Immersing in New Experiences with NAYD International
Nearly two months have passed since I arrived into Douala, the main gateway into Cameroon. I arrived in the early days of October to work on youth development initiatives with Pochi Tamba who heads Maya Initiatives (M.I.) as well as Co-founding the Networks of African Youths for Development (NAYD). While I have had many experiences working and living in Africa (specifically West Africa), I have not had the experience of working directly with a locally based organization. The prospects of acquiring insight into the approach and function of a local organization was highly motivating for me, as well as having the opportunity to apply my skills and time to such endeavours. The mission and intercontinental characteristics of NAYD Cameroon presented this opportunity to participate on a local level.

Soon after my arrival into Douala and a bit of rest, I headed off to be based in Yaoundé, the political capital of Cameroon, where I was to begin working on a variant of projects organized by Pochi Tamba for NAYD. The first weeks of my stay in Cameroon consisted more with navigating the features of daily life, such as finding your way around, understanding how to get around, and locating helpful resources. Helpful in getting my bearings was taking on tasks to fulfil for NAYD, such as acquainting myself with other local organizations and working on a rough draft of the coming volunteer section of the NAYD website, which I built the HTML rough draft and sent off to NAYD's webmaster. Simultaneously I was acquainting myself with the dynamic of Cameroonian life to gain a broader picture into the obstacles and dilemmas the general populace here faces. My first impression of Cameroon was seeing the richness of natural resource riddled throughout this diverse and fertile country and then wondering how is it possible many Cameroonians are dealing with the torments of near poverty and lack of government spending towards genuine development initiatives. This dynamic alone still looms in my head and further frustrates development efforts at local and international levels. However the officially and nationally bilingually francophone and Anglophone nation, which in addition host upwards of 250 indigenous tongues has a powerfully bold culture of colour and beauty. Cameroonian life, quite different from my cultural experiences in West Africa, draws much of its culture from specific regions of village traditions and life, whereas West African culture nurtures much of its traditional roots in its urban environments. The effect is Cameroonians return to their village of origin as a location of culture and tradition leaving the cities as places central to function and commerce. Unfortunately at the time of this writing I have yet to experience the incredible village culture and life of Cameroon.

During my time with NAYD, other activities revolved around brainstorming the presence of NAYD in Cameroonian life. My experience and personal knowledge base deals with organizing on the ground activities with the use of multi-media efforts. NAYD's forum of multi-media connections; firstly through its web-based networking, and secondly through its ability to organize intercontinental dialogues are impressive, however I found as a volunteer in Cameroon I wanted to establish a deeper connection with the populace NAYD advocates for beyond it's network. It has been an honour to see some of the behind scenes process of organizing NAYD in which many lessons have been learned, in regards to the obstacles of local development initiatives and on personal level as global citizen desiring to participate in the pursuit of a freer and fairer world.
Carol Ann Gleason