Can’t resist the reference, though I didn’t like the book
much.
I’m getting replaced and that’s awesome. Not that not
getting replaced was really an option, but there was a good chance my
replacement would have come in closer to the time I was ready to leave and I
wouldn’t have gotten much time to work together with them. Continuity is really
tough in a situation like ours here in Cameroon. Continuity is key. Continuity
and sustainability go hand in hand as far as I’m concerned so the fact that I’m
going to get the chance to work with my replacement for about 2 months before I
leave is going to let me leave feeling a lot more confident that the work we
have done here in Oku is going to last for the long haul.
So who is this guy. Well he’s Jude. He hails from Nkambe, a
city about 50km from Oku. He recently graduated with a Master’s in Environmental
Science from a local university. He’s sharp and asks great questions when he’s
with farmers, ones that really get to the point quickly and gently. In Nkambe
he grew up speaking a different vernacular than the people of Oku, but they are
not so far off, so I think he’ll at least be able to follow the thread of
conversations, a big step up from me. Also, being an Anglophone Cameroonian he’s
equally solid in Pidgin and Grammar English. As we’ve been preparing for his
full time arrival in Oku, me, Cassman, Philip, and even Pierre (our American
boss visiting from the States) have gotten to have some good interactions with
him and we’re all excited to get to work with him in the thick of it soon.
I won’t go on too much more about Jude…wouldn’t want him to
blush, but I really can’t emphasize enough how glad I am that I’m getting these
months to work with him before I return back to the states. I’m tempted to
chalk it up to the benefit of working with a private company as opposed to an
NGO, but that probably wouldn’t be fair. More likely it is just a sign of our
individual flexibilities and the dedication so many people have to the work we’re
doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment