What I Do

Yesterday morning I got a call from my program director. He asked me to write a blurb describing what I do in country so that it can be sent out to the incoming volunteers. I figured that it could be interesting to you also, while you are waiting for all the posts that I haven't done yet. Sorry!


What do I do in Cameroon? Just like most ICT-Education volunteers, I started by teaching at secondary school. I taught 12 different classes for 12 hours a week with students varying in age from 11 to 20. Mostly I taught basic skills like Word and Excel. After I finished classes for the day I would often open the computer lab to students with free time. During free time I had students who would ask to learn a broad variety of topics, so I was able to cater more to individual skill levels.
My computer lab had 15 computers in various states of disrepair. My principal was supportive in my efforts to maintain the lab, but there often wasn’t money in the budget. Salvaging parts from other computers was usually the preferred method of repairs.

A few days a week I held classes for the teachers at my school. Most of the teachers wrote their tests out by hand and calculated grades with their cell phones, so there was definitely a need to learn. The principal mandated all teachers to attend, but still the attendance varied wildly. Some days I would have two teachers, some days ten – which was still far less than the 70 teachers who worked at the school.
Through my connections with the school and friends in village, I became acquainted with CATTU, a teachers’ union. They wanted a website, but did not know how to start or maintain one. I developed a simple website for them and then ran training classes for their staff on HTML.

After I completed my work I could always find time for a drink with friends in village, or for a quick cooking lesson from my neighbor (when I say quick, I mean for the 3 hours that it seems to take for even the simplest dishes). The taxi drivers who went to my village were always enthusiastic about teaching me the local dialect, and teachers at my school would teach me pidgin in between classes despite the signs banning the use of pidgin on school grounds. I lived close enough to the regional capital that I went into the city once a week to visit other PCVs and go shopping for luxuries like lettuce.

After a year of teaching at secondary school, I received an opportunity to move posts. I went from a small village in the Northwest region to a large city in the Southwest region. I now work with the Delegation of Basic Education (a division of the government) instead of at a secondary school. Instead of teaching kids, now I teach adults. Currently my students are the staff members of the Delegation, but I am organizing seminars that will take me all over the Southwest region. The seminars will focus on teaching teachers and inspectors basic computer skills as well as computer maintenance and how to use the internet.

Coming into country I was a bit intimidated at the thought of teaching, as I had minimal experience in the field. However, the pre-service training that you attend gives you practice and tips and you soon find yourself wrangling kids like the experts. There is nothing quite as frustrating as teaching a class of 80 students with 15 computers, but when they walk 3 miles on a Saturday just so they can use the computer to practice typing, or bring you a present of live grasshoppers, or get so into the topic you are teaching that they stand up and demand homework, you know it is worth it.

Welcome to Cameroon.

Allison Lacker
PCV 2010-2012