A visit to a remote compound.

Feb6

We traveled by motor bike with Project Hope Staff, Jean Bernard, for approximately 40 minutes to a remote village high in the mountain. There we were met by Francis Fungwi, a volunteer with Project Hope who lives in this village. We trekked with him to a compound looking for one child, Carine, who was known to them because of her HIV status. She had not been seen at the hospital for a few months for her meds and they wanted to check on her. When we arrived, there were 9 children living there, most looking malnourished and some very ill. Hopefully, they were convinced to come to the hospital clinic tomorrow for treatment. The families often will default on treatment because they cannot afford the required labs every 6 months, because of the long trek to pick up their meds, and also because they may get here and there are no meds which are gotten free from the government. Distribution is not always reliable. Project Hope does their best to educate people on the extreme importance of keeping up with their health visits, especially for the children.

: Scene from trail road in remote village.

: Road in remote village.

: Scene at compound.

: Children at compound.

: Project Hope Staff Jean Bernard and volunteer Francis Fungwi speak to the families at the compound.

: Carine Ngoehn, Hiv positive and has been off meds for two months due to lack of money for required labs. PH will do the labs regardless but the families don’t want to owe. Plus it is a long trek to the hospital, so they default treatment.

: Carine and her grandmother.

: Children playing.

: Child at compound, noticeably ill.

: Child at compound.

Home Visits. “You are Welcome”.

Feb4

We went on several more home visits today with Project Hope to meet and interview parents and caregivers whose children may be eligible for the Orphan and Vulnerable Children project. These visits are not scheduled so we often take the parent or caregiver by surprise. The first thing you hear is “you are welcome”. Then we are invited inside and the mother or caregiver scurries for stools, wipes them off and offers us a seat. All before knowing why we are there. Project Hope Staff speak to the mother/caregiver, observe the condition of the child and the home, check the health books and complete the program paperwork. We engage with the children and caregiver as well. The children sit quietly while the adults talk. They are often shy but so well behaved and well mannered. We continue to be humbled by the warmth and beauty of the people here.

: PH Jean Bernard interviews Elfreda about her children’s health and needs.

: Older siblings take care of younger ones. This one did so tenderly.

: Three children sit and listen during home visit.

: This old papa has 3 wives. Polygamy is a fading cultural phenomenon in Cameroon. The younger generation is monogamous.

: Children sit quietly while the adults talk. They were curious enough to come inside but stayed quiet, giggling just a little at times.

: Ngeh Kilian lives with his grandparents. He has developmental delays possible due to seizures. He didn’t say much but was attentive and curious.

: Children following us back to the road after our visit.

: Chicken and baby chicks sharing the homestead.

: This is Ful Yannik. He is around 8 and was home alone. His mother was working in the fields with her 6 month old child on her back. Yannik was waiting patiently for her return.

: Two boys at home visit. Ful Yannik and neighbor friend.

Happy moments at the orphanage.

Feb4

Thank you to Dub Caesar Apparel (DCA), a young Philadelphia apparel company, for donating their T-shirts for the older kids at the orphanage, and a few caretakers too!! They were so happy and excited to be getting a gift from USA. There was laughter, singing and a bit of dancing too!!

Children at Orphanage at St Martin de Porres Mission Hospital, wearing their new t-shirts from DCA, Phila.

More from Njinikom

Feb3

Today we met with Sr. Rose, Director of Project Hope and Macdonald Yengong, Head of HIV/AIDS Unit for Project Hope. We will visit more villages this week and continue our work with Project Hope and the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project. We are learning so much here and are humbled and enriched by the warmth and resiliency of the people of Cameroon. Click on any image to go to Gallery mode.

: Duodonne sits by the side of the road in front of his home smashing large rocks into small stones to be sold for making concrete. He uses his one working hand to help support himself. This is the smile he greeted us with. He will be a candidate for the orphans and vulnerable children project.

: Duodonne and Eric from Project Hope, pose for a picture.

: Bee Keeper with homemade beehive.

: Proud Bee Keeper. He earns his living selling honey.

: We met this man on our walk through some village compounds. We were curious about the straw structure and learned that it is a homemade beehive. He takes it deep into the bush where the bees are attracted to it, enter and make their honeycombs. After several months, he returns, smokes the bees out and removes the honey. Then the process is repeated.

A Call to Mercy sponsored Orphan project begins implementation.

Feb1

Yesterday we began the work of implementing A Call to Mercy’s sponsored Orphan project with Project Hope. We rode by motorbike into the surrounding villages visiting schools and mud hut homes. Our visits to the schools with Project Hope staff was to introduce the new program to the teachers and principals. They will receive a notice from the ministry of education, who has agreed to help by sending a form to all nearby schools asking teachers for their assistance in identifying the most needy children. All children in this community are vulnerable. Identifying the most vulnerable children will be done systematically through home interviews. Project Hope staff and volunteers will go to the homes to interview the parent or caregiver and rank the specific needs of the children living there. Ultimately 300 will be selected based on those rankings. We visited 4 homes yesterday where vulnerable children were known to the PH staff because of the HIV status of their mothers. Some of the children also were HIV positive. We witnessed the interview process and met some of the children who will surely be selected to receive help from CTM through Project Hope. The day was filled with sadness and hope. The prolific poverty and conditions that people survive in is truly humbling. We felt honored to be welcomed into their homes. Click any image to go to Gallery Mode.

: Visit to school in remote mountain village.

: Visiting a school in a remote village. The children were a bit wary of us at first.

: Pre-School children. Many of these will be identified by Project Hope as eligible for our sponsorship.

: Children at nearby school.

: Children at school in village.

: School children gather for a picture with PH staff.

: Chialinda and her two sons live in a one room mud brick home. She is a widow and is HIV positive. She also takes care of her sick grandmother who is in her late 80’s.

: Chialinda’s grandmother, in her late 80’s lies ill in bed. In this room there are 4 beds and a fire pit in the middle of the room.

: Fire pit in the middle of room. This one is safer because of the large stones. Many children are burned in accidents by home cooking fires.

: This young boy falls when he runs because of the deformity of his legs. Receiving healthcare through our project will identify him as a candidate for free leg surgery when the doctors from Holland arrive in April.

: The warmth and smiles of this family is a testament to the resilience of the people of Njinikom. Notice the paper insulation, which keeps the rain out during the rainy season. These homes have no electricity or running water. They are quite dark with light coming only from the door and one window.

: This is Hycentha Mambu and Simone. She is a widow and HIV positive. Hycentha has stopped using her free meds because she cannot afford the lab tests that must be done every 3-4 months in order to determine if the meds are working. She was self-employed selling produce from a cart until recently when she was hit by a car while walking home in the dark. She lost her cart and was in the hospital for 4 weeks. She now walks with noticeable pain.

: Project Hope’s JonBennet conducts home interview.

: Simone standing in her one room home. She will be selected as one of the recipients of the Orphan and Vulnerable Children Project that we are sponsoring.

: Hycentha and daughter, during interview by PH staff.

: Hycentha looking for her daughters birth-certificate.

: There were many rodents scurrying around in this home. We were later told that she kills them and feeds herself and her child. “Protein”.

: Both mother and child marvel at the poloroid picture that Carol has taken of them.

: This is Bridget Mabi, her mother and two of her children. She is a widow, and is HIV positive as is her eldest daughter. During the day, many children from nearby come to her home while their parent work the fields in the mountain.

: Child at home visit. She is one of the children we will be sponsoring.

: Children at home visit. These children are not in school because their parent cannot afford the fees.

: Three children who will be identified as most vulnerable. These are the children who will benefit from donations to A Call to Mercy.

: Child at home visit. She is one of the children we will be sponsoring. She has bent legs and will benefit from receiving healthcare. Through that program she will be identified as a candidate for free surgery when the docs from Holland come in April.