Everyday life in Cameroon

Cameroon is a miniature of Africa, because here we have different landscapes, vegetation, peoples, languages and living standards. Moving from the south to the north, tropical forests pass to the savanna through the semi-deserts. In the north there is the Sahara.
There are 80 different sorts of people, 130 languages. The official languages are English and French, which is spoken fluently by the residents of the West. The president speaks in both official languages. There are also different religions: 40% of population are Christians, 40% - Muslims, 20% worship traditional religions.
The North, where water is scarce, is poorer than the South. The lack of drinking water is one of the most serious problems of the state. Only 30% of the population has access to running water. Agriculture is the basis of the economy. Cocoa, coffee, cotton, oil palm, peanut, sorghum, millet, rice, cassava, sweet potato, corn, beans, sugar cane, tobacco are cultivated. One breeds sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, poultry. Many Cameroons live from fishing.
In Cameroon there are 3 types of schools. The best level is offered by missionary schools, slightly worse – by the state ones, where expenses are not high. The worst are so-called parental schools that employ unskilled teachers. These schools are found especially in the villages. Parents raise money for a teacher with basic education, they buy materials, such as tablets, on which children write with chalk. On the poorer North you will find schools built of reeds. Instead of benches there are tree trunks. Classes can be double. Older children have notebooks, younger ones write with chalk on tablets. They consume the chalk to the end. Cartridges for pens are missing. Uniforms are compulsory...
The program Adoption of Heart gives the children the opportunity to attend school by partial or complete coverage of their education expenses. The missionary sisters run kindergartens and primary schools for children from the poorest families who have no educational opportunity. Several hundred children profit from feeding centers supported by the Maitri Movement. Here the child also receives medical help.
Translated by Anna Dominko