Nick’s Trip to Cameroon with the RippleZoo 2018 Cameroon Project

I was very humbled recently to be involved with a small group of volunteers from Ireland to help complete a number of projects in the village of Batoufam in Cameroon.

During the short 10 day visit that we were there, we were able to complete a number of project tasks that we had set ourselves to do, which involved the refurbishment of a school, putting in place sanitation and a well in the local hospital, and also the setting up of a computer room.  Our container that was dispatched months in advanced arrived just in time, with all the medical equipment and computers that people in Ireland had so generously donated.

The video gives a brief insight into some of the work we did in Batoufam itself, but it tells nothing of the difficult circumstances these people have to endue every day of their lives, yet still they manage to smile effortlessly.   Everywhere you go in Cameroon football stadiums were being built and roads constructed as they host the African football cup next year.  However, when we were there, due to the lack of progress, the hosting was pulled from them and handed to Burundi instead, it helps illustrate the waste of money and expenditure on (what I would deem) such a low priority.  I also feel building massive stadiums in Qatar in also somewhat excessive, but at least the people aren’t starving on the streets and they are actually holding a World Cup.

Anyway, I was pleased to get involved, I always feel we never do enough and should always do more, sadly with all the work involved we had little time to teach them cricket and play the odd game of rugby so the cricket set and 6 x rugby balls I took with me I presented to the ‘King’ as a gift.  Maybe next year we’ll be able to teach them some sports too, these gifted children who want for nothing.