POVERTY IN THE VILLAGE

My mother lives in a rural area that has no electricity or running water and is only accessible by “bush taxi” over very rough roads that can become impassable in the rainy season. That is how the poverty level seems like. Some people have gas-fired cook-tops, although many others, including my mother, have to cook their meals over wood burning fires. Almost everyone in the area has dealt with typhoid and malaria at least a few times in their lives.

Believe it or not, Cameroon is not even one of the 50 poorest countries in the world. People are not starving in the region where I come from. In fact, food is abundant in this part of the country, and beggars are more common in downtown Toronto than in Bamenda. Shelter, education and health services are available (with varying levels of quality), and with the exception of remote areas, such as my mother’s village, there is reasonable access to clean water.