The Final Days

Our last week in Cameroon was awesome. We visited 4 villages and finished up two projects. We traveled to Teke for the 4th time but this time went the night before to enjoy a night in the village with members of the water committee. We had a blast and did some dancing at a "bush night club."

In the morning we did some final measurements and talked with the committee on where they want tap stands and other details. Upon leaving the village we were able to provide a full report, cost estimate, and drawing for their project.

We also finished a project at one other village. This was the third time we had been to this village and we were going to go survey a different water source since the first one we looked at wasnt going to work. We passed 2 nights in the village and completed a design from start to finish. The project was looking to be very good. We had a really good conversation with the chief about the future of the project and how to motivate the villagers to support the project. It was really good to end the trip on such a positive experience.

We also visited a village where ETHOS had worked in a previous summer. It was awesome to see how excited the village was to see Mark again. We walked up to the stream catchment and learned a lot about how the project took place. It provided a neat comparison between the past summer experiences while staying in a village and ours where we stayed in the town. I feel each is a unique experience and both amazing.

The last few days we spent saying goodbye to people, having farewell dinners, and of course having fun. It felt so surreal that we were preparing to leave. The 10 weeks had flown past and despite missing home I did not want to leave the culture I had fallen in love with. The challenge now is how can I take the aspects of their culture that I loved and the things I learned about myself and apply them to my life here.

The trip home all in all lasted about 40 hours. It was tough but was well worth it.

In closing, the summer provided me with the experience of a lifetime. I learned how fun it is to be fully immersed in a different culture. I learned a different set of cultural values. I was welcomed into peoples country, town, and homes with the most welcoming smiles everyday. I was exposed to a true passion for life. Furthermore I was exposed to true faith in God. I learned that its not what physical goods you have that matter but rather your family and your meaningful relationships that provide true happiness. And during all of this, I was able to challenge and apply my engineering education while improving the lives of others.