A tour of Worum

My father-in-law said that he wanted to get to know where we lived and our friends here. So I thought that I would do two blogs- one about the “places of Worum” and one about “the people of Worum.” So I walked around with the intent to take pictures of our friends and the sites of interest. Upon talking to my friends, I learned that it is not a good idea to put pictures of our Fulbe friends on the Internet because they will get harassed by their families and other people- it has happened before! So I have taken down any pictures on our blog of our Fulbe believing friends. Hence the new cover photo! One day we will get a new picture of the 3 of us to put up there. In the meantime I put up a picture that I just love!

So anyway, on with the tour of Worum. You might be asking yourself, “What is Worum?” We say we live in “Banyo,” but really we live in a small suburb of Banyo called Worum.

Here is the road from Banyo to Worum. The center of Worum is about 2 miles from the center of Banyo or a 5 minute motorbike taxi from our house to the market in Banyo.

One of the first things you see when you get to Worum is the Kanti Jam (Fufulde for “The Good Shop.”). This is where I buy all of my flour, sugar, eggs, bread, doughnut balls, and sometimes an emergency Coke or two. It is my local “grocery store.” They also sell gas and clothes. It is like Walmart!

Down the road from the kanti is Sawtu Jam Jamanu (Fufulde for “The Good Life Voice”). It is the only radio station in town. It is a Christian radio station that has talk shows, music, health lessons, and the popular greeting times when you can call in and greet a friend. This is where many of our friends work.

Near the radio station is the “Blue house.” Some of our friends live here- 2 families and a single man (10 people in all). Charlie and I hang out here a lot.

 

Behind the blue house is the Suudu Do''aare (Fufulde for House of Prayer) aka our church. On a good day, there are 17 adults and 14 kids in attendance. Songs, prayers, and sermon all in Fufulde of course!

Behind the Suudu Do''aare is the house of fellow missionaries the Lokkers.

Next you will come upon the Cameroon Baptist Hospital of Banyo. It has 35 beds, a maternity ward, pharmacy, lab, radiology department, and a surgical theatre.

A short walk from the hospital down this lovely path

and you get to the Doctor's house

And then our house (which is really the Doctor's guest house- we are probably overstaying our “guest status!”)