Some videos

Picnic with the choir Gospel Singers, singing and dancing on a mountain top, with view over Ngaoundéré town:

Fête de la Jeunesse, the children are marching with their school classes:

On the Mission Station, the children are playing "Haien kommer" at the sport club. This was last Wednesday, and there were around 100 children here! That was because a part from the children that normally attend the sport club, we had invited the children at Rainbow Orphanage to come. After playing games there was a football match between the children in the orphanage and the others. That was fun! :

Visit from Norway!!

From the 22nd of February to the 2nd of March I got really nice visit from Norway, Pernille and Julie! Then I, among other things, got some assistance with the teaching at Sentre Socio, as they wanted to join the lesson.  It was good being three teachers while playing an English game. Then one of us could help each group.

As Pernille attended Hald two years ago, and then was in Ngaoundéré, she was well known in the area. So she shown us all a lake, called Lac Tisen. It's a lake in a volcano crater, and she could tell us that no one knows how deep the lake is...

 

We also went to Mount Ngaoundéré again, maybe it's more likely to call it a hill with a nice view over the town:

Eating one grilled fish each in a fish restaurant in town, was also part of what we did.

Except from this we learnt to make couscous with "Gambon"-sauce at Rainbow orphanage, painted with the children, visited people, was at the market place, played games and had a very nice time together. Johanne and me also moved to a new house during they stay there, our earlier apartment is now to be renovated. But we are very satisfied with the new one, as we think it's brighter and better, and good with some change! Anyway, I would say that even though many of us had some troubles with sicknesses during they stay here, we got to do a lot of things together. And I really enjoyed them being here! Thank you so much for a nice time together :)

Missionary-trip to Maroua

The week-end two weeks ago all us Norwegians living at the Mission Station, the Dankels (living at Dang) and Solbjørg (living in Gadjiwan) went on a trip to Maruoa, as the social part of a missionary-meeting. With tree full cars we started the long road trip. And our car was going to be even fuller, as one Cameroonian man that knew we were travelling to Maroua, suddenly called and wanted to join us to Garoua. I guess that's normal here, because that always happens when we are going on a longer travel... Anyway, we got everyone inside the car together with all the luggage, and drove the five hours to Garoua. There we had a good lunch before driving the three last hours, and finally arriving at the hotel in Maroua in the evening. After taking a shower and having a delicious "buffet", we were all tired and went to sleep in the good beds in the hotel.




Next morning we had a Bible lesson, before driving to town. There we saw some very nice apartments that Jan Martin, an older volunteer working for NMS, has constructed and organised the building of.

Later we went to a leather tannery, which actually is the biggest in Cameroon. There they treat animal skins, for example from cows, snakes and crocodiles. They had made many holes in the ground and filled them with water. Then they washed the skins in the different waters in order. After finishing washing them (and maybe removing the fur), they could also put the skins in different holes to make them get different colours.

Washing

Removing fur from a cow

Snakeskin

Crocodile skin

Colouring the skins pink/red

The head of a crocodile

Drying the skins

When the rainy season comes, there will be lots of water in this river again!

 When finished watching this, we went to town just to look around at the market. First we saw a pharmacy market, where people sell different kinds of herbals and leaves, which they say can cure all different kind of sicknesses or give you luck in life. You just have to lay the leaves in water for a while, and then wash yourself with this water. They told that people come here to buy medicines because it's cheaper than going to the hospital.

Selling herbals

Herbals and leaves

Then we saw tinsmith using old car wrecks to make different kind of things, like wheelbarrows, buckets, knives, rakes, spades and axes. Amazing to see how they can transform this wrecks into useful tools!

The boy is turning the wheel to blow air into a fire to make it keep burning

The boy makes air blowing into the fire, and the man uses the fire to warm tin, so that he can  form it into a tool

Wheelbarrows & buckets

Knives

Rakes, spades & axes

We had a good lunch, containing grilled fish, chicken and meat in the home of some friends of Jan Martin.

At last we also went to the tourist-marked. There were a lot of nice things and clothes there, but I think it was expensive (more than 50 NOK per clothing). Therefore I had to use a lot of time on bargaining, and then I finally got some nice clothes, even though I still think it was a bit expensive according to what I'm used to here. But I guess I have to accpect that it's more expensive in the tourist-markets than in the normal markets... Couse it certainly was not possible making the sellers to sell their stuff cheaper than the price I paid... It was fun to use some time on bargaining, even though I only manage to be in two stores in the market before we had to go... But when I talked to the other Norwegians, I found out that I had been quite good at bargaining!





After the marked we attended a meeting together with a pastor of a church in Maroua and some teachers at the university there. In the evening we went to a really nice restaurant.

Next morning we went to church in Maroua, a little, nice local church. Then we started the long trip back. We had lunch in Garoua on the way back also. The Bischler family had a puncture on one of the wheels, but after changing to a new wheel, we all arrived safely at the Mission Station in the evening, after a nice week-end together with good people :)

Fête de la Jeunesse

 The 11th of February the "Fête de la Jeunesse" is celebrated in Cameroon. It is a day for the children and youths, when the pupils and students in schools in Cameroon march in a procession. This year we were a part of this celebration in Ngaoundéré. It reminded me a lot of the celebration the 17th of May in Norway! The march took place at "Place de l'Independance", the independence place in Ngaoundéré, where all big feasts use to be held. Ten thousands of people had met up! In the procession were also orchestras and dancers. Even though the marching route was quite short (less than 10 min.), the number of students in the procession was very, very big! On the tribune sat the "Lamido" (the traditional king and Muslim leader), the Governor and other important people in the region.

Johanne and me were part of this march as teachers at Centre Socio Ménager. All of us teachers had got clothes sewn with the same fabric, and so had the students. They had sewn their dresses themselves! Most school classes dressed in their uniforms, and it was nice to watch the children march in uniforms in different colours, singing songs about "Here come the young ones..." (in French)!

When we marched and approached the tribune with the important people, we stretched one arm towards them in respect while we passed them.

Here are some pictures from the big day:

 

 

 

 

That was last week-end.. This week-end we are ready for travelling again! Tomorrow morning we are travelling to Maroua, north in Cameroon together with the other Norwegians here. We are leaving at 8 o'clock, and expect to arrive at a hotel there at 17 o'clock, so it's quite a long drive! We return Sunday, for a missionary meeting on Monday. Then I get visit from Noway, from Pernille and Julie Tuesday or Wednesday! I'm really looking forward to that :D

Wish you all a good week-end!!