Cholera Outbreak
Cholera has broken out throughout Maga again this year. To date (5/9/2011) there have been 982 cases and new cases are encountered every day. This outbreak is extremely serious and is much worse than last year's outbreak. Two weeks ago in response to an urgent request, I sent money to buy a large quantity of drinking water for the three medical centres. The medical centre in Maga had 150 patients, which is around 10 times its capacity. The uses to which this water is being put include making up drips to counter dehydration.
Project Uisce Beatha
The project to repair forages has gone well. To date the pumps in 40 forages have been repaired. There are 13 forages which are so seriously damaged that it would be better to replace them with a new model of forage but to replace an existing forage it is necessary to get the approval of the Ministre de l'Energie et de l'Eau. Correspondence was put in train before I left Cameroon to seek this approval but it has still not come through. Recently I rang the local member of parliament, who was in Yaounde at the time and had previously promised to help, and asked him to talk to the minister and try to persuade him to give the approval. I have also spoken several times to the local delegate of the ministry to try to get him to break this deadlock. This is urgent since the rains have come and cholera is rampant.
To help combat the current outbreak of cholera, Plan Cameroon, an NGO, has promised to contribute 3,000,000 fcfa (€4,500) towards repairing the forages.
Project for the handicapped
As a follow-on to last year's visit of the Fondation de Bethleem to the council to screen people with disabilities, tricycles have been delivered to 20 handicapped. The local council made a substantial contribution to the costs.
Of the two children who had operations to improve their joints, the little girl can now walk for the first time and the boy (who used to travel 500 metres to school on his hands and knees) cannot walk but has been given a tricycle.
Other news
As part of the programme to prepare and launch the council's development plan, two people with experience in development and finance, respectively, have been recruited and their salaries will be paid by the state in the first year and 50% will be paid in the second year. The council has completed recruitment to other posts which willl strengthen it and is waiting for the approval of the Prefet to proceed with this.
A state organisation, FEICOM, has promised to give Maga's schools 1,000 desks.
In July I received the sad news of the death of the Sultan of Pouss.
On a happier note, the wife of my friend Halidou Mal Oumar had a son and they have called him Tom Alipa Saleh.
A website on Maga is now available at
http://www.magacam.com
1 comment:
Bonjour Tom! Bravo pour les projets qui avancent. On voit par ta constance que la persévérance donne des résultats, c'est encourageant. bonjour à Aicha!
Serge Doucet
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