THANKFUL for 23 years on Earth! (11/11 2010)
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| Taken at 11:11am on 11/11 |
186+ facebook wall posts, 24 emails, 13 text msgs, and multiple national and international phone calls later....
I say THANK YOU once more for the B'day love!
I say THANK YOU once more for the B'day love!
The Plight of handicaps in our cities
It's been 2 days in a row that I find myself holding a blindman's hand to help him cross the chaotic and ruthless streets of Yaounde. It's been 2 consecutive days I witnessed how Taxi drivers will refuse to carry a blindman bcuz of his handicap. It's been 2 days my consciousness has been awakened to the terrible living conditions of blind people in our cities... Pure Coincidence? or angels whispering in my ears?
I don't believe in coincidences, and for this to happen 2 days in a row, during the process when I'm looking for a theme for the Harambe competitions, is no coincidence at all!
Crisis Management / Event Planning
It seems like this year is coined with a succession of problems. I just skip from solving one problem to solving another. It could be me paying off a debt this week, repairing my laptop the next, my phone breaking in the mean time. I mean, problems are just erupting one after another. I feel it’s the heavens and earths, and all that’s in between, testing me for advocating to Cameroonian students the Harambe slogan “transforming our problems into opportunities.” Really, that slogan that I chose to adopt as the spirit and message of Harambe Cameroon, is following me in every chapter of my life. Like a mirror/shadow, reflecting every step of my way, as if to question if I am living what I am preaching.
For example, this 2nd year round, I’m facing similar crisis with event planning as I did last year (I mean earlier on in May this year) while planning various events for Harambe. Last week I organized a Press conference for an organization that subcontracted me as an event planner for their event. At the press conference, I faced the same challenges as I did with the 3 previous press conferences I organizes (2 at UNICEF and 1 Harambe). But since I had already known how to handle it, it was much much easier this time around. The journalists who expected their “motivation” were given their dues, and the 15 other individuals, half of whom claimed to be journalists, half of those had expired journalist licenses, stood around for more than an hour after the conference, expecting some motivation (even though they weren’t invited). Finally we gave them one-one thousand (2-2 dollars) for them to pay their transportation. These are local realities you cannot skip. That’s what I told 2 representatives of a brand that sponsored the event, who did not want to believe this could be possible until they witnessed the entire scenario after the press conference. It’s an Unbelievable reality!
Today, I faced another challenge I had faced earlier this year after a couple Harambe events: Managing human resources & finances after the event. It’s the same thing with press conferences, but unlike press conferences, most often the financial resources necessary to instantly pay all the staff involved in the program, is not enough. Especially after major events like the concert we organized this Saturday (the dance4life-Cameroon team, with myself as the event planner) that brought together 3000 kids from 8 secondary schools in Yaounde, to celebrate life and fight against HIV/AIDS (check out dance4life.com). We had to manage all those kids with 34 hostesses, dancing teams, MC crew, VIP guests, and more. The event was a success! These kids (from 12-19) came together in numbers and actively got involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Inside the sports complex ( Palais des Sport), you could sense the life and energy of these students, it was a thrill!!! But lemme speak to you about the work in the background, the event planning and event making: Between some kids complaining about not getting one of the 3000 T-shirts we distributed to each school present, or the guards leaving from their posts at the front gate to come whisper in our ear to make sure we have saved some T-shirts for them! Or Teachers complaining about getting only one bottle of jus, like each one of their students, and the hostesses going up and down trying to ask you all the slightest questions that pops in their head … managing an event is like standing in front of an army and asking them to shoot all the rubber bullets at you. And it doesn’t get better, until you get home in your bed and sleep (or type it out as I am doing right now).
During the after-event, you have to handle the main crew that made the event manageable, i.e. the Dj, musicians, MC, viodeoman, hostesses, etc. Now, if you don’t have an “enveloppe” to pay each one of them, there goes another crisis; this time around, a drink or a shirt will not suffice to quell their temper. What happened tonight though was that me, in my position, had no knowledge of the financial setbacks (or rather delays in wire transfer) my partner had. So, at the end of the event, I was as financially-clueless as the rest of the 60 crew members. Once the event-owner announced to the 60-crew members that their payment will be made towards the end of the week, it was total chaos! I have to tell you, at first, when I heard the situation turned to vinegar, I wanted to slowly sneak my way out of there and smoothly go home. I actually managed to get myself outside the gates of the sports complex, with a friend half my size, serving as my shield, as I was hiding from the hostesses I interacted with all day. Cuz really man, put yourself in my shoes one second: How do you manage to rationalize 35 girls, who have worked hard all day, with little or no food, a drink or 2, and for most, have no transportation money to head back home? How do you tell them to be patient, and wait for Wednesday to be paid for their services, when you yourself you are not sure about what u’re saying? How do you approach them without them jumping on you and insulting you of all Judas Iscariot names? What can you possibly tell them to cool them down? I tell you, I honestly just wanted to disappear and not confront them at all. It wasn’t my fault anyways, the event-owner had vamoosed, the only event-authorities left around were myself and 2 other people, and I was too tired and too scared to confront a group of justifiably angry young women!
So I managed to sneak out and get in a cab with 2 other event-staff; but two hostesses screamed my name “Oliviiaaaaaaa”. One of my friends already in the cab told me to act like I didn’t hear, so we can avoid the confrontation, and just head home. I was sooo tempted to do just that, but something pulled me back to stay were I was and listen to those two hostesses. After hearing both of their grievances: That they had not received even their transportation money to go back to their homes, and that they needed to know when they will be paid … I realized we need to solve this problem before heading home. Told my friends still waiting in the taxi, “let’s just go and handle this.” They stepped out of the taxi, joined me and the 2 hostesses, and we walked towards the 33 other hostesses, angrily waiting 30meters away. Tough situation. You have to think a thousand words per second. You have to think solutions. You have to think plan Bs. All that in the span of walking 30 meters from the gate to where the rest of the hostesses where... Once there, in the midst of the tense energy, you have to keep your cool, and speak from the heart, with all the realness you have in you. ‘cause I think when you are real and sincere, people not only sense it, but they appreciate it. And I saw that with the hostesses tonight. First they wanted to hear an explanation, and secondly they wanted to be heard and understood. That done, we tried to work together to make our plan B, i.e. a friend who had some extra cash offered it for their transportation. It was a tough situation, scary to confront at first, but hey, you gotta swallow your fear and face difficult situations at times. The results, I bet, will be better than dodging the problem or sweeping it under the carpet. Be a PROBLEM- SOLVER!!!
Kmerun – grrrrr%**ยต£¨%Lf!!!!
This country is so messed up! Really messed up! I mean, there’s no climate for trust... Even so-called “friends” , will not hesitate to make some money off of you!
This month of November, I just got so many disappointments from a couple of people in my life that have made me question why I’m staying in this country... Or maybe it’s a problem with Yaounde! Here in Yaounde, the political capital, not only are things slow, bureaucratic, but there’s too much negativity in the air. The simple act of praying, for example, I feel there are too many negative pulses in the air that counteract my prayers. For real. And even with prayers here in Yaounde, you have to be aggressive! lol. In Douala, though, the economic city, everything is in constant motion, people are alive, business is promising, people hustle on the daily basis, and don’t have much time to bring you down... Whatever mini-enterprise you come up with, you will find a market to sell to. Everyone minds his/her business (relatively to Yaounde), his/her life…And I appreciate that! I want to move to Douala for at least 3 months, to gain some work experience there… I need that change of air!
December is a great time to make these evaluations - to look back on the year, see what I’ve gained, cross out the unnecessary stuff/people that are liabilities in my life, and make plans for the year to come!
Xmas Break Goodies – Time to Celebrate
This is the season of Joy, love, and Thanksgiving! And for us here in Africa, of warmth. Despite all my complains above, about the difficulties of living and trying to implement something in Cameroon, there are many positive things this xmas break has brought to me.
1st: I was featured on the Kojo Nnamdi show, on WAMU 88.5FM on Wednesday, Dec. 15th at 1pm EST. Check it out here:
The Audio version
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Yvonne Traditional wedding in the village (Bangou) - Dec. 11, 2010 |
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The Bride - Yvie (Dec. 18. 2010) |
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| With my mini-me |
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3rd: Most of my closest/best friends are coming back to Cameroon for xmas break, with brand new energy + ideas, and they are making my life more jolly! Actually one cool thing we will do on the 28th, proposed and initiated by two little sisters (friends) going to school in the US, and trying to rally other Cameroonians in the Diaspora to give back during this xmas season, is a Party with a Cause, called DANCE FOR LOVE. Now that I’m on the ground, they called upon me for any advice on organizing such events, and any other valuable tip that could be beneficial. We got the name to represent the group of organizers, called “Young Diaspora Engaged” (YDE). For the party, people will pay $6 entrance fee, and the money made will go to 2 charities: The Buea School for the Deaf, and Drepano-Solidaire (a group to increase awareness, prevention and life with Sickle cell). It’s in November that I met for the first time the president of Drepano-Solidaire. He made me aware of this disease that’s killing thousands of Africans each year. I spent the following entire weekend doing my research online to learn more about the ddisease, and how people manage to live with it. It’s really beyond painful to have the recurring crises. It’s especially difficult to live with sickle cell here in Cameroon, and Africa in general, cause of the standard of living, the low awareness of the disease, the few resources to help those suffering from it, etc. In short, some of the funds raised at the party will go towards those 2 organizations! Here's the link to the event:
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In short, despite all the pains and hurdles, Kmer remains THE PLACE TO BE!!!
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