our man in cameroon

I was asked by VSO to fill in its questionnaire.  The aim being to use my answers as a basis for publicity press release.

Seeing as my Cameroon news is pretty sparse until I actually get there, it seemed worth posting them here

What made you decide to volunteer (with VSO)?
This is my second VSO placement, having spent two years previously in Hanoi, Vietnam. I guess I just returned home and missed the adventurous nature of a VSO posting. It’s a lot easier getting out of bed in the morning when you know that people are relying on you.

How long is your placement planned for and what will you be doing?
Two years in Bamenda, Cameroon. I will be working as a fundraiser for an AIDS awareness charity. Their staff travel around remote villages teaching about AIDS and HIV.

What are you looking forward to?
I am looking forward to living and working in an entirely different culture. This is my first time in Africa and I am sure that all my preconceptions about the continent are wrong.

With VSO you live and work among local people – I am looking forward to meeting my new colleagues, and my neighbours. I am also looking forward to that moment when I catch myself and smile at the thought that I am now living and working in Africa.

Any fears or apprehensions about volunteering? How did your family react to your decision?
I think my only slight concern is isolation. I know that there is a small community of volunteers but no real expat population to speak of. I shall have to become very good at filling my spare time.

My family were very accepting and supportive as ever – they have been tremendous. I will ensure that I regularly post pictures online and document my activities in my blog so that they can follow my adventures.

What will you miss about the UK, if anything?
Family in general of course and in particular my young nieces. I have an idea to write a kids version of my diary for my niece to enjoy as bed time stories.

Other than that I am going to miss Newcastle United. I’ve had my current season ticket for 12 years and even when I was out the country before I kept it on. I didn’t renew this time which is a shame. Having said that I’ve already checked and there is a football club in Bamenda and I’ve invested in a shortwave radio to listen to match commentary on a Saturday afternoon.

* The picture is of Bamenda and was taken by Zzilch a Peace Corps volunteer.

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This entry was posted on July 23, 2008 at 2:14 pm and is filed under cameroon. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: bamenda, cameroon, vso

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