Surprise Political Meeting: a taste of flexibility and ceremony

After a four-hour delay, we left Yaoundé and headed for Foumban. During this roughly 6-hour trip, we watched as the countryside changed from dense forest to clearer hills and mountains. We weaved all over the road to avoid potholes.  As dusk approached (about an hour away from our destination, we were greeted by a large group of people in the middle of the road. They waved us over to stop, spoke a few words to Amirah’s dad (who was traveling with us), and we stopped to quickly change and attend some type of meeting. This was our first glimpse into the flexibility and different sense of time the people here have, as well as their sense of ceremony.

The welcoming cheers as we arrived

Let’s backtrack a little bit. Amirah’s family is very involved in Cameroonian politics. Her mom is a representative in Parliament, and her dad is the founder of a major political party, as well as the mayor of Foumban (the town where we’re working).

The day of our travel to Foumban, Amirah’s dad, Dr. Ndam Njoya, had scheduled a political party meeting. Since we left four hours late, he thought it would be rescheduled. However, the people decided to simply wait for us anyway and catch us as we passed by them on the road. They had prepared a large meal, and they didn’t want it to go to waste. As friends of Amirah, we were given an honored place at the front of the outdoor meeting.

Meal prepared for the meeting

Much like many in the United States, these people were very attached to their political party. They had rallying chants (UDC- Transparence, CDU- Action!), and they even had a song about the party and Dr. Ndam Njoya. There were many formal greetings and a lot of thanks given.

However, a few things were different than one might expect:

1. An opening with both Muslim and Christian prayers
2. A matching cloth for the political party (this deserves some explanation—here, most clothes are custom made from cloth you buy at a shop or the market. Companies, groups, weddings, etc., get a specific cloth. Then, workers, supporters of the group, or members of the wedding party get this cloth and have clothing custom made from it).
3. The flexibility of starting a meeting four hours late without notice
4.  The ceremony of people mainly praising the leaders and little debate

Dr. Ndam Njoya speaking to the crowd

We departed from the meeting two hours later, and finally made it to our house in Foumban around 10pm.

Since this surprise meeting, we have experienced people’s flexibility with time and affinity for ceremony in many other ways. The other night we did a radio show an hour later than scheduled and still had many listeners call in. But surprisingly, they didn’t call to ask us questions—they called to bless us and thank us for what we are doing here. Additionally, when we visited the village of Mandetkene (where we are building the small store) we came a day later than planned. Nonetheless, the local parent’s council greeted us with many pleasantries (a small ceremony with a Muslim and Christian prayer, and someone thanking us). These are just a few examples of people’s extreme flexibility and formal welcoming attitudes.

As we continue in our work, we are trying to adapt to this mentality. We are planning to start things much later than the official start time, and we are trying to add some ceremonies to end our camps and officially open the store.

Now Yoko and I have some cleaning to do (we have been without running water since arriving in Foumban, but the water has come back temporarily) so I am signing off until next time. Thanks for your interest! Stay tuned for some photo updates.

Maren and Yoko

Foumban, Cameroon

Summer 2017