Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!
The last few weeks have been fun and stressful. Fun because my friend that I worked with from camp 3 years ago in California came to Tourningal for 2.5 weeks. It was quite the experience to have a “post-mate” and to have another American live life in Tourningal. Angelina, or Aissatou in Tourningal, was an amazing guest. We complimented each other incredibly—she would prepare tasty meals and help me out doing presentations and cleaning the house.
The weeks were Stressful because I had to organize a seminar for HIV/AIDS for 15 health liaisons from surrounding villages. In addition, I organized activities for International AIDS day, December 1st. Being a community health education volunteer, I see International AIDS day as a pretty important platform to lance education. Planning events and seminars is frankly fatiguing. Running around and having to organize the venue, food and drink, presenters, transport, money issues, etc not including the overall context of what will be presenting, led to many nights of not-getting-as-much-sleep-as-I-normally-get-in-village. (ok…not getting a lot of sleep here is about 7 hours/night).
I felt like the seminar was a very pivotal event for organizing my last year in Tourningal. It entailed inviting all of the health liaisons from surrounding communities that serve as educators between Tournignal’s health center and their villages. UNICEF cut funding for the health-liason program that they used to finance, thus for the past year there have been no formations or tangible ways to “motivate” the health volunteers…always a point of contention. If the volunteers do not even get money for transport how can they do presentations in rural villages that are sometimes 20 km.away or even go to Tournignal to do follow-up? The program started by UNICEF was superb from a community health perspective—forming dynamic, over individuals in every community as relays. But like so many other initiatives lanced by NGOs, this one has also seen its’ doom. Thus, one of my counterparts’ and myself thought it necessary to organize this get-together to, simply put, motivate and re-energize the workers. We did such fun things as; action plans, ways to work together as health volunteers, problems and solutions that they face; as well as, HIV/AIDS reiteration, condom demonstrations, etc. Needless to say, it really does feel worthwhile to work with these village health care educators. I love it.
For World AIDS day I unfortunately will not be in village. However, I took a very optimistic approach and put the work onto some of my counterparts in village, hoping that they will indeed follow through with my orders. All of the students in my middle school have an essay contest that they can choose to partake in revolving around how their country, community and themselves personally can improve the state of HIV/AIDS in Cameroon. I hope they do the contest.
On non-work related terms, currently, I’m in Yaounde where I just finished my mid-service health exams. It was quite the memorable experience having to do routine fecal exams. Thankfully I do have latent TB, unlike one of my PC friends here who has to start a 9 month medical process.
Today is Thanksgiving, even here in Cameroon. It was interesting explaining to the Cameroonians the history behind Thanksgiving with their history of European exploration/colonization. We are invited to an ex-pat and ex-PCV’s house for grub and good times/watching football (do not miss). I want to quickly say my thanks to so many friends and family from back home that have kept in touch. I truly feel blessed to have had this eye-opening, learning experience and only hope that my second year is as worthwhile and happy as the first. I also feel blessed for all my friends and family back home in the USA and here in Cameroon.
Happy, happy Thanksgiving. Love, ali