Thursday, March 10, 2011

Malima : A Visitor's View - Part One



Newsletter - December 2010

This August Anna Reilly, a Year 2 teacher at Cambridge House and long-standing member of the Malima Support Group, went to Gouria as a representative of the Malima Project with her daughter, Luisa. It was their first visit to Africa.


I remember reading Lorianna´s newsletters last year and thinking, wow, I can’t believe a simple journey can be so epic, so different from what we’re used to here in Spain or the UK. I didn’t realise this feeling would begin as soon as we left the plane. The run-down airport, the commotion, the lack of trust, corruption, poverty; we saw it all in the first half hour. It was definitely a baptism by fire. However, although the journey was long, tiring, difficult and incredible at the same time, I want to tell you about the village and people of Gouria.

The village of Gouria, home to Malima Primary school, is not what I expected. I have seen photos taken throughout the year and not appreciated how the land would change during the rainy season. As August is the rainy season in the north of Cameroon everywhere was green and blooming with produce. Corn and potatoes were the main plants I recognised but there were others growing. This gave an impression of the countryside bursting with life and colour. To say the area is beautiful in the rainy season is an understatement. The first few days we were there Luisa and I did a lot of walking to get our bearings and appreciate the scenery. There are volcanic peaks, hills and valleys, mountains, fields, trees, and the natural beauty of the area is breathtaking.


We lodged with a Muslim family near to where Judith’s boys stay with their elder brother, Vandi. The home, as all homes are in the area, is a compound with various simple rooms built around a central outside patio area. The rooms are not joined and therefore there is no sense of being “indoors”. The compound comprises of a store room, a few rooms for sleeping, a room for cooking using open fires and sometimes, depending on the means of the family, a room with chairs or a sofa which is used at night for socialising. There was no electricity or running water.

There were 10 people in the family we stayed with. Sadu, the man of the household was lucky enough to go away every now and then, for a few days at a time, to the cities and work as a driver. Most families in Gouria depend on subsistence farming and selling their produce or animals at market. He has 2 wives, his sister and mother living with him as well as 5 children. The children were teenagers and very hard working, helpful and polite. But at the same time once the working day in the fields was over, most of the family would come together in the evening and have fun chatting, laughing and making jokes or even dancing and singing. Luisa and I were lucky enough to enjoy many evenings with this family, as well as Vandi’s family. I was taken back to a distant memory that my father used to tell me about, when his family simply “made their own entertainment.” Even though these families endure lots of hardships, it’s good to see they are still able to come together, put their difficulties aside, and enjoy themselves.

We ate a family meal every day at 6:30 in the evening just after it got dark. Men and women with children eat separately. As we were guests, we were sometimes asked to eat with the men and older male children but also had the opportunity to eat with the women. Meals are eaten on the floor with a special mat or tablecloth placed down. The meals are communal with one plate of rice or maize dumplings and a bowl of sauce. People sit around in a circle and take what they want. Meat is a luxury and not often eaten. Some people only eat once a day if there is nothing left over from the evening before.

Many local visitors came and went from the two homes we spent our time in and it’s not uncommon to have people staying to share a meal if they are there at that time. Often, other friends or family members would pop around in the evenings, making the gatherings quite large. Both Luisa and I are very grateful that we were made to feel so welcome and had the opportunity to stay with and experience life with families in Gouria. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Judith’s boys, Tenema and Koda, for their assistance in many ways during the trip, as well as recognise the warmth and care given to us by the two families we shared our time in Gouria with. It will be a memory and feeling I will never forget!

Anna Reilly







Malima: A Visitor's View - Part Two






FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

This summer Anna Reilly, a year 2 teacher at Cambridge House Community College and long term member of ‘The Malima Support Group’ spent August in Cameroon visiting the project along with her 16 year old daughter Luisa.

I have already described my observations of day-to-day life in Gouria, which as a first time traveller to Cameroon left a great impression on me. However, this newsletter is dedicated to Malima Primary School - the reason for our visit.
Malima Primary School is in its 11th year and in that time it has provided an education for hundreds of children, and provided work for many teachers. The overall management of the project is primarily overseen by Judith Burnett, however, there have been many other people involved in making it such a success; the school’s directors, the teachers, Gouria residents, people in the Malima Support Group, the sponsors etc. I therefore felt very privileged and a little overwhelmed when she asked me if I would like to visit Malima School on her behalf.
Before our trip Judith, Luisa and I had many meetings about what our roles would be once there, as well as being given background information about the local people involved in running the school. These sessions were intricate and invaluable with many notes being taken and questions asked. To be effective I needed to know as much as possible and be clear in my expectations for the trip. Luckily Judith was very thorough and we left feeling confident.
We arrived in Gouria on a Friday evening and were eager to see the school as soon as possible. We therefore headed there on Saturday morning with the help of an ex-pupil to show us the way. To get there you walk along country paths, zigzagging their way around people’s crops. The walk to school lasted longer than I had expected, about 40 minutes but after passing Malima mountain, the classrooms and school grounds emerge in front of you. Many hours of travelling and kilometres in distance had finally brought us to our destination. I will never forget the feeling on first seeing the school. I was in a different world, but felt an affinity with the place, a familiarity that did not seem unusual. However, a school is not a school without children and our first visit, although impressive, lacked life. For that we would have to wait until Monday morning.
School starts early in Cameroon and summer school at Malima was no different. People wake up at sunrise here and by 6.45 am we were on our way to school. After walking about 100 metres we were joined by other children who wanted to accompany us and take our bags. This continued throughout the journey and by the end we were quite a large group heading along the paths towards Malima School. At 7.30 a whistle was blown and all the children lined up with their classes. The school day started with all the children singing songs together. A child was chosen to come to the front and chose and led the song. The youngest children were very sweet when doing this as well as shy. Then, after four or five songs, each class went marching into their class with their teacher leading them.
To see all the children together was amazing. The children were participating in the activities they had been asked to do and were happy. Although we all know poverty is part of children’s everyday life in rural Africa, in a positive environment like this you can see beyond the scruffy and torn clothes, beyond the distance they have to walk by themselves to get to school, beyond the stories they tell you about their home life. When they are at Malima Primary School they are like any other school children; listening to their teachers, learning different subjects, putting their hands up to answer questions, writing in their notebooks, although maybe a little better behaved!
Malima Primary School is a special place that runs deep in the heart of the community. People in Gouria recognise they are lucky to have your support and are grateful for it. Many people I spoke to in Gouria have aspirations for the future that would otherwise have been virtually impossible. They include; furthering their education, finding jobs, improving hygiene and health, starting their own businesses or even simply being able to read the instructions on fertiliser packets and doing accounts. They see a brighter future thanks to the last 11 successful years of the Malima Project.
Anna Reilly