October 6, 2013

(yes, my posts have been delayed a bit.  Hopefully from here on out they will be more timely). 

Today is Sunday…I arrived in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, on Thursday evening and was met at the airport by Mr. Benson Tanjong.  He is a nurse anesthetist in Shisong and he was in Yaounde for the 4th Congress of the Society of Camaroonian Anesthesia and Critical Care.  He kindly arranged for transportation for me from the airport to the site of the congress and the next evening back to the center of Yaounde so that I could meet my transportation to Shisong.  This transportation was provided by people that he knew that had cars, and who generously drove the distance to and from the conference site.  While I was there, I was graciously received by the Cameroonian physicians and nurse anesthetists, and was able to assist with a successful program for the Lifebox program (www.Lifebox.org) which involved training on the pulse oximeters, the WHO Surgery Safety Checklist, and distributing the donated pulse oximeters to the representative anesthetists of hospitals who needed them.

Sr. Xaveria, the matron of St. Martin de Porres Hospital in Njinikom, and Sr. Ruphina, the matron of St. Elizabeth Hospital here in Shisong were in the US to receive an award for their work from Medicines for Humanity (www.MedicinesforHumanity.org) and returned Friday evening.  They, along with 2 other sisters and their driver, picked me up on Saturday morning to go to Shisong.  The distance from Yaounde to Shisong is long and some of the roads difficult; however, any travel in Cameroon is made particularly lengthy by the many stops that must be made along the way.  Yesterday, the most important stop included a visit to Dr. Leslie, a physician who had worked for several years with Sr. Xaveria in Njinikom and who has been ill.  Additionally, his father was being buried in Bamenda yesterday and Sr. Xaveria made arrangements to have someone from Njinikom attend the service.  Another interesting stop was for lunch, which was at a roadside café somewhat different from those we are used to in the US.  They did, however, have coffee, and that was key.

Today at Mass, along with the regular Mass, we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis which actually occurred on Friday October 4.  This parish is served by Franciscan Capuchins, and of course the hospital and schools by the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis, so there are also numerous secular groups observing Franciscan spirituality.  The Mass was indeed a festive event, with joyful processions for each event of the Mass.  The music was provided wonderfully by the school children who sang numerous songs accompanied by electric keyboard and African drums and rhythm instruments.   The joyful procession of the lectionary made me wonder if this is what it was like when Ezra brought the Torah forward and read it before the people, as described in the book of Nehemiah (Neh 8:1-6).  As the Gospel reading was about the apostles asking Jesus to “increase our faith,” Father spoke in his homily about receiving and living the gift of faith, and went on to talk about the faith of St. Francis and St. Clare as lived out among all of the Franciscans present, and to speak about the spirituality of Pope Francis and his teaching on love and service, especially to the poor.

Cameroon, 2013

For a long time I have carefully considered whether I would maintain a blog of this venture, despite many requests.  My concern is that I am terribly afraid of offending my African hosts, perhaps by an unintended criticism that should not have been made publicly, or by perpetuating some kind of stereotype.  Now that I have decided to proceed, there are so many things to write about.  I thought I would start by addressing some of the questions that arise when people learn that I am going to Cameroon.





1)   Where is Cameroon?  This is why I placed the map in the blog banner.  This is by far the most common question I receive.  Cameroon is either the eastern-most West African country or the western-most Central African country.  Many Cameroonians seem to consider themselves part of Central Africa.  If you want to read about it in the Lonely Planet, buy the book on West Africa.  It is just barely, but entirely, in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the region commonly called “sub-Saharan.”  There are coastal (Atlantic) and inland mountainous regions, and it has a rainy season and a dry season.  Shisong is in the mountains around 5000 ft elevation, so the weather is cool at night and warm in the daytime.

 



2)   Do they speak English there?  Yes, and not always.  The official languages are French and English, with French being more widespread, but Shisong is in the English-speaking Northwest Region.  There are few native English speakers, however, as there are around 250 local dialects.  In the English speaking regions a lot of Pidgin can be heard.  It is interesting to read about Pidgins on Wikipedia.

 



3)   Is it safe?  For this I quote the Lonely Planet Guide:  “Cameroon’s tourist industry is a victim of geography. It sits in a tough neighbourhood, bordered by some problematic countries. But this shouldn’t put you off, as Cameroon really has just about everything a traveller could want. One of the most culturally diverse countries on the continent, its people include ancient tribal kingdoms, Muslim pastoralists and forest-dwelling pygmies.”  When my friends think that I am visiting a dangerous country, I like to remind them that the day I returned from my first trip to Israel, 8 people were shot in a mall in Omaha, and while I was in Shisong last fall, the terrible Newtown shootings occurred.  This was all over the news in Cameroon, with questions about safety in my country.  In general, the most dangerous activity in Cameroon, like many places, is road travel.



In terms of safety, I also like to refer to the parable retold by W. Somerset Maugham.  In this story, a man escapes to Samarra because he has encountered Death in the market in Bagdad.  When his master inquires of Death, he learns that Death has an appointment with the man in Samarra that night.  That story can be read here: http://www.k-state.edu/english/baker/english320/Maugham-AS.htm

Missionaries like to remind their listeners “There is no safer place than in the center of God’s will.”    The best any of us can do is not to be reckless, but to exercise careful discernment about calling and risk.





4)   What are you going to do there?  Lots of things.  Primarily, cardiac anesthesia for a wonderful project of developing cardiac surgery in Cameroon.  Help teach nurses and nurse anesthetists, and hopefully, anesthesia residents both from Cameroon and the US.  Pray with the Sisters and the community.  But most importantly, serve Christ.  The purposes of a mission hospital are to meet the medical needs of the population, especially the poor, and to let the people know how much God loves them.  Should people choose not to be in relationship with God, that is between them and Him, but I am a physician trained firmly in the doctrine of informed consent.  People should know about Christ and be allowed to choose whether or not to be in relationship with Him.

 



5)    How long will you be there? 6 months (at a time).  This is usually followed by the following response: “Wow.  That’s a long time.  Maybe you won’t come back.”  No one knows what the future will hold.  However, I have promised my partners and my chair that I will be back at the University of Rochester in April.