News 2006
· CAMEROON REFUGE
It didn't take
long for us to spoil the orphaned refugees from Chad during this past
academic year. After only one month, they turned up their noses at a house
without an indoor bathroom! Delay after delay prevented us from finding
anything nearby. Finally, in desperation, Bartholomew was on his way to
visit my former landlady to ask whether she knew of anything in the area.
Just then, some people were arriving at a duplex on the way to inquire
about renting it. Bartholomew joined the group. The house had three bedrooms,
two bathrooms, a kitchen and large living room, just like the one we were
waiting for that would have cost 140.000 francs ($350 Can) a month. The
people with the appointment would be able to rent it if they could produce
the 80.000 francs ($200) a month the next day, the tenant told them.
When Bartholomew returned with that news, I called our wealthy neighbour,
Mr. K., who had been allowing our three youths to sleep with his children
in their bedrooms for the month. He agreed to visit the house as soon
as he arrived in town the next morning. The race was on. He called the
owner directly and discovered that someone was offering 100.000 a month
for four months. I called Mr. K. just at that moment and offered a year's
lease. He offered 90.000 ($225) a month. Whichever one of us arrived in
the office with the money by noon would have the house. Mr. K drove me
to the bank and then to the office with the final amount: 1.080.000 ($2,700)
for the year. The children, who had been praying while Mr. K. negotiated,
shouted their thanksgiving to the roof.
A francophone teacher moved in as their housemother with her two little
orphaned dependents, and the "civilizing" began. After five
years without parents, the youths were wild, but they soon learned the
rewards of obedience to house rules: their favourite outing, a trip to
the zoo to watch the chimpanzees fighting the way they used to. We wonder
what a mud brick hut will feel like after this year of luxury. Probably
like camping.
Update
Bartholomew, Haoua, and Eleazard have moved out of the house in Limbe, Cameroon and are making preparations to return to Chad. The children are excited about going home. While the luxuries of "whiteman country" in Cameroon were novelties for awhile, it seems that there is no place quite like home.
Bartholomew is excited about trying his hand at community gardening in the horticulture programme. He wants to start nursery stock from wonderful Cameroon fruit and vegetable seeds. He is requesting polyethelene bags. We are awaiting a response from Purdue University's agriculture department. They are reciptients of a Bill Gates grant to supply these bags for bean storage.
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