Arrival in Cameroon

Hello again,

This entry finds us Sam, Siler and Brittney, having arrived safely in Douala the night before yesterday, walking out of the airplane into an immediate sauna of heat and humidity. After a long wait for our luggage we finally made it through customs and out to where the staff of the United Action for Children was waiting for us. It took us 2.5 hour drive from Douala to Buea where the UAC is based and where will will be implementing our project.

On this van ride we had the opportunity to speak with some of the UAC staff and they answered many of our questions about the part of the country we were passing through and how we would find our stay in Cameroon. of the 5 or 6 staff who came to us, one named Barkley turned out to be in charge of coordinating the volunteers, of which there were already 5 others staying at the volunteer house before the 3 of us arrived. Both Barkley and another staff member named Taco both immediately struck me as incredibly friendly and did their best to make us feel immediately welcome and at home.

When we finally arrived at the house we would be staying in Buea, after what seemed to be, though it was night, a beautiful drive through tropical countryside, we were shown to our rooms, where we each had a very pretty bed to ourselves, and then were invited over the house of the director and founder of the UAC Mr. Orock Thomas, where we were given delicious omelets made by his wife Amelia that were a perfect closure to this part of our journey. Sipping tea with Mr. Orock we learned that he was not only the man behind the UAC, and local NGO that had grown from one small room and a few staff to encompass many building at several locations, several schools, and a staff of over 50, but he was also deputy mayor of his home town of Mamfe and was the chief of service for vocational education in the southwest province. After discussing our trip and a few other things about the UAC and the area, we made a plan to meet the following day and discuss in detail our expectations for this summer and how we would accomplish all the goals we had been preparing for now that we had arrived in Buea.

At this point we said goodnight and retired to our rooms, happy to have arrived, and confident that we were working with a great man and had every chance to accomplish what we set out to do this summer.