I traveled to the village of Kumba to see a traditional African wedding with my neighbor Felix and a group of Peace Corp friends. We piled under a white canopy at nightfall wearing our bright African garbs.
The father of the groom was a smiling, bouncing, hand-shaking ball of pride. He entered the canopy like a heavy breeze with a laugh that took over his entire body and bounced off his bulging belly. The groom was...in Sweden. Turns out he had a soccer game and could not com... Continue reading...
Posted by Heather Faison.
January 21, 2011
“OK, today we are going to talk about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Someone tell me a little about Dr. King...”
I rocked back on my heels in the middle of the classroom then leaned forward at the slightest hint of a response. Looking at their paralysed faces it was clear none of my students had ever heard of Dr. King (one whispered something about Martin Luther the reformer).
After two minutes of low rumbles and feet shuffling, I broke the awkward silence.
I talked about the civil rights move... Continue reading...
Posted by Heather Faison.
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