My Projects for World Malaria Month

World Malaria Month is over now and I am very happy with what I was able to do for my part in the fight against malaria! I was ale to work with many different people and groups over the past two months on a variety of projects. I was able, with the help of some of my fellow volunteers, to complete a survey of more than 270 people in Bamenda on their experience with malaria; teach the Grassroot Soccer SKILLZ Malaria curriculum for more than 120 students in three levels of Primary school; sensitize more than 140 people on malaria and what they can do to protect themselves and their families; train more than 52 teachers and health care workers on malaria transmission and prevention, bed net care and repair, net transformation, and net beautification; hold eight malaria-themed art and story contests in which more than 150 children participated; and spread awareness of malaria in Cameroon to people in the United States through various social medias and with the help of my friends and family back home!

I have been enjoying my time here in Peace Corps Cameroon but sometimes I wonder if I am really making a difference in people's lives. Over these past two months I have felt so rewarded and  appreciated by the people with whom I have worked. It was wonderful to work with people who wanted to learn and improve their lives. I'm glad that I was able to do all of this and I am excited for what projects may be next!

Net care and repair TOT with teachers.

Grassroot Soccer with Primary 4 Class.

Grassroot Soccer with Primary 5 Class.

Grassroot Soccer with Primary 6 Class.

Malaria sensitization with Mbororo community.

Net hanging in my community.

Malaria-themed art and story contests.

Malaria lesson with youth group.

Mosquito net care TOT with health care workers.

Mosquito net care and repair TOT.

Mosquito net repair.

Mosquito net transformation TOT.

Mosquito net beautification TOT.

What Is Cameroon Doing About Malaria?

Cameroon has a National Malaria Control Program which is represented in each region with a Regional Malaria Control Unit. This unit is responsible for the collection of malaria related data and making sure that all health facilities in the region have supplies of rapid diagnostic tests, prophylaxis for pregnant women, seasonal malaria prophylaxis (in certain regions), bed nets for pregnant women, and malaria treatments.

The goals of the program over the next few years focus on the prevention and management of malaria. In every region they want to do the following: increase to 80% the use of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets in the entire population (especially pregnant women and children under five years old), protect at least 80% of pregnant women through the use of Intermittent Preventative Treatment (a prophylaxis used during pregnancy), test at least 80% of suspected cases of malaria in health centers with either rapid diagnostic tests or microscopy, treat 100% of confirmed cases of malaria in health centers. So, the National Malaria Control Program is promoting things like Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets, malaria prophylaxis for pregnant women, and early test-seeking and proper treatment.

There are national policies that Cameroon has put in place in order to help control the spread of malaria, such as pregnant women receive a free mosquito net at their antenatal consultation, rapid diagnostic tests and treatment are free for children under five years old, and malaria prophylaxis is given to pregnant women at their consultations.

Though there is still a long way to go, Cameroon has started taking some positive steps toward eradicating malaria in Cameroon.

Prevention of Malaria

There are several things that people can do to protect themselves from malaria. Since the mosquito that transmits malaria only bites at night, the best tool for malaria prevention is a mosquito net. The mosquito net is hung over a bed so that mosquitoes cannot get to the person sleeping underneath it at night when the mosquitoes are biting and the person is less able to wave them away. Some mosquito nets are treated with insecticide which means that when a mosquito touches the net it will, soon after, die. The use of mosquito nets is important for everyone, since everyone can get malaria, but it is especially important for at risk populations, like children under five years old, pregnant women, and people living with HIV/AIDs. Mosquito nets can help eradicate malaria because the mosquitoes that carry malaria become infected only when they bite someone who has malaria. This means that if there were no infected people to bite and any infected mosquitoes could not get to uninfected people because of mosquito nets then the malaria parasite would die along with the infected mosquitoes since the parasite requires the human body and the mosquito body to complete its life cycle. This makes it very important for everyone to sleep under a mosquito net every night in malarial regions.

Other things that people can do are to try to only go out at night when necessary, wear covering clothing if they do go out at night, use mosquito repellent, use insecticide for the house, clear away any standing water (mosquito breeding grounds) that is near the house, cut back tall grass and bushes that are close to the house, repair tears in mosquito nets immediately, and get treated immediately when they think that they might have malaria so that there is less time that they could potentially spread the disease to more mosquitoes.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Malaria in Cameroon

There are simple and severe cases of malaria. Simple malaria is defined as having a positive malaria test and a fever of 39.5˚C or less with any of the following: chills, headache, body aches, joint pain, back pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Severe malaria, on the other hand, comes with a positive malaria test and a fever of 39.5˚C or more with at least one of the following: severe anemia, convulsions, shallow and rapid breathing, severe dehydration, delirium, hypoglycemia, jaundice, acute renal failure, shock, and death.

In Cameroon, both simple and severe malaria are diagnosed with either a rapid diagnostic test or with microscopy. The rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is done with a finger prick and shows whether or not the patient has malaria but not the severity. Microscopy is done by drawing blood and shows not only whether or not the patient has malaria but also whether the infection is simple or severe. Rapid diagnostic tests are used most often in Cameroon because the results come back quickly and don't require lab equipment or technicians.

Simple malaria is typically treated with Artemisinin Combined Therapies (ACT), which are made up of two anti-malarial drugs coupled together. Treatment of simple malaria is a three-day course of treatment of which the dosage depends on the age and weight of the patient. Severe malaria is treated intravenously (injection) with fast acting drugs to quickly reduce the malaria parasites in the patient.

"Fun Fact: Chloroquine started out as a great anti-malarial drug. In fact, it worked so well that doctors started treating every case of fever with it, without verifying if each fever was, in fact, a case of malaria. This, combined with people not completing their course of treatment, resulted in the parasite developing a total resistance to Chloroquine, and as such, it can no longer be used to treat malaria in the majority of the world."

• U.S. Peace Corps Cameroon Malaria Handbook, 2014 edition

Most At-Risk Populations of Malaria

There are four populations that are more at risk of catching and/or dying from malaria. These populations are children under five years old, pregnant women, people living with HIV/AIDS, and non-immune foreigners.

Children under five years old are at-risk because they have not yet developed any immunity or resistance to the disease and are not as able to survive the symptoms. Each year in Cameroon, often more than half of the deaths caused by malaria are in children under five years old. Often seen in young children, severe malaria can cause anemia when the parasite feeds off  of the red blood cells and destroys them resulting in a dangerous lack of oxygen reaching the organs. When this happens it can lead to coma and death.

Pregnant women are at-risk because diagnosis of malaria during pregnancy can be difficult and they can also become severely anemic. Diagnosis can be difficult because the parasite will not always show up in a blood smear but will rather show up in a sample of the placenta. Women are at highest risk of complications caused by malaria during their first pregnancies, immunity is built up with each successive pregnancy.

People living with HIV/AIDS are at-risk because their immune systems are already compromised. Their compromised immune systems put them at higher risk of complications from malaria.

The final at-risk population is non-immune foreigners because they have not built up any immunity to the disease. Malaria can cause blood clots and mini-strokes, which can lead to coma and death, in people experiencing one of their first cases of malaria. The parasite avoids the spleen, which can filter out infected red blood cells, by attaching itself to the sides of the blood vessel walls, usually in the brain, and obstructs the flow of blood. When this happens it is called cerebral malaria.

These populations are at-risk because they are more likely to get severe malaria or to have untreated simple malaria develop into severe malaria. Severe malaria is often the cause of many of the complications that these populations may experience.

Malaria in Cameroon

Malaria Day picture from the internet.

So, I am writing this little series of posts on malaria because April is World Malaria Month and the 25th of April is World Malaria Day! I hope to be able to post one to two posts a week this month (Most of the information will be from Peace Corps training and handbooks.)

Peace Corps Initiative: Stomp Out Malaria.

In Cameroon there are 1,700,000 documented cases of malaria every year. A survey done in 2011 showed that, in Cameroon, malaria is the cause of 40-45% of hospital consultations, 30% of hospitalizations (52% of child hospitalizations), 24% of deaths in hospitals, 40% of health expenditures, and 26% of reported work absences. About 71% of Cameroon has a high transmission rate, one case per one thousand people, and the rest of the country has a transmission rate of zero to one case per one thousand people (WHO). This means that malaria is transmitted in every part of Cameroon. According to a study done by Malaria No More in 2013, despite measures being taken by Cameroon to prevent malaria, only 36% of households own an insecticidal net and only 21% of children sleep under these nets.

 

Map of Cameroon showing the ten regions.

Malaria is found in all ten regions of Cameroon and it is possible for anyone to get malaria. It is thought by some people in Cameroon that it is not possible to get malaria during the dry season, if they live at higher altitudes, or if they live in urban areas. Although it is true that there are fewer mosquitoes in dry season and in urban areas due to there being less standing water in which mosquitoes can breed and there are fewer mosquitoes at high altitudes due to the cooler temperatures, it is still possible to get malaria. This is because there are still people traveling into or through the area who have malaria and some mosquitoes around to transmit the disease. There is a spike in cases of malaria not long after the start of the rainy season due to the increased amount of standing water and, therefore, the increased amount of breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Malaria survives dry season because the mosquitoes don’t require much water to breed and there are people who have malaria who do not get treated because they don't show symptoms or they weren't treated properly. In the Grand North (Adamawa, North, and Extreme North regions), malaria is almost seasonal because of the large difference in the amount of precipitation between the rainy season and the dry season. In the much more humid Grand South however, the change in precipitation does not bring as large a difference in the number of cases of malaria between the rainy and dry seasons.

Almost the entire country of Cameroon is in the "most intense transmission" category which means 75 confirmed cases per 1,000 people. Malaria is everywhere in Cameroon at all times. In one of my later posts I will talk about what Cameroon is doing to fight against the spread of malaria.

What is Malaria?

What is Malaria?

Malaria is found mainly in countries near the equator, including Cameroon. I always try to take the proper steps to avoid malaria whenever I can. For example, I sleep under a mosquito net and take my malaria prophylaxis everyday. So far I have not had malaria here in Cameroon: I had one presumed case but the test result was negative.

Map showing distribution of malaria transmission.

Malaria is a disease that is caused by a parasite of the Plasmodium genus and is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. The life cycle of malaria, or  rather the Plasmodium parasite, starts when an infected mosquito bites a person who does not have malaria and infects them with the parasite. The parasite first develops in the liver and then moves to the blood. After that the person starts to show the symptoms of malaria and passes on the parasite when bitten by an uninfected mosquito. And the cycle repeats.

This image shows the life cycle of the Plasmodium parasite in detail, including the developmental stages of the parasite inside each of its hosts.

This image shows the cycle in a much simpler way, infected mosquito bites uninfected person and infects them then an uninfected mosquito bites the infected person and becomes infected.

This makes malaria a community disease. When one person has malaria and they do not treat it properly or they do not take precautions to protect themselves from other mosquitoes it becomes possible for them to pass malaria on to other people through the mosquitoes that bite them.

The female Anopheles mosquito bites at night which makes sleeping under a mosquito net every night the best way to prevent malaria. Since malaria is a community disease, getting treatment right away is the best thing to do if you do get malaria. Although, a person should get tested for malaria before they treat for malaria because the parasite could develop resistance to the drugs that are used to treat malaria. That is what happened with Chloroquine, a drug that used to be used to treat malaria. Chloroquine can no longer be used in many places because it was used to treat almost any fever without testing for malaria and the parasite developed resistance to it.

According to WHO, mortality from malaria has fallen by 42% globally since 2000 however, malaria is still responsible for over 600,000 deaths each year around the world. Most of the deaths caused by malaria, about 90%, happen in sub-Saharan Africa and about 85% of those deaths occur in children under five years old. Children under five years old, pregnant women, people living with HIV/AIDS, and non-immune foreigners are the groups that are most at risk of dying of malaria. "The Millennium Development Goal 6 specifically targets the reduction of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. It is estimated that since 2000, 1.1 million deaths from malaria have been averted due to measures taken to reduce the disease. Countries which have adopted malaria control programs had a reduction in child malaria mortality." (Peace Corps Cameroon Malaria Handbook, 2014 Edition). Cameroon now has a National Malaria Control Program and is working to eradicate malaria in Cameroon.

Monica in Cameroon!

Monica arriving in Cameroon!

Monica finally came to visit me in Cameroon! Her plane was going to arrive Monday night so I traveled to Yaoundé on Sunday November 23rd, 2014 in order to get things arranged before she arrived. I stayed at the Peace Corps transit house in Yaounde and on Monday morning I arranged for a cab to take me to the airport
later and I booked hotel room for us. That evening I went with the cab to the airport, which is about an hour outside of Yaounde, to pick up Monica. Her plane was supposed to arrive at 8:30pm, so I made sure to get there by 8pm, and the plane was late. She finally arrived at 9:30pm. Monica was officially in Africa! We took the cab back to town and were stopped by some police and asked to show our ID. This has never happened to me in the middle of town before but it was an interesting introduction to Cameroon for Monica. Then the cab dropped us off at our hotel. I chose that hotel because it was a mid-level hotel, not too fancy but not the basic type of hotel in Cameroon either. I wanted to give Monica a smooth transition into Cameroon.

The next day we went to Amour Mezam bus company and took a bus from Yaounde to Bamenda. We took the VIP bus where each passenger gets their own assigned seat rather than crowding onto a  bench seat; I wasn't sure if Monica was ready for that. The seats in these buses though are typically smaller than they are in America so it is not really like having your own seat anyway. I had prepared Monica for this before getting to the bus station but I was surprised when we stepped onto the bus and the seats were the size you would expect to see in America. Monica was not surprised and thought that I had been pulling her leg. There were

Me and Charles!

some other volunteers on the bus and they backed me up about the typical size of the seats. The seven hour trip went well even though it was pretty hot seeing as it was getting to be dry season.

When we arrived in Bamenda we dropped our things at my house and then went out for dinner. The next day we had to wait around my house for my landlord and a technician. There was an issue with my house that I had been trying to get fixed since late September. Monica and I waited around for not only that day but the next three days; the first day they didn't show and then it took them the next two days to finish the work. This was not what I wanted to do while Monica was visiting but it couldn't be helped. We spent the rest of our time, about ten days, traveling and seeing tourist attractions.

Thanksgiving dinner.

The Thursday after Monica arrived in Cameroon was Thanksgiving. We bought potatoes and green beans in the market and canned corn and creamed corn in the supermarket so that we could make mashed potatoes, garlic green beans, and creamed corn for dinner. I also got a piece of chicken, since turkey is not really
available, to go with my dinner. Along with those things we had jellied cranberry sauce that I bought from an "American" store three weeks earlier. "American" stores are stores that sell goods that are imported from the United States and Europe. I was very excited when I found that cranberry sauce and I was surprised at how traditional Monica and I were able to make our Thanksgiving dinner.

Black sand beach at Limbe.

Monica and I went to Limbe for the weekend. Limbe is one of the two major beach towns in Cameroon, the other is Kribi in the South region. Limbe is in the South West region , sits at the foot of Little Mount Cameroon, and is known for its black sand beaches. Monica was once again lucky with the bus; it too had the American style seats. After the bus arrived in Limbe, Monica and I got a cab into town and tried to find a hotel that had been suggested to us by another volunteer. It turned out that the cab driver did not know where the hotel was or how to get there. So, Monica and I got out and started walking to see if we could find the hotel or someone who could tell us how to get there. We found a hotel that was under construction, and yet open and not open at the same time, and the staff there knew where the hotel was and helped us get a cab there.

Monica and me in our room at the hotel.

Finally we arrived at the hotel and got checked in. I'm not sure why but all of the staff at the hotel spoke French rather than English even though the hotel is in an Anglophone region. Anyway, Monica and I got settled in our room and turned the air conditioning on. To me it was just a little warm but Monica thought it was wretchedly hot. I guess I'm used to it, although Limbe is very humid. We decided to go swimming. The Limbe beach is on the Atlantic Ocean and so it took a little while for Monica and I to work up the courage to go in the water. We were being silly and considering what could be in the water. We were nervous because the water was a little murky with the black sand and silt. Finally we went in, swam, and had a lot of fun with no problems.

We swam for about an hour and a half and then decided to go back to the hotel and get cleaned up for dinner. When we got back to the room we realized that the air conditioning wasn't working. So, after we showered we went to the front desk and asked for a new room. I left Monica at the hotel restaurant and went with a member of the staff to chose a new room. Once we'd found one where all of the equipment in the room was working, I went back and joined Monica. For dinner Monica had some sort of vegetable soup and I had fish and vegetables. We both thought that dinner was good and I was glad because there are very few vegetarian options for Monica in Cameroon and I had heard that Limbe has great seafood and was glad that it was true. After that we went to our room and watched a movie while we relaxed in the air conditioning.

Fisherman's village in Limbe.

The next morning we went and had breakfast in the restaurant and then went back to the room to shower and get ready to leave. Half way through our showers the shower head broke randomly in two. So, I went to the desk and asked for a bucket of heated water so that we could finish our showers. We waited over an hour for the water and I had to inquire about it several times but it finally got to us and we were able to finish showering. After that we went and got a cab back to town.

Oil rig in the bay at Limbe.

We had to wait for the bus and it was almost lunch time so we went to find something to eat. The first place that we tried had food that was way too expensive for us so we tried a different place. The second place was just opening and the owner was there. He allowed us to make special orders so that we could get what we wanted at a price that we could afford.  I got fish again and Monica got a vegetable sauté. It was pretty good and the owner was nice. He also told us about the Limbe botanical gardens which were just around the corner. Since we still had time to kill Monica and I decided to go.

Botanical gardens in Limbe.

As we paid our entrance fees to the gardens, the woman selling the tickets asked if we were twins. When I said that we were she jumped up and rushed around her desk to hug us together. Twins are said t have great powers and so it is common for people to hug or touch twins for luck. After that Monica and I went into the gardens. There were plaques around and a few of them had papers in them labeling trees or other plants but most of them were empty. There were also benches set around the park but they were always set in the most awkward places. For example, some of them were facing trees and were only about a foot from the tree and others were under branches that hung too low to allow anyone to sit down. Other than these things the garden was nice. I was rather hoping that there would be flowers but it was all trees and bushes. I thought, before coming to Cameroon, that since it was a tropical place, there would be a lot of color and many types of flowers but it is not so. It was still nice to be away from the city. Monica and I sat down on the path, since all of the benches were so awkwardly placed, and rested for a while. After resting and exploring the rest of the gardens, and hearing all about Kensington Gardens from Monica, we left the botanical gardens. We went and found a hotel with a small restaurant to sit at while we waited for our bus. We had a snack and changed into our traveling clothes. Then we took a cab to the bus station.

The trip  is about eight or nine hours and the bus driver had a dvd menu on the monitors for the entire trip; a twenty second loop f outrageously loud music playing the entire time. I was very grateful when the trip was finally over. Monica and I took the next day to rest and see Bamenda. I showed Monica around a little and took her to some of my favorite restaurants. It was nice to be able to rest after that trip!

Tea being produced at the Ndawara Tea Plantation.

The next day we traveled up to the Ndawara Tea Planation. This tea plantation is one that is commonly visited by volunteers and comes highly recommended. Monica and I took a taxi to the town then a moto up the hill to the tea plantation. We signed n and then we were given a tour of the factory where they dry and package the tea leaves. It was really neat to see the whole process. Monica took a lot of pictures because she thought that Jason would find the process and the machinery interesting too. After that Monica and I went to see some of the other things that were on the plantation. The plantation had what could almost be considered a small town in the middle of its many, many acres where most of the workers live. The tea plantation also keeps some exotic animal species.

Visiting the chimpanzees.

Tea packaging room, packaged tea.

So, Monica and I went to see them. They call the area a preserve but it seemed to me that the cages were too small to really call it a preserve. They had snakes, peacocks, ostriches, several types of monkeys, and chimpanzees. The handlers took some of the chimpanzees out of their cage and let them run around the grounds. Bobby, one of the chimps, even herds cows! After watching the chimpanzees for a while, Monica and I went back to the factory and met our bike driver who took us back down to the town where we could get a car back to Bamenda. When we arrived back in Bamenda, Monica and I went out for dinner at a restaurant that had a vegetarian dish that Monica liked.

View from the Ndawara Tea Plantation.

The next day Monica and I took a bus to Yaoundé so that we could get ready for our flight and I could pick up my passport from the Peace Corps office. The bus that we took had the smaller type of seats so Monica was finally able to see that I had been telling the truth. Monica and I checked into a slightly cheaper hotel than last time but it was still pretty decent. In the morning I took Monica to the Peace Corps office to meet everyone. She met my program managers, Tiki and Therese, one of my training coordinators, Gaston, the safety and security coordinator, Ruth, and many of the admin that I work with often, Nancy, Sally, and Lori. They all still ask about her whenever I see them. All of the staff and admin who are Cameroonian thought it was amazing that I have a twin sister and kept saying that we look exactly alike. After showing Monica the office we went to the Mvog Betsi Zoo, the zoo that is located right in the middle of Yaounde. It is a small zoo that has several species of birds, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and apes and there are also lions and warthogs. The zoo is set up kind of like a garden with paths running through it that lead around to the enclosures.

Monica and me at the Mvog Betsi Zoo.

As Monica and I were walking along the paths we suddenly heard rustling in the trees above us. We looked up and saw some of the monkeys leaping out of their open-topped cages and into the over hanging trees. Monica and I moved to a different area of the zoo but wondered why no caretakers or anyone seemed to be doing anything about it. We also noticed that the crocodiles' enclosure was not locked. It was closed so that the crocodile could not get out but not closed so that people could not get in. After that we went over to see the lions; there were several female lions and one male lion. The male lion had an enclosure all to himself (and at least it was shut securely). The lion was as tall as Monica and I and we were able to get very close to him because there were only the bars separating us rather than the walls, glass, and ditches that we have in the States. It was a little scary because when the lion came over to the bars to look at us, we were literally eye to eye. This lion seemed larger than any that I have seen in the States but then again they don't let people get that close. After the zoo Monica and I went back to our hotel and worked on rearranging our packing so that all of our bags were within the weight limits for our flight.

Monica on our last day in Cameroon.

We spent the whole next day on this endeavor as well, taking breaks every now and again to explore Yaounde. Finally we got everything arranged and called a cab to take us to the airport. We left together on a flight that left Cameroon almost two weeks to the day since Monica arrived. Now I was leaving Cameroon to spend Christmas in the States with some of my family and friends.

View of Yaounde from Mount Febe, the hill on which the monastery sits.

Foumban and the Nguon Festival

Sultan's Palace in Foumban, West region, Cameroon.

Foumban is a village that is well known for its culture and history and it is the home of the Bamoun people. It is located one and a half hours away from Bafoussam, the headquarters of the West region, near Lake Monoun. Although I have visited Foumban before I had never been there during a festival of such magnitude or significance. The Nguon Festival only happens once every few years and it attracts people from all over the world. Nguon is the name of a buzzing insect as well as the name of the group of people who are said to bring the insects and commence the festival.

There were many volunteers there at the festival and we all stayed at the houses of the two volunteers who live in Foumban. I arrived a day early and helped Josh and Logan prepare for the other volunteers. Then Josh suggested that I should do the palace tour and museum before the festival really started because there would be too many people once the festival began. So, we went to see the Palace.

The Sultan's Palace was built around the same time as the German colonization of Cameroon. The sultan at the time had the palace constructed in the German style but included some features of his own, like pipes that connect the first and second floors for the transportation of wine between the two. The sultan uses the palace for meetings and audiences and he has a separate house on the compound in which he actually lives. The wall of the courtyard in the palace compound are painted with scenes from the history of the Bamoun people and a chronological list of all of the sultans and how long they reigned. There have been nineteen sultans, two of whom were women. One of the women was only sultan for thirty minutes. This happened because her son was not in the direct lineage and she had to sit on the throne in order to reestablish the line before her son could become sultan rightfully.

Part of the list of Foumban's Sultans, showing the Sultan that ruled for 30 minutes.

Josh and I paid our entrance fees to the museum and to the traditional drum of the Bamoun. The museum is located in one wing of the palace on the second floor but the drum is located across the street near the mosque so we would have to see that afterwards. The museum has artifacts of the Bamoun people that have been collected and stored by the sultans. The first sultan to start collecting these artifacts was the grandfather of the current sultan. He wanted to keep and preserve the culture of his people. So, he kept ceremonial robes, crafts, headdresses, and ceremonial cups and weapons and put them on display in the museum. The items are mostly too old to be used anymore but the ones that are not yet too old are only taken out to be used for very special ceremonies, like when there is a new sultan or a sultan's funeral. The same sultan also invented the written form of the Bamoun dialect in order to preserve the language. At first he wanted to have a symbol for each word but then decided to simplify it and made a symbol for each sound instead. He simplified it because he wanted the language to be accessible to all of his people. Twins are seen as very special and so when there are twins born in the community they are sent to live at the palace where they are raised and the sultan hand picks brides or grooms for them who are influential and wealthy. I will say that I can not be one hundred percent positive with all of this because the tour guide only spoke French. So, this is my rough translation of the types of thing he was saying.

Bamoun drum.

After the tour of the museum there were some musicians set up just outside and they played some traditional Bamoun music for us. They used many of the traditional instruments that we had seen inside the museum. When they were done we gave them some money for playing and then I bought two of their CDs. Then we went across the  street to see the drum. The drum is a cylinder that lays on its side and is over ten feet long and about six feet in diameter. The Bamoun people traditionally use this drum to call everyone together in times of war. This means that the drum is never used unless something very important is happening and everyone's presents is needed.

Over the course of the weekend, there were fantasias, artisanal craft markets, and a large trade fair. Fantasias are spectacles in which riders perform with trained horses that are dressed with ribbons of colorful tassels. The riders perform tricks, stunts, and choreographed patterns with other riders, often with staffs and swords, or other weapons. The artisanal markets are usually held in one quarter of the town but for the festival the vendors moved into the main squares of the town. They had jewelry, carvings, statues, and many other arts and crafts. The trade fair also had many crafts as well as booths with new products, Cameroonian products, merchandise from around the world, and local Cameroonian foods. There was also a stage where concerts and beauty pageants were held. The other volunteers and I often spent our evenings around the trade fair. We would have dinner and then hang out talking and dancing to the music. The trade fair would open for the day in the early afternoon and wouldn't close until three in the morning.

The Nguon Festival was celebrated during the week of November 2nd, 2014 and most of the major events and spectacles were held that weekend, the 6th to the 9th. It was a lot of fun and it was interesting to see a festival that is so rich in culture and history. The Bamoun people are proud of their culture and are working hard to preserve it for future generations.

The scale model for the new museum location and building.

The museum will be moved into this building rather than being part of the Sultan's Palace. The location is still within the palace compound though. The building will be in the shape of the Bamoun People's traditional symbol. It is a snake with a second head rather than a tail. This is a symbol of how no enemy can attack the Bamoun because the Sultan sees the enemies in front of him and behind him. Then inside the ring that the snake's body makes is a spider which is a sign of intelligence.

Looking Back, Then to Now

Meeting in Philadelphia for staging, Sept. 11, 2013.

Dinner out with Monica and fellow Peace Corps Trainees, Sept. 11, 2013.

Arriving in Yaounde, Cameroon!, Sept. 14, 2013.

Training center in Bafia, Center Region, Cameroon, Sept. 2013.

Host Family in Bafia, Sept. 2013.

My practice garden, made for training, Oct. 2013.

Language hut, where I learned French, Oct. 2013.

Leaving Bafia after training and going to our sites, Nov. 2013.

Menji/Fontem, South West Region, Cameroon, Nov. 2013.

Women's group meeting; first meeting in Menji, Nov. 2013.

My new kitty!, Dec. 2013.

Monitoring and Evaluation Game training at Environmental Education Workshop, Dec. 2013.

Christmas packages from home!, Dec. 2013.

Forest Garden training and meeting in Buea SW region, Jan. 2014.

Youth Day, Feb.11, 2014.

School girls marching on Youth Day, Feb. 11, 2014.

School boys marching on Youth Day, Feb. 11, 2014.

Mardi Gras party and face painting during PST-Reconnect, Bamenda, North West region, Feb. 2014.

Tiki and Therese (Agribiz Program Managers) with volunteers at PST-Reconnect, Bamenda, NW region Feb. 2014.

Women's Day with Olive, March 8, 2014.

Visiting my host family in Bafia, April 2014.

Mushroom Cultivation Training in Bamenda, NW region, April 2014.

Receiving my training certificate for Mushroom Cultivation, April 2014.

Crowning of the new Fon of Fontem, May 2014.

School tree nursery with Standard Primary, May 2014.

School tree nursery with Catholic School Fontem, May 2014.

School tree nursery with Catholic School Menji, May 2014.

School tree nursery with Government Bilingual High School, May 2014.

First time seeing Callee, my friend's baby (born in Dec. 2013), June 2014.

Monica and me jumping into Lake Huron, July 2014.

Watching the sun set from dad's boat, July 2014.

Bamenda, NW region; my new post, Aug. 2014.

Visiting Lake Nyos with the Governor of the NW region, Aug. 2014.

SIRDEP office in Bamenda, my new work place, Sept. 2014.

Visiting the field with Emmerencia, a colleague, Sept. 2014.

Climbing Mount Cameroon with friends!, Oct. 2014.

At the summit of Mount Cameroon!, Oct. 2014.

Sultan's Palace in Foumban, West region; getting ready for Nguon Festival, Oct. 2014.

Monica arrives in Cameroon!, Nov. 24, 2014.

At my house in Bamenda, NW region, Nov. 2014.

Thanksgiving at my house, Nov. 27, 2014.

Monica on the black sand beach in Limbe, SW region, Nov. 2014.

Monica and me at Ndawara Tea Plantation, NW region, Nov. 2014.

Monica and Me in Yaounde before flying home for Christmas, Dec. 2014.

Christmas day!, Dec. 25, 2014.

First snow I've seen since March 2013, Jan. 2015.

Monica and me at Bronner's Christmas Store, Jan. 2015.

Mid-Service Training for AgriBusiness volunteers, Jan. 20th to 24th, 2015.