For Professor Joan Desilets, traveling to Cameroon, Africa to help a children’s orphanage is second nature. As the force behind the AfricAid project on campus in September, Desilets is no stranger to giving back. On Jan. 24, 2009, Desilets and three others will begin their journey to an orphanage in Cameroon to hand deliver educational books and assist in setting up an elementary-secondary school within the orphanage. A fellow traveler and organizer of the project, Reverend Philip Wilson of the Church of the Redeemer in Morristown, claims that the goal of the trip is to “immerse ourselves in the lives [of the children]”.
The orphanage is home to 54 children, infants to 17 year olds, who have lost both parents to the AIDS epidemic. According to the UNAIDS Web site, in 2007 it was estimated that there were 540,000 adults and children in Cameroon living with HIV, 45,000 of them children ranging from infants to 14 year olds. There are an estimated 300,000 children, from infants to 17 year olds orphaned in Cameroon because of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, so the need for the orphanage is dire. Only 0.6 percent of the adult population in the United States is infected with HIV, where as 6.9 percent of the adult population in Cameroon is infected.
Although the AIDS epidemic is prevalent in Cameroon, the orphaned children were ostracized by their peers while in public school. Sister Jane, who is a Cameroonian nun and the head of the orphanage, set up her own school where the children would be safe. “Her heart is in the right place,” said Desilets, who receives updates on the children regularly from Sister Jane. Last year, the orphanage received much needed hospital supplies donated by Johnson & Johnson, and $6,000 donated by the church, towards the purchase of a chicken farm. A chicken farm, which may seem irrelevant for an orphanage focused on education, will provide food for the orphanage. The one-time investment of $30,000 to house the chickens would ensure that the orphanage would have the necessary equipment to produce chickens for years to come. Wilson said that one of the group’s goals while in Cameroon is to check on the development of the chicken farm and aid in the possible construction.
With the supplies necessary to keep the children healthy, the orphanage is able to shift the priority from health care to education. Desilets is hoping that the donated books will help the children learn English. The official languages of Cameroon are French and English, but the children speak some French and even less English, along with their native dialects. Unable to send the books for fear of them not reaching their destination, Desilets and Wilson must hand deliver them. The books cannot be shipped in packages because Cameroonian rebels and a corrupt government make it unlikely that the books will reach their destination.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, at least 30,000 Chadian refugees have fled to Cameroon, as government forces and rebels fight for political power in Chad. The refugees arrived in Cameroon without food or shelter and were faced with dire chances for survival. Some refugees have relied on thievery, stealing anything they can find from the Cameroonians, which can include educational books. For Desilets and the others, the situation in Cameroon is dangerous. Desilets said, “This certainly isn’t a vacation.”
“We have to be careful choosing books that are culturally relevant,” said Wilson, pointing out that books on topics such as technology, economics, and American culture would be confusing to the children who have never experienced such concepts. The students need to learn about the world they live in, so books on Africa, tropical plants and animals, electricity, weather, and human history would be greatly beneficial. Flash cards containing math games and language skills are also needed, as the students are not proficient in either subject.
Desilets and Wilson know that the FDU campus and surrounding community will generously donate books. A similar book project took place last year which provided books for a multitude of different needs. With so many donations made, some of the books were sent to soldiers in the Middle East, while others were sent to a college in Tanzania. Profits that were earned from selling some of the books were sent to schools in Tanzania. The left over donations were given to a book-supplying agency in charge of supplying books to Africa.
For those interested in donating books to be taken to the orphanage, the donations box is located in the Recreation Center near the swimming pool viewing windows. Donations will be accepted until the fourth week in January.
KIM THRASHER
Staff Writer
