A nurse that worked at the Health Center, Odette, passed away very suddenly, so it continues to be a really hard time for the Health Center staff. She was a woman I met my very first day here. We are all saddened by her loss. So, the majority of last week was spent discussing grief with the staff at the Health Center, having emotional discussions with Agie, who was a dear friend to Odette, and trying to figure it all out for myself and give myself some time to mourn. Her funeral and wake keeping were incredible. On Fridays, the mortuary opens for the release of the corpses. There were hundreds of people there; family members, relatives, and friends all standing waiting for their loved one's body to be released. Most of the family members there have kabas made out of the same material in honor of the deceased or wear t-shirts and buttons commemorating the life of the individual who passed away. Agie and I wore t-shirts to honor Odette's life. When Odette's body came out all of us were brought into a bare, open room. We sang songs and sat together and waited for the coffin to be brought in. Her body was carried in by eight men. When she arrived the women who were in attendance (maybe about 100 or so) crowded around the casket screaming, weeping and mourning. The men stood back, but were very open with their emotions as well. It was extremely moving. I have never experienced anything like it. Then, the body was carried out, loaded into a truck and we all followed the vehicle in a procession to the church where her funeral took place. It was a double funeral because another member of the church had passed away on the same day. The funeral was very moving as well with powerful testimonies from her family members and friends. From the funeral we moved to her house for the wake keeping. Her body was placed in the living room for viewing and all of the guests sat outside beneath tents and canopies. A brief service was held. Then, we all spent time together in fellowship singing, dancing, praising God and remembering Odette. It was a very powerful experience. From her home, a group traveled to her village to bury her. The wake keeping is a celebration of the individuals life the night before the burial. The group left at 2am to go to her village. It was mainly close friends who attended the burial, so I did not go, but I feel extremely blessed to have been a part of celebrating her life and we will continue to mourn her loss.
The day the funeral/wake keeping took place also happened to be Halloween. Halloween is not celebrated in Cameroon, but Eric (my bikeman friend) and I split a Twix in honor of the occasion. Haha. He loved it.
Work continues to go extremely well. Dr. B arrived which is exciting both for my personal life and work life! When Dr. B is here all the HIV/AIDS work seems to go a lot better since it is his main focus. So, he is a huge blessing. I traveled to Menyemen with him this past Tuesday. Menyemen was one of the first Presbyterian Health Center's established in Cameroon. We are going to start an HIV/AIDS clinic there on Tuesdays. There is also a tuberculosis/leper colony there. I was extremely shocked by this. I was not even aware that places like that existed anymore. Apparently, I was pretty ignorant. It was a really emotional experience. The group lives in a remote area on the hospital grounds. Most of the patients are missing limbs, have intense rashes, or other very visible signs of sickness. Doctors are still sort of unsure about how these diseases are spread, so for the most part, these people are completely ignored by the general population. Some of the patients have been living there for over twenty years. I gave them a talk about the importance of psychosocial work and introduced them to Dr. B. We are going to start a support group there next Tuesday which the group seemed very excited about. They really just appreciated that we came to visit them at all. They are extremely neglected. Overall, the trip to Menyemen was very exciting. There are many opportunities for us to do a lot of good there, so I'm praying we will be able to help in whatever ways we can.
This past Sunday, I attended church at the Presbyterian High School because they were inducting new staff: a new Vice Principal, Disciplinarian #1 and #2 and some new teachers. It was quite the occasion. The service was great, but the party afterward was even better! We sang, danced and ate until we couldn't move. It was a wonderfully joyous day!
But an even more joyous occasion than that celebration was the news of the Obama win for the Cameroonians! It was a huge day for Africa. Maybe even bigger than for the US (haha, not quite, but it was a big deal). People were so moved by Americans voting a black man into the presidency. People were openly weeping, dancing and everywhere I went people congratulated me. It was a pretty great day over here. Of course, I wish I could have been in the US for the momentous occasion, but it was pretty cool to see it from the eyes of people in another country.
Next week continues to be an extremely busy one. We have another social group meeting on Monday, travel to Menyemen to start the social group on Tuesday, Wednesday we are giving a health talk at Kumbatown parish and Thursday and Friday we have to write reports on all of those things. Then, Sunday is Presbyterian Church Day!!! The day they gained their independence! So, we are all anxiously awaiting next Sunday! I am definitely staying busy here, that's for sure. I have been taking a lot more pictures, too! So, get excited! I can't put them all up unfortunately, but here are a few. Miss you guys!
Rev. Abwenzoh, me, and Mami Pastor.
At the mortuary waiting to see Odette. I am wearing one of the t-shirts that was made in her honor.
This is where I work! Presbyterian Health Center, Kumba.
Eating my favorite meal: fried plantaines and beef stew. Mmmmm.
Agie's favorite meal: pepe soup with cowtail and boiled plantaines. Yeah, I don't get as excited about this one, but she LOVES it.
Staff at Menyemen Health Center, the tb/leper colony community, and me and Dr. B.
Yeah, this is why you are late sometimes in Cameroon. Cattle definitely have the right of way.
Receiving the chicken gizzard is a sign of honor here in Cameroon. This is Rev. Abwenzoh eating the chicken gizzard (partly on my behalf)at the party following the induction of the staff at the Presbyterian High School.
2 comments:
Boy do I remember that song first hand. Sounds like you are really keeping busy and enjoying all your work and "adventures" Can't say much for the food. ;-) Take care keep blogging
I am pretty glad the Pastor ate that chicken gut for you. You owe him big time.
Strange about the leppers, isn't it? I guess I also thought that was just from the bible and not real in 2008.
That was pretty cool that you were in Africa on the election of the first black President. They had tv feed of people in his fathers hometown in Kenya who were going nuts!!
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