Education, Health & Economic Development
Passion in serving humanity !
Brief History of Cameroon
 Cameroon was originally divided into two colonies, one French and one German. Cameroon is a bi-lingual country with 8 of the 10 provinces speaking French and the other 2 speaking English. The Francophone provinces include Extreme North, North, Adamawa, East, South, Center, Litoral, West and the Anglophone provinces include South West and North West. In the Anglophone provinces along with English, they speak Pidgin English and over 200 different local dialects varying by tribes across the country.Culture in the Communities we Serve Culture is a way of life in the communities we serve. Communities are socialites are based on hundreds of years of traditional practices. It is a patriarchal based culture with a chief who is the traditional ruler and representative to the government. A chief is found in every village and has been and will continue to be for a very long time.  Along with traditional practices, there are traditional healers (herbalists), societies for men, traditional dances, witchcraft and ceremonies. Many of the traditional practices prevent a community from developing, but more and more the younger generations are moving towards a more westernized view of their communities. ETAYA’s approach is to promote development while preserving certain traditional practices. A culture should be able to grow and develop, not change completely.The Challenges of Developing 3rd World Cameroon Along with traditional practices there are other obstacles that threaten development in 3rd world Cameroon. The corrupt nature of the government prevents some of the most remote communities from benefiting from foreign and domestic monetary aid. The most challenging obstacle however are the poor nature of the roads. Particularly in the South West Province of Cameroon, the main roads that lead to Nigeria and other large cities of economic importance are barely passable during the dry season and impassable except for 4 wheel drive during the rainy season. When the roads get to an impassable state the cost of transportation of goods increases and has to be put in as part of the cost of the project as ETAYA has no vehicle of their own. The amount spent on transportation each year assisting the neglected communities could be used to fund 3 or 4 more projects each year. Another cost of the roads aside from money is time. When it is possible to travel 100 miles in 6 hours during the dry season it takes up to 12 hours in the rainy season. Despite the frustrations and struggles of the rainy season it does not prevent ETAYA from reaching communities, it just decreases the amount of projects we are able to complete due to time and money constraints. |