Being a cow without milk
on Mischa in Cameroon (Cameroon), 16/Dec/2009 13:59, 34 days ago
I was talking to an elderly man who was visiting my compound in Maga about my work the other day and he asked me which groups or people I give money to. I explained that my work isn't like that and that I am here as a capacity builder rather than as someone who gives out resources. I explained that in fact the perception that white people will come and give money for development can actually be quite harmful for my work, as often people will wait for white people to come and help with their development needs, rather than working to address them themselves.The man told me that "No, no, you are wrong. We do not wait for the white people to give us money. I will give you an example. When the white people came to develop riziculture in this region they built the lake and the canals, and then hired people to work in the rice fields. Everyone had his work: the planters planted and the harvesters harvested and there were others who made sure that the rice had enough water. And at the end of each month the white people would count up how much work each man had done, and they would pay him. And we never waited for the white people to give money, because they always gave it right on time."The Europeans who developed the riziculture project left Maga during the global economic slowdown in the early nineteen nineties, and although rice growing continues, it is now on a much smaller scale. There are also increasing problems with the artificial lake which provides Maga's two main sources of income: fish and irrigation for the rice. Because there has not been much rain the level of the lake went down causing shortages of fish and rice. A lot of people have mentioned the changing climate here, which is wreaking havoc on their agricultural economy.The suspicion that I have some secret access to financial resources which I'm not sharing is widespread in the Maga area. I was talking to a parents meeting at one of my schools the other day about the importance of paying school fees, and asked at the end whether anyone had any questions or would like to add anything. One man stood up and said, "You tell us we must give money for our schools, but I will tell you what you are like. You are like a cow who I have bought who does not give milk, because you have come here to us but you have not brought money." The same man later told the School Council it was like a chicken which didn't lay eggs, because its treasurer had disappeared to Chad with all its money.School fees are a contentious issue here, because the government of Cameroon has declared that primary school is free. Unfortunately the government has not paid for more than one or two teachers for the primary schools I work with, all of which have several hundred students. Without school fees (which are not expensive, only 1500CFA, or two english Pounds per child per year) the schools cannot hire any more teachers. However they can not force the parents to pay fees, as this would be against the law because the schools are officially free. In the largest school I work with only thirty percent of parents have paid their fees, and now several classes have over two hundred pupils.